Continuing to investigate short forms - a writing prompt for flash fiction and non fiction

 

In last Monday's workshop, we discussed what makes the writing in flash fiction and nonfiction dynamic enough to create something moving and memorable for the reader within such a small space. George Saunders in his new book writes:

"The true beauty of a story is not in its apparent conclusion but in the alteration in the mind of the reader that has occurred along the way." - George Saunder

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life  (public library) 

Leaving the reader in a mind state of investigation or some altered state seems like a big ask for micro pieces of writing. So what techniques in particular can a writer develop for these short forms?

Dinty Moore, editor of Brevity.com, writes in Lithub:

"Like poetry, flash often relies on the tiny detail, the single image, or some peculiarity of word choice or phrasing—small elements that carry a greater load than they might in a longer work.

Another excellent take on flash comes from Atlantic editor C. Michael Curtis, who is speaking of fiction here, but all that he says applies to nonfiction quite well: “The shorter the story, the more both writer and reader have to depend on hard moments of discovery, flashes of illumination that provide, in their suggestiveness and aptness, what other writers struggle for pages to make clear."

https://lithub.com/on-the-power-of-essayistic-compression-in-flash-nonfiction/

Here's our first writing prompt from last Monday's workshop:

Slow down a memory to write into the small details of a time when you danced with someone. Just write about the dance. Don’t write past the time you spent dancing, although you can write about the future within the dance scene itself. Is it a dance with a parent at your wedding? The first dance you dance with a new romantic interest? The dance with someone you know you plan to break up with? The dance you danced alone because you were rejected by a person?

 

 

 

Last Chance of the year 4 wk series Creative Writing Workshop 11/22-12/13 in short forms of fiction, memoir, poetry

 

This week structure is on my mind. How can I use form to contain my ideas? What about little containers, the short forms like flash fiction, prose poetry and short personal essay? What about the paragraph as a container? I'm rereading Bluets by Maggie Nelson, World of Wonders by Aimee Nezukumathatil, small elegies shaped by the form of the obituary by Victoria Chang. How can we tell story in short prose? What about emotional impact being carried by object or image?

Here's a last minute invitation to join this fun series on Monday nights starting 11/22. We will meet on Zoom 6:30-8 pm for four Monday nights to explore generating new work through surprising and fresh prompts. Our writing will explore short forms such as flash fiction and prose poetry, short essay, narrative and lyrical writing. The prompts can be used to generate new work in any genre, fiction, memoir, and poetry.

For some of us, the biggest benefit is the accountability of writing and discussing writing together. I  hope you can join our supportive and inspiring community! Sliding scale fee $100-$150. Email or call me to sign up or to chat : )

Where does a story begin? A Writing Prompt to try on a summer afternoon

 What draws you into a story?  Think of the stories you’ve liked.  Why do you read?  What do you get out of it?

“In stories…I suppose there is always a moment… when the image, the set of relationships that seem actually to reveal something about life, forms”

- Robert Hass, Twentieth Century Pleasures

“ A story is a moment after which nothing will ever be the same again – John L’Heureux

What starts a story?

·     Tobias Wolf says story begins when he sees something that bothers him, for example two people fighting on the sidewalk, and he wants to figure it them out – character driven story. What is the seed of what will happen?  This story is plot- driven.

·     Aristotle: a beginning, a middle, an end. 

    Narrative arc: conflict, crisis, resolution, or opening, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution – the triangle.

How can we use personal experience in our writing?  How can you include compassion?  Self-vulnerability of the writer? 

Our prompt:

1.      Write a ten line story - Narrate a single incident/event between two people. It could be you or a relative or a friend.  Think of an incident of some kind of conflict, an irrevocable moment between two people, and include description of where and when. 

2.      Now go back and circle where the energy is/images that are rich and freewrite on those sections – let yourself free associate.

what images/metaphors do you see happening?

what questions make you question more?

3.          3. Write more detail, a line below each line, until there are 20 lines weaving back and forth between setting, event, character, and image - adding more detail with each line.                      

 4.      Finally, rewrite in a different order! You can number the lines and randomly order or write it            backwards or start in the middle.   

        Don’t be chronological. Be generous to your reader! Talk with them as if they are a close friend.

Build Momentum for Creative Energy with the New Monday Night Series 5/17-6/21

 

Happy Spring! As we are setting our writing goals for this summer, here are the new dates for the Monday night 6 wk creative writing workshop series. This is a great time for building momentum with creative energy as we move into long summer days. We will begin again with this adventurous workshop series May 17th. Feel free to forward this email to anyone you think would benefit from this workshop.

This creative series is the most popular and longest-running workshop I offer. A fun and generative workshop for artists, writers, journalers, journalists, bloggers, beginners and experienced writers alike. Do you wish you wrote more? Want to feel a sense of community when you write? Want to start a book or finish a book? This series also supports Nanowrimo participants! Craft, technique, and prompts for fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. A kick in the butt for your writing life! Waiting for inspiration is also called procrastination.  So don't wait - connect with a community and improve your writing practice.

I invite you to sign up now to save a spot. We meet on Zoom 5/17 through 6/21 from 6:30 pm - 8 pm on Monday nights.To sign up for the Monday night workshop, you can pay via Zelle or Venmo or a check made out to Karen Terrey. The cost is a sliding scale from $120-$160.

I'll send out an email with our Zoom link a few days before the workshop. All you need for the workshop is a notebook and pen and your computer with internet and Zoom.

Happy Writing!

Hello 2021!

Yesterday I ski-ed up Sagehen way, a chilly and breathtaking late afternoon in the quiet forest. A John Haines kind of snowy wilderness feel, the mystery around the how of it all. 

I was turned on to Haines' poetry at a reading in honor of his work at an AWP conference years ago. Baron Wormser presented a great teaching of The Long Rain at a workshop at Sierra Nevada University. Haines' poems are spare, with wide open spaces. They hold plenty of room for me.

Another book that welcomes me into wide clean spaces is A Door in the Mountain by Jean Valentine, who passed from our world last night. She wrote her poem Sanctuary, a poem eerily relevant in the new context of 2020, in 2004. The lines in this poem are abbreviated, interrupted, a bit lost, questioning - and brave. Her poem makes me feel better about my own experiences with isolation in the time of Covid.

Tangled Roots Writing offers a new winter schedule of workshops beginning in January 2021:

• Monday Night Creative Writing Workshop 6 week series: 2/1 - 3/8 and 3/15 - 4/19
  
• Second Thursdays Master Class in Revision for Fiction and Nonfiction:1/7, 2/11, 3/11, 4/8, 5/13, and 6/10
• First Thursdays Master Class in Revision for Fiction and Nonfiction: 2/4, 3/4, 4/1, 5/6, and 6/3
  
• new 3 hour  themed workshops

I offer customized manuscript review, workshops, developmental editing, and individual writing coaching for book projects and business writing, including editing and coaching for blogs, newsletters, website content, and social media.

Literary events in our community:

Nevada County Arts hosts events, workshops, informative sessions, and supports artists throughout Nevada County.

This year the Sierra Writers Conference features two keynote speakers, James Mc Bride and Dr. Bettina Love. The 2021 Sierra Writers Conference theme—Empowering Voices—and Owl butterfly symbol speak to rebirth after a year of tumultuous change and the process by which we develop as writers.

Sierra Nevada College’s Writers in the Woods brings well-known poets and writers from all over the country to the campus for intimate readings and workshops, where audience members can meet and exchange ideas with the guest writers.

Word After Word bookshop presents open mics, workshops, author readings, and the best book recommendations ever - go talk with one of their booksellers. They are between the fudge shop and the wine shop in downtown Truckee.

The Community of Writers offers a virtual valley of events this summer so take a look at their website - don't miss out!

Please read my blog for more information on the latest workshops with Tangled Roots Writing, or call me at 530-386-3901 to chat about your writing goals. I would love to help you reach them.

Happy writing!
Karen Terrey