West Coast Writers: 28th Small Stone: Slanting Sunrays

Welcome to West Coast Writers Blog wherever you're from!

Creative writing thoughts and schemes from a book author who enjoys both fiction and nonfiction, with a little poetry thrown in. Thoughts about writing a book, interviews with book authors and other writers, writing prompts, and thoughts about the writing life crop up here. In January, I participate in a River of Small Stones project, and in February, I run Alphabetaphilia on this site. See the pdf below for some of the great sentences produced in this year’s Alphabetaphilia. I'd love to hear your thoughts, and you can post as "anonymous" if you like, no need to register. I moderate comments, but I'm usually fast in posting what you've commented. I'm the author of memoir Breaking Through the Spiral Ceiling, available through Amazon.com. View a free sample below the postings on this blog.

Author interviews include Barbara Abercrombie (Year of Writing Dangerously), S. Kay Murphy (Dogs Who Saved Me), Libby Grandy, Gayle Greene, June Maffin, Jean Baker, Lisa Solis DeLong, Eleanor Stoneham, Barbara Abercrombie, Madeline Sharples, Laura Hoopes (interviewed by Libby Grandy), Charles Strozier, Dorothy McMillan, Kathryn Wilkens, Jaime Becerra, Mike Foley, Ryan Forsythe, Gayle Brandeis (Live Wires ), Gayle Brandeis, Deb Martinson, Jia-Rui Chong Cook, Martha Ronk, Kay Murphy, Camille Minichino AKA Margaret Grace, Emily Rapp, Melissa Hart, Gordon Grice, Linley Erin Hall, Catherine Ipcizade, Maralys Wills, and Gillian Bagwell. Click on author name to go directly to the interview you're interested in reading. Other popular postings include comments on Obecht's novel The Tiger's Wife, a connection to an interview of Ellen Bass by Laura for Poetry International blog, and a connection to an interview of Robert Mezey on PI.

To view the PDF of the 2012 Alphabetaphilia sentences, click here.

Writing Prompts

MEANING. Think of three insights you've had from people close to you, relatives or not. Choose your favorite one of the three, and write the first two paragraphs of a story based upon it. Someday, finish the story.
DORMANT VOLCANO. There are many places where volcanos are quiet, brooding. Now they are dormant but someday they can awaken and blow magma and ash into the sky. I remember Mt. St. Helens went from a quiet, snow-capped mountain to an inferno in about 24 hours or so. Write about someone who is caught in the transition.
HOLE IN THE CLOUDS. My husband's blog talks about his sensing a hole in the clouds, here: http://michael-walkingwiththespirit.blogspot.com/2012/02/hole-in-sky.html , That made me think about times when the clouds did something that transfixed me. Think about a time the clouds were amazing. Describe the clouds and also the scene, where you were, with whom, any conversation.
STRAWBERRIES. A friend put a great picture of a single strawberry on her blog. It reminded me of Gayle Brandeis's exercise where she passed out berries, one each, and asked us to do a sensory exploration of our berry. It was delicious in so many ways, the little dimpled seeds, glossy red flesh, fresh berry scent, soft silky feel, and taste---yum. Try that yourself. It's better even than it sounds. Then write about all the sensory overload.
TASTE. Starting with brushing your teeth, try to describe each thing you taste for a half an hour in words as exact as possible. Imagine you are obsessive about taste, and don't let your awardeness slip off the tip of the tongue.

Saturday, January 28, 2012

28th Small Stone: Slanting Sunrays

Santa Ana Condition with sere wind and heat is here. The slanting sunrays pick out the delicate design of a cast iron decoration on a neighbor’s house and the tall, white branches of a birch, waiting patiently for its leaves to reappear.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: Love the delicate cast iron ornament. I imagine it sort of Pennsylvania Dutch style, probably all wrong but it makes a nice image!
best,
Elyena; January 28, 2012 at 9:51 PM
Lorelei said...: Well, Elyena, it IS sort of Pennsylvania Dutch looking although heaven knows why out here in California! I had never noticed it before the sun spotlighted it this morning.
cheers,
Laura; January 28, 2012 at 9:52 PM

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

28th Small Stone: Slanting Sunrays

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