Making my writing goals

As usual, it is down to the wire again this year when it comes to completing my goals. But deadlines do make me a lot more productive and when there's money at stake even more so...putting out more queries means more rejections which even the toughest writer would admit can sting... but if I'm going to do this I have to be open for rejection. I just spent 30 minutes on an email query this morning and was rejected within 5 minutes. OUCH!!

himonkey.net

This is a great website if you're feeling down or need to find something fun to cook. Hi! Monkey! makes me happy and I'm very impressed with the recipes and films.

Power of Language

I found this book, One Thousand Beautiful Things at a library sale, its cover torn but intact, its pages clean but brittle. Published in 1947, it is a compilation of prose and poetry from the world’s best literature. Two years after WWII ended, I imagine it was a popular book in many American families bookcases. Patriotism, as it is today, is a familiar subject throughout the 400 pages.

More than one hundred years after Longfellow wrote the passage Indian Summer I read the words and I am there. That is the power of language. Great language makes the sense of place leap from the pages and I am lost in the chapters. A good short story like a good poem is hard to forget.

Short stories are my favorite genre. Authors including Raymond Chandler, Lorrie Moore, Flannery O’Connor, Alice Munro, and Dorothy Parker have inspired me to write in the genre. When I am done reading a good short, I am left with a simplicity and thoroughness that many full-length novels seem to miss. Classic shorts such as Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery and Guy de Maupassant The Necklace seem timeless in their choice of theme.

To study the genre I recommend classic short stories like Ernest Hemingway’s In Another Country or Flannery O’Connor’s Good Country People. Many of the classics can be found online. Poe, Joyce, Hawthorne, Twain and many other early writers all wrote in the short story genre to develop characters, hone their writing, and enchant their fans. They also had a market that supported their craft.

For modern shorts, I like The Best American Short Stories collections that is published every year by Houghton Mifflin Company. These stories are nominated to be in the collection. They are chosen from award winning literary magazines and popular magazines such as The New Yorker, Harper’s and The Atlantic Monthly.

Does your writing have all the elements of a good short story? Conflict, plot, language, insight, character, theme and setting are necessary elements. Will your readers get lost in the pages? Are your characters original and thought out?

I’m putting One Thousand Beautiful Things on my writing reference shelf next to my Writer’s Market, my thesaurus, and my dictionary. I hope that it will inspire me to write short stories that will transport my readers to another place.

Lazy Writer

I'm procrastinating again about writing so I thought I'd at least do my blog writing so all is not lost...the best comment I ever received about my writing was that I'm a good writer just lazy, that comment was from a very talented poet...my uncle, whom I admire and respect very much.
Sometimes the truth hits you hard between the eyes and it changes the way you look at things. So today is another day to work at it, another step closer to success, another step closer to accomplishing goals.

TUSCAN FOOD

Tuscan food is of the earth. The food is meant to be an accompaniment to the classic wines of Tuscany. Unlike most of Italy where meat is used for flavoring, the Tuscan diet is heavy with wild game, cured meats, homemade sausages, including ones made with wild boar, and the most famous of Tuscan meats Bistecca alla Fiorenta, or steak Florentine. This is traditionally a three inch Porterhouse, marinated simply in olive oil and garlic, grilled over hot coals, until medium rare and served over a bed of arugula or grilled vegetables.

Another Tuscan favorite is porchetta or roast stuffed suckling pig. This is available in most village butcher shops one day of the week. Find out what day and don’t miss it. Tender suckling pig is flavored with aromatic spices such as rosemary, thyme, sage and pepper and roasted leaving a crisp, crackling crust surrounding the succulent meat. Add a crusty loaf of traditional pane toscano and a wedge of Pecorino Toscana, made with sheep’s milk and you will understand the Tuscan love of simple delicious foods.

Pappardelle, a flat homemade noodle is often served with a rich sauce such as hare, wild boar or duck sauce and will be found on most menus in the Tuscan region. Another restaurant favorite is fritto misto lightly fried foods such as chicken, rabbit, artichokes, cauliflower and mushrooms.

Vegetarians can also find rich, hearty food in the region. The classic bean soup, ribollita, literally meaning re boiled is a flavorful vegetable soup thickened with day old bread. Bruschetta is also a way for a restaurant to showcase their local fresh ingredients. Thick bread is grilled, rubbed with fresh garlic and topped with items such as sautéed wild mushrooms, fresh tomatoes and basil, or cheese.

The desserts of Tuscany use the best of the region in simple ways. Most of them use simple ingredients such as figs, raisins, ricotta cheese and sweet wines such as Marsala. Paneforte di Siena is probably the most famous of all Tuscan desserts; this flat sweet confection dates back to the Middle Ages.

If you really want to experience Tuscany through its food, try a cooking class, such as the one offered by five ladies at www.tutti-a-tavola.com. This is a unique experience in the heart of the Tuscan region, in the town of Radda in Chianti. Olive oil tasting, wine tasting and market visits enhance the classes.

Book Recommendation

This is one of those simple, straightforward books that makes all of your excuses seem really lame. If you are struggling with writer's block or just want to know what worked for another fellow writer, read this!!

Crested Butte, Colorado

One of our favorite places to go in the summer. We rent a cabin by the river with no telephones, computers, or television. We cook amazing meals on the grill, venture out to town, take white water rafting trips, write, and relax.

Paris in the Spring....I mean Autumn Time

I vow to go back to Paris one day, just not in November. Although it was beautiful, it was so cold that we spent a lot of our time walking very fast to keep warm. Just another excuse to sit in a cafe, people watch...and drink chocolat fraud (hot chocolate) there's a good reason why its "I love Paris in the Springtime"

The food was of course, incredible... some noteworthy foods..

All the food in the Jewish quarter. Falafels, gyros, fresh salads, kabobs, pastries. Inexpensive, delicious and filling.




almond croissants...these are hard to find in the afternoon...so get up early to find them at the local patisserie

coquilles, (scallops) bought in the shell at the market

the best I ever had in my life and I've eaten lots of scallops having grown up in New England We brought them back to the apartment and prepared them very simply, in brown butter, shallots, and table cream

Lost in Cyberspace

I'm back after losing my blog for months, although I guess it wasn't really lost I just couldn't find it. Thanks Lauri for helping me out.

Finding Time

Finding Time...One of my groups had a very interesting discussion Tuesday about the excuses we use when we have not completed something...we ran out of time, there was no time, not enough hours in the day. We have decided to keep a time journal for a week; just like dieters use for food to see what we are really doing with our days. I guess it will prove what I already know there is plenty of time, what am I choosing to do instead of writing, submitting, working on my creative life? I'll let you know in a week.