musings, life lessons & poetry from Theresa Jarosz Alberti

Tag: writing (Page 2 of 2)

Poetry Challenge – Day 6

 Welcome to Day 6 of my 30-Day Poetry Challenge!

  • I’m writing and posting a new poem every day through the month of April (yikes!), for better or worse.
  • AND, as a gift, I’m giving away a copy of my poetry book EVERY DAY this month. FREE!
  • Sign up to WIN a copy of (After) Confession by just leaving a comment beneath the poem of the day.
  • I will pick a winner every day in April! So comment every day for a new chance to win.

OR, you can purchase your own copy of (After) Confession for the new low price of $9.00 USD, shipping and handling included! Click here to read sample poems and purchase a copy.

Congratulations, Mary Lee, for winning a free copy of my poetry book! (I do a raffle from those who commented on yesterday’s post.) Mary, please email me your address so I can send your prize: theresa.sapphire@gmail.com  (or I can just hand-deliver it to you!).

Now onto today’s poem. Don’t forget to comment, and check back tomorrow to see if you’ve won!

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Today’s prompt: write a poem that stretches your comfort zone with line breaks. That could be a poem with very long lines, or very short lines. Or a poem that blends the two. (Note: my line breaks will probably only be evident on a computer screen.)

Books, A Curiosity Continue reading

Dragons and Mermaids and Unicorns, Oh My!

The truth is, the more I researched my topics, the more I discovered that maybe these creatures aren’t entirely fictional to everyone…

Last week I finished writing my third book in 3 months, (huzzah!). It was fun, it was grueling, and I learned some pretty weird things.

As some of you know, I sometimes write nonfiction educational books for kids. I hadn’t done one in a few years — unfortunately these writing jobs pay poorly and are a lot of work. But when an editor contacted me last fall, the topics were mythological creatures: fairies, vampires, werewolves and such. Irresistible! After all the frustrations I’ve had lately dealing with medical stuff and battling health insurance, I wanted some writing work. I requested the titles that sounded most fun to me: dragons, mermaids and unicorns. Continue reading

Giving Up Perfection

This weekend I was driving down the river road and saw a young artist with his easel set up on the bike path.  He was standing in front of his canvas, painting the beautiful Fall colors.  I turned and craned my neck to see how he was doing as I drove by.  There were colors and lines on the canvas, a half-finished work of art.  “That’s brave,” I thought, standing there in public where anyone could watch his process, see the humble beginnings, judge what might not look like much in the middle.

I remembered watching Bob Ross on public television when I was a kid.  My dad liked to watch him teach the audience how to paint landscapes, and Mr. Ross did have a mesmerizing quality about his voice (painting all his “happy little trees.”)  I was fascinated by his process—he’d start painting the scene and it would look like a mess.  It looked like a mess until he was more than half-way through–  every time I watched, I was sure he had totally botched his painting this time.  Wouldn’t you know, he always managed to turn his mess into a miracle, and end the show with a lovely nature scene.

All this has got me thinking about Perfectionism lately.  Continue reading

It’s November… Why Not Write a Novel?

Have you heard?  November is National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, as it’s affectionately nicknamed.  Writers around the world sign up on the Nanowrimo website (http://nanowrimo.org), pledging to write a 50,000 word novel draft in a month.  This year more than 250,000 people have signed up for the task.

I first heard about Nanowrimo in 2003.  I had joined a supportive online community called Momwriters  full of so many brilliant, creative women.  As summer came to an end that year, the group started chattering about National Novel Writing Month—there was much excitement about who was going to give it a try, and what they would write about.

It sounded fun… and crazy.  In my mind, that’s often a good mix.  I’d been in a writing class recently, creating a character that I really liked.  I could try writing my novel about him.  So I signed up, not really knowing what I was getting myself into.  Like a good researcher, I combed the website for details and advice, and found that there were regional forums, and a good one for the Twin Cities.  The local people were excited about write-ins and parties.  I quickly caught on—Nanowrimo wasn’t just about the personal challenge of writing; it was a community event.  Writers who so desire get together throughout the month to work on their novels at cafes or other meeting places, sitting at tables with laptops (or occasionally, notebooks and pens)—these are the write-ins.  There’s a Kick-Off Party before the month starts so people can meet, socialize and talk shop, and there’s a TGIO Party (Thank God It’s Over) after November 30th to celebrate or commiserate.  This social aspect really appealed to me.  I like to say, Nanowrimo makes writing a team-sport for one month of the year—a nice change from the usual sitting-quietly-in-a-room-by-oneself that most writers do.

We had a ML—a Municipal Liaison, which is Nanowrimo’s term for volunteer who’s in charge of the region.  Our ML at the time was Zan, an enthusiastic and fun red-head who planned the parties, visited us at write-ins and handed out the spiffy Nano stickers that the organization sent to regions.  (Zan was her screen name–  we all choose screen names, so often we know each other by whatever wacky or not-so-wacky name we came up with.  Mine is Sapphirestar.)

It was definitely a challenge to write a novel that month.  To make it to 50,000 words, you should shoot for writing 1,667 words a day, which is about 5-7 double-spaced pages.  Back then my kids were ages 12 and 9, and everybody knew I was trying to write a lot.  They were supportive, understanding about me wanting to go to write-ins when I could, cheering me on when I was rushing to make my goal that last day of November.  It was such a great feeling that I really accomplished it, having a novel draft a lot further along than I ever thought I would in such a short time frame.

Since 2003, I’ve participated in Nanowrimo every year, which makes this year my 10thSo far, I’ve hit my 50K goal seven times, and fell short of the mark two times.  Over the years, I’ve made many Nano friends—there are some that I only see every November, and two friends that I’ve met through Nano have become “besties” I talk to and see often.  That’s been one of the many great gifts I’ve received from doing this.

I’ve also:  been a co-ML for six years after Zan stepped down, taught classes with a friend on how to do Nanowrimo, been interviewed several times about this strange writing phenomenon for print, radio and video media, and had a chance to meet and talk to Nanowrimo founder Chris Baty, who started all this in 1999 by deciding to write a novel in a month and finding 20 friends to do the same.  He’s hilarious, humble and adorable.

This year, I’m not sure I’ll make it to 50,000 words.  It’s been a tough time with a family crisis, a trip, and lots of time spent helping my son who’s a senior in high school to meet deadlines.  I haven’t been able to attend more than a few write-ins.  But I’m committed to continuing to write this novel, even if it’s only a little at a time.  Nanowrimo is still inspiring me, and I’m still a part of it.  I’m encouraged to know that many Nano novels have been published, including Sara Gruen’s “Water for Elephants” (now a major motion picture) and Erin Morgenstern’s  “The Night Circus”  (soon to be a major motion picture).

As Thanksgiving looms, Nanowrimo is one of the many things I’m grateful for.  Thanks for being such a fun, creative, big-hearted cheerleader of an organization.  This writer saluted you!

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