Writing In Retirement Blog

I admit it – I enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles. To me, it’s like finding out who did it – like it’s a mystery. Once I unpack a new puzzle, I pull out the border pieces – taking special care with the corners. They are akin to the cornerstones of my writing: characters; setting; conflicts; and the last corner – the plot. I build the borders, giving the puzzle a firm frame. To me, this matches how I build the structure and parameters of the story.

I like to search out like colors and build on them – sort of like I build scenes and chapters in a story. It’s a thrill when I see a bridge from one colored part of the puzzle to another. Similar to seeing the plot-line coalesce together.

Sometimes there is a hole, and I think there just can’t be a piece that fits in a place. I fiddle and pound, but no piece fits. So I have to go back and re-look at the pieces I have already locked together. Every time, I will find that a piece I thought fit, but wasn’t right. As soon as I remove that one, I move the pieces around and sure enough the hole disappears – just like plot holes in stories that disappear when you change things around.

When I get to that part of the puzzle that is difficult, and I just have to slog along until I can find one piece at a time that fits. Just like sometimes when I write, I get stuck and just have to buckle down and labor through a part of the plot that I find difficult.

When I get to the end of the puzzle and one piece is missing in several places – I have to figure out which of the pieces left, fit in the holes. That’s fun as those pieces just naturally fit once I look closely at them. Unless of course, the piece is under the table! Then I struggle to get the right ending. You look, and scratch your head and wonder how that picture possibly can fit together.  When I finally scour the floor, the chair, and all the rest of the possible places that the piece could have hidden, what a kick when the last piece is found and put into place! Ah, just like finishing a story and knowing that it is the perfect ending.

How about you? Do you put your stories together like a jigsaw puzzle? You can comment below.

 

To write, you must write. That is a true statement however you look at it. Any creative person will tell you that practice is what makes you better. In a study done of creative people, the one thing that that stands out for the masters of their craft is … practice. Those who practiced the most were the best. Think of writing from prompts as that practice.

*The prompt may be an open-ended sentence, a question, a topic, or a scenario that generates ideas for writing.

* The prompt can set up: a character; a setting; a theme; or a conflict and from there the writer must devise the plot.

* Writing prompts give you the ability to experiment with different writing styles, topics, and genres.

* Writing from a prompt allows you to brainstorm by writing down lots of ideas that come to mind from the prompts. Asking questions like: “What happens next?”; “How would this character react if this happens?”; “How many different ways could this idea progress?”; “What if I tried to write a poem/humorous/sad story from this prompt?” etc.

* The idea is to just write freely, not worrying about editing to begin with – you can always polish it later.

 

In the writing group I facilitate, the fun of reading what we all wrote from the same prompt is exhilarating.  The spectrum of what is written from the same prompt is amazing sometimes: some people will think of funny plots; others, mysteries; and others, very dark plots.

Here is an example of a prompt recently used in our group:

~ Write about the most interesting place you have visited. Remember to fully describe the place using all the senses that you can.

And this is what I wrote:

Ode to Stonehenge

By Marie Staight

Giant bluestone π signs

Circled in the grassy Salisbury Plains

Some standing like soldiers

Others felled to the ground by gravity.

 

Above, the sky is crystal blue

The smell of new-mown grass below

The earth, magnetic in its pull

But still, you stand in mystery.

 

The ring of stone that crowns the earth

Its very stance proves π  is true

The circumference divided by the radius

Three dot one four one five nine two …

 

Still, π does not explain your origins

Why on this green magnetic meadow

The ancients in the Bronze Age

Built you over millenniums with sweat and death

 

Stonehenge your beauty rests on mystery

As the lintels rest on joints of tongue and groove

We will never know the why or what of you

Your mystery buried forever on the English grasslands.

 

What about you? Take a try at writing from the above prompt, or there are plenty of good prompts you can find by Googling “Writing Prompts”.

Good luck and keep writing.

I do a lot of reading. Some books I enjoy and others – not so much. When I find a story that is very engaging, and I enjoyed, I try to leave a thoughtful review either on Goodreads or Amazon. Reviews are a wonderful way to give other readers a sense of what the book was about and whether it will be worth their time to read. The book review also gives the authors honest feedback about their work – what you, as the reader, liked or didn’t like.

What do you do if the book was badly edited or the story wasn’t something you personally liked? Like my Mother used to say, “If you can’t say something nice, best to be quiet.” Nothing stops you from being honest and saying you didn’t finish the book because of these things, but giving low ratings just because of your personal preference seems unfair to me. Think carefully before giving a rating lower than three stars. Better to leave no review than a very negative one.

Did you know that reviews helped the authors to sell their books? The more reviews, the higher the book is ranked, and this means higher sales for the author. So next time you finish a book, take the time to leave a review.  The author will be very pleased.

Any comments? Leave below.

When I was a practicing therapist, I had to write letters of medical necessity. I had to justify why an elevating leg rest was more appropriate for a child with knee extension contractures as opposed to the standard footrests; or why a four-inch seat cushion made of memory foam was important for a child with little feeling in the lower half of their bodies. Medicaid wanted to know their money was being spent wisely and my job was to make sure the child got what was physically best for them and would last them the 3 to 5 years they thought a wheelchair for a child should last. Thankfully I knew how to write and could carefully craft such letters.

I had been encouraged from a very young child to read, read, read. Because of that, I had learned about writing. Once I started writing – grammar, spelling and sentence structure was drilled into my head. I soon figured out how to craft stories that made sense.

In this age of texting and emails; the art of writing, spelling, and grammar is not forcefully taught in schools, nor held in high regard by those who are connected to their phones 24/7. But it is important to learn to write. Take my friend who, with his computer wizardry, helped to make this website happen. Before he became proficient in computers, he was an English teacher. Now he is highly prized in his job because not only is he a computer ‘geek,’ but he can do things like write grants and construct training programs.

One of the most glaring recent examples of this was when James Comey, the former FBI Director, was testifying in front of Congress recently. He was praised by several of the Senators for his cognizant and clear written opening statement. Here was an FBI agent who had learned to write clearly and it made a difference as to how he was understood in a very important setting.

Therapist, computer geek, top dog policeman, or writer of tales – it doesn’t matter what you do, that fact is, that it is important to learn to construct clear, concise written words. Writing matters.

Do you have examples of why writing is important to you? Share below in the comments.

June 26^th was the 20^th Anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. It is amazing to me that it has been that long.

I was an adult when I began reading the Harry Potter books. My ‘excuse’ was I worked with kids and needed to know the current trends in order to keep up with the kids. However, it didn’t take to many pages before I was totally in love with this skinny kid with the lightning scar on his forehead. And then there was Dumbledore and his telling Harry that his mother’s love was in his very skin. I thought – “What a wonderful lesson this author just gave to children (and adults too)!” The whole series had themes about: Love being stronger than evil; how everyone has choices, so make them carefully; and how friendships needs to be nurtured and held dear. JK Rowling was sneaky about laying these lessons out in her books, but they are there and that is why children, teens and adults are better persons for having read the series.

I learned tons and tons of things from JK Rowling about writing by the careful analysis of her every word – scouring the books for clues as to what would be the fate of Harry. I truly believe the world is a better place for having the Harry Potter series in it.

How about you? How were you introduced to the Harry Potter books?

A Bonus Writing Prompt for you: Write a poem or a story about your favorite Harry Potter character.

Here’s my try at a  Haiku:

Harry’s Haiku

Harry’s lightning scar

Evil resided there but,

Mother’s Love saved him.