Pam Webb

a writer's journey as a reader

Archive for the category “creativity”

10 Mar 2014
3 Comments

Jane Austen: Smart Reading


If you are here it’s because the Jane Austen in the title tweaked your interest, right? Well, beyond being one of THE best writers in the literary canonical group of authors listed in the universal TBR list, she is actually a teacher. Actually, Stanford neurobiologists and English professor Natalie Phillips picked her book Mansfield Park to determine a connection between critical reading and brain activation patterns. (source: Luminosity)

Cover of "Mansfield Park (1999)"

Cover of Mansfield Park (1999)

The procedure went like this: an MRI scanned the brains of 18 participants as they read MP. These weren’t ordinary students, no struggling juniors or seniors assigned Janey as an honors read; no, these were PhD candidates. The reason being the researchers wanted to make sure close reading, the reading for analysis, was properly done. Going for a doctorate would probably ensure smarter reading practices. Participants read for “fun,” that is, casually read and then they were asked to close read.

Results: critical reading increased bloodflow throughout the brain, especially to the prefrontal cortex, which is considered to be the center of thoughts and actions and our social behavior.

Implications: close reading, the method of critically studying a text, indicates a connection between shaping and shifting cognition

My Understanding: Sheesh! I’ve been doing this for years. “Hey kids, read this and let’s figure out what it means.” Oh yea, this is what Common Core State Standards is all about–we give students higher level reading material and ask them to think about what they are reading. Like I said *I’ve been doing this for years*.

Okay, do I get my honorary PhD now?

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Posted in Blogging, Books, creativity, education, Literature, Reading, Reflections, technology and tagged , , , , , , , ,
05 Mar 2014
10 Comments

Doodle-Doo, A Contest for You


image:mikeallegra.com

The above is Mike Allegra and he is a children’s writer.  Yes, he is a wild and crazy guy.  Kind of Steve Martin and kind of Billy Crystal– entertaining ,witty and the author of :

 Which is about how one lady, namely Sarah Hale, got Thanksgiving on the calendar as a national holiday.  Even if you aren’t into picture books, you should stop by and say “hi” to Mike. For one, he is very friendly and will say “hi” back.  For another, he tells great stories–they are hilarious more times than not.  And the best reason is right now he is offering a free personal doodle for some lucky winner.  Check out the details here.

for YOU

Posted in Blogging, Books, children, creativity, holidays, writers and tagged , , , ,
16 Feb 2014
6 Comments

Brr–It’s a Bit Drafty In Here


According to a recent bookbaby article by George Burgett I have been writing my drafts all wrong.  Then again, there is a disclaimer that his advice addresses non-fiction primarily.  Hmm, writing is writing, isn’t it?

Here are His pointers offset by my comments.

Write the first draft as quickly as possible. I tend to review the previous day’s work to get a feel for what framework I was in prior, and I do dibble dabble as I read. Best tweak now when the muse is dancing than when the muse can’t remember the steps.

Most of the words will never see light. Wait–throw them out? There’s some really good stuff on the pages. If I tossed it all out why write at all?  I do, of course, edit, weed, and revise.  That’s why I have a critique group. And thick skin.

Look at the purpose statement. I agree. Now and then I should reassess where I started on this path and if I’m still moving in the right direction.

Divided the chapter into logical points. That makes sense too. Chapters should flow naturally to a spot where the reader wants more.

Don’t edit as you write. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.

Do research after the first draft. Umm, I need that research now in order to continue.

Don’t share your first draft. I do share because I get great feedback from the MEPA. Working in that garret gets a bit dismal without input.

Looking over the list I have to concede I need to reassess my writing habits of editing. And yes, I could tighten up on my research rabbit trails. Okay, I learned a couple of things. How about you?  Any nuggets to place in your basket?

Posted in Blogging, creativity, Reflections, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , ,
25 Jan 2014

Lit One-Liners


BookRiot became another 2013 discovery, and I am hooked. How could I resist posts delivered free to my mailbox which concern all things books? I definitely found this one by Rachel Cordasco a saver. It will be incorporated into my AP warm-ups where I have students create micro-précis  statements as a ready-set-go for the May exam. Here are some pull-outs from Cardasco’s post:

    Posted by   Rachel Cordasco   from BookRiot            

30 One-Sentence Lessons from Literature

1. Hamlet by William Shakespeare: Just make up your mind already, dude.

2. Anything by Stephen Crane: It doesn’t matter what you do- the Universe still thinks you’re super lame.

3. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes: You can never read too many novels…oh wait, maybe you can…

4. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser: Cluelessness is not something you want to broadcast when you’re a young woman in strange new city, for you’ll just become a skeevy-guy magnet.

5. Dracula by Bram Stoker: If you have a choice between Count Dracula’s castle and the Holiday Inn, stay at the Holiday Inn.

6. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: If you absolutely must create a freakish monster thing, be sure to make a girlfriend for it, cause if you don’t, he’ll be really, really mad.

7. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka: Sucks to be a bug.

8. Macbeth by William Shakespeare: You should treat your guests well by, you know, not murdering them in their beds.

9. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: When you travel around in a boat with a friend, away from human civilization, when you do run in to people you realize just how crazy they all are.

10. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen: When it comes down to choosing between the hot guy who treats you like crap and the not-as- hot guy who treats you like a queen, it’s really not a choice at all.

11. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad: Don’t frighten the natives.

12. The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells: When the freaky alien things come swooping down on Earth and shooting lasers or whatever at everyone, run as fast as you can cause those aliens are mean.

13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: Yeah, yeah, money can’t buy happiness- check.

14. Anything by e. e. cummings:

capital

letters

are for

losers.

15. King Lear by William Shakespeare: Don’t bother arguing with your parents. Or your children. Just don’t bother.

_________________________

My own contributions:

Beowulf by John Gardner: growing up in a cave with a fiendish mother definitely changes your perspective

Daisy Miller by Henry James: It’s true, when in Rome, or at least in Italy, as a single American girl, who should do as the Romans–Italians do–then again, maybe not.

Room with a View by E.M. Forester: what is about Italy and young women anyway?

“The Lovesong of Alfred J. Prufrock” T.S. Eliot: What if, What if, What if Hamlet hadn’t been your poster boy of decision-making?

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson: getting in touch with your inner feelings definitely deserves a second thought

Posted in Blogging, creativity, education, Literature, Reading, Reflections, writers and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment
14 Jan 2014

Verse for Wear


1st edition

1st edition (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

First word purging and now onto verse wearing.

Throughout the year I also collected poems from my daily feeding from www.poets.org. Daily offerings are contemporary, while weekends focus on past classics. I began subscribing for a couple of reasons:

1. Poetry appreciation came into my life later than sooner and I’m making up for lost time.
2. Since becoming an AP teacher I figure it’s best practice to move beyond my basic knowledge of Frost–doctors must keep up on new practices, so as a practicing English literature teacher I should as well.

After a year of daily dosing of poems I have found I’m still drawn more to the classic poets, yet still appreciate the “now” of poetry today and listen, for the most part, what is being said.
So, here are the poems that I keep in my “save” file. I plan to wear these verse offerings by pulling them out for discussion in class. And here, as well. Any comments? Are you more contemporary or classic in your poetry choices?

All poems and bio information are from poets.org

Edgar Guest:
Guest has been called “the poet of the people.” Most often his poems were fourteen lines long and presented a deeply sentimental view of everyday life. When his father died, Guest was forced to drop out of high school and work full time at the Detroit Free Press, eventually considering himself “a newspaper man who wrote verses.” Of his poetry he said, “I take simple everyday things that happen to me and I figure it happens to a lot of other people and I make simple rhymes out of them.” 

Only A Dad
Edgar Guest 

Only a dad with a tired face,
Coming home from the daily race,
Bringing little of gold or fame
To show how well he has played the game;
But glad in his heart that his own rejoice
To see him come and to hear his voice.

Only a dad with a brood of four,
One of ten million men or more
Plodding along in the daily strife,
Bearing the whips and the scorns of life,
With never a whimper of pain or hate,
For the sake of those who at home await.

Only a dad, neither rich nor proud,
Merely one of the surging crowd,
Toiling, striving from day to day,
Facing whatever may come his way,
Silent whenever the harsh condemn,
And bearing it all for the love of them.

Only a dad but he gives his all,
To smooth the way for his children small,
Doing with courage stern and grim
The deeds that his father did for him.
This is the line that for him I pen:
Only a dad, but the best of men.

From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916
Joyful Moments Web Designs Graphics © by Mary  (Garren) Morand © MARY MORAND WEB PAGE – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Webmaster ~ E-Mail ~ Comments
I appreciate this poem because it gets a shout out to dads. There are so many poems that exult moms (which I don’t mind) and I think fathers get shorted on all they do and how we feel about them.
Radar Data #12
by Lytton Smith
 
It was in the absence of light
as when near new moon and 
no moonlight; as when a part 
of a picture is in shadow (as 
opposed to a light); as when 
in the condition of being 
hidden from view, obscure, 
or unknown–in concealment, 
or else without knowledge 
as regards to some particular; 
and of the weather, season, 
air, sky, sea, etc., characterized 
by tempest; in times, events, 
circumstances etc. subject to 
tempers; inflamed, indicative, predictive, or symbolical of 
strife (harbinger of coming 
trouble)-a period of darkness 

occurring between one day & 
the next during which a place 
receives no light from the sun, 

and what if it is all behind us? 
I no longer fear the rain will 
never end, but doubt our ability 

to return to what lies passed. 
On the radar, a photopresent 
scraggle of interference, as if 

the data is trying to pretend 
something’s out there where 
everything is lost.

About This Poem   
“People are always curious where a name like ‘Lytton’ comes from–and it’s not from modernist biographer Lytton Strachey, but gothic novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton. He famously came up with the opening phrase (in Paul Clifford) ‘It was a dark and stormy night.’ But I’ve begun to feel guilty mentioning that; his opening sentence is actually pretty good, so I’ve begun writing a whole series of poems that try to translate, rework, recuperate it.”  Lytton Smith

This is My Life
by William Stanley Braithwaite
 To feed my soul with beauty till I die;
To give my hands a pleasant task to do;
To keep my heart forever filled anew
With dreams and wonders which the days supply;
To love all conscious living, and thereby
Respect the brute who renders up its due,
And know the world as planned is good and true-
And thus -because there chanced to be an I!

This is my life since things are as they are:
One half akin to flowers and the grass:
The rest a law unto the changeless star.
And I believe when I shall come to pass
Within the Door His hand shall hold ajar
I’ll leave no echoing whisper of Alas!

Over the course of his career, Braithwaite founded a publishing company and taught creative writing at Atlanta University. His poetic style was influenced by English Romantic poets John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and William Wordsworth.
This poem smacks of resolution for the New Year. It stirs a resolve to become better than I am and to leave no regrets at the passing of the day. Yup, that’s what a poem should do–get some soul stirring going.
My hopes are that your New Year will be filled with verse, be it created or found, and that the words will resonate in your life into others!
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Posted in creativity, education, Poetry, Reflections, reviews, Teachers, Uncategorized, Words, Writing and tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
15 Dec 2013
3 Comments

The Art of Avoidance


All week the in-progress novel beckons me. Fatigue, lesson plans, grading papers tend to get in the way of creativity, so Saturday tends to be ThE writing day. Typically when Saturday arrives the following dual decision-making occurs:

SATURDAY

SATURDAY (Photo credit: Stefan Sager)

-wake at usual time of 5am “much too dark to think; sleep in two more hours”
-is it 7 already? “I’ve got the whole day–lounge a bit”
-how did it get to be 9:30? “better put in some work out time since I didn’t this week”
-wow! it’s going on 11 already “after a shower and breakfast I’ll get right on the computer”
-cranking up the computer means it’s time to settle down to working “after I check my emails and notifications”
-enough procrastinating, open up the file and let’s get cracking on this new chapter “lunch would be a good idea”
Okay, you get the idea. Raise your hand if similar avoidance scenarios take place when preparing to work on your project.

Why is it I avoid something I look forward to working on? I do actually like the story and it’s going well. Yet, there remains a reluctance to jump right up and sit down and work.
Wait–that’s it! Writing is work and after a 40 plus work week putting in another 5 plus hours on the novel feels like a double-shift, even though it’s doing something I like.
Solution? Absolutely, I’m agreeing with you on this–suck it up, get focused, and get going. Good advice. After I go for a walk, clean out the refrigerator, and put away the laundry I’ll get right on my story.

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01 Dec 2013
9 Comments

The Autumn of My Discontent


The Idaho Territory in 1863. © 2004 Matthew Tr...

The Idaho Territory in 1863. © 2004 Matthew Trump Idaho territory in 1864 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The toughest part about writing a historical novel is research. I am discovering researching is becoming as addictive as dark chocolate Dove bites. I can’t seem to stop once I start.

For instance, having characters taking a walk in winter is not a simple undertaking. The month, year, and locale all become significant. There is also clothing considerations, appropriate interactions, and possible terrain aspects.
I ran into this when I decided the sisters would walk outside with two brothers after a neighborly get together. I scampered to my files to find if young people did indeed walk unchaperoned, if  the area had some snow–or too much. Which leads to clothing, which leads to age appropriate mannerisms, which leads to..

It’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie syndrome–one aspect leads to another. I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point.

Yet, here’s the problem–I’m too far into the novel to abandon it (again). I have this quirk about finishing projects. Especially when I get encouragement from agents, editors, friends, and critique circlers to finish it.

When I do feel bogged down in detail I turn to my inspirational muse, Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson. She won the Newberry Honor for her novel about a sixteen year old girl who inherits her uncle’s Montana homestead claim. It’s a dazzler for historical detail, characterization, and overall verisimilitude. It flows with imagery, sparkles with plot points, and it’s based on her great grandmother’s homesteading adventures. It’s becoming a favorite yearly read.

As inspiring as Larson’s Hattie is, I’ve unfortunately hit that dratted writing wall. Right now I’m stuck between seasons. What would my homesteaders be doing in autumn? Winter and Spring are covered. October and November? Hmmm…

I can see why fantasy novels are popular–creating worlds has got to be easier than traipsing backward to figure out what’s already taken place in ours.

Any Idaho historians out there?

Posted in America, creativity, Uncategorized, Writing and tagged , , , ,
05 Nov 2013
10 Comments

High Praise for Low Tech


Cover of "Six-Figure Freelancing"

Cover of Six-Figure Freelancing

Last month I had the pleasure of a lunch excursion of write-minded people with at least three different local writing groups being represented. Some of those at the table I knew and others I was glad to make acquaintance.  I hope we bump into each other while attending local and regional writer to-dos.

While it’s always a delight to mingle with other writers (because that gosh-it’s-lonely-in-the-garret thing does get tiresome after a time), it’s even more of a delight when the writerly get together involves eating and gnoshing with a known writer. In our case our writer-in-the-dining was Kelly James-Enger.

Kelly owns an impressive vita. A former lawyer, she’s also served a term as a contributing editor for Writer magazine, and has racked up some amazing credits such as:

  • written and published hundreds of articles appearing in over fifty national magazines
  • authored/coauthored/ghosted 12 books.
  • speaker at national writing conferences
  • blogger focusing on making money as a freelancer
  •  being a dedicated mother of two busy kids!

As much as I learned about the business side of writing from Kelly, my biggest take away was her lo tech savvy.

She and I share this nerdy joy of NEO. Not Matrix Neo, but the odd little wants-to-be-computer someday NEO. At first glance it resembles an overgrown calculator. At second glance it makes you wonder why a person would want to use it. At all.

Take a look at its amazing features:

  • no internet
  • no printer capability
  • no word processing
  • no large screen
  • no thumb drive save

I know–it’s a list of no nos. Why bother with such a low tech device?  That’s the beauty of it–it’s so low tech that it produces high results.  You know how easy it easy to fire up the laptop, iPad, MAC, whatever and go in with great intentions. Before long it’s rabbit trail time as social media is checked, updated, and read, meaningless research extranvagas commence, and general time wasting occurs.  The WWW really stands WhattaWastedWorktime. NEO won’t allow you to go there.  It can’t.

I first learned about NEO a few years ago when I offered to teach Creative Writing one semester. However,  computer labs at the school were not that readily available at that time.  I decided to get creative (desperation does this at times) so we could really get some writing done. By means of a grant I earned the use of a classroom set of NEOs. This proved to be a better solution than I initially thought. My students would practically squeal with delight when I announced “Grab your NEO.” Everyone had a dedicated NEO and they would merrily plunk away their stories and download them into my designated school folder on my laptop and I would print them later. I miss my NEO days. My former NEO students fondly reminisce about those days of low tech.

Unlike iPads and computer labs, there are no worries of diligently watching and waiting to sneak up on students sneaking in email messages, games, shopping, and stupid stuff.  NEO is happy to be low tech enough to simply take in words, m’am, just the words. It’s too humble to try and be pretentious.

So, after lunch I waited around by the fireplace lounge while I waited for the MEPA to arrive and whisk me away for some shopping. I happened upon Kelly who had also decided to take advantage of the quiet fireside setting and was diligently working on one of her many projects. She graciously allowed me to hang out with her and we had a great chat session about writing, being moms, and being busier than we know is better for us.  That’s when I noticed her NEO.  Expecting an iPad, or MAC, or even something really nifty because Kelly is after all, a writer who has made the magic six figure income, and would naturally use the best tech in her craft. Sha-zam was I shocked when I found a NEO propped up on her lap.  Even more amazing was her confession on how she  prefers her NEO for those times of serious writing. There is a lesson in this, I know there is.

Before you rush out to purchase your own NEO, I have to deliver the sad news that they are no longer going to be produced. Perhaps this is a rumor.  Perhaps I should check out Snopes and make sure.

At any rate, I recommend finding a NEO for those times when you need to just get the words down, when you simply need to focus. High tech has its place.  DO NOT even think about taking away my iPhone at this point. iPad maybe–but that’s another blog.

For now I’m all about  giving a High Five for the Low Tech NEO. I wonder if Kenau ever tried one out.

Posted in creativity, education, Reflections, Teachers, technology, time management, writers, Writing and tagged , ,
02 Nov 2013
2 Comments

NaNo oh oh


November is such an incredibly packed month:

  • post first quarter grades
  • plan second quarter lessons
  • parent teacher conferences
  • vote when applicable
  • Thanksgiving
  • No Shave November

oh oh somewhere in there is NaNoWriMo

If I were truly a dedicated NaNoian this should have been my first NaNo post. Well, not wanting to be too crazy this year, I’ve decided not to NaNo in 2013. I have previously NaNoed and have the completion certificate hanging on the wall. I even have bounced the manuscript out to a couple of editors and agents.

This year, however, instead of something new I shall continue with my vow of completion commitment. No more new starts until finishing half-started projects–umm, those of merit.  Some projects should keep on hibernating for both our sakes.

Yes, I am intent on finishing the middle grade historical novel I’ve been working on for the last ten years. I know, that’s an awfully long time, especially when in just a month’s time I cranked out a YA novel a couple of years. Contemporary fiction , I’ve discovered, is so much easier than writing  middle reader historical fiction. researching for a historical novel is one big onion of peel and write. As soon as I peel back one layer of information another layer is revealed.  Yes, peeling historical onions do make me cry. Getting facts straight, setting up proper verisimilitude, along with creating catchy characters, scintillating setting, and convincing complications, conflict, and climax is tough stuff. At least for me. I’m determined to finish this odyssey of a pioneer tale I started, especially when I’ve had an agent express interest.

Sooo, Na No not now, but thanks for the invite. This year my RSVP box is checked “next year, perhaps.”

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11 Oct 2013
9 Comments

How Not To Write Now


 

Writers, yes you. Why are you reading this post? Wait, don’t go quite yet. While you’re here you might as well avoid that write now feeling a bit longer.

 
Write now?

 
Yes, write now. I should be, and you should be writing right now instead of avoidance tactics. Oh yes, they exist. Beats me why I will suddenly germinate 50 + 1 excuses to avoid sitting down and getting down to business. It’s really no excuse that I have excuses because I have plenty of motivation. Look at this incentive list:

 

  • The novel is almost finished.

 

  • My writing group likes it.

 

  • A New York editor critique it favorably.

 

  • An agent from the same conference asked for sample chapters because she has clients looking for this genre.

 

  • I still like the manuscript, even after years of research, rewrites, and still more rewrites.

 

So why avoid writing right now?

 
Because…
I have to eat breakfast and since I’m really craving granola to go with the new lemon vanilla Greek yogurt I just bought I need to make a fresh batch and while I’m waiting for the granola to bake I might as well scrub the stove top, the Faberware pot, the sink, and start the dishwasher. I should check the woodstove–might need a poke or a new log. I should sweep up around the hearth, maybe sweep in general. I’ll get these papers out of the way, wait these are bills–I should sit down and pay these. But first I should check the granola.

 
Before you tsk at my total lack of discipline I did fire up the laptop with good intentions.

 

But, you know how it is…

 

Emails have to be checked, lesson plans filed, the classroom website updated. Check the granola again.

 
So–
The morning has slipped into early afternoon, which is not my best time of creativity, since I am a morning energy person. I best take a nap and recharge the mental batteries.

 

Two hours later…

 

The MEPA brought home a new batch of movies from the library and I haven’t spent much time with him today. He wants to know how the novel is progressing. Right now? Yes, I should write now.

 

P.S.

 

Later that night…

 

Five chapters roughed in (what revision number is this again?) and I squeezed in a movie. It’s amazing what a little fresh granola can do for the creative muse.

 

A bowl of granola.

A bowl of granola. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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