Author: Kelley

The opposite of childhood

I am fascinated lately by The Art of Manliness. I followed my nose around the internet and found this site because of some very practical posts in a series called Heading Out On Your Own. Gosh, I thought, these are great tips for anyone, not just teh menz. What’s up here?

Today I spent some time exploring the site and came across the writers’ definition of manliness, including the list of manly virtues and the question of whether women should not also be striving for them. To which they say, absolutely. Here’s the part I like: There are two ways to define manhood. One way is to say that manhood is the opposite of womanhood. The other is to say that manhood is the opposite of childhood.

I do not think the creators of the site are gender radicals (grin) nor do I need them to be. But it please me today to think that in many ways I have already achieved manhood, and I shall aspire to the rest. And friends, seriously, do not miss the “Heading Out On Your Own” Series. These are great skills for Young Men of all sexes and genders.

Enjoy your day.

Oh thank god at last the key to total womanhood

Now I can finally relax and be the Ultimate Girl… with my special BiC for Her pen.
 

 

From Amazon UK, the “technical details”:

  • Medium point retractable ball pen available in black and blue ink
  • Designed to fit comfortably in a woman’s hand
  • Attractive barrel design available in pink and purple
  • Smooth writing
  • 1.0mm tip gives line width of 0.4mm

And you have to go read the user reviews right now. Because every time I despair of people, they turn around and make me laugh my ass off with their righteous funny. And that is a good thing.

Thank you to Zack and J for the link and the laugh!

Enjoy your day.

The landscape of our adventures

I was in email conversation with my friend Angelique recently about a visit she made to Florida, and found myself quite unexpectedly overcome by memories of the Tampa that was, strong sense-memories that came so fast I could scarcely keep up with typing them.

I asked Angelique if she would mind my sharing them on the blog, since they started as a private email. And she said no, she did not mind. She said, Everyone’s landscape is an adventure.

Here are some of my adventures:

I remember wandering barefoot in summers (the soles of my feet were like elephant hide back then!) and always getting sandspurs. I remember relentless white heat and the rattling of palm fronds in hurricanes. I remember the two weeks in December when the temperature went below 50 F and all the rich women dragged out their fur coats.

I had a friend who lived out in the wilds beyond Tampa, in a house right on the Alafia River (pronounced AL-a-phi). I spent many nights and weekends with her. She had a withered arm due to polio, but she was stronger and tougher than me and did everything that I was too scared to do. She taught me how to jump on a trampoline and how to climb a tree, and we often took her canoe out onto the river by ourselves for hours (those were the days when parents didn’t think to put GPS or leashes on kids). One day on the river, we were chased for probably a half mile by an enormous alligator. Scary. We paddled very very fast (three-handed)… but I’m not sure if we even told her parents about it.

The ants! We called the little red ones fire ants, and the black ones were sugar ants, and the big ones were carpenter ants (I don’t know if they really were or not, but that’s what we called them). And the ginormous grasshoppers, oh lord, they terrified me because they jumped. I would cross the street to avoid them.

Tampa was lovely in parts when I was growing up, and rowdy and unruly in others. Sleepy but quietly vibrant, if that makes sense. I lived at a nexus in terms of class/culture — I was educated beyond my station and hung out with a lot of wealthy kids as well as kids like my friend Diane (on the Alafia) or my friend Holly who was the Baddest Girl in 4th grade and the first of our school to have divorced parents. Her father was No Good, as everyone knew, but he was always really nice to me.

One of my favorite places as a kid was Ayres Diner, where you could get Southern breakfast 24/7. It was a favorite haunt of truckers and prostitutes and night-shift workers from the hospital.

I wrote my first poem at the age of about 7 (? maybe a bit later) in the back seat of the car driving across the Gandy Bridge at night — the long causeway and bridge that runs between Tampa and St. Petersburg. My idea of the ocean was warm and salty and full of jellyfish. I have danced like a lunatic on those white sand beaches at night while heat lightning poured across the sky like drip icing.

I have seen more roadkill than you can shake a stick at.

There used to be buzzards nesting on top of the Barnett Bank building when I was a kid. It was the tallest building downtown (9 stories? 12, maybe?). The buzzards would fly around in the noon heat while office workers sat in the shade with their lunches.

I have been to old-South juke joints and biker bars and tiny Mexican restaurants in cinderblock buildings. I’ve been to stately Southern homes. I still adore Spanish moss — to me, Spanish moss, warm dark nights, and palm trees are Florida, in a particular way. And that great big sky.

—–

Tampa is not like this anymore. None of our childhood places are, except in the space between imagination and memory and whatever strong feelings we have taken away from our beginnings. Love. Rage. Fear. Curiosity. Determination. Hope. If we could go back and make things different in our lives, these lost places are where most of us would begin, I suspect.

When I told these memories to Angelique, she responded with this:

      We shall not cease from exploration
      And the end of all our exploring
      Will be to arrive where we started
      And know the place for the first time.
            (from “Little Gidding” by T.S. Eliot)

To which I say, yes. I hope I will not cease from exploration for a great long while yet, because the lost places aren’t really so lost, are they? They are within us, and we are finding them all the time.

Memories are maps. There’s a whole comment section here just waiting to be filled: so please, won’t you tell me your landscapes?

Enjoy your day.

Inside this writer’s head

I’m halfway through the Clarion West Write-a-thon and having a great time working on screenplays and thinking about a special project…and telling my sponsors all about my process, technique, thinking and feeling in weekly letters. Nearly 8,000 words so far, with many more to come.

Here’s a taste:

From A Writer’s Journey, Letter #1:
 
It’s not enough to just write every day. Writers have to think as well as write.
 
You might be surprised how many writers do not like thinking. How many writers want creation to be some kind of spontaneous magic. I was one of those writers for longer than I care to admit, and it brought me nothing but heartache and insecurity. I wish I had learned sooner to embrace one of the essential tensions of writing: it requires both unconscious and conscious work; both magic and clear, cold decision-making. Anyone who is unwilling to make their storytelling process conscious will never be a consistently good writer. Ever. I absolutely believe this to be true, and I should know: I spent years wondering why I couldn’t be consistently good before I finally sucked it up and started analyzing – and altering – my own process.
 
—–
 
From A Writer’s Journey, Letter #2:
 
Ideally, I should accomplish this sequence in about 11-15 pages. Currently I’m at page 31 or so.
 
That sound you just heard? That was the producer’s head exploding ☺.
 
The thing is, this is a normal part of my process. I have a basic plan, and as I begin to write to it, I also begin to make deeper discoveries about the characters and their relationships. I am willing to follow my nose down some of those trails to see where they lead, and that means I write long. I write to explore, and I write to discover; but I also discipline myself to write within the basic beats that I have already established so that I can actually achieve some results. If I envision a story about star-crossed lovers in Chicago and then set all my scenes on the moon instead… well, that’s counterproductive.
 
—–
 
From A Writer’s Journey, Letter #3:
 
Let’s talk about “on the nose.” Remember The Sting, when the con men would signal each other by touching their nose? It was how they signaled that something important was happening. It’s also a phrase we use in English to mean exactly or precisely. In writing, it means that there is basically no subtext: the characters tell each other exactly and precisely what they are feeling in dialogue, or the writer tells the reader in exposition (which is like being hit on the nose with a hammer).
 
What I did was a subtle kind of on the nose. By making Rae’s every response driven by her baggage, I hammer home to the reader Look, she’s acting just like a person with baggage, she must have some! Oh look, she’s acting like that again! I think we’ve got some baggage here… It’s not that she says her subtext out loud: she does it out loud all the time, if that makes sense. She is Clearly Troubled. She may as well be wearing a badge.
 

I’m doing my best to give my sponsors a peek behind the curtain, because my sponsors rock. They are helping to ensure the stability and sustainability of Clarion West, and they have become part of my Layla’s. You can be a part of it too, and spend some time inside my writer’s head. Sponsor me with a donation to Clarion West, and I will send you a full set of past letters, and all letters to come. There is no minimum donation: every dollar helps Clarion West change writers’ lives, and we are grateful for them all.

Thanks for considering it.

Enjoy your day.

Spend an evening with George R.R. Martin

If you’re in Seattle on Saturday night, you have the chance for an intimate evening of food, wine and conversation with author George R.R. Martin, to benefit the Clarion West Writers Workshop. There are just a few tickets left to the event, and I want to make sure George’s fans and readers of this blog have every chance to grab them.

On Saturday night, Clarion West will host an evening in which George and 100 guests will eat, drink, and talk about… well, we’ll see (grin). Meet George over a buffet and wine reception; then take a seat and listen as the wonderful Connie Willis interviews him, followed by audience Q&A.

Won’t you join us? Tickets are $75. Email or call Davis Fox, our Executive Director (contact info below) to score that last ticket. Then put your party clothes on and spend an evening with two of science fictions most popular and generous authors. It promises to be a splendid evening, and I can’t wait for the conversation.

Details

Saturday July 7, 2012 • 7–9:30 p.m.
The evening will feature a light dinner buffet reception with wine.

Program: 8–9 p.m. George R.R. Martin will be interviewed by award-winning author Connie Willis, followed by Q & A.

Uptown Hideaway

819 5th Ave North, Seattle
Note: Entrance on Aloha St above Crow Restaurant

Attendance at this event is limited to 100 people. $75 per person

To reserve your ticket email davis_fox@clarionwest.org For more information please call Clarion West Executive Director Davis B. Fox at 206 322 7282.

Tweetchat Sunday June 24

In the spirit of full disclosure, I cribbed most of this text from various posts that Nicola has done. Because I am that lazy! And because she says it so well.

Sunday 24th June, 11 a.m. Seattle time (which is 2 p.m. for folks on the East Coast, and 7 p.m for those in the UK): Clarion West’s first ever Write-a-thon Tweetchat! Hashtag = #writeathon.

This is the place to come and let us know how you’re doing. What you’ve learned. What you hope someone can help you answer.

Nicola will be running the chat, and will be interviewing me as the special guest. We’ll talk about how to keep writing day after day, and how to persuade people to sponsor you. And any other questions you may have! We’ll also have Clarion West staff and volunteers standing by to help with any practical or logistics issues.

But mainly it is my hope that you’ll drop by and talk to each other. Writing can be a solitary business–but in the Write-a-thon we have 228 (the final total after the dust has settled) writers from all over the world aiming for the same goal: to get words on the page and money into the Clarion West bank account. We’re a community. We can help each other.

I recommend you download the twitter client Tweetchat which inserts the #writeathon hashtag automatically and refreshes quickly. That means we can talk faster .

Look forward to chatting with you on Sunday.

Enjoy your day.

Thank you, everyone!

Writer registration for the Clarion West Write-a-thon closed on June 16, and… well, just wow.

Last year, 142 writers participated. This year, we set ourselves a stretch goal of 200 writers, and asked everyone we know to spread the word. And you did! I am thrilled to report that we have 236 writers from all over the world in this year’s Write-a-thon.

Thank you all so much for all you did to get the word out. Here’s the thing: the Write-a-thon is our biggest fundraising event of the year. The money we raise helps us run the organization, including things like renting the workshop venue and offering financial assistance to students. We push so hard to have as many writers as possible because A) we think it’s a great opportunity for writers to reach goals in a supportive community, and B) more writers pretty much automatically means more sponsors. Just by spreading the word, you helped us raise money.

I am enormously grateful to all the writers who signed up. You are all Ultra Cool and you will write something amazing in the next six weeks. I just know it.

I am also grateful beyond words to the staff and volunteers of Clarion West who do a massive amount of work to make the Write-a-thon happen. Our Webmaster God, our Write-a-thon team of Deities whose patience and cheerfulness is, well, godlike, our Communications Goddess, our Database Goddess, our Social Media Goddess, every single one of you is Awesome with Sauce on Top. And anyone I haven’t mentioned can smack me through the internet for having a tired brain, but know that I worship you all.

And finally, I want to thank everyone who has so far sponsored a writer. Sponsors rock. Sponsors make the Write-a-thon world go around. Because of sponsors, Clarion West can do more for writers. Because of sponsors, writers dig in and do what they love, even on the days when it’s hard.

I wrote today, and I will be doing more outlining/structural work this afternoon. I am doing this because I love it, yes: but I’m doing it with grit because I have sponsors who put up money expecting that I will bring my best game to this work. I’ve been incredibly moved by the response I’ve had from sponsors so far. And that’s how I know how much it means to a writer when someone sends in a donation of any amount with their name attached. Every dollar matters to Clarion West; and every act of sponsorship makes a writer’s day. So please, please consider checking out this list of writers and picking one or more to support. Read the samples of their work. Read their goals. Read their passion and determination. And help them make it happen!

If you have questions about the Write-a-thon, check out the FAQ!

Enjoy your day.

Give a little bit

Yes, it is a Coca Cola commercial. No, I don’t drink it anymore, although I used to have a small bottle of Coke (remember those little class bottles?) and about a half a pack of Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies for breakfast as a young “adult.” It’s a wonder I have any brain cells left at all, between that and…ah, well, stories for another day (smile).

Here’s the story today:
 

 

I am a sucker for goodness and kindness in the world. People are being particularly kind to me right now: thank you, thank you to all the wonderful folks who have signed up so far to sponsor me in the Write-a-thon. I’m honored and deeply touched by the support I’ve received so far, and we haven’t even started yet! First, we have to have a party.

I hope some of you will join me tonight at the Clarion West party for the Locus Awards, at the Best Western Executive Inn near Seattle Center. The fun starts at 8 PM and ends when the last science fiction writer or reader falls over sideways. And that, my friends, can take a while, trust me…. We’ll be celebrating the Locus Award recipients and the kickoff tomorrow of the 29th Annual Clarion West Writers workshop, and the Write-a-thon. Join us if you can!

And thank you all for giving me a little bit of your life, your time and your love to support me and so many other writers in the Write-a-thon. Thank you.

Enjoy your day.

If you are, or know, a writer….

… do come join the Clarion West Write-a-thon as a participant!

NOW would be good (smile). As I write this, 178 writers are participating. If we recruit another 22 writers in the next 36 hours, Clarion West wins a $2,000 challenge grant from a group of donors.

That’s a lot of money for a small nonprofit. And you — yes, you over there in the corner who isn’t sure you have time, or that you have a story to tell, or that you’re a “real” writer — well, no one has time, and we all have a story, and you’ll never know whether you’re a real writer until you do your 10,000 hours of writing. You can do some of those hours in the next six weeks. So come, come on this adventure!

Why sign up? Oh, my goodness, the reasons. You commit to a writing goal for six weeks. You recruit sponsors (one or one hundred, it’s up to you!) who donate to Clarion West in support of your writing, your goals. In support of you as a writer.You work like a banshee because people spent money to provide you with encouragement. And you by jesus write something wonderful. Something that surprises you, pleases you, frightens you with its possibilities, makes you weep, makes you proud.

The Write-a-thon isn’t just “writing.” It’s a chance to rock your own world and help other writers at the same time. You help by being part of the six-week community on Facebook and Twitter (@ClarionWest and hashtag #writeathon) for updates, encouragement, and chats with other writers. You help by encouraging donations to one of the world’s best writing workshops in any genre. And you help yourself by writing. By reaching.

Summer is a season of open skies and freedom from constraint. Most of us have constraints nonetheless, but for the next six weeks, let’s be summer writers.

Please come join us! And please spread the word to writers you know. Register by the end of the day (Pacific time) Saturday, June 16 to begin creating your Write-a-thon page!

Enjoy your day.