Where to Find Me These Days: Of Love + Light

Hello awesome writercizers!

I hope you are well, and continuing to write and engage in creative pursuits. I can't believe it's been nearly four years since I last posted here... 

I'll keep this quick! As our lives evolve, sometimes we dive deeper into a niche, and other times we expand. I've been expanding as of late, into all things creative. I'm still writing, but what I'd really love to share today is my newest creation: Of Love + Light. 

Of Love + Light is a place for uplifting media, creative inspiration, art, nifty creative publications, and storytelling. I also offer editing, creativity coaching, and small business communications planning services. 

My vision is that Of Love + Light will be a place to visit, relax, feel inspired and loved, and share more of what’s good on this beautiful planet. It is early in the creative stage, but I see wonderful opportunities for growth and community. And there will be Weekly Creativity Challenges, that can be interpreted in many ways, from the written word to music to art to food... however you express your creativity!

Please stop by and say hello! I started posting at the beginning of this month, spurred by the awesome A to Z Challenge. 

You can also find Of Love + Light on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and I'll be cross-posting a few stories over at Medium. Click any of the above to be taken to your preferred social media and get connected.

Story Sprouts, Heartbeats and More... Oh My!

Oh goodness, it has been a long time, hasn't it? So, I suppose I should share a little bit about what's been going on, and why I left and why I'm back, and all that catch-up stuff, yeah? 

(At this point, if you prefer to skip the chit chat and head straight to the point, scroll on down until you see all caps. There's the juiciest newsworthy meat. I won't be mad if you skip ahead. I promise)

When I began this blog, I was just starting out in this wild world of writing. I was given the very sage advice by a woman who at the time was a mentor I admired and has since become a very, very good friend, that all writers must have a blog. Long before the final draft and the first query letter, the blog established an author's all-important platform, a veritable requirement in today's literary landscape.

So, I hemmed and I hawed, trying to find what in the world I would actually enjoy writing day in and day out, and what I would actually be willing to share with just anyone. Some might say I am the type to hold my cards a bit closer than most; on Facebook my posts are certainly not public and I struggle with that line of what is enough to share to give strangers a glimpse of who I am, but not enough to bore a follower or appear...what's the word?...narcissistic, perhaps.

I needed something that was enjoyable and useful. And thus, in the middle of a shower epiphany, writercize was born. I could create random writing prompts to hone my writing skills, imagine that others might actually find those prompts useful, and have some variety. I could talk about my day if I wanted, as I often did in the intros and lead-ins to the exercise, I could teach and exercise creativity through writing the prompt, and I could practice right alongside my readers, tossing out all sorts of writing genres and styles and trying them on for size.

In the beginning, nighttime was my only quiet time of day, and I relished in the half hour in which I would sit down at my computer and write, then additional half hour when I could read insights from others. It was a welcome and relaxing part of my schedule.

And then, I began to write more for the newspaper, and I didn't feel as if I needed to practice quite so much. And then, my children got older and I had more free, quiet time during the day (during the school year, at least) and I wasn't pushed to write only at night—my most creative time. And then, I decided that it might actually be nice to get some sleep earlier, as I was getting my alone time else where. And then, I was invited to join the board of the Children's Book Writers of Los Angeles as the Publications Editor, now Director.

And I found that I had developed a platform in real life. So I all but abandoned writercize and allowed it to rest and breathe a bit while I attended to other writing passions and obligations, amidst all the hustle and bustle and beauty of everyday life. And I was okay with that, because I feel that hidden among the 250+ posts that I created here, there are exercises that stand the test of time. Actually, I believe all of them do...I could never write another writercize on this blog, and people would probably be able to find some sort of writing inspiration regardless.

But then, sometimes I do have news, and it's exciting, and I want to share it with all of you, at least any of you who still arrive at my blog! Or old blogging friends who still blog yourselves and follow this feed. With an average blog life of just two years, I imagine it's a whole new atmosphere compared to when I first started, but...just maybe it gives me a chance to reconnect and share more moments with you.

And sometimes I think that it would be great fun to come back and revitalize writercize, even once a week, and I might, just for the joy in writing. When I started, many days, this was the only writing I did. These days, it's rare that I don't have a deadline just around the corner. I'm working on a creative nonfiction. I'm writing for the paper. I write company bios. I'm teaching a workshop next month. I co-edit an annual writing resource and anthology. I am exceedingly fortunate to watch my career grow, bit by bit, from when I began this blogging journey. 

And so, I hang on to this site, for the pleasure of sharing past prompts, for the possibility that I will one day wake up inspired to return, and for the platform to continue to share news with you.

Since I last blogged about my incredible journey in Benin several months ago, I wanted to share with you two different books that I've participated in.

I highly encourage you to take a look, and proceeds from both books go to support charity, so that's a bonus!!

HEARTBEATS:

VOICES AGAINST OPPRESSION

Edited by Jax Goss

The first was published June 1, titled Heartbeats: Voices Against Oppression. It is a collection of fictional short stories about human trafficking. I have a story in the book called "Moonlit Memories," which examines four different modern day slaves in four different circumstances around the world: one man and three women, spread out from Dubai to Togo (West Africa) to Italy and the United States. Every one of these countries face serious uphill battles to eliminate trafficking, as do so many others world-wide. It is a problem that plagues developing and developed nations alike.

All of the proceeds go to the Not For Sale Campaign to fight trafficking; the collection was inspired by the girls in Nigeria kidnapped by Boko Haram. Their story brought attention to a serious, ongoing international problem front and center. 

The minute I saw the call for submissions, I felt compelled to write. It was a very, very quick turn-around, but I knew I had to do something. I first became aware of human trafficking—in modern times, in the developed world—after hearing a politician address it during a workshop on campus at the University of Washington. Once I knew about the issue, there was no going back to an ignorant or naive state of mind, and I've followed stories throughout the years about the ugly realities. 

Today, there are an estimated 30 million (that's 30,000,000!!) people who are victims of "human trafficking." That's really a kind way to say the truth...men, women and children either sold into modern slavery or robbed of their documentation and forced to work nonstop in the hopes of earning it back. While my "Moonlit Memories" story is fictional, there are seeds of truth in every scene. 

Nine other authors also contributed to the book, which was released by Solarwyrm Press and Fey Publishing. It's available on Amazon in Kindle or paperbook form.

STORY SPROUTS: VOICE

CBW–LA WRITING DAY RESOURCE AND ANTHOLOGY

Volume II, 2014

Co-Edited by Alana Garrigues (that's me!) and Nutschell Anne Windsor

Whereas the book mentioned above took a couple days and a few hours of my time, this second book took many months and countless hours. And every last one of those hours was worth it!

Story Sprouts: Voice is the second volume of an annual book that CBW–LA, the writing organization I mentioned above, puts together. It's one part writing resource, one part writing inspiration, one part poetry, two parts prose and infinite parts amazing way to highlight writing talent!

Last year was our very, very first volume, and I would consider it our pilot. Indie publishing is quite a rich challenge! Last year was great; this year rocks our socks. 

The book grows out of a one day writing workshop, aptly named the Writing Day Workshop, in which we gather brave writing souls together in one room, feed them a lot, lecture them a bit, and allow their creative minds to go wild. 

They write for a few hours; they turn in their work; I run a lot of line and developmental editing with my co-editor's incredible insight and help (Nutschell Anne Windsor of The Writing Nut is SO SMART! and that friend I mentioned above about the blogging thing); a pro (Pat Stainke) copy edits the whole manuscript; Nutschell manages all the ins and outs of indie publishing and cover design and book formatting and marketing stuff with some of my insight and help, and five months after the workshop...voila! 

A book! 

And a big party to celebrate their brilliance and creativity! This post is already super long, but I'll go ahead and post a few party photos sometime next week. Also we talk about the book these days on our Facebook fan page, specifically on Sundays year round. 

Featuring quotes from famous authors, one-of-a-kind lessons and insight into the literary device of VOICE (this year's theme), a novella about the first 24 hours after an imaginary shipwreck, short memoirs and vignettes from childhood and so, so, so much more, it is hard to explain but a lot of fun. 

I highly recommend it for writers, teachers, writing groups, English classes, and anyone who enjoys new voices and faces in literature and short stories. An Index of Authors and three different Tables of Contents allow any sort of reader to peruse the book in the way that best matches his/her interests.

If you do purchase a copy (Kindle, Amazon paperback, or .epub on Blurtery), we'd love an honest review on Amazon/Goodreads/your blog. Seriously, the best way to grow and improve is honesty. Also, if you do purchase a copy, know that you are supporting the CBW–LA and our mission to educate and inspire writers. We offer workshops year-round; weinvite published authors from Picture Book through YA to lecture or workshop as guest speakers; we host critique groups; we inspire writers! CBW–LA is a registered non-profit educational organization fast approaching five years with a five- (soon to be six-!) person volunteer Board of Directors.

We do have a limited number of free eBooks available for book reviewers with a proven history of posting reviews, and both Nutschell and I are available for blog or media interviews. Please leave a comment below if you are interested or click the link above to send me an email, and thank you for your support.

A total of 25 authors contributed to this year's volume, released by CBW–LA Publications, which is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback form and Blurtery in .epub digital form. Each author submitted a minimum of four pieces.

Visit Amazon or Goodreads for a full list of the authors.

This year's blurb:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WRITER

Story Sprouts: Voice features the fearless adventures of 25 aspiring and published children's book authors-- gifted writers who spent one day exploring the mysteries and nuanced expression of Authorial, Narrative and Character Voice.

Included are more than 60 works of original poetry and prose. The authors composed in less than 10 hours, as they deepened their understanding of literary devices and sharpened their powers of observation and interpretation. Each learned to speak from the heart of a child, from the soul of an inanimate object, and to faithfully represent a character meticulously created from a photograph.

Readers will be touched and inspired, but Story Sprouts is also a rich reference tool for teachers and workshop leaders. The book offers prompts and tips, details the specific workshop techniques used, includes handouts and other materials, and cites a wealth of free online resources--all of which serve to strengthen writers as they pursue their craft.

STORY SPROUTS

CBW–LA WRITING DAY EXERCISES AND ANTHOLOGY 2013

Co-Edited by Alana Garrigues and Nutschell Anne Windsor

Our first book, Story Sprouts 2013, featuring 19 authors and holding a five-star average rating on Amazon and 4.84 stars on Goodreads, is also available on Amazon and Blurtery. Each author last year submitted two pieces: one on writing, the other inspired by a photo. We embarked on a fun month-long blog tour in January 2014.

Visit Amazon or Goodreads for a full list of the authors.

Last year's blurb:

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A WRITER 

What happens when linguistic lovers and tale tellers workshop together? Inspiration. Wonder. Discovery. Growth. Magic. 

Brave and talented, the writers featured in this anthology took on the challenge of dedicating one day to the raw and creative process of writing. A rare view into the building blocks of composition, Story Sprouts is made up of nearly 40 works of poetry and prose from 19 published and aspiring children's book authors. 

This compilation includes all of the anthology writing exercises and prompts, along with tips, techniques and free online writing resources to help writers improve their craft.  

LOOKING AHEAD

The next Writing Day Workshop is open now; it will take place on April 25, 2015. Registration is required; we do anticipate it will sell out. If you're in the L.A. area or fancy a weekend in So Cal, we welcome you!


And so, that's it! All the news that's fit to scroll! I shan't make any promises about how long before I return, but please do email or comment if you have a question or if you'd like to talk about a review or cover reveal for Story Sprouts: Voice and I'll be sure to reach out! Or you can email me at alana(at)cbw-la(dot)org.

Thanks so much! 

Happy Dance Time! Here @ Writercize

Hello all! I'm just stopping in for a quick little happy dance.

Fun things happening in my little writing world - I got a couple of emails last week about books I get to preview and share with all of you (HOORAY!), so once I have them in hand I will ferociously read through them and share. One will even be a give-away! (Even bigger hooray for you!!)

Keep your eyes open for those reviews coming soon. Of course they will be attached to a couple of fantastic writercizes so that you can get the writing juices flowing along with your reader curiosity.

In case you might be interested in an Amazon order without the review or writercize, they are:

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Writers - 101 Motivational Stories for Writers Budding or Bestselling from Books to Blogs (available now!)

and

William Shakespeare's Star Wars by Ian Doescher (available July 2, open to pre-orders)

I love when fun opportunities fall into my lap!

Now, the BIGGEST reason for a happy dance?!

I am delving full throttle ahead deep into my Work In Progress, a creative non-fiction book I am co-authoring with Sarah Chapman, the founder of Build a Better Benin, a nonprofit to improve education and health practices in West Africa. 

I am ridiculously excited, over-the-moon, happy, happy, happy about this book. We are still in the early stages, but the manuscript is really starting to take shape and I'm feeling good about it. After much hemming and hawing about the first chapter, I had some divine inspiration a couple of nights ago and sat down to pour my soul into it, and it's looking good.

I don't want to give too much away yet, since it is still so early and we don't have representation yet, but ... it's fun. Sarah calls it the humorous humanitarian, which is pretty spot-on. We're aiming for the full range of emotions from belly laughs to crocodile tears and everything in between recounting her story of dropping everything to live alone, in the bush, in a third-world country.

She's spent the past several months sharing her incredible journey with me, and now it's time to translate it into a work of art. Huge feeling of contentment watching the story develop.

I'll continue to check in here as writercizes strike, and to share those book reviews with you, but in the meantime, please to join in the happy dance with me! Cha-cha-cha!

Take Action - writercize #192

This week our nation has succumbed to violence. A mall shooting followed up three days later by a school shooting, at opposite ends of the country, with the same chilling results. Fear of the everyday. Uncertainty over what may be just around the corner. Confusion about what drives individuals to that breaking point. And, perhaps most importantly, the realization that we can not control our environment or understand where danger comes from.

What did I do? Turn off the TV and the radio, for one. I fear one of two things will happen if I watch - I will crumble with sadness and blaze unwanted images into by eternal sub-conscience or I will have to create such a strong, impermeable shell in order not to crumble with sadness that I will lose a bit of my humanity. Neither seems terribly appealing.

What couldn't I do? Ignore it altogether. Turn away from Facebook. There is something slightly, subtly comforting in processing fear and disbelief with others via social media. It is not the same as an intimate conversation with a loved one or small group in person, which I also did, but in many ways it opens up the opportunity to more depth and reflection as people share inner thoughts uninterrupted. I don't believe it is false or unworthy to share such experiences via social media - I believe it has the power to be cathartic, particularly when one has established real connections with Facebook friends.

I read thoughts by others - some simple, some direct, some lengthy. There were those that prayed for families, those who sought understanding, those who wanted to discuss gun control, those who looked for solutions to a seemingly impossible problem, those who wanted their families to know how much they loved them, those who were trying to figure out how to broach the subject with children, those who just wanted to speak up and say,  "hey, I heard too. This means something." And I felt honored to be given access to my friends' minds.

Here is what I posted:

"Violence permeates our society once again. It feels so "normal" by now to be faced with such news, that I am honestly shocked to think that Columbine, the first wild gun rampage I can recall, was *only* 13 years ago. 

As much as I wish all this could be blamed on guns - that answer strikes me as too simple in a complex problem. (And I do believe in stringent gun laws, and I do believe guns serve 

no purpose beyond harnessing the ability to kill, but even with my convictions, I am not ready to blame them for what is happening.) 

I am really at a loss on how we can prevent this, as I don't believe threat of a prison sentence or punishment works either. I even wish I could blame it on the state of the economy and desperation some individuals feel in a hopeless situation, but I don't think that's it either. 

The only thing I can come up with is that the one way to prevent individuals from this insane violence is to somehow ensure every member of our society feels loved, valued and cared for, and that every person feels deeply connected to a (positive) community. I hope against all hope that human love, compassion, a healthy respect for one another, animals and the earth and real, offline face-to-face heart-to-heart connection could be the trigger to stop violence, and that empathy can be learned. 

And, when a person does not have empathy or frightens others with a lack of humanity or dark intent ... or when we see a person under attack or faced with bullying or extreme loss ... or when we see a child chastised and made to be afraid of the world or human connection - we can not turn our backs and try to ignore that situation away. We must be brave and speak up and make others aware of our concerns. We must at once reach out and take precautions to protect one another and our families and friends.

We need to bring back the culture of neighborhood community and caring that would have made this news so utterly shocking a generation or two ago, and we need to look our children and those lost in society in the eye and let them know that someone believes, and insists upon, the concept that they can be a power for good. Somehow."

It felt good to put it out there. 

Then I wanted to do a little something more. So I went to the White House website and began a We The People petition. If you haven't heard of it, it's like a direct link to the White House - provided you can find 25,000 people who agree with your cause within a month - and the first 150 without your petition appearing on the public website. No easy task, my writercizer friends! However, the payoff is great - if a petition receives 25,000 signatures, it will be taken under consideration by the administration and a response will be issued. That is pretty amazing. I welcome you to sign mine if you like - verbiage below - but regardless, I encourage you to look at something in your own community that needs a little exposure, and expose it.  

Here is my link to the We The People petition:

http://wh.gov/Ryzh

Take action through your words.

writercize: Choose an issue that you want to champion or bring attention to, and write about it. Put it on Facebook, write a blog post, send a letter to the editor, email your friends and family, start your own petition - just get it out into the world.

Please paste a link here, or leave your words as a comment below. I want to know what matters to you. My sample response below is taken directly from the We The People petition linked above. There is an 800 character limit.

writercizer sample response:

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Implement a national anti-violence PR campaign via multimedia, community meetings and school assemblies.

Through schools, community groups and multimedia, educate our community about gun safety and ways to minimize violence and isolation in our society with a nationwide PR campaign.

Roll out a la Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" to drugs, early 90s efforts to teach AIDS prevention, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and recent efforts by cigarette companies to emphasize the danger of smoking.

Educate through direct exposure to victims of violence, particularly gun violence and those with permanent scars, and share the stories of family members who lost loved ones to violence. Use powerful images and stories, and relate a message of community, caring, empathy and civic responsibility as a way to build up resistance to violence. Address dangerous effects of bullying and violent media.

Extra! Extra! - writercize #175 #AtoZChallenge

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Even as newspapers shrink and succumb to technology, alongside paperbacks and compact discs, there is a place for quality journalism.

A journalist has the responsibility to withold opinion and expose and convey truth in every story. Fact should be the basis for measuring a quality story.

While a columnist or an editorial writer can opine or suppose, a journalist should work diligently to expose all sides of a story and refrain from telling the reader which one is "right."

What makes a good story? Simple. Comprehensive, accurate reporting, and a solid structure.

I freelance for a local weekly in the South Bay of LA where I cover local government. While some think city council meetings are drab, I find their banter and their give and take and fascinating. To tell the story and convey the mood, I build the skeleton with my words and fill it in with quotes, the real muscle. By the end, if I have done my job, it should read more like an exhilarating tennis match than corporate minutes.

I also write occasionally for an online news source called Technorati. I do not conduct interviews, and very rarely include quotes. (Hey - it's not a paying gig!) It is more of an exercise in aggregating information from press releases and surveys and news sources. I always try to approach it from an angle that other journalists may not have taken, ask myself what would make the story particularly interesting amid 5000 others floating around the internet.

Online journalism is short and to the point, and provides a good challenge to find ways to stand out. Fair warning to those who depend exclusively on online news sources for information: I have found that online stories can spread like wildfire without truth, so I would challenge any online journalist or reader to spend the extra time to verify the source before passing it along. 

If you want to try it, be prepared for minimal compensation, at least in the beginning, and try to make yourself stand out by acting as a voice of truth. Online journalists, unlike newspaper journalists, are often encouraged to voice an opinion, because it draws readership and therefore advertising dollars.

For magazines, news is rarely new, so a journalist needs to find various sources to present a brand new angle on a topic, perhaps drawing multiple concepts together. A magazine writer gets more words to play with, and depending on the topic may be able to insert opinion presented as thesis.

Whatever your preferred method of reading or writing the news, journalism is most certainly not dead, and anyone who knows how to write a concise story has the chance to report the news.

writercize: Set aside your creative writing chops, and tackle the nonfiction world. Write a brief news item about a current event.

This may be local news, celebrity news, pop culture, political, international, business, product, whatever interests you. Just be sure to present it in a straight-forward, non-biased way, and link back to your source if applicable.

Leave your news item as a comment and be sure to let me know the link to your blog so I can come visit you too!

Click "read more" to read an online news piece about the Benefits of Blogging Challenges (with a special interview with founder Arlee Bird) that was published on Technorati online news in February. 

---Note that I did opine in the article by encouraging people to participate in blogging challenges, which would not be a statement to make as a journalist in a newspaper.---

Pulling a Komen - writercize #160

Most everyone who follows the news, health care, nonprofits and civil liberties knows that the nonprofit Susan G. Komen foundation elected to cut funding to Planned Parenthood this week. Komen is best known for their pink ribbon and walk for the cure to raise money for breast cancer research and awareness.

Citing the excuse that Planned Parenthood is currently under investigation (for allegedly using federal money to pay for abortions, an investigation spurred by social conservatives) and Komen wants their donors to know that money will be used towards breast exams rather than lawyers, Komen pulled the plug on funding. The catch is, the money was already earmarked for use towards breast exams and cancer treatment, so Planned Parenthood could not have used the money elsewhere, nor did they ever plan to.

The decision to withdraw funding caused a huge angry backlash across media, social networking and women's groups and several threatened to stop donating to Komen. Reportedly, at least one top Komen executive resigned over the issue, but due to privacy agreements with Komen the reason can not be confirmed.

So, mere days after the announcement to suspend funding, Komen pulled a 180 and announced today that they will give Planned Parenthood after all.

Did they not realize the firestorm they would raise prior to the first announcement? They had to have known this would be a controversial decision, and taken that into account. Yet, they are now backpedaling and wishing for a time machine that would drop them off before the whole mess.

The problem is, the proverbial cat is now out of the bag. Anti-abortion activists who donated this week after Planned Parenthood funding was cut feel cheated, and pro-choice activists are left asking why they should trust Komen's flip flop rather than donate money directly to the screeners and examiners themselves. Komen has now succssfully alienated both sides of the spectrum and confused the middle ground. The country is left wondering how in the world Komen's PR department is going to save the nonprofit from any deeper trauma as the nonprofit case study of the year unravels.

All of this makes a writer who loves playing with words quite happy to coin a new phrase, pulling a Komen. To pull a Komen means to hastily retract a business decision in the face of public fury. It will now be part of my personal vernacular, and particularly applicable in knowingly controversial or political decisions.

I would love to see what phrases you writercizers can come up with, using the names of businesses, celebrities or otherwise notable people.

writercize: Take a name of a notable business, celebrity or person who is associated with either a famous mistake or good deed and place it in a descriptive phrase. Include the definition (and a sample sentence if you dare!).

Please leave your phrase here as a comment - I would love to see what you creative writercizers come up with!

Click "read more" for two writercizer sample responses: to pull a Komen and to be Gored.

Santa Claus, Movies and the Economy - writercize #138

I was playing around with trying to work song or movie titles into a holiday card note last week, but the muses just were not cooperating with me, so I moved onto a holiday card plan B and I'll purge the song or movie title idea with a writercize instead.

This could be a bit of a stretch, but work with me here.  Sometimes journalists play with words in the opening paragraph of a story or in the title.  Arguments over a power plant are a "power struggle."  Eco-friendly development is given the "green" light to construct.  At times the creativity pays off, and other times it's a bust, but ... finding a creative way to spin the news can be good to get the juices flowing. 

For today's writercize, work a well-known song or movie title or two into that offbeat leading paragraph.  You can use a real current event for inspiration, or write the lead with a journalistic style for an imaginary event.

writercize:  Using the title of a holiday movie or song, write a lead paragraph of a news item referencing a current event.

Click "read more" for writercizer sample response where the economy and unemployment rates meet Scrooge and Santa Claus.  (Like I said, bear with me! It all makes sense in the end!)

Evaluate and Speculate (Occupy Wall Street) - writercize #121

One way to engage in the outside world, sharpen your writing skills and work on your powers of perception is to keep on top of current events.  When I watch the news, listen to the radio or read the newspaper, I am constantly asking follow-up questions in my head, finding the hole, looking for the true motivation or backstory behind the story.  

A journalist should be there to ask questions and translate the motivation to a larger audience, using nothing more than the story and the subjects' discussion point.  An editorial writer would look at a singular situation and relate it to the bigger picture of what is happening in the world, injecting some opinion.  A fiction writer could look at what is happening and what is being said and imagine what else is happening behind the scenes, what dialogue is happening inside of the subject's head beyond their words, what body language says and how that moment is one moment on a continuum of life experience.

Find your comfortable place in those roles above.  It may be a hybrid of two or more.  Write.

writercize:  Look at a current local, national or international event.  Evaluate the situation and translate what is happening to your reader.  Speculate if you feel compelled to do so.  Remember the Ws of journalism - who, what, where, when, why and how?

Click "read more" for the writercizer sample response on the timing of the "occupation" (Occupy Wall Street, etc.).

For the Love of Bookstores - writercize #84

Borders Bookstore announced today that they are calling off the auction and liquidating all remaining stores and assets.  The beginning of this year, Borders closed over one third of their stores after filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy, in an effort to restructure and revitalize the company.  That attempt fell short as today they announced that the 399 stores that are left will be closed for good by the end of September.  Nearly 11,000 employees will lose their jobs, and authors, publishers and booksellers are scrambling to know where to go next in the on-paper writing world.  The company has not yet released a press release on their website, but a letter from the CEO to his employees was reported by newspapers nationwide.

Even e-book sales could be affected by the chain's demise.  According to MSNBC, many e-book readers go to the bookstore to browse for titles that they then download.

Although I wouldn't personally name Borders as my all-time favorite bookstore (that prize goes to reseller Powell's Books in downtown Portland, OR, which I blogged about in World of Words back in March), I do visit Borders at least once a month and generally make some purchase.

I am guilty of browsing for ideas at Borders like those e-readers; I generally browse and then buy from a reseller.  I don't own an e-reader and I'm not quite ready to make that jump.  That said, I would say it's nearly impossible for me to walk out of Borders without at least buying a coffee, a magazine, a couple of paperbacks for my kids and maybe a bargain book or two for myself.  In other words, I'm not dropping the dollars on a brand-new hardcover or $16.00 paperback, which I'll save the cash and buy secondhand, but I am certainly paying something for my hours of lingering.

I get a lot more ideas of what I'd like to read from employee recommendations and pulling book after book off the shelf and opening to read a page or two smack dab in the middle to see if it's my style than I do from my amazon "suggested reads" or Oprah's book club.  I like to take the time to discover a hidden gem, a new talent, an unknown author, and feel privileged to read their words.  

I get a lot more relaxation by walking through the front doors of the book store and breathing in the new books mixed with coffee and muted conversation than I do turning on my computer screen, with its harsh light and electronic buzz.

I know that Barnes and Noble will still exist, at least for now.  I know that there are other local, independent bookstores that I can (and will) visit, but I will miss my hours meandering through Borders.  

I am also a little afraid that books will follow the way of produce, hand-picked and displayed until we are only exposed to the same limited spectrum of choices from season to season, store to store.  I don't want my books to rely on social media, online advertising and Costco and book club selections to make it.  It concerns me as a writer, as a reader, as a lover of ideas, and as a lover of literature.  Diversity is good.  Strength in numbers.  

I am not anti-online sales, nor am I anti-e-readers.  If I ever try to walk down the path to publishing, I hope to make it an experience that e-readers and old-fashioned readers alike can enjoy.  I love clicking "buy" and seeing a book arrive at my doorstep days later, with the lovely anticipation as I wait for it to arrive.  Rather, I am pro-brick and mortar having the space to survive, and indeed to thrive, in the middle of this digital age.  And as long as people need work more than computers do, I want to give their smiling faces an opportunity to get a retail job and make my day happier as I walk through that door.

So, how does this relate to writercize you ask?  Here you go:

writing exercise:  It's PR and marketing time!  Write a catchphrase that sums up why you think we should save the bookstores.

Click "read more" for writercizer sample response.

The Real Life Skills? - writercize #77

In a previous post called Question It All, I challenged readers to think critically about the news they read rather than digesting it directly.  I very much appreciate listening to news radio, catching up on current events in the newspaper and magazines and watching TV news (all when I have a moment of time to spare, that is) but I try to take everything with a grain of salt.  I expect reporting to be objective and unbiased, and I expect that facts have been checked, but I don't necessarily trust that it is.  When there's a scoop and ratings to consider, sometimes objectivity and fact-checking are placed on hold to get the story out.  

I'm especially wary when it comes to reports on statistics and studies.  It may be due to my Communications course on statistics in college, but I could pretty easily create a study to support any hypothesis I like.

Last week, Newsweek released it's list of the top 500 public schools, based on academic success factors such as college-bound seniors, SAT scores and AP course offerings.  I would be proud to send my children to a school that is on the list and feel pretty good that the academic consideration is well-covered.  I think the matrix is a good indicator of the academic component of the high schools, but I do think it falls short of the term "best schools."  In my view, a "best" school offers much more than academics; it offers education on life.  I thought about it for a few days and wrote an opinion piece on Technorati that was published earlier today.  A copy of that analysis is below.

writing exercise:  If you were creating a matrix to determine which schools best prepare their students for life after student-hood, what factors would you look at and why?

Click "read more" for the writercizer sample response.  (Article first published as How Should We Really Calculate The Best High Schools? on Technorati.)

On Recovery - writercize #68

Over the weekend I was listening to an interview with poet and blogger James Nave.  During his recovery from surgery related to prostate cancer, he vowed to write 100 poems in 100 days chronicling the process. On air he read a poem in which his legs were filled with thousands of colorful butterflies flapping their wings.

The interview got me thinking about recovery, the many meanings of recovery, and how poetry has the power to bridge the gap between fiction and non-fiction with vibrant images and emotions to communicate both the beauty and stress of living in a society.  

I thought about how recovery can apply to life after disease, addiction, a natural disaster, a broken heart, a financial crisis, abuse.  It's pretty incredible how one word can tie together so many negative experiences, and inject them with a new feeling, that of hope.  Recovery is one powerful noun.

I've been lucky in my personal life that I've only had to recover from surgery and heartbreak, but those two recoveries were enough to not wish for many more!

In truth, lucky may be only part of it.  Incessant concern to remain in full control of my body and thoughts probably did a lot to steer me away from many addictive things too ... when I know my hormones are affecting my thought patterns, I start to freak out, so imagine anything else! 

writing exercise: Write a poem inspired by the word "recovery." The poem may be any style, including freestyle.

Click "read more" for the writercizer sample response, The New Joneses, on economic recovery.

All The World's A-twitter - writercize #52

I recently caved in to the modern world and signed up to join Twitter.  From what I've been reading in the blogosphere, it looks like I'm not alone in making the leap over the past couple of months; many bloggers I follow have also recently signed on.  I am @writercize if you have an interest in following me.  I must admit I do not have a plan of action for my five W's of tweeting (who? what? where? when? why?), but I understand it's an important self-branding tool so as a freelance writer branding means business.

For many people in the United States, I think that twitter is just that - a branding tool.  For others, it's a way to impart tidbits of news information, like the tickers at the bottom of cable news, and for some it's a way to slice through the Facebook noise straight to the origins of status updates.  Twitter use in the United States is certainly of interest for social networking strategies in the 21st century, but what really fascinates me is Twitter use worldwide.

A couple of weeks ago I was listening to (op ed) news coverage about the Middle East uprising, now coined Arab Spring.  One of the speakers was of the belief that the uprisings and desire for democracy and transparent government were directly linked to Obama's foreign policy, which the speaker perceives as laid-back when it comes to championing democracy.  In his opinion, Bush's "cowboy" politics of promoting democracy were undermining the citizens' own desire for democracy.  In other words, he felt that Middle Easterners living under oppressive regimes were unable to express their own desire for a democratic republic because of anti-American sentiments - pro-democracy would be associated with pro-America and thus anti-Arab/anti-Islam with reference to perceived foreign policy.  He believes that by Obama taking a step back on talk of spreading democracy world-wide, citizens were able to declare themselves pro-democracy and not be instantly associated with American policy.

So, what are my thoughts on this and how does it relate to Twitter (and writercize for that matter!)?  Bear with me - I'm getting there.

As much as I cringe at any leader trying to spread their preferred government on another country (there's a reason more than one type of government exists in the world, and to assume every nation's history and structure will neatly fit into the idea of democracy, particularly imposed by a foreign nation with political backing for any potential candidate, seems naive at best to me - and all too reminiscent of ideas manifest destiny and ethnically challenged missionaries - but I digress), I believe the speaker was giving both Obama and Bush far too much credit for their respective impact on Middle East politics.

Don't get me wrong - I recognize the complex relationship between the United States and the Middle East is important and weighs heavily on the minds of citizens from countries around the globe - but I truly don't believe the protesters who rose up to defy oppressive dictators did so with either Obama or Bush at the forefront of their minds.  

What spurned the uprisings?  What made the difference to allow them to stand up today and not five years ago?  Was it the change of the American president several time zones away?

Twitter, Facebook, and a population that is young enough to adapt quickly to new technology but old enough to be educated and ready for a workforce that was non-existent.  Five years ago, there was no Twitter.  Facebook was still in its infancy, and to the best of my knowledge not available outside of the US and British university system.  The demographics of the population, which in many nations throughout the Middle East are composed of 60%+ citizens under the age of 30, were just enough younger to still be in school or just graduated.  

Five years have brought a new American president, yes, and perhaps that has marginally influenced the timing of the uprising, but more importantly, five years brought the technology to connect real people.  People could band together virtually in groups with similar interests, tweet the horrifying reality of eye-witness news accounts of unjust brutality, commiserate about the impossibilities of finding gainful employment despite university education and multi-lingual skill sets.  As one group of protesters experienced success, they could tweet about it and update Facebook, giving others the courage to press on, risking their lives for something they believe in.

writing exercise:  Reflect for a moment on something that really matters to you, something that you would take a stand on or an overwhelming sentiment relating to world affiars.  It could be political, or it could relate to ethics such as the environment or equality.  For your next tweet, in lieu of branding or one of your standard updates, let people know what you really care about.  

(Non-twitter users, you can still participate in the exercise too.  Here's the trick about twitter - you are limited to 160 characters per tweet, so you must be precise in your writing.  Post your thought as a comment below, and be sure to count your characters!) 

Click "read more" for writercizer sample response.

Newsworthy in the Neighborhood - writercize #6

I have a confession to make.

I am not as informed as I should be.  These days most of my news comes from friends, family, and (blush) Facebook status updates.  There is really no excuse - between magazines, newspapers, cable news and the internet, it is virtually impossible not to follow the news, but somehow I've managed to (not) do it.  

Major crises usually manage to bleep across my radar, so if there's a new American President or a natural disaster or a noteworthy rescue mission, chances are I've heard something about it.  My radio is tuned to NPR, so if I have a long drive that coincides with their news hours, I feel pretty good about staying current.  Most days, I don't drive beyond a five mile radius around my house so even my radio updates are spotty at best.

Today's challenge deals with summarizing the news.  Since any major news outlet is probably covering the earthquake in Japan, which is highly important but by no means the only news happening today, I want to know what is happening where you live.

writing exercise:  Go to Google News (or your favorite local news source).  "Search" the name of your local city or state.  Find an article that appeals to you, click on it, read and summarize in 50-100 words.  

You may click on additional articles if you need more background information and give your story a title.  If you post a comment here, please link to the original news story and remember to use your own words in your summary!

(Click "read more" for writercizer response.)