Get Close

 WRITING TIP

 At a recent meeting of the life story writing group, Sue read something she had written about her father's duty in the Civil Air Patrol just before and during World War II. She had her father's pilot log book and she had researched the history of and requirements for membership. Lots of good material.

However, Sue felt that the story read like an encyclopedia entry. She asked the group for opinions and suggestions.
We all agreed that the story was fine as it was, but the only problem with the story is the same problem with the photo above. We don't know where to give our attention. There are too many pumpkins, too many shelves, one sign that has absolutely nothing to do with pumpkins, and other signs that, while they give information, aren't especially interesting.

Both the story and the photo can be improved very simply. Get closer. Focus on one pumpkin. Or, in the case of Sue's story, focus on her father in particular instead of all the men of the Civil Air Patrol in general.

For example, instead of writing, "They had to provide their own planes," she could write, "Daddy had to provide his own plane." Instead of writing, "They received a small daily allowance," she could write, "Dad's allowance barely covered daily meals." (Sue had specific details such as the amount of the allowance. I just don't remember them right now, but you get the idea.)

Get close so we really get to know the person. And then we care. And then we want to read more.

WRITING PROMPT LAUNCHING PAD

Out of my gourd. Remember that old saying? I've always liked it. Maybe gourd is just a funny word. And gourds are just kind of funny themselves. Lumpy and bumpy and twisted. Colorful. Useful. So what does it mean to be out of my gourd? You don't need to use that actual phrase. Just think of a time you felt crazed or wacky or lumpy and bumpy.

CHOCOLATE INKWELL Today's recipe is from Tamara Hall's contribution at http://www.thecookbookproject.com/. It's an interesting combination of pumpkin and chocolate chip -- perfect for this time of year -- Halloween or Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 c. pumpkin
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1 egg
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. milk
1 c. chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
Nuts (optional)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Directions: Dissolve baking soda in milk; set aside. In large bowl add
pumpkin, sugar, oil, and egg; stir. Add flour, baking powder,
cinnamon, salt and baking soda mixture. Mix well. Stir in
chocolate chips and vanilla. Spoon onto cookie sheet. Bake at
375 degrees 10 to 12 minutes or until done.

Get closer to your writing life with the Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook, Second Edition, available at www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html

All rights reserved 2011 There's An Angel In Your Inkwell®

Piece of Cake



Photo by Carol Newman

WRITING TIP


Yes, we eat chocolate at the life story writing group meetings. You can too. Jane is starting a group in Montanna, and Margaret has found a group in North Carolina. Is there a life story writing group in your area? Ask at your library. Read the book section of your local newspaper. If you find a group, join it. If not, start your own. Create a flyer and post it at the library or at your church  or community center. Soon you will have fun, friends, and find your life newly affirmed.


Jerry found affirmation by writing about two Berlin trips and having his story published in his local newspaper. Last week we talked about Jerry taking the initiative to go in person to visit the newspaper editor. This worked for Jerry, but, of course, we don't want flash mobs in editors' offices so use some common sense and courtesy.


What else did Jerry do to get his story published? Let's look again at what he said: (Jerry's comments are in blue.)


I wrote the article to have something for our writing group meeting.


Aha! There's one important reason to join a group. It keeps you motivated and writing.


It wasn't until I got started that I realized that this was a milestone anniversary of the event.


If he had not started writing, he wouldn't have had the insight. Writing is a process. Revelations come through the writing. 




Over the weekend I did some editing and touching up to round it up and to make a point.


Jerry didn't settle for that preliminary draft he brought to the group. He continued to polish and he made sure there was a point to the article. We don't want the reader to come to the end and say, "So?"


I expressed some disbelief that the paper would overlook such a major historical event,


When Jerry talked to the editor, or when you have a telephone conversation or mail conversation with an editor, be prepared to "sell" the story. Why is it important? Why would the publication's readers be interested?


and asked if it could be printed as a feature on Saturday.


Jerry suggested when and where the story would fit into the newspaper. This shows the editor you are familiar with the publication and that you have saved the editor some work by thinking about placement. A basic rule of selling: ask for the order.


Good work, Jerry. Thanks for the reminders for all of us. And for those of you without a life story writing group, keep joining us here, find a group, or start a group. It's a piece of cake. (Sorry, couldn't resist trying to tie this all together with chocolate.)


To see all of Jerry's comments and a link to his article, see the Sept. 12, 2011 post.


WRITING PROMPT - LAUNCHING PAD




Why fight it? Let's just go with it as the Launching Pad? Piece of cake.  What has been easy for you? What did you think was going to be easy, but was not? What is the most delicious piece of cake you have ever had? The worst? One time I was a bar-b-que sauce judge at the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo. Sounds easy and fun, right? I love bar-b-que sauce so much I could drink it. But not this day! What were the contestants thinking? Was it some sort of "punked" routine? One sauce was truly gag-worthy.  What's your piece of cake story?

CHOCOLATE INKWELL - Have you seen the new Food Channel show, "The Pioneer Woman" on Saturday mornings? I love it. It's unlike any other show on right now. On a recent show, her young teen daughter made a sheet cake in the background while The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, made the main meal. This cake is sometimes called Texas Sheet Cake. Whatever it is called, it is easy to make and super-yummy to eat. And, it contains the magic ingredients -- Eagle Brand Condensed Milk and chocolate. This recipe is from www.eaglebrand.com/recipes.


Chocolate Sheet Cake
Photo courtesy of www.eaglebrand.com



Chocolate Sheet Cake

Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
1 1/4 cups butter, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, divided
1 cup water
2 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts


Instructions


HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan with no-stick cooking spray.

MELT 1 cup butter in small saucepan. Stir in 1/4 cup cocoa and water. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in large mixing bowl. Add cocoa mixture, beating well. Stir in 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk, eggs and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.
BAKE 15 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
MELT remaining butter in small saucepan. Add remaining cocoa and sweetened condensed milk. Stir in powdered sugar and nuts. Spread on warm cake.


For a mocha chocolate sheet cake: ADD 1 tablespoon instant coffee with cocoa to cake and 1 tablespoon instant coffee with cocoa to frosting.

Discover the fun of life story writing at www.angelinyourinkwell.com.
All rights reserved 2011 There's An Angel In Your Inkwell®

Jump the Fence

Berlin Wall 1975 Checkpoint Charlie
photo courtesy of Jerry Pratt

WRITING TIP

A few days after the August meeting of our life story writing group, Jerry, who lives in Independence, Missouri, called with news.  His story about the anniversary of the Berlin Wall going up had been published. His experience reminded me of an anecdote told by the instructor of a feature story writing class. 

 It seems an editor sent a reporter to get an interview with a jockey after a race. When the editor asked why the reporter had returned without the interview, the reporter said he couldn't reach the jockey because there was a fence in the way. To which the editor demanded, "Why didn't you jump the fence?"

Jerry definitely jumped the fence to get his story published. I asked Jerry to tell us how he did it.


I wrote the article to have something for our writing group meeting. It wasn't until I got started that I realized that this was a milestone anniversary of the event.  I thought about getting it into the paper, but by Thursday it was too late for The Examiner on Saturday.

Over the weekend I did some editing and touching up to round it up and to make a point. I took it to The Examiner on Wednesday morning. Just before the noon deadline, I spoke with an editor. I prefer meeting face-to-face, and I didn't trust using e-mail where it might sit in a pile of a lot of other stuff, until someone might "get 'round tuit", or get deleted. I expressed some disbelief that the paper would overlook such a major historical event, and asked if it could be printed as a feature on Saturday. It wasn't an editorial or letter-to-the-editor, or something to be reduced to a few paragraphs.


The first thing Saturday morning I ran out to pick up the paper. I didn't find anything in the front section. There was a voice-mail message waiting for me, when we got home Saturday night. Some gentleman raved in appreciation concerning the article. He cut the article and was saving it. Yahoo!


After digging the papert out of the trash, I found the article. I was amazed at its size, about three columns! They made a four-column headline and retitled it  Disbelief on the Anniversary of the Berlin Wall Going Up,



Other than a very few internal edits, it printed as written. Thank you, Examiner!

Jerry, who is a couple of years older than I am, likes to tell people I was his high school English teacher. And he is right. I taught high school English at Jerry's high school, East High, in Des Moines, Iowa. We just weren't there at the same time. By the time I was there, Jerry was in the Air Force, stationed in Minot, North Dakota. Still, I am as happy for Jerry as if he were my high school student. 

Of course, you don't want to go knocking on an editor's door every time you write something, but on certain special occasions, it pays off. Next week we'll talk about some more things Jerry did right.





WRITING PROMPT - LAUNCHING PAD


Disbelief.  A recent night Young Advisor and I watched Project Runway TV. One of our favorite contestants created a garment so weird it left us in open-mouthed disbelief. East coast residents watched torrents of water rush through their cities. News reports told of huge waste in the war in Afghanistan.

A favorite phrase of a friend's toddler is, "I can't beyeeve."  What has caused you to stop in disbelief?




Photo courtesy of www.eaglebrand.com



CHOCOLATE INKWELL - Can't finish this blog post. Have to rush away to make today's recipe. It sounds so good. Okay. I'll share. Here's the recipe. It is from my new favorite website: http://www.eaglebrand.com/. I love Eagle Brand Condensed Milk. It makes me feel so good, I'm pretty sure it's a health food.

Chocolate Coconut Balls

Yield: 4 dozen balls

1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (14 oz.) package flaked coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 cup (6 oz.) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups (18 oz.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons Crisco® All-Vegetable Shortening

STIR together sweetened condensed milk, coconut, pecans, bread crumbs and mini chocolate chips; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.


SHAPE mixture with lightly greased hands into 1-inch balls. (Mixture will be moist.) Place on wax paper. Cover with additional wax paper; let stand 8 hours.

MELT chocolate chips and shortening in large saucepan. Spoon chocolate mixture evenly over coconut balls covering top and sides completely and allowing excess to drip. Place on wax paper; chill until firm.

.
Want to write about your life? Get started with Write Your Life Story Workbook in Eight Weeks, Second Edition. Available at www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html.

All rights reserved 2011 There's An Angel In Your Inkwell®

A Sure Way to Get Started

WRITING TIP
I was only on page five of the Introduction to The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life , a recent book written by Marion Roach Smith, when I felt my eyes widen and my mouth drop open. Roach writes: "This [memoir writing] is serious work. And it cannot be reduced to generic writing exercises and prefabricated prompts. . . . I suspect that those manners of nonsense have instead stolen what little time you had for writing." There's more to her rant, but you get the idea.  

Despite my dismay at the introduction, I read on and found much to agree with in the book. However, I could not stop thinking about writing prompts, (Launching Pads as we call them here) and Launching Pads made me think about  Betty S. I think Betty, who has been in our life story writing group the longest of anyone, loves Launching Pads and has great success with writing from them and getting the writing published. So I asked Betty to tell us about her process. Here's what she wrote: 

"The launching pad for next time is bicycle,” our writer’s group leader instructed. I had no idea how to write anything that had to do with a bicycle. I never had a bicycle, not even as a youngster. But, my brother had a black and orange bicycle. I also had a subject to write about.

I saw my brother’s bicycle in my mind’s eye and soon I was tossing words around in my head, then eventually I had a poem written, titled, “The Bicycle.” Much to my delight a favorite national magazine published it.

Another time the prompt or launching pad, which our writer’s group relates to,

was “A Strand of Beads.” I gathered thoughts in my head. The antique necklace I couldn’t live without from the Antique Mall would be something to write about. Or, the necklace a high school friend bought at a garage sale which she later gave to me. But, I felt a closer bond to my mother’s necklace she wore on her wedding day. When I had sufficient material stored in my brain, I typed the words on my computer. The poem “A Strand of Beads” was born.

Capper’s magazine asked readers when they think about a special Christmas, what do they remember most about the day? Again, the brain process worked for me. I had the initial writing subject. I remembered many special Christmas days, and then chose one to write about. I wrote a memoir about a Christmas in Albuqurque when my husband was stationed at Sandia Base. The editors posted the story on their web site.

Sure, I can write without a launching pad, but when I need motivation, inspiration, or just simply something to write about, it’s the prompt that gives me a head start.

What’s next month’s launching pad? Oh, yes, write about an item that belongs or belonged to a loved one.

I use a white oval bowl that was part of my mother’s everyday dishes. I see steaming, hot, mashed potatoes fluffed and piled high in the bowl. The plates sit on a faded oilcloth that covers the small, drop-leaf, wooden table.

Ah, the story begins………Potatoes again tonight? It was depression years……..

I'm not sure how many stories, poems, and essays Betty has had published that began with writing prompts, but the number is considerable.

Whether you are writing for publication, posterity, or personal growth, don't overlook the humble writing prompt. It might be the pad to launch you into satisfying and successful writing. Thanks, Betty, for the "how-to."

WRITING PROMPT - LAUNCHING PAD

Humble. Remember last time the post here was about making your story connect with the reader by using a concrete object or a specific event. What can you write about the concept of "humble" (humility) without ever using the actual word? Do you know a humble person? Have you ever had to learn the painful lesson of humility?

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

Look at this from http://www.hungrygirl.com/  Only two ingredients. Cake mix and a surprise. This I gotta try.

Yum Yum Brownie Muffins

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes

One 18.25-oz. box devil's food cake mix
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin (Libby's is the best!)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour cake mix into a large bowl and whisk to remove any lumps. Add pumpkin and stir until completely smooth and uniform.

Don't add any other ingredients that may be mentioned on the cake mix box, like eggs, oil, or water. The mixture will be very thick, so you might be tempted to add in other things to make the batter thinner. Do not do this!
Evenly distribute batter into a 12-cup muffin pan lined with foil baking cups and/or sprayed with nonstick spray. Place pan in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly and then serve!

MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Recipe photo courtesy of www.hungrygirl.com. All other photos by Carol Newman.


Writing your life story is a piece of cake with Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook. Order at www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html.

All rights reserved 2011 There's An Angel In Your Inkwell®

How Do You Say Love?



A Blue Pitcher (but not Margaret's)


WRITING TIP

Last week at the meeting of the life story writing group, we heard a story Margaret had written about her mother as a child. Margaret engaged all our senses in her story about a country breakfast that included milk her mother, Ann, collected straight from a cow and into her little blue pitcher. In the story, Margaret wrote that her mother is no longer with her, but her mother's little blue pitcher is.

After hearing the story read, there was much for us to admire about it; but then Sue said something that really got to the point of the story and to the point of what the rest of us writers can learn from it.

Sue said, "This story isn't about the little blue pitcher; it's about love -- Margaret's love for her mother."

The pitcher story showed us the love without Margaret ever having to write the word "love." We experienced the love in the story in a way that would not have been possible if Margaret had simply written, "I loved my mother. She was loving and kind and would do anything for me."

My mother-in-law, Phoebe, also had a pitcher that had belonged to her mother. She had told me how sad she was when her mother died when Phoebe was only fourteen. I was sympathetic for her, but it was not until the day she handed me the pitcher, which I had seen on a kitchen shelf for years, and asked if I would keep it for my daughter, her granddaughter. When she told me about her mother using the pitcher and it being the only thing she had of her mother's, then I was able to see Phoebe as a young motherless girl and truly feel her sadness. Phoebe's story was about grief.

If you want to write about an abstract subject such as love, patriotism, faithfulness, or grief, find a concrete hook to hang it on. On the other hand, if you have some small event or artifact you want to write about, find the universal theme. Ask yourself, What is the story really about?

WRITING PROMPT - LAUNCHING PAD

Write about an item that belongs or belonged to a loved one. What greater theme can that story illustrate? For example, I wrote a story about a shirt my daughter wore in middle school. After she no longer wore it, I began wearing it and wore it until it fell into shreds last year. The story is about how a mother-daughter relationship develops over the years. It is not a unique theme, but the story of the shirt carries and illustrates the theme. When I sat down to write, I did not have that all figured out. I just let my thoughts wander and wrote about the shirt for ten minutes. Later I re-wrote (and re-wrote and re-wrote) the story until it worked. Just as you can do with the story of the item you choose to write about. 

CHOCOLATE INKWELL

NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Pie from http://www.verybestbaking.com/

According to recipe notes, the sweet, creamy richness of a brown sugar base makes this chocolate chip pie a perfect foil for chopped nuts and whipped or ice cream. Serve with strong coffee or tea. Sounds yummy-ly delicious, doesn't it? But -- just wait til you read how easy it is to make! Equal parts sugar, chocolate chips, and nuts. And a heap o' buttah and eggs. Oh my!

1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell *
2 large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1 cup chopped nuts
Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)


PREHEAT oven to 325° F.
BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.
BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired.

Pitcher photos by Carol Newman. Recipe photo from http://www.verybestbaking.com/

For more writing tips, writing prompts, and resources, go to www.angelinyourinkwell.com.

To order Write Your Life Story in Eight Weeks Workbook so you can enjoy the life-affirming fun of life story writing, go to www.angelinyourinkwell.com/buy.html.

All rights reserved 2011 There's An Angel In Your Inkwell®