April Is National Poetry Month!

Even if poetry isn't your "thing," the opportunities afforded by National Poetry Month can still broaden our exposure to poetry of different eras, genres, and forms. I've discovered some wonderful resources at poets.org, the most extensive and well-known site for serious poets. Here I have found The Poem of the Day which obviously sends me a new poem to my inbox each day, mostly by emerging and contemporary poets that I've very much enjoyed (if not completely understood). Other poems and information about poets, both contemporary and canonical, are available here, and it's simply a wonderful site.

Also on this web site is the link to NaPoWriMo - National Poetry Writing Month. The challenge: write a poem a day for the month of April. Tipping its hat to the vastly successful NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month each November in which participants are successful if they write 50,000 words of a novel, the NaPoWriMo project has plunged me back into composing poems on a daily basis, and even to play around with rhyme, a new venture for this "free verser." There's even a forum on the poets.org site set aside especially for those writing daily poems: NaPoWriMo.

Also in the spirit of National Poetry Month, I've joined TwiHaiku where one can use Twitter (140 characters) to write the classic Japanese poetry form of haiku: five syllables for the first line, seven syllables for the second line, and back to five syllables for the final line. It's quite fun and exposes one to a great deal of haiku from people all around the world ~ some even are posted in foreign languages. The TwiHaiku format even allows reviews of haiku, so that one can review other poets' haiku and receive feedback on one's own. Pretty cool stuff, that.

So if poetry really, truly isn't your "thing," may we suggest reading a poem a day rather than writing one? Appreciate this condensed form of writing in which every syllable is chosen with such deliberate care. And perhaps try writing a poem or two. It can't hurt, right?

Writers' Workshop Meeting for April

The Mountain Empire Creative Arts Council's Writers' Workshop is meeting on

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 7:00 PM

at the Pine Valley Library's Community Room.

Everyone interested in writing is encouraged to attend.

Beginning writers are very welcome!

If you are bringing a piece of your writing to share, please bring just ONE page, two pages at the very most, so we have time to give feedback to everyone.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Writers' Workshop Meeting Tuesday Night!

Attention Mountain Empire Writers!

Our monthly Writers' Workshop will meet this Tuesday, March 10 at 7:00 PM in the Community Room of the Pine Valley Library. This will be our first meeting after the extremely successful Writers' Workshop with Dean Nelson last month, and we hope that many local writers will join us for our monthly meetings as a continuation of Dean Nelson's workshop.

Judith Dupree has kindly agreed to facilitate the group this month as Susanne Barrett will be out of town with her family. Judith is an accomplished, published writer with a passion for sharing writerly gifts with the community (and is the co-editor of Pine Valley's monthly missive, The Valley Views), so Tuesday evening's meeting promises to be a wonderful and encouraging experience.

Beginning writers are warmly welcomed to attend our monthly meetings as are more experienced wordsmiths. If you like, you may bring along a short (1-2 pages) piece to share and receive feedback on. If you don't feel quite ready to share your work, then you may offer feedback to writers who do bring their work for review. Providing copies of your writing for the group works best so that everyone can read along and mark suggestions for the author.

We hope that you can join us for a meeting of minds and pens this Tuesday evening!

Back Country Messenger Writing Contest

The Back Country Messenger is hosting a writing contest for all ages. They will be accepting submissions in two categories:

1) Short Stories in the genre of Fiction, Nonfiction, and Fantasy

2) Poetry

Entries must be received no later than March 12, 2009.

The age categories are as follows: up to 8 years of age; age 9-12; age 13-15; age 16-19; and age 20 and above. Winners will be presented at an Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, March 18 at 7:00 PM at the Mountain Empire Community Center in Campo. Refreshments will be served and other awards will also be presented. Prizes include cash, retail store give-aways, and more.

Some of the entries will be published in the Back Country Messenger and all will be published online. All entries will receive a critique of their work along with suggestions for developing better writing skills if needed.

Entries may be submitted to:
BCM Essay and Poetry Contest
PO Box 71
Campo, CA 91906
(Entry forms are available on page 9 of the March 2009 issue)

or may submitted via e-mail to:
editor@backcountrymessenger.com
(electronic entries are preferred)

Please include your name, address, phone number, age category, and writing category on all entries.

You may click on this link to the website: Back Country Messenger for more information, and go to Writing Contest Link.

(Our thanks to Jess Goodman, a regular at our monthly meetings, for alerting us to this local contest.)

MECAC Writers' Workshop with Dean Nelson

If you were not one of the 23 writers who attended the first all-day MECAC Writing Workshop on February 21, you missed a gem of an experience. Dean Nelson, founder of the journalism department at Point Loma Nazarene University, presented a workshop that appealed to writers of all sorts: beginning writers to published authors, poets to novelists. My twelve pages of notes and two pages of original writing attest to the quality and practicality of this workshop.

The day started with bagels and coffee, fruit and granola bars, as attendees meandered into Conference Room "A" at the serenely beautiful Pine Valley Bible Conference Center. MECAC Director Judith Dupree informed the audience about our little arts council before introducing Dean, the author/co-author of thirteen books and countless articles and stories, many of which span the fifteen years he freelanced for the New York Times. Despite his daunting writing repertoire, Dean disarmed us immediately with his humor and his relaxed style. We were somehow immediately at home with him -- which is easy for me to say as I'm a former student and colleague, but I think everyone felt the same camaraderie, the kinship that comes with being on the same journey, even if Dean is much farther along than we are.

Dean started out the workshop by exploring with us the idea of "Why We Need to Tell Stories" and what "story" means to each of us. He discussed the two levels of meaning in good writing, a surface level and a deeper level that goes beyond the plot itself. He mentioned Madeleine L'Engle's idea that stories help us in naming -- in making sense of our chaotic world. Stories help us to live life creatively and without fear. Good stories, Dean informed us, point to something larger than themselves and contain intrigue for the reader, doubt about the outcome, character(s) with the potential to change, an emotional payoff, and sufficient attention to the craft of writing (concrete and significant detail, convincing voice, accuracy in research, striking (not cliche) figures of speech, etc.). Dean told us of two ways to improve our writing: 1) Write more. 2) Read more ... and read the good stuff. He reiterated what I tell my writing students: "Reading crappy books doesn't help with writing." Avoid preaching, Dean reminded us. Let the story unfold. Stick to the craft and trust the reader. Most importantly, writers bear witness.

In order to illustrate his points, Dean took us through a story he wrote for San Diego Magazine entitled "Flashback to Bruges." He read it aloud to us as we followed along on copies, marking as he read. We looked for shifting levels in the story, where the tension started building and how it was resolved, the universal import of seemingly insignificant details, the use of humor to release tension yet allow it to build to a higher level, the juxtaposition of marriage and grace, the mere suggestion of menace, the portrayal of characters, etc. It was a concrete learning experience as we dissected a great story, examining its inner workings and figuring out what made it tick.

After lunch in the Dining Hall during which the workshop participants had the opportunity to become better acquainted over soup, sandwiches, and salad, we returned to the conference room to examine some practicalities and do some writing. Dean started the afternoon session by assuring us that yes, we are going to write crap, but that even writing crap is a point of departure to better writing. He outlined the clustering technique and freewriting as ways to get beyond the blank page/computer screen, and we did some of the exercises together. He then gave us an indirect writing assignment with a choice of two topics: 1) Describe an object without telling what it is, or 2) Describe an incident from the last 24 hours without revealing what really happened. After writing for twenty minutes, we were to gather into small groups to read our sketch aloud, the listeners suggesting our subject matter.

To close out our day, Dean then opened the workshop for questions about writing, especially our problem areas. Writers weren't at all shy about asking about improving dialog, the value of blogging, the importance of journaling, and the lessening or absence of the self-publishing stigma. Dean also recommended his favorite writing books: On Writing by Stephen King, Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, Zen and the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury, and If You Want to Write by Barbara Yuleland. Closing the workshop, Dean mentioned how several well-known writers got their start in writing: Stephen King was a sports writer. Anne Lamott wrote restaurant reviews. Hemingway and many others were journalists. Dean finished by reminding us to get comfortable with rejection; writing is a marathon, not a sprint. To practice being a wordsmith. And to remember the vast difference between "I want to be a writer" which involves a romanticized, idealized role of a writer, and "I want to write" which demonstrates a compulsion to write, something within that needs to burst out.

By 4:00, we were standing up and stretching, saying our goodbyes to each other and to Dean, and tidying up the conference room. About five of us stayed behind to share some short pieces of writing with each other and gain some helpful feedback.

We at MECAC and all participants in the workshop extend our thanks to Dean for presenting us with a practical and encouraging day of digging deeper into the craft and soul of writing. Thanks, Dean, for making the long trek up the mountain to teach us how to improve our work and to feed our inner compulsion to write. Dean's advice continues ringing in my ears two days after the conference, and I feel encouraged to master the frustration and to put in the long hours that the literary gods require in order to improve my writing. As Dean reiterated and as I tell my students frequently, writing is hard work. But learning how to shape words into meaningful narrative that affects another person's mind and soul is somehow worth the slaving over the writing pad or keyboard. It's what makes the hard work worthwhile.

MECAC hopes to provide another writing workshop this year, and until then we strongly encourage local writers to attend our monthly writing workshops the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in the Pine Valley Library.

Writing Workshop with Dean Nelson This Saturday!

To all Mountain Empire and San Diego Writers:

The Writing Workshop with Dr. Dean Nelson of Point Loma Nazarene University is fast approaching! The pertinent facts:

Saturday, February 21, 2009

9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Pine Valley Bible Conference Center, 8668 Pine Creek Road, Pine Valley

Cost: $40, including lunch in the Dining Hall

Please register with Susanne Barrett at (619) 473-0085 or Booklovingbunch@aol.com before Friday, February 20. This workshop is filling fast, so don't delay!

We look forward to meeting so many writers in our area and to learning much from Dean regarding the art of writing. Dean is a writer of national stature, so this workshop is an opportunity not to be missed by writers or those interested in learning more about writing.

Traveling in Colorado

Susanne Barrett

To Kathryn, who encouraged me to write again....

Hemmed in
by flat-topped mountains,
our motorhome only a tiny ant
crawling between, among
vast brown expanses of grasses,
peaks crowned with snow,
gray-green pines shielding the over-modest land.

“Pass with Care"
advises the square white sign
alongside the deserted two-lane --
wisdom given not only for highway travel,
I think.