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More Articles From Susan's Notebook

Without a doubt, before the clock runs out on our summer reunion, someone’s ego will be bruised, someone’s nose will be out of joint, and someone else will feel justified or vindicated for their unintended slight or comment. Such is the nature of families past and present. From our families we garner many of our quirks and hang-up’s. Most often the same people who love and support us also detonate our vulnerable hot-spots.

Submitting To Writing Competition.
Guidelines for Entering Writing Competition
After working on a poem or story, you might consider submitting them to writing competitions. Here are some helpful tips as suggested by Writer's DIgest for writers who want to enter writing competition: Competition submissions guidelines and publications guidelines are determined by whoever is in charge of the competition or publication. Because sponsors vary, the submission process and formatting vary as well. The most important thing to do when you’re submitting a story is to follow their guidelines exactly.

For example, if Contest A asks you to single space, you single space. If Contest B asks you to double space, you double space. If Contest C asks you to quadruple space and add emoticons to the end of every paragraph, you do it. If you choose to ignore the guidelines, the contest or publisher will ignore your submission.
What if the particulars are not spelled out? When in doubt, follow these general guidelines when you’re submitting.
• Double space (except poetry and scripts, which are often single space).
• Use a standard font, like Courier, Times New Roman or Arial.
• Be sure your name and contact info is at the top of the submission.
• Cut and paste in the body of an e-mail. (Don’t send as an attachment unless specifically requested.)
• Keep in mind that bold, italics and other formatting often don’t come through when text is pasted into e-mails, so avoid them if possible.

Designed to inspire dialogue and creative thought,The Write Path travels to you or provides a relaxing space for you to come to us. Call (208) 385-0888 or email writing@writepath.org

* Family and Friends Write For Fun or To Restore Harmony
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* Sessions To KIndle Creative Problem Solving Or Creative Play

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The Past

I have supposed my past is part of myself.
As my shadow appears whenever I'm in the sun
the past cannot be thrown off and its weight
must be borne, or I will become another man.

But I saw someone wall his past into a garden
whose produce is always in fashion.
If you enter his property without permission
he will welcome you with a watchdog or a gun.

I saw someone set up his past as a harbor.
Wherever it sails, his boat is safe--
If a storm comes, he can always head for home.
His voyage is the adventure of a kite.

I saw someone drop his past like trash.
He burned it and shed it altogether.
He has shown me that without the past
one can also move ahead and get somewhere.

Like a shroud my past surrounds me,
but I will cut it and stitch it,
to make good shoes with it,
shoes that fit my feet.

--Ha Jin

Your Turn – The Past
1) Like the poet, have you ever wanted to "drop your past like trash" or "shed it"? Write that story. Did you change your mind?
2) Can your past be used to inform your future? Begin with the line "I will cut and stitch my past to make good shoes." Try that poem or story.
3) Ha Jin uses three different metaphors (harbor, trash, good shoes) to invoke images for his reader. Develop your own metaphor about the past.
How can your past be used to inform your future?

Characters
1)Write a "poem of praise" for one of your ancestors, perhaps "Ode To My Grandfather." Then write a poem of appreciation for someone who remains alive.
2) Develop lines for a poem from fragments of memory about an interesting character in your family. For Example I might start a poem called "Uncle Milt And His One-Man Band" with these fragments:
"big, gentle man" "favorite uncle" "his ears as big as bugles"
"his ski slope nose a slide trombone"
"poor pauline stands in the wings"
"watch Miltie play and sing"

Fill In The Blanks
Find photographs to fuel creative writing. For instance, in this photo, create a tale about these women and their trip. Let your imagination feed the story you write.

• Grief Letters will help you walk through the dark hours of sadness.
• Share your Grief Letters with someone to help ease your sense of emptiness and loss.
• Write without planning or outlining. Keep your hand moving and do not censor or edit. Ignore rules about grammar and spelling.
• Quite simply, write from your heart.

1. Write a letter to your deceased loved one explaining how you feel. Explain how his/her death affects you.
2. Write a letter of protest to death. This may resemble a poison pen letter. Explain your anger and frustration.
3. Write letters to God or the universe, either in anger or devotion.

THREE WORDS
1) Before going to bed, write one adjective that describes your emotional reaction to the day.
2) Add one or two words to recapture a memorable moment from the day.
3) Add a verb – some action that characterizes this day:

Just three words will help you download much of the emotion from the day. Even if you never write another word, the simple act of writing three words will help you sleep better. Here are a few days from my journal.
Exhausting – Overdue Project – Rushing.
Frustrating – Computer – Hassling.
Playful – Downpour – Camping.
Exhilarating – Bicycle Commute – Moving.

BAD NEWS/ GOOD NEWS
1) Before going to bed, briefly describe the most frustrating thing that happened today. No need to go into lots of detail if you simply get to the point. Example: My boss came into our staff meeting and announced that our health insurance plan is changing. I will no longer be covered for maternity expenses. Now how are we going to afford Junior when he finally arrives?

2) Before turning out the light, briefly describe the best thing that happened today. Example: This was the first time I completed a five-mile run without getting a side-stitch and stopping to rest. I think my fitness plan is beginning to pay off.

It is IMPORTANT to write both parts of this exercise. Too many people only write negative things in their journal. This leaves the writer stuck with negativity. Best to always finish with the positive “good news” portion of the day.

TRY A WRITE PATH DAY PLANNER
Weaving through the amazing maze of life is easier if you set aside time to reflect on how you lived each day. Did you follow your beliefs and values? Were you kind to yourself and others? Did you do what you set out to do? Reflect on 8 lines beneath each day's date. Just a few lines will make a decided difference in your life. You can order a day planner for June 2008 - June 2009.
(see Write Path Gift section)

Writer Ray Bradbury says that if you ask a man about his dream and listen to him talk, within five minutes, the poet-in-the-man will begin to speak. It didn’t take that long for Tim Merrick to connect with his inner poet. Here is his response to the prompt: tell me your dream.

My dream is battered,
like an antique rocker shipped
from house to house, state to state,
in this transient life.
A nick here, a scratch there.
Some would call them defects,
imperfections that devalue the piece;
some might call them marks
of character, signs that the craftsmanship
holds over time.

My dream is battered,
the finish darkened
by years of sweat.
But it still rocks, still offers
the promise of comfort at the end
of a wearying day.
My dream is love,
someone to sit in that rocker,
someone who will stay,
someone to share stories with
as the sun goes down.
6/11/08

BLOSSOMS OF GREAT SUMMER READING
If you are interested in reading personal writing of other writers, here are 4 books that have my attention. There are of course, hundreds of others.

The Red Leather Diary
*Book description borrowed from Amazon.com
Rescued from a Dumpster on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, a discarded diary brings to life the glamorous, forgotten world of an extraordinary young woman. For more than half a century, the red leather diary lay silent, languishing inside a steamer trunk, its worn cover crumbling into little flakes. When a cleaning sweep of a New York City apartment building brings this lost treasure to light, both the diary and its owner are given a second life.
Recovered by Lily Koppel, a young writer working at the New York Times, the journal paints a vivid picture of 1930s New York--horseback riding in Central Park, summer excursions to the Catskills, and an obsession with a famous avant-garde actress. From 1929 to 1934, not a single day's entry is skipped.
Compelled by the hopes and heartaches captured in the pages, Koppel sets out to find the diary's owner, her only clue the inscription on the frontispiece--"This book belongs to . . . Florence Wolfson." A chance phone call from a private investigator leads Koppel to Florence, a ninety-year-old woman living with her husband of sixty-seven years. Reunited with her diary, Florence ventures back to the girl she once was, rediscovering a lost self that burned with artistic fervor.

Anne Frank - Diary of A Young Girl
* Book description borrowed from Amazon.com
This ones' a classic. Vivid and insightful, the journal serves as a memorial to the gifted Jewish teenager who died at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, in 1945. Born in 1929, Anne Frank received a blank diary on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Her marvelously detailed, engagingly personal entries chronicle 25 trying months of claustrophobic, quarrelsome intimacy with her parents, sister, a second family, and a middle-aged dentist who has little tolerance for Anne's vivacity.

2 Presidential Candidate Memoirs
Does running for President require writing a a memoir with Father(s) in the title.? For an intimate look at John McCain and Barack Obama, you may want to pick up copies of their memoirs with similar titles.
• Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir by John McCain and Mark Salter
• Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

Last Month's Selection:The Zen of Creativity by John Daido Noori. It's a beautiful book and a delicious read.

Boise Public Library invites avid readers to sign up for their e-mail book review service. FREE NEWSLETTER.

TOM HOWARD/JOHN H. REID SHORT STORY CONTEST
Begins on July 15, 2008. Prizes of $2,000, $1,000, $500 and $250 will be awarded, plus five High Distinction awards of $200 each and five Most Highly Commended Awards of $100 each. Submit any type of short story, essay or other work of prose, up to 5,000 words. You may submit work that has been published or won prizes elsewhere, as long as you own the online publication rights. $12 entry fee. Submit online or by mail. Early submission encouraged. Judges: John H. Reid and Dee C. INFO HERE

Basic Language Literacy
No deadline
Offers links to many writing opportunities for youngsters including some that pay. Kids" Writing

Casa Grande Press
Deadline Sept. 15.
Seeks first-person true stories for its Greatest Wedding Misadventure anthology. All editions pay $100 and copies. Details at Wedding Stories.

Sheknows.com
No deadline
An online magazine paying $25 to $50 for first person pieces and $100+ for feature articles. Hint, it’s about women but there’s more to know.Visit She Knows.

Passager Magazine
Topics and dates vary
Passager Magazine publishes quality writing by people over 50. Poems and stories up to 4000 words.Passager Magazine

Persimmon Tree
No deadline
This Online Literary Magazine by Women Over Sixty seeks quality fiction and nonfiction submissions.Persimmon Tree

Mom Writers Literary Magazine
No deadline
This quarterly online and print publication wants quality creative nonfiction, poetry, guest profiles and reviews. Mom Writers

IDAHO Magazine 
No deadline
IDAHO Magazine is interested in your non-fiction stories on Idaho topics. They offer one-time rights to buy those stories. Send queries with specific details in the "Subject" line to Kitty Fleischman, publisher/editor at Kitty Fleischman

Things to Avoid 
Remember, you cannot trust everything in print. Some contests exist for the sole purpose of generating dough for the organizers. Check these resources for the reliability of a contest:

1) Winning Writers provides dozens of publishing leads and also offers a list of the bogus contests: CONTESTS TO AVOID

Proceeds Go to Write Path Scholarships. 
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