the other mother - free writing workshop for moms

You've Got to Have Fight

 

Which is not to say that writing is about fighting--although if you ask some of my students there's a battle with the fingers and the page and the brain--but today's topic is one I used recently in workshop, and I was so thrilled to have everyone's characters gain sudden depth and speak to us right there in a snow-crusted Starbucks while cellphones buzzed with urgencies and the police politely reminded people that icebanks atop their cars could turn into deadly weapons (I kid you not, and I thank them; a school secretary's husband was killed by a truck iceberg last year).

Anyway, since digression is one of my favorite things, I will break up this topic for you so you can follow along. Don't cheat.

1) pick two characters. If you're not working on something right this minute, pick a real person and make up a character. Write (or type) their names on the top of the page.

2) Pick a conflict. Commit. I know you might think, oh, I have plenty in mind, but just pick one, and write it down.  Maybe it's a husband who wants to move to Yugoslavia and a wife who wants to stay in the Bronx. Maybe it's two sisters fighting over a shirt, some amazing boots, the only food in the house, a boy, or whose turn it is to call for an intervention.

3) Got both those things written down? Really, write them down first. I'll give you the next step next, after you write them down...

4) Write a dialogue between these characters, about this conflict. Choose first person (I said, for one character) or close third (she said; he said). Write this dialogue for 14 minutes or four pages, whichever comes first. Don't forget to just write.

5) go back to your dialogue (don't read this until you've written!) and add at least two beats (the spaces between dialogue in which the characters adjust their bra straps, or tip their chairs back, or think the opposite of what they're saying). Now add one more, making sure it gives some important sensory information, ie, She smelled like smoke, I thought, bitter and ruined.

 

Then post it all here in the comments, so we can be proud of you. Conflict and dialogue both, by nature, move a plot along. And with dialogue we hear your characters speaking, and they can think things they do not speak, and do things with their bodies (stepping backward, poking each other with pencils) that tell us even more. Can't wait to read you here!

 

Guess what? My new novel, THE ORPHAN SISTER, is coming in July 2011.

Make Your Own Summer Camp

I know it's been a long time since I've posted, but you're still visiting, writing, and emailing. Thank you! When I'm between novels, I always return to writing practice--I hope you'll come back and try every topic I've recommended.

Meanwhile, the peonies have dropped their heavy petals and the wax begonias are sunbathing. My son just came home with a fat file full of finished work--and we're labeling, signing forms, planning for a summer of daycamps and new pursuits.

I try to think of summer not just as a time to shuttle from drop off to pickup to the much-politicized local natural pool, but also a time to try new things. Sometimes it's best to sit outside and write, even if my pen gets sap-stuck and I can't bring my laptop for glare. I'm remembering my own summers: Bread and Puppet Circus, working at a dairy farm, a stable, science camp and deep, creative boredom on summer trips to Vermont.

It's your turn to stop and taste the green shoots of the timothy grass. Here's your topic:

Write about your summer when you were ten.

Or another:

Write about the summer you wished you had.

Then give yourself the freedom to change your routine--the kids are at daycamp, so put your feet in the kiddie pool and write about something new. Or try something new: try watercolor painting, read nonfiction if you love novels, read a poem outloud to your child, your spouse, your grandmother over the phone. Make a list of things you don't get to all school year, and give yourself an hour each morning--maybe for a week, maybe all summer if you can. Major in the flexible mind.

What's Beneath the Leaves

We just went for a walk in the lovely, lovely leaves. My daughter, who for some reason is sweetest of all, got stung not once, but twice by wasps. Are some of us really sweeter than others?

All this drama reminded me that I hadn’t posted for a while...

So here’s a writing topic that worked wonderfully in class:

Write about needles. Pine, pins and, dentists (ugh), sewing, knitting, being needled—whatever comes first to mind.

Write for 11 minutes.

Don’t be afraid to go there, even if it hurts (clearly this writing exercise can vaccinate you against fall gloom).

Post your writing in the comments section below (for any newbies who don’t already know). In class, the writings had a remarkable connection to each other—it charged the class with ideas and interest, and no one got hurt.

In other news, if you’re in northern NJ and would like to come meet me in person, come to the Ramsey Public Library in Ramsey, New Jersey on Sunday, November 16th at 2pm. Here are driving directions to the library.

The event is free, and I’m hoping for some of the amazing questions I’ve had at book groups lately.

Come! Tell me you read the blog!

And, as always, I’d be happy to sign bookplates if any of you would like to get your holiday shopping wrapped up early with signed copies of The Other Mother. Just send me an email with your name, address, and what you’d like me to write. I’ve been sending them out by the dozen, and it feels great to know more people will be reading about Thea and Amanda and hopefully feeling just a little more compassionate toward other mothers everywhere.

Look to the skies! (dog days o' summer)

Okay, I’ve been trying to post this for a while, but Typepad’s having woes. What? Power problems? But it’s the web, we all need web. I kid. They’ll work it out.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was this:
Dog Days of Summer Giveaway!

Everyone’s giving stuff away via their blogs. Check out Bloggy Giveaways for more contests and the chance to win more free stuff. I love the idea (and have, of course, entered several drawings).

So, I’m giving away one gorgeous, hardcover, signed copy of the yet to be released The Other Mother. Who doesn’t want free stuff? And of course, if you love the book and tell your friends, that’ll make me extra happy.

Here’s how it works: post in the comments, answering the question below. (hint: if you don’t know already, check out The Other Mother website) and make sure to include your email address. You don’t need to write a writing post, though those are welcome, of course! Just let me know you want to be in the drawing.

The comments will close on Friday, July 27, 2007 at 5pm eastern time, and I’ll put them all in a hat over the weekend and draw a lucky winner.

Okay, here’s the question:
In what state do Thea and Amanda live?

*Note:* I didn't realize, until I tried looking it up that way, that the book description on the site no longer gives the answer, though you could find it elsewhere.

So, it's okay if you answer this instead:
Where does Amanda work?

Hope you’re all enjoying the dog days, and writing up a storm! Feel free to reply to earlier topics, whenever you’re ready.

another week, another topic, and something else for free...

Hello wonderful writing women!

First, I want to mention two wonderful sites:

Great for a daily dose of something good.

Second: it's tell-a-friend week!

I know some of you are off on summer expotitions (Winnie the Pooh's word), but for those who are around: you know who I mean, that friend who writes long and eloquent emails, a writer at heart. If you will, share this blog with her, okay?

In fact, I'll sweeten the pot: the first person to have two friends post (writing posts, that is, in the comments) and mention her name gets a free advance galley of The Other Mother. My marketing manager sent me one extra, and I'd love to share it (and if you love it, maybe you'll even post elsewhere and spread the word).

Now, at last, the writing topic at hand (I've been waiting to tell you):

Write about waiting.

For a table, waiting tables, waiting for Godot, waiting up late, for birth, for test results, for the end of school, for the beginning..........you choose.

And here's a little challenge: after you read through the rules (try reading 'em out loud). Write for three minutes and make everything one sentence--that doesn't mean you have to be brief, but instead, that you link it all up with commas, semicolons, dashes, or nothing.

Don't worry about the grammar police; they're off duty for first drafts. Then, try to write for five minutes more using that same wild momentum you (hopefully) got from writing without the break of a period.

Happy summer all! Happy writing!