Entry # 183 - "Reading to Write"

Fellow Writers - Florence and Lynada - Oct. 29, 2013

I teach a weekly two-hour journal writing class for a wonderful group of  mature adults who have had rich life experiences that they share as they read and discuss their writing.  Today we talked quite a lot about "Reading to Write Better." So here is a "Book List for Journal Keeping and Creative Nonfiction" that I shared with them today. This is a short list. It's just a taste to get everyone thinking more about their writing by reading, and later writing about their various writing projects. I am reminded of Roy Peter Clark's words, "To sharpen your learning, write about your writing."  And you learn quite a lot from careful reading and then writing about what you are trying to accomplish as a writer.

"Happiness is a well-filled bookcase."  Jan says 10/29/13

Book List for Journal Keeping and Creative Nonfiction

List Compiled by Jan Bowman – October 29, 2013

Tristine Rainer’s Your Life as Story: Discovering the “New Autobiography” &

Writing Memoir as Literature

Lee Gutkind’s  You Can’t Make This Stuff Up, In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction And The Best Creative Nonfiction – (vol. 1-3) – edited by Lee Gutkind

Laura Oliver’s The Story Within: New Insights and Inspiration for Writers

Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones , Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life &

The True Secret of Writing

Roy Peter Clark’s Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer.

Lisa Dale Norton’s Shimmering Images: A Handy Little Guide to Writing Memoir

Jill Dearman’s Bang the Keys: Four Steps to a Lifelong Writing Practice

Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing & Life

William Zinsser’s Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past & Inventing the Truth: The Art & Craft of Memoir

Writing Creative Nonfiction: Instruction and Insights from the Teachers of the Associated Writing Programs – edited by Carolyn Forche and Philip Gerard.

In Brief: Short Takes on the Personal  & In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction – edited by Judith Kitchen & Mary Paumier Jones. Also: Short Takes: Brief Encounters with Contemporary Nonfiction – edited by Judith Kitchen.

Tell It Slant: Writing and Shaping Creative Nonfiction – by Brenda Miller & Suzanne Paola.

Phillip Lopate’s  Portrait of My Body – (read “Confessions of a Shusher”  and “The Story of My Father”)

Pat Schneider’s Writing Alone & With Others  & How The Light Gets In: writing as a spiritual practice.

The Writing Life - National Book Award Authors: Essays & Interviews (read Ron Chernow’s “Stubborn Facts & Fickle Realities: Research for Nonfiction). & Any Year of the Best American Essays – published yearly -- with changing editors.

There are many more books that could/should be on this list. Think of this as chocolate. You'll want more - that's for sure.

"Every Writer Needs A Good Cat"  Jan says.  10/29/13

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About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com

Entry # 182 - "What No One Ever Told Me"

Photo Credit - Jim Wilson - October 2013

My writer’s world is filled with information that I’ve had to learn the hard way. No one ever told me about the trials of preparing a story collection for publication. In fact I don’t recall ever reading about it. So let me begin with some background.

I am revising a collection of short stories – yet again. And while seven of the ten stories had been previously published, I was never quite satisfied with them.  So over time, I set about revising each one hoping to bring it to its full potential. Sometimes I would work on one of these when I needed to take a break from new work.

I selected these ten stories because I thought they shared common elements of theme and I put them all together on my computer, one right after another. A couple of weeks ago, I read them all the way through, after which I had intended to do a line edit, and then send them on to an editor I know for another tweak, before sending them out for publication consideration.  

I had never done that before. Never sat and read this particular batch without a break, treating this collection as if it were one I had purchased to read.

And I was shocked to discover how uneven they were in skill and precision. Thankfully my later ones were better than the earlier ones. And while I am not ashamed of any of my work because I know that it was the best it could be, given what I knew at that particular time, I did come to a jarring reality. 

I needed to go back through each story and give it a major face lift to bring it to the consistent unity of my later work. I needed to revisit my revision process globally - as if – I were an objective editor or reader.

Photo Credit - Jim Wilson - October 2013

I fear and loathe this kind of tedious task. But it is important to be true to the work. So I am heavily engaged in viewing and reviewing, as I revise these stories with a new perspective for necessary unity. Even though these stories are not linked in the traditional sense, they do have a common thread of theme and purpose.  And that could be lost if I don’t push myself over this hurdle in the revision and polishing process.

I wanted to share this. Maybe someone else can benefit from my experience.

Alas. So much of what we know is learned through trial & error. Talking with experienced, knowledgeable people, and reading expansively can help.

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Coming soon:  Mermaids & Other Stories - by Jan Bowman

About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com

Entry # 181 - "Craziness - in All Things"

Photo Credit - Jan Bowman - October 2013

I watched the recent Atlantic storm off Rehoboth, DE while I was writing, and as I watched the sad drama of our governmental madness, I happened to read this particular poem that I share here from Mary Oliver’s collection:  

A Thousand Mornings.

“Was It Necessary To Do It?”

I tell you that ant is very alive!

Look at how he fusses at being stepped on.

I love Mary Oliver’s poetry. I read and reread her poems. So if you haven’t read anything by her – go quickly into the world and buy a book of her poetry.  Any one will do. All her collections are wonderful. And she is always kind. Your life will be enriched. Her poems draw me closer to my reflective interior world, while deepening my compassionate understanding of the broader world. Her sparsely drawn parallels to our somewhat uncivilized attempts at civilization offer wise metaphors. And references to nature abound. So go for it. Have a juicy morsel of her poetry.  It has fewer calories than chocolate.

Or maybe this one from the same collection works better.  See what you think.

“The Poet Compares Human Nature To The Ocean From Which We Came”

The sea can do craziness, it can do smooth,

It can lie down like silk breathing

Or toss havoc shoreward; it can give

Gifts or withhold all; it can rise, ebb, froth

Like an incoming frenzy of fountains, or it can

Sweet-talk entirely. As I can too,

And so, no doubt, can you, and you.

So I am going back to work now on my writing project. I wish more poetry in all our lives. We would be better people with it.  Here are some of my favorite collections of her work:  American Primitive, Dream Work, What Do We Know, and Swan. There are more -- so go -- explore.
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About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com

Entry # 180 - "Taking A Busy Break"

Photo Credit - Jim Wilson - from Hawaii - September 2013

For the next week or so I will be taking a "Busy Break" - a term I use when I really need to focus on a major writing and editing project.  
I am closely editing my story collection and preparing it to send to a particular editor for another round of final refinement. So I won't be checking email and Facebook but once each day for the next ten days while I'm deeply immersed in this process. I don't plan to post any new additions to my blog and will sparely comment on anything on Facebook during this time. I have promised myself that this collection is going out into the world before the end of the year.
I hope to have the collection published under the title: Mermaids and Other Stories.          More about this later.

Photo Credit - Jan Bowman -  April 2013

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About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com

Entry # 179 - "Unintended Consequences"

Writers are like gardeners in that they depend a lot on hope and sunshine as they plant seeds, water, and add fertilizer in its various forms. Much of what happens after the words or seeds are planted depends upon luck, skill and knowledge of the gardener or writer. But unintended consequences occur, because no matter how much you know or think you know at a given moment, you can never know enough. Which is to say, ignorance is not bliss. It creates most of the trouble in the world. 

I learned this lesson the hard way in an early story I wrote years ago. I intended that a particular character’s trouble bordered on tragic. But I didn’t know enough. I painted her with too much “word paint” and instead of coming across as a tragic figure, she ended up being oddly funny. I discovered this when I gave a reading and I struggled to fight back tears, as the audience began laughing, because the unintended consequences of my heavy-handed management of details produced an amusingly absurd character. Afterwards, people in the audience commented on my comic timing and sense of humor. I felt like a fraud because I had screwed up.

I am reminded once again of that story because I truly screwed up something in my garden a couple of weeks ago. I spotted an odd caterpillar in my garden munching happily on a green pepper plant. I plucked it off, and although I sometimes take creatures into nearby woods and release them, I found a giant hole in a pepper that was almost ripe so I killed it. I felt bad after doing that because I hate to kill anything. 

Imagine my feelings this week when I happened to read an article and see pictures of Monarch Butterflies and realized I had “murdered” a Monarch in the caterpillar stage. I feel terrible about this.  So I decided to write this to educate others.  Maybe we can save a couple of butterflies.  Read the article below for more information. 

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  About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com

  

The Life Cycle(s) of a Monarch Butterfly

Monarch butterflies go through four stages during one life cycle, and through four generations in one year. It’s a little confusing but keep reading and you will understand. The four stages of the monarch butterfly life cycle are the egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly. The four generations are actually four different butterflies going through these four stages during one year until it is time to start over again with stage one and generation one.

In February and March, the final generation of hibernating monarch butterflies comes out of hibernation to find a mate. They then migrate north and east in order to find a place to lay their eggs. This starts stage one and generation one of the new year for the monarch butterfly.

In March and April the eggs are laid on milkweed plants. They hatch into baby caterpillars, also called the larvae. It takes about four days for the eggs to hatch. Then the baby caterpillar doesn’t do much more than eat the milkweed in order to grow. After about two weeks, the caterpillar will be fully-grown and find a place to attach itself so that it can start the process of metamorphosis. It will attach itself to a stem or a leaf using silk and transform into a chrysalis. Although, from the outside, the 10 days of the chrysalis phase seems to be a time when nothing is happening, it is really a time of rapid change. Within the chrysalis the old body parts of the caterpillar are undergoing a remarkable transformation, called metamorphosis, to become the beautiful parts that make up the butterfly that will emerge. The monarch butterfly will emerge from the pupa and fly away, feeding on flowers and just enjoying the short life it has left, which is only about two to six weeks. This first generation monarch butterfly will then die after laying eggs for generation number two.

The second generation of monarch butterflies is born in May and June, and then the third generation will be born in July and August. These monarch butterflies will go through exactly the same four stage life cycle as the first generation did, dying two to six weeks after it becomes a beautiful monarch butterfly.

The fourth generation of monarch butterflies is a little bit different than the first three generations. The fourth generation is born in September and October and goes through exactly the same process as the first, second and third generations except for one part. The fourth generation of monarch butterflies does not die after two to six weeks. Instead, this generation of monarch butterflies migrates to warmer climates like Mexico and California and will live for six to eight months until it is time to start the whole process over again.   [OMG - this is a terrible thing that I have done. And I am so very sorry.]  - 
--I just added this note: I saw two more caterpillars eating my parsley and basil this morning. I will leave them in peace with my hope they make it to Mexico and/or California.

It is amazing how the four generations of monarch butterflies works out so that the monarch population can continue to live on throughout the years, but not become overpopulated. Mother Nature sure has some cool ways of doing things, doesn’t she?

Our articles are free for you to copy and distribute. Make sure to give http://www.Monarch-Butterfly.com credit for the article.   Thanks. 

Entry # 178 - "Do You Need A Travel Journal?"

Bellow Beach, Oahu - Jim Wilson - Sept. 2013

“What’s A Travel Journal?”

Oscar Wilde reportedly said, “ I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read.”  But what kinds of journals are best for jotting down the bits and pieces of life that have the potential for story seeds, particularly while traveling?  Should one use a multi-purpose journal to record multiple slices of life? And should it be divided into sections, or is it more useful to have single purpose journals that serve a specific type of entry?

Many people, who do not regard themselves as writers, record their ideas and experiences in all sorts of journals. Journals help people remember life moments, so the possibilities for choosing a journal vary according to the whim or needs of a given journal writer. I keep a number of single purpose journals. For example: one for garden notes, another for bird-watching notes, another for daily/weekly observations of story ideas, dreams, as well as other more general notes on books, films or music I like. Yes. My office is packed with journals and I am often misplacing them in my office. But when I find them again, reading them brings new joys and perspectives.

Photo Credit - Jan Bowman - 2012

But for me the travel journal is a time-honored favorite among my more popular single purpose journals.  I keep one specifically to record experiences from various travels.  I keep track of things I see in airports, hotels, restaurants and interesting places I’ve traveled, even keeping a separate journal of my cruise ships adventures. From my notes I can record observations, such as a pale sun-loving couple, who sit by the pool all day the first day of the cruise, and do not appear at the nearby table for meals for the next three days, because they are so badly sunburned they take their meals in their cabin. They can’t bear to wear clothes. On day four they reappear and describe the experience and have their table mates laughing. And all the while, I am imagining how funny and how terrible that experience might be. Maybe they’ll appear in a story someday. So I pay attention. I take note, not knowing which details will help serve up a perfect portion of story.

Alexandra Johnson says, “Travel Journals are the observing journal armed with a passport.” In her craft guide, Leaving A Trace, she says, “Journals prove more faithful than any camera.” Artists who keep travel sketchbooks collect wonderful materials that have potential for development and even a writer with modest sketching talents will find some happy discoveries later when reviewing the travel sketches, whether they've captured what they've seen in words or pictures.
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Photo Credit - Alex Dunn - Hawaii - 2013

About Jan Bowman

Jan Bowman’s fiction has appeared in numerous publications including, Roanoke Review, Big Muddy, The Broadkill Review, Third Wednesday, Minimus, Buffalo Spree (97), Folio, The Potomac Review, Musings, Potato Eyes and others. Glimmer Train named a recent story as Honorable Mention in the November 2012 Short Story Awards for New Writers. Winner of the 2011 Roanoke Review Fiction Award, her stories have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes, Best American Short Stories, a Pen/O’Henry award and a recent story was a finalist in the 2013 Phoebe Fiction Contest; another was a 2012 finalist in the “So To Speak” Fiction Contest. She is working on two collections of short stories while shopping for a publisher for a completed story collection. She has nonfiction publications in 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 www.janbowmanwriter.com or

visit blog:  http://janbowmanwriter.blogspot.com