Writer's Circle Newsletter #177

Writer’s Circle Newsletter


Weekly Editor's Letter:

One of the most common concerns amongst writers is subject matter. What does a writer write about? Where does a writer get his or her story from? I’ve seen suggestions ranging from searching news stories to classified ads to obituaries to opening your sock drawer, taking inventory and creating a story based on what you have squirreled away. This last suggestion brings me to a key method of searching for a writing subject: searching the writer’s own expansive life.

Pat Schneider in her book, “Writing Alone and with Others,” acknowledges that searching one’s own life can be a scary thing because to write about oneself reveals, “the truth of her own vision, her own interpretation of family history, of personal identity.” (Schneider, pg. 4) But fear, Ms. Schneider then says, “is a friend of the writer,” because beneath fear is truth and truthful writing is the best kind of writing, the stuff readers relate to most. And yes, those truths show up even in the fantasy genre.

Over the past years, years in which I finally gave in and began writing fiction, I’ve participated in several writing groups including the Writer’s Circle here on writing.com. The one truth I discovered is how loudly individual histories spoke through fiction whether the fiction was romance, fantasy, or mainstream literature. Our personal experiences colored our dialogue, our descriptions of homes, worlds, and universes. For every person, there is a different history, a different story, a different and unique voice.

So for today, I encourage every writer to look inwards and begin a tale about “you.” Write about your first memory and then develop a story from what you recall. Write about the boy or girl in the last row of your eighth grade math class. Write about your mother or father or one of your grandparents. Write about your biggest heartbreak or that private thing that never fails to make you grin.

Write about you.

Disclaimer: Change the names to protect the innocent and you from liability.

Next week’s editor is a surprise for everyone!

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Featured works from our members who have turned to their own histories to develop a story:

I loved “The Crazy-Woman Dance” because it really spoke to my life as a “mother.”

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ID: 965306   (Rated: 13+) The Case of the Missing Cheerleader  Can a lesson be learned from a horrible experience? by Vivian Zabel - author

ID: 535998   (Rated: ASR) Come Home  A young boy's experience with keeping a dog brings tears. by Vivian Zabel - author

ID: 588727   (Rated: E) Another Nightmare  A woman struggles to convince a friend not to commit suicide. by Vivian Zabel - author

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ID: 966188   (Rated: E) Tijuana  A broken-hearted woman visits her aunt in Tijunana. by AdrianaCB

ID: 844065   (Rated: 13+) Untended  A young immigrant mother is the focus of a graduate student. by AdrianaCB

Check out blogs and journals for truthful writing, any portion of which can eventually be used to create stronger and better fiction:

ID: 972587   (Rated: 18+) Tabula Rasa  This page intentionally left blank... by Jessiebelle™

ID: 941759   (Rated: 18+) AS I SEE IT...  Opinion and views on what is and what is not being reported on... by The Critic

ID: 460547   (Rated: 18+) Contemplations and Considerations  Contemplations and considerations as I trod through my days as a mother and wife. by AdrianaCB

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Additional Writing Prompt:

Free write – for five or ten minutes, simply write freely anything and everything that comes to mind. Make no edits, don’t stop writing. Try to accept any words that come or images.

Pat Schneider, “Writing Alone and With Others” (pg. 35)

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Quote:

The self-publisher really has control of his or her destiny to a much larger degree than does a writer merely submitting a manuscript (to a publisher).

- DAN POYNTER, author, “The Self-Publishing Manual”

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You are invited to submit suggestions to the Writers' Circle editors. To submit an item for consideration in the WC newsletter:

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Issue #177
06/13/05
Edited by: AdrianaCB

© Copyright 2005 AdrianaCB (UN: adrianacb at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
AdrianaCB has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work.