Friday, March 30, 2012

Entry # 50 – “Who Reads: What and Why?”

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"Sundown - Always Different " - Jan Bowman Oct./2011
A few weeks ago I spoke with someone who said that when he goes to someone’s home he can tell a lot about what people value by noticing what kinds of reading materials he sees in the home.  Books, newspapers, puzzles or magazines, whether scattered about or neatly stored, are strong indicators about what that family values and, as such, serves as an important conversation touchstone.  He went on to say that when he goes to homes of younger people, fewer books are in sight and this is part of the downside of electronic devices and digital books.  People may not share their ideas from digital books as they might with tangible books.  Even though it’s possible to “borrow” or share an e-book, he didn’t know many people who do so; e-books seem rather personal, like a toothbrush. Which leads me to wonder how are we changing as readers and writers?

Lately I had focused time and energy on the evolving ways we might all come together to build a hardy community of writers, and then I had this jolt into a slightly different reality.  Maybe some of our focus as writers should be to think more  about our community of readers, too. And I wondered how much impact the form, the genre and the format have on what we're reading and why. After all, why write if there’s no one to read what we write?

Now I have a Kindle and a house filled with bookcases and books; I read daily, and yet I don’t know that I talk a lot about my digital books, but I often will hand over an interesting paperback or hardcover book to family or friends. E-books do seem much more personal and private.  Maybe we do see them as somewhat like a "toothbrush." So how are we changing as community of readers?  And isn't that change a remarkable evolution?  Shouldn't we talk about it?

I am convinced that the book in all of its many tangible forms, formats and varied genres is far from dead.  I believe that as more interesting content is accessible to almost anyone who can read, and find a "brick & mortar," a public library, or an online source, more people are reading and will read.  We won’t all read, enjoy, and recommend the same things, but readers are sprouting up everywhere.  So let’s explore that thought a bit here.

What do you read?  How often do you read? I ask friends and family to see what they’ll say. I follow up with questions like:  What are you reading right now?  Why did you select this book to read?   So I’ve said a few words about this topic, and now I’ll toss it out there for a larger reading public.  In 50 words or less write a note about what you’re reading and why you are reading it.  What is the form or format? If you wish, feel free to add another 25 or so words, tell us what you think of what you’re reading. Do you recommend it or not?

So I’ll begin.    I just finished The Power of Kindness: The Unexpected Benefits of Leading a Compassionate Life by Piero Ferrucci.  My son recommended it to me and I recommend it to you.  “It’s a stirring examination of a simple, but profound concept.  Ferrucci reveals that the kindest people are the most likely to thrive, to enable others to thrive, and to slowly but steadily turn our world away from violence, self-centeredness, and narcissism- toward love.”   
 Mine is a paperback.  I ordered it from Amazon and will likely share it with others.        
Okay.  Your turn. Go for it readers. 
 
Non-Readers -  as Iguanas - Photo Credit: Jan Bowman - Oct. 2011 

"Not everyone reads but at least these Iguanas have a good excuse."


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:






Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Entry # 49 - WRITERS TALK - Ann von Lossberg, author of a self-published Travel Memoir

 Today I bring you an interview with Ann von Lossberg, author of a travel memoir,  1089 Nights: An Odyssey Through The Middle East, Africa and Asia.  This is the second in a series of interviews that will cross genres, and include fiction, poetry, nonfiction, journalism and web-based writers.  Some will be published writers, unpublished writers, self-published writers, e-book writers, editors, publishers, writing teachers, which is to say anyone who might have something interesting to share about the writing world.
Ann von Lossberg


Background Notes: -->
Ann von Lossberg, author of  1089 Nights: An Odyssey Through The Middle East, Africa, and Asia,   studied Writing in university and took Writing Seminars at Hopkins at night.  She says, “I've worked in the nonprofit sector all my life; I wrote funding proposals and published in various professional periodicals.  But I love creative writing most and didn't seem to find my voice for years. I've traveled extensively since my thirties and always kept journals I planned to use in some way. The stories of those travels began to evolve in a writing class in the late 90s. I was surprised at how much people embraced them and realized it was time to act. I love the short story form and am presently working on one I want to publish.”  Contact information: email: annvl@verizon.net   website: www.1089nights.com 
Jan:     The stories you speak of resulted in a book about your travels in the Middle East, Africa and Asia that you self-published through i-Universe in 2008.   Can you tell us a little about the process and your decision to self-publish?  What convinced you that this was the way to go with this book?
Ann:     People said - to find an agent, pitch your book at a Writer's Digest conference; I thought right, what are the chances!  Incredibly, I did find my NY agent there, who was very passionate about my book.  It's important to find people who share your vision and feel strongly about what you're doing.  He forewarned me that the travel genre is a hard sell.  For a year, he marketed my book with larger publishing houses; I spent another year on smaller ones.  Publishers consistently sent positive personal notes, not boilerplate replies, which my agent said wasn't usual.  This buoyed me, to think that people in the industry liked my book.  BUT, they said, 1089 Nights was "too small for their offerings"-“-not commercial enough.”  This was also when the industry was changing quickly.  I was ready to self publish.  In retrospect, I shouldn't have committed two full years to the process before self-publishing.
Jan:     It’s an attractive book.  Tell us about the cover design and the interesting pictures you’ve included in it.  How much input did you have in the final product?   Were you pleased with the results?  What worked? What didn’t work as well as you had hoped?
Ann:     iUniverse does good cover work.  I knew I wanted a picture I'd taken in Morocco of myself riding a camel, a shadow cast across the Sahara, very Dali-esque.  No problem, they used my photo and suggested different fonts for the title. They produced some great options. The interior photos were ones I'd accumulated over the years; they weren't that expensive to include in the book. The only regret with the cover was the colors came out more intensely than the mockup sent to me.  If I’d had more time (which I did not), I'd ask to have a cover mockup sent before I committed to it.  Throughout the process, iUniverse gives you the impression that you can't negotiate various things as you go, but you can.
Jan:     You organized your materials around clusters of travel experiences over a number of years. Section One describes your travels in The Middle East, when you explored Turkey, Syria, and Jordan in a 1980 trip you made. In light of the world’s political changes over the last 30 years, and the current political climate, what differences do you think you would see if you made that same trip today?   Do you think you could make a trip like this today?
Ann:     Definitely.  My book is very much about trying to show people, especially Americans, that the world is a wondrous welcoming place.  I think we've become very frightened people in this country.  Our personal experience of a place is altogether different than the (often negative) information we get in the media every day. I have no doubt that you could go to the Middle East today and have the kind of heartening experiences I've had for years. I went to Morocco alone a few years ago.  Friends were aghast, but I had a wonderful time. Just as when I was younger, people welcomed me in their homes, fed me, kept me for the night and begged me to stay longer. 
Jan:     Have you been in touch with any of the people that you met in your travels since you’ve returned to the USA?  And if yes, what has that contact meant to you, as you look back on the past versus the present? 
Ann:     I've lost touch with most people; I'm still in touch with about six which means a lot to me.  I have various friends in Cambodia.  I hold a great deal of affection for the scores of passing relationships I enjoyed these many years.  I knew it was futile to expect to maintain the very transitory ones.  My Turkey story (Desert Fever) says it best.  "We ask him to write his address. I realize Jim and I will never see him again. This measure of time, a truck ride that bumped along a road for two days… some good meals and a close call are what bound us.  Now that they are finished, nothing else will quite work. I resist that truth but it is nonetheless immutable."
Jan:     You’ve traveled to more than sixty-five countries since 1976 when you began your love affair with travel and exploring developing countries.  What caused you to want to explore the world and write about it?
Ann:     I wrote about this in the prologue.  I wondered if perhaps some of us have an itchy feet gene.  I had a very ordinary middle class upbringing and honestly can't point to anyone in my family or experience who sparked this love of travel in me.  It's a complete mystery.  I'm just grateful I have it; it's so important to travel.  Nothing on earth floats my boat like new places.  Even still.  I am eternally grateful to Jim, my fellow traveler, who definitely got it all started for me.  Our backstory and how it all came about is in the prologue. 
Jan:     You created a nonprofit foundation, The Cambodian Children’s Education Foundation, that combined your travel experiences with your desire to help children in Cambodia and you donate half of the proceeds from your book to support the education of young people in Kompong Som, Cambodia.  Tell us about this passion of yours.
Ann:     The story of the first child I put in school is in the book.  His name was Ra; he was 13 then. I was once the director of a family foundation in Baltimore and my dream was always to form a foundation too.  I knew from working in the field that the vast majority of foundations are actually small.  After I put Ra in school, I decided to start a foundation to support kids in Cambodia.  In the developing world, education is a privilege, not a right; the kids are so appreciative of help. We provide Khmer and English tuition for 42 students, built a computer lab and moved the school to a new school building.  I hope to return to Cambodia the end of this year to teach English to the kids we support.  
Jan:     You often found yourself the lone woman traveler among men and you provide readers with a unique perspective of what that was like.  Tell us a bit about that. 
Ann:     In the 80's, there were very few woman travelers; there were also few Americans, especially in Africa.  (When I say travelers I mean the budget travelers traversing the earth for many months at a clip; our first trip was two and a half years).  I recall only a handful of woman travelers through all our travels.  The me vs. the guys perspective is best covered in the story from Kenya, when I was one woman among six men on a (budget) safari.  And then the safari guide was very macho.  I loved telling this story, which is very humorous to me today, although it certainly wasn't then. 
Jan:     The book is sixteen stories spread out over twenty-five years. What does the mature and sympathetic Ann see in looking back, that the young and idealistic Ann did not see in the early travels?
Ann:     For years, I regretted not writing this book sooner.  But I now realize that my maturity of years lent to the stories. For example, in the Turkey story, I put a sympathetic view on what was happening to me and other Western women visitors.  Knowledge of certain facts came with time and it took years for my perspective to season.  This seasoning comes through in various stories.  I couldn't have given them the same spin if I'd written them when I was younger.   
Jan:     What wisdom would you share with anyone traveling off the beaten path?  What should they consider?  What emergencies and hardships should they anticipate?
Ann:     Always wander off the beaten path.  Never turn down an invitation from a local; even if they're selling something, the exchange may be worth it.  This is from the book's prologue.  "We trusted that a ride or food or help would come when we needed them, that we'd somehow always manage.  And we did; we always did.  Africa taught us to leap and the net always appeared."   My travels span over thirty years now and it's always been like this.  Things always work out.  People say oh you were lucky.  No, it's not about luck; it's about attitude and the incredible kindness of strangers everywhere. 
Jan:     How do you think the self-publishing process has changed since you published your book and what do you know now about self-publishing that you would tell others about the process?
Ann:     The old model was cumbersome and expensive, not to mention wasteful.  More than 78% of all books were self-published in 2009; surely that figure is higher today.  Self-published books have glutted the market and aren't necessarily of the highest quality.  In response, some book reviewers won't consider reviewing self-published books.  And booksellers like Barnes & Noble won't allow self-published book on their shelves.  Of course, this isn't fair.  E-books are very hot now, easier still to produce, and many people are doing well in this arena.  The size of the audience turns the math on its head.  Imagine selling your book for $1- or $2 but, the fact is, you can conceivably make much more money selling thousands of e-books at this price than selling a printed book for $15.95. But I must say, I hope publishers and booksellers can hang in through the storm.  For me, nothing can replace the weight and feel of the printed page.
Jan:     What advice do you have for writers? What would you like to share with others who want to write?
Ann:     There can be no doubt that my book venture has been one of the most satisfying things I've done. Bundling up all those thoughts and rewrites and edits with your name on it, that is a wonderful endeavor.
But most importantly I would say, “Write for the love of it, or for what you want to say; it’s not for the money.  If you strike gold, that’s excellent.  Good work. And although few books actually strike gold, the process can be golden if you enjoy meeting new people and sharing your story with them.”       Ann von Lossberg – March 2012
Note to Readers:    If you know someone I should interview (online/via email), please have them contact me.     email: janbowmanwriter@gmail.com      website:  www.janbowmanwriter.com


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Friday, March 23, 2012

Entry # 48 - “Can A Peer Review Help?”

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"Where in the World Are We?" photo: Jan Bowman October 2011
This week I’ve thought about the most useful peer review information I’ve received on my own stories. I think of my stories as works in progress, even those that are published. I always see more I could have done to sharpen the vision. So what kind of advice helps a writer to improve work and fully realize a story’s potential? 

Some of my most helpful advice has come from peer reviewers at the Tinker Mountain workshops at Hollins University that I’ve taken with Daniel Mueller of the University of New Mexico.

Daniel says “responding well to another writer’s fiction is… as arduous an act of the imagination as writing fiction, for it requires us not only to imagine the fictional worlds summoned by the words the author has chosen, but also to imagine ourselves in the author’s position to her text.” 

If one has suitable peers to read and offer useful suggestions – then much good can come of having skilled peers give insightful suggestions to improve a story. So what are some traits of a good peer reviewer?  It seems to me that good reviewers: 

1. Read the work thoughtfully and carefully.  (Dan asks his workshop peer reviewers to read without a pen in hand for the first reading and then give it a little time before you read a second time with your pen. This allows you to reflect and give better advice.)

2. Analyze the work on three levels:  Structure, Character(s) and /or Idea (theme), and Language.

3. Discuss the work in terms of how it works - with specifics. This is not a time to tell the writer how to “fix” the work.  That is the writer’s job and any changes a writer makes must accommodate the vision of that writer. 
 
Based on my own experiences in a range of workshop peer reviews, I find that the best reviewers are kind, thoughtful and helpful.  A good reviewer does not attempt to make the author’s work his story. A good reviewer respects the hope the writer has for his or her story.

Sometimes one of a writer’s most challenging tasks is to KNOW what to use and what to ignore from a writer’s workshop “peer review” for not all writers are our peers.  Some are at the early stages of their development and might not have acquired the keen insights of those who have spent much time and energy getting in touch with the process. Others read seldom or narrowly and this limits their scope of knowledge. It's essential to find a talented reader whose honesty you trust.

I believe that writers are an optimistic lot. How else could we weather the slings and arrows of rejection that come from the submission process? But most of us have hope that something good can come of advice.  And, usually it does.

“I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his (or her) work.”    ----Samuel Johnson 
And next Tuesday, March 27, 2012 - a WRITERS TALK Interview with Ann von Lossberg, author of 1089 Nights: An Odyssey Through The Middle East, Africa and Asia.   Stay tuned! 

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:







Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Entry # 47 - WRITERS TALK - Marie Davies - Cozy Mystery Writer

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A few times each month - maybe every other Tuesday afternoon, I intend to bring readers an interview with someone from the writing world.  These interviews will cross genres, and include fiction, poetry, nonfiction, journalism and web-based writers.  Some will be unpublished writers, published writers, self-published writers, e-book writers, editors, publishers, writing teachers, which is to say anyone who might have something interesting to share about the writing world.  If you know someone I should interview (online), have them contact me.

Today I bring you the first,  an interview with a cozy mystery writer, Marie Davies.  She agreed to respond to a series of questions about her writing life so that I could share this with readers.

Background notes: 
Marie Davies is a former minister and Director of Chaplains for the Maryland State Police. She taught sociology and stress management at the Maryland State Police Academy and is a licensed real estate agent. Her real passion is writing. Currently, she is working on what will be her third novel though she admits the first two manuscripts are sitting in a file. When she isn’t in one of the local coffee shops working on her book, you’ll find her in her Catonsville home with Jay, her husband of twenty-six years, or paddling her pink kayak on the Patapsco River. Marie and Jay share their home with a very spoiled Jack Russell Terrier named Boomer, who adopted them 5 years ago.    You can find Marie on Facebook at  www.facebook.com/MarieDaviesAuthor or by email at thereaderhouse@gmail.com

Jan:     Marie, you write a fictional form called a cozy mystery and you’ve told me your particular slant is a paranormal cozy mystery, could you tell our readers about this particular type of fiction?  What is a cozy mystery? 

Marie:     A cozy mystery features an amateur sleuth who solves crimes.  The main character is usually female and she may or may not be willing involved in the situation. Think “Miss Marple” vs. “CSI.” My current novel does have a paranormal slant which means my protagonist won’t be using typical detective work to solve her mystery.

Jan:     Who is the intended audience for what you’re writing? And do you have a working title and publisher lined up yet?

Marie:     This book will be for anyone who likes to curl up with a cup of tea on a rainy day to read about solving crime but I think my readers will be largely women. A lot of the novel has to do with the power and importance of friendship between women. The working title is Murder in the Cards. As far as publishing I am seriously considering self-publishing for number of reasons but, mainly, because e-books have made it so much easier.

Jan:     Could you tell readers about how the idea for your current book project evolved?

Marie:      When I was kid my mom used to love going to a restaurant in Baltimore called the Palmer House. The restaurant was known for psychics who read palms and tarot for the customers. I started with the idea of a woman of certain age whose grandparents owned such a restaurant. And started asking myself “what if” questions. What if this woman could really see the future when using the tarot? What if she saw someone die?

Jan:     Could you describe your writing process? Writers always want to know how other writers work.  Do you set daily or weekly word count or writing goals?  When do you write?   How do you write - pen or computer or both?

Marie:     I like to write in the morning with a cup of coffee next to my laptop. I am one of those coffee shop writers. I write minimum of 2 hours most days. In terms of development, I don’t do a lot of outlining. I have rough sketch on a dry erase board and character names. I keep a hand written journal for ideas and character development. Then I stand back and let my characters drive the plot.

Jan:     I understand you’re near the end of a feedback and revision process loop on this, your third book.  Who are your readers and how does this process work for you?

Marie:    I’m not sure I’m near the end. I’d like to be near the end. I work with an on-line critique called The Writing Well. Our members are published authors or authors in the process of working on their books. As far as genres, we run the gambit from creative non-fiction to science fiction. Our members come from all over the world so we have great mix of idea and knowledge.
I send in a chapter at a time. The other writers will go through my work line by line making suggestions, comments, and corrections. In return I will do the same for them. We’ve a wonderfully talented group. I am very fortunate to have connected with them.

Jan:     What’s the hardest part of the writing process for you? In particular what part of the work on this newest book left you in despair? And what did you find exhilarating? 

Marie:      Editing is the hardest part. I love the creating end – just getting the words on the screen, letting the ideas flow and the characters take shape. The fine tuning is the tough part – making sure the writing is tight, and the grammar is correct.

Jan:     Tell us a little about your main characters.  What do you admire about them and why?

Marie:     My main character is Svetlana Borkowski Parker. Lana, as she is called, owns a coffee shop/used bookstore in the building where her grandmother once had her restaurant.  Lana is very smart, a savvy business person with a wicked sense of humor. The thing I admire most  about Lana is that she is a great friend. Her partner in the business is her BFF Rosemary and they’ve seen each other through the best and worst of their lives. Everyone should have one friend like Lana who’ll do anything for you and stick by you, no matter what. 

Jan:     If you had to give an elevator pitch to a publisher, what would you say to convince her to read and publish your book?

Marie:    Gosh that is tough. I would start with a brief synopsis – the kind of thing you see on a book jacket:       “Lana Parker grew up reading the Tarot cards in her grandmother’s restaurant. Few people knew why her readings were so deadly accurate. Lana has a special gift and she sees more than just the cards. When a vision takes murderous turn she must race against time to save her friends and herself. This isn’t the first time she’s seen death in the Tarot and she must face the harsh reality that her fear of what she might see in the cards may have already cost her life of the person she loved most.”

Then I would just cut to the chase and ask if they would like to mail the first three chapters or if they preferred email.

Jan:     Are there any particular writers in this genre that you admire and could suggest to our readers who would like to read a cozy mystery?

Marie:     I like Sarah Graves; Home Repair Can Be Homicide series and Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Catering Mystery Series.  Any of the books in those series will give you a good idea of the genre.

Jan:     What do you know about writing now that you didn’t fully realize five years ago? What advice has helped you the most? What advice would you offer to aspiring writers?  

Marie:     The lesson I’ve learned is - if you are going write and write well - you have let go of your ego. What writer doesn’t want to produce the great American novel on the first draft?  When you don’t, it is a bit of a shock. I’ve gotten to the point that I don’t have any expectations or maybe even don't have the desire to write THAT book.  But I do want my novel to be the best that I can make it, then maybe -  if I am lucky, someone will pick up my book and get a few hours of enjoyment from what I’ve written.

"The best advice I received is the same advice I give aspiring writers. Just write. Write daily. Even if you can only write fifteen minutes a day in a year you’ll have a book. You can have the most wonderful and creative plots all mapped out in your head, but you’re not a writer until you put words on paper or a computer screen."   Marie Davies - March 2012


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Friday, March 16, 2012

Entry # 46 - "Are You a Writer or An Author & What's the Difference?"

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Almost - Photo Credit Jan Bowman 3/15/12
After recent conversations with a couple of “writerly” friends, I’ve thought about the way people describe themselves. Some preferred to call themselves authors, while others, including myself, preferred to be called writers. Several others just include both words on their cards and websites.   
So what’s the difference?  And does it matter? 

The terms writer and author seem broad and inclusive across genres.  Whether you write poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction, plays or journalism, blogs or tweets, the resulting process produces text in some form to be shared with readers.  But as I think about this a bit more, I think I prefer to be called a writer because I write.  And writing is an active process that brings to mind the active verb, to write.  It suggests engagement in an ongoing process, an active adventure conducted with a human mind, creative spirit, and the technical appendage of pen or computer. 

"Too Soon? Where's Everybody?"  Jan Bowman 3/15/12
It seems to me that the term author, suggests past tense or a passive process; one who is an author has finished a piece of work, patted it lovingly on the head, and sent it out into the world. She or he could decide to never put another word on the page. They would still be authors, but they would no longer be writers who write.  While that’s unlikely, unless a writer has ceased to exist in the present world, the two terms don’t necessarily mean the same thing.  Dead authors have works published long after they’ve died, but one thing for sure, they don’t write any more words.

And while publishers send out the work of writers and market the titles under authors’ names, authors seek to build a following of readers. And although stores of brick and mortar, as well as online stores, market these products and sometimes promote the authors of such work, the real work to produce coherent and thoughtful text still lies with the writer who dedicates the most valuable things he or she possesses – time and energy. Writing is an active process.  To be a writer, you must actually write; to be an author, you must have written at some point in your life.  And to me – that is a huge difference.

Spring brings thoughts of new growth and rich possibilities.  And for writers who would be authors who continue to write, spring's renewal helps us see how we might blend our hopes and creativity into joyful action.  

This afternoon The Roanoke Review contacted me to say my short story, "Mermaids" had won first prize in their annual fiction contest. I am thrilled! And you can call me writer or author.  Life is Good!

Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:



Monday, March 12, 2012

Entry # 45 - "Processing Feedback"

-->As I have observed the responses online here to a writer's work from a workshop, I have wondered what I could say that might help both writer and teacher come to terms with the emotional power of feedback.  So here are some thoughts that I do hope will help.  I believe that we are all trying to help one another say the truths in our hearts and write with clarity.
Photo by Jan Bowman - October 2011 
 

Recently I read a delightful book by Joni B. Cole, Toxic Feedback: Helping Writers Survive and Thrive.  I wish I’d discovered this essential book when it was first published (2006).  It’s a gold mine of useful insights.  One of the topics she addresses is what to do with the feedback you get from others. 

Often after I get home from a workshop or I’m looking through peer review comments on a draft, I feel overwhelmed.  How shall I begin my revision process?  Sometimes I spin around for weeks or even months trying to decide where to begin and what to do.
Cole’s section on “Tips for Processing Feedback” offers these useful ideas:

1. Be Open.  In a workshop setting – listen – don’t talk – listen thoughtfully and curb your desire to defend your work.  You may - in your heart disagree and that’s okay, because ultimately decisions about your work rest with you. 

2. Resist the Urge to Explain.  Remember that readers can only work with what’s on a page – so you really do need to know where it’s not working.

3. Little by Little.  “It is easy to get overwhelmed when processing feedback, especially if you try to take it all in at once.”  Cole suggests that writers sift through all the comments once then put them away and select one of those things to focus on for the next revision.  “For example: it your plot is slow and main character shallow – on your next draft move your plot forward and tackle the character issue on a next draft.”

4. Ignore Feedback -- until you’re ready for it. “The value of feedback, and then putting it in your mental lockbox as you push forward, is that this allows your unconscious to quietly process the outside information in a way that informs your writing in sync with your instincts –without slowing you down.”

5. Try Out the Feedback.  For example:  “If your main character isn’t likable, write a scene inside or outside the story that shows him doing something endearing.  Whether you use the scene or not, this is a great exercise in character development.  No writing is a waste of effort.

6. Give Yourself Time.  “If you can’t tell if you’re making things better or worse,” Cole says, ---”STOP!”  Take a break.  Take a walk.  Start something new.  Let your subconscious work on it again.  You should be able to see when feedback is useful to improve your vision for the work.  If it’s not helping, wait a while and come back to it.

Cole makes a strong case that after finishing a draft and subsequent revisions writers need to find a suitable reader for the work. And a suitable reader is rarely someone who loves you unconditionally.  Rather, the suitable reader is someone who “gets” what you’re doing, and who is willing to give thoughtful, insightful impressions; someone who reads carefully and who understands the struggles writers face, but who has sufficient tact to be honest and perceptive; someone who is not inclined to be unkind.

In short – Processing feedback effectively means being receptive to hearing a variety of opinions, but filtering it all through your own writer’s lens.

And it helps me to remember that Thomas Merton said, "The true solutions are not those which we force upon life in accordance with our theories, but those which life itself provides for those who dispose themselves to receive the truth." 

So what advice helps you improve your work?  How have others helped?


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at:


Friday, March 9, 2012

Entry # 44 - "Some Thoughts on Bulbs and Words"

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Photo Credit - Jan Bowman 3/9/12
This week as I watch the lovely process of  “Mary Amaryllis” (for this is what I’ve named her) reaching for the sun from the windowsill in my dining room, I am struck by how a bulb gives its all for the beauty of its bloom.  In fact “she” seems only to require air, morning sun, and just a little soil and water as she raises her hopeful face to the world. 

Just as writers rise early, their hearts and minds filled with hope – this Amaryllis blooms, even as I settle into the sunlight of my office to plant words in the hope of creating something lovely and powerful on the page.  And whether we write poems, fiction, or nonfiction, the task - the sacred work of writers - is to find words, the best words, that will touch readers as we share our connections to the complex beauty and pain of living.     

I found a poem, Bulbs, by New Zealand poet, Mary Ursula Bethell, (1874-1945) in a copy of Art & Wonder: An Illustrated Anthology of Visionary Poetry from The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The work, selected and introduced by Kate Farrell, uses two works of art combining pictures, paintings and poems to explore “visions of paradise, secrets of existence, and the world of dreams.” 

Here is a portion of the Bethell’s poem, "Bulbs":

“I have planted lilies, but will they grow well with me?
Will they like the glitter of this north-looking hillside?
Will they like the rude winds, the stir, the quick changes?
Would they not have shadowy stillnesses, and peace?”


Mary Amaryllis - March 9, 2012


And later the poet answers her questions with a whimsical assessment of the process.

“All these lovely lilies. I wish they would grow with me,
No other flowers have the texture of the lilies,
The heart-piercing fragrance, the newly alighted angel’s
Lineal poise, and purity, and peace---”

Bethell’s poem is accompanied by a color monotype of two sheets by American artist, Mary Frank from her 1977 work, “Amaryllis” which I cannot post here. 
  
Today,  I include new photos of my “Mary Amaryllis” and I think these lines from the poem relate to the blooming of an amaryllis, as well as the growth process of writers as they paint with words, using the color of language and emotion on the page.

Waters Edge - Photo by Jan Bowman 3/9/12
    I am reminded that Harriet Doerr said, “I have everything I need. A square of sky, a piece of stone, a page, a pen, and memory raining down on me in sleeves.”

Any Thoughts on this process?


Jan Bowman’s work has appeared in Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, Broadkill Review, Trajectory, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes, and others. She won the 2012 Roanoke Review Prize for Fiction. Her stories have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Stories and a story was a finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories and currently shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction work pending publication in Spring 2013 Issues of Trajectory and Pen-in-Hand. She writes a weekly blog of “Reflections” on the writing life and posts regular interviews with writers and publishers.   Learn more at: