A Fish out of Water

By Jackie Houchin

A journalist among published book authors…what am I doing here?

I’m a “Writer In Residence” in a book emporium with only a pencil and pad and a rampant curiosity about everyone and everything around me – all of them possible subjects and mysteries to write about for the weekly (daily) news readers.

My newspaper articles (back in the day) were flashes in the night. Written fast, submitted, run through processors onto newsprint, placed in supermarket stands, picked up by semi-disinterested shoppers for a quarter, a buck, or even for free. And then gone; in the trash can, recycle bin, as puppy papers or to line a bird cage. (Does anyone have birds in cages anymore? Hmmm…. I must research and interview someone and write about that!!)

fish-octo — I have a tentacle in a hundred things!

Today, my daily (hourly?) posts are on Facebook – yes, I know, that gobbler-of-time social media outlet that most people have a love/hate relationship with. I love it. I enjoy posting a variety of things on my “timeline page.” I share tips (how to make cookies either crisp or chewy) & fun facts (12 million adult coloring books were sold in 2015). I talk about people who do marvelous things (like my fellow writers), post upcoming events (Baskin & Robbins 31st-of-the-month discounted ice cream), and tell my friends and family what I am doing that is ho-hum or adventuresome.

And if you know me well, you also know I post a lot of things that I learn in my Bible study reading. And photos…. whoa, do I post photos. (Throwbacks from my photographer and photo-journalist days.)

But again… flashes in the night. Sure, you can scroll down to see former Facebook posts, but any more, about 10 days is all you can see without major effort.

My fellow fish in the sea of writing, Writers In Residence in particular, have finished products that are enduring; books bound in soft or hard covers, given as gifts, re-read, treasured, shared among friends, and at the very least, end up on Friends of Library book shelves or even at yard sales at discounted prices to be bought and re-read again.

Flashes in the night versus beloved tomes held erect by sturdy bookends. (Sigh) But we are all valuable, as I discovered recently.

Our Writers In Residence (formerly Wednesday Women Writers), had a brainstorming lunch-meeting about our blog. (I was taking notes, figuring in the back of my mind what kind of articles could come from it.) The others were discussing how to promote their books, encourage reading in general, and inspire others to write and write well. And entertain. We all want to entertain in some way – to inspire, enlighten, and make readers ponder… or laugh.

Hey… did you hear the one about why the French like to eat snails? It’s because they hate fast food! Get it? FAST food, SLOW snails?*

Or… How many cars does it take to fill a mall with shoppers? Why, a whole lot, of course!

Yeah….
About being the odd man (woman) out…I actually feel comfortable among my book writing and selling sisters. And if I can promote them, inspire them, write about them or their books, I will. (Look forward in the next months for some blog posts in which I feature these WWWs, or WIRs – you know, the talented, passionate, fun, interesting friends in our little lake of scribes.)

Well, if you will pardon this stream of consciousness post, I promise to do better next time. Meanwhile….

1) Check out my fellow writers (here and on their websites)

2) Buy and read their books (Amazon or other places)

3) Write reviews about their books (Amazon or Goodreads, etc.)

4) Tell your friends about them and this blog

5) Link our posts to your Facebook or Twitter page

6) And comment, oh please comment, on our posts (it’s how we know you are out there!). And it will delight us so much!

Okay, time for a swim among all the other amazing and eclectic fishes in the sea. SPLASH! Notice that we are all swimming in the same direction.

(Can you find me? Color me different, but blended in.)

*Joke submitted by Richard Pool.

(PS: If you don’t see a comments box, or an icon to Facebook or Twitter or a “like” and “follow” us button, GO TO THE TOP OF THIS PAGE (or any of the posts), click on the title (it will change to blue for a fraction of a second), and then………… Voila! All those possibilities are right here below.

Free WRITING For Free

Jackie Houchin is a Christian writer, book reviewer, and retired photojournalist. She writes articles and reviews on a variety of topics, and occasionally edits manuscripts. She also dabbles in short fiction. “I’m a wife (52 years in Feb/2016), a mom, and a grandma (of adults, sigh!). I enjoy creating Bible craft projects for kids; growing fruits, flowers, and veggies; and traveling to other countries. I also adore cats and kittens and mysteries.” Follow Jackie on Morning Meditations and Here’s How it Happened

What comes to your mind when you think of free writing?

Do you think of finding a word, idea, scene or photo, and putting your pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and… writing whatever comes to mind? (I did that once about salt from a photo of a vintage restaurant saltshaker, giving the condiment a personality. It turned out pretty cool, I thought!)

Or does free writing mean penning something “on spec” which is a fancy way of saying that no money is involved. Or, if you are a newbie writer, maybe you volunteer your services for articles, blog posts, interviews, fillers, etc., for experience and to accumulate “clips.”

Freeing Willie

“Free Writing” – that mind-over-matter, staring-into-space writing that begins with a prompt – is often used by writers and novelists who experience writer’s block, as a way to prime the pump. However it happens, once you get your creative juices or muses moving, your other WIP seems to suddenly take on new life. (And no, my muse’s name is not Willie!)

FREE writing3 This kind of free writing invigorates your thought process, sparks ideas that catch fire and burn down forests of paper!! (Sorry, I got a little carried away.)

You don’t have to be “stuck” to make use of free writing. Some writers write from a prompt daily in a journal designated for that purpose. Not only does it kick start their writing, but they archive a huge number of ideas in the process to use later. (See a list of websites at the end that feature prompts for writers.)

Don’t write right

Another method of free writing (I love this one and have recommended it often, but no one ever tries it… or at least has told me they’ve tried it) is to use a left/right brain strategy. (You have to use a pen or pencil for this one.)

Choose a photo, or even an advertisement from a magazine with at least two people in it, and some background. With your dominant hand, write a brief account of what is happening in the scene (other than the obvious ad line). Include background, clothes, colors, expressions, relationship possibilities, etc.

NEXT, switch hands and write about the same scene with your non-dominant hand. I was told that your brain will notice different details and story possibilities from the “other” hand’s POV. I didn’t believe it, but I tried it. I was amazed! I did it again using a painting of a village scene this time and the same thing happened!

Try it. Do. Then email me (or comment below) the results.

Money Ain’t Everything

FREE writing5 The other type of free writing that most wordsmiths don’t like to consider, is writing FOR FREE; not charging a fee, gratis, a lot of work for no pay. Some do it for the experience and to get a name and byline which they can later barter. They think of it as a rite of passage, paying their dues, a necessary evil. (Hey, I love clichés.)

But I bet you’ve done free writing and didn’t even realize it. How about that guest blog? (Okay, you pumped your book.) What about being so wowed by a book you just read, you ran to Amazon or Goodreads and posted a glorious review?

Unless your own blog has a commercial aspect, every post there is virtually free.

FREE editing1 How about volunteering to critique or edit a friend’s manuscript? (I edit papers by seminary students in Africa and it is very gratifying.) Or mentoring a newbie writer? (I’m doing that for a friend who’s attempting her first memoir.) How about writing a note of encouragement to an author who’s just lost her editor or publisher, or gotten a stinky review?

These kind of projects are definitely in the “feel good” category but they are still writing. They are lucrative in a non-monetary way, and sometimes the payoff is astounding.

The Bottom Line

Writers write… however and whenever, for whomever, and for whatever pay. They write. WE write.

So WRITE FREE and see what happens.

Websites with writing prompts: scene setups, situations, words, and photos:

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts – scenes

http://thinkwritten.com/365-creative-writing-prompts/ – brief suggestions

https://dailypost.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/365-days-of-writing-prompts-1387477491.pdf – each day

http://www.writingforward.com/writing-prompts/creative-writing-prompts/25-creative-writing-prompts – brief ideas

http://writeshop.com/creative-writing-photo-prompts-imagination/ – photos

http://writingexercises.co.uk/random-image-generator.php – very cool! a new photo prompt with each click of your mouse.

Change, Mack, P.D. James, Book Clubs, & Continuity

Madeline (M.M.) Gornell is the author of six award-winning mystery novels. Her current literary focus is Route 66 as it traverses California’s Mojave Desert. Madeline is a lifetime lover of mysteries, and besides reading and writing, is also a potter. She lives with her husband and assorted canines in the High Desert. For more information, visit her website or Amazon Author Page.

Adler “Mack” Jones thinks, A whole year has passed, and I didn’t even notice. Or see it go by? Or feel it go by? And who the heck is Mack, you ask? The protagonist in a book I just started (600 words written! (smile)) The whole idea for Mack, his friends, and this Mojave story came to me contemplating this blog, an email from Jacqueline Vick, and from Facebook posts by Paul D. Marks on TCM movies. I know, story ideas sometimes come via a convoluted path. But my point for mentioning is; what Mack is thinking, I’m also thinking this early January week of 2016.

My life so far, seems to be broken into chunks, often in ten-year or so groups, punctuated by change. Twenty-sixteen numerically marks the end/beginning of one of those periods—and like Mack, it’s hard to accept 2015 is over? The change has come, but I certainly wasn’t ready for it.

P.D. James advised to “Read widely and with discrimination.” Ha! Easier wanting to do versus actually doing. Give me a good mystery, and I’m set. At the beginning of my last 10 year swatch of time, we’d just recently moved to the high desert. Before that, in Puget Sound I’d been a member of a wonderful book club. And I sure missed it. Fortunately, in not too long of a time (end of 2005) we had a local book club up and going. It is through their wonderful selections I can follow P.D.’s advice. (If you know me, you know P.D. is my “rock star” author.) Here’s an old picture of some of the first members at one of our early initial potlucks at my house. As you might notice, after the book we read, food was an important aspect! We even called ourselves “Books and Cooks.” And how this fits in, besides enabling P.D.’s advice to read widely, is in relation to change and time flying by. (An aside note about time and change—the shelves in back of us are now covered with stuff accumulated over ten or so years! Jeez.)

Which brings me to the writing part of this meandering. Even though I write fiction, it is the “stuff of our lives” that forms, or at a minimum, colors and influences the tales we tell. And no matter what I might literarily imagine, what location I might want to visit in my writing, what intrigue I might want to weave—it’s everyday life, friendships, connections, happenings that take me there.

The personalnugget here—I’m powerless to stop change and time. And that is good—moves me forward! But for some other things, continuity is so important. For example, sharing reading adventures in a book club.

And, the writing nugget here is; somehow, and I’m not really sure if you can make it happen, or precisely how—but opening our minds and emotions to the serendipitousness of change, while simultaneously holding on to the things in our lives that matter, is what brings richness and depth to our writing. Now, that’s a mouthful! But it’s what Mack is thinking about. What I’m writing about.

Indeed, even writing this post has turned me from, golly where did last year go and why haven’t I finished another novel—to looking forward to the start of a new wonderful year, full of change and continuity from last year—with endless possibilities for Mack!

Happy New Year!