Whether you wake tomorrow to the creee of the seaside or the bling-bling of the mean streets, listen to the sounds of life, the telling ones, and capture them for their re-creation in words--not only to reproduce what was heard, but to hint at what was felt.
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Only
ONE
INTERP WRITING INTENSIVE
in 2011
and it's
THIS SUMMER in Taos, NM | | Extra-early bird registration is open! | |
Click here for more info and to register today!
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Extra-Early Bird Registration
is open
for the
Interpretive Writing Intensive
Register now and save $150!
August 8-13, 2011 San Geronimo Lodge Taos, NM
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Sounds of Spring
Early morning, very cold, but not the subzero it's been recently. I shuffle, ever mindful of the ice, to where the drive meets the curve of the cul-de-sac. Still half-asleep, I uproot frozen newspapers from the asphalt, straighten up, and--
Hoo-hoo. Hoo-hoo.
What?
Hoo-hoo. Hoo-hoo-hooooo-hoo--accompanied by a tumble of cawcackleshriekcackle.
I am wide awake.
Mourning doves, singing the soft melody line. Crows, maybe jays (maybe both), adding percussive counterpoint.
Today, this morning, this moment, I realize these sounds have been absent for days, possibly weeks. Until now, I didn't consciously realize they were absent.
The sun breached the horizon no more than 20 seconds ago, and the air swells with life I'd forgotten existed. Bird song shatters the cold air with promise.
I skate back to the porch and just as I'm about to go inside, an unmistakable snare drum announces a flicker riveting a hole in my roof. I smack the newspapers against the siding in poor but loud imitation. A flutter of russet wings itself away but makes no sound when it alights on my neighbor's tall evergreen.
Is this the sound of spring? Or a false promise, like the warm moist Chinook wind that tries to persuade us to pack away our parkas?
Over the next few days, I notice the squirrels are in the backyard again. They are fat and extra fluffy, digging up treasure while their tails twitch questions. When did I stop noticing that it had been a while since I'd heard the patter of their 8:00 a.m. run across my roof (I swear they must punch a time-clock) to launch themselves into the cottonwood tree?
When they're not tugging at what I'd swear is dead grass, Canada geese promenade across boulevards with no regard for crosswalks or traffic cones. They hunker so flat into meadow and street, defiantly hissing, Who says a nest can't be on asphalt? that I suspect they've taken root.
I have been asleep--for days, perhaps weeks--without knowing it. And today, I am awake, because of sound. I am paying attention, because of sound.
Sound--the sound of the world around us, the sound of music, the sound of language--is a powerful tool.
Individual sounds combine to create and convey meaning. The sounds of the words we use, individually and in sequence, carry meaning that flows through and intertwines with the individual words, the sentences and paragraphs formed by their sequences, and the stories that emerge.
Read your writing out loud. What sounds do you notice? Is your preferred vocabulary peppered with plosives (like this sentence)? Does it crack and crackle, clicking at a brisk clip? Or mosey, rolling and reveling in languorous susurration? What happens if you switch out one type of sound for another?
Do you play with onomatopoeia? How about its cousin, phonesthesia? Onomatopoeia has sounds that are the actual sound something makes (screech! BAM! Zip, gargle, gobble, slurp, chatter). Phonesthemic words have sounds that we associate with the qualities of a subject (sneer, snarl, snide, snarky; glimmer, glisten, glossy).
The sounds we use can emphasize and reinforce--or interfere with and contradict--the meaning we're trying to communicate. A mourning dove and a crow may live in the same neighborhood, but their voices--and their stories--are not the same.
Hush, listen--
It's the sound of a story.
Comments? Questions?
Tell us!
970/416-6353
888/886-9289
email Judy
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 If Peeps are in the store, can Spring be far behind? My hand, reverent, traces the crackle of cellophane That shelters conjoined confections Soft shapes in bright colors-- Yellow, pink, and this year, blue-- (Yellow is the best, anyone could tell you) Colors of spring more true than the purple crocus Frozen in its bulb under the snowbank at the end of the drive. fifty-nine cents, two for a dollar save two cents per chick a dollar-fifty-nine for the big pack three rows full a bargain a whole row for free My hand plucks them like seed packets One, two, three four five Odd numbers are best--no one notices If you eat the odd one before you get home. The register beeps the red total The clerk says leave them out overnight In the open, without cellophane; That's the best way, she smiles. I smile back; who am I to tell her she's wrong? Naked Peeps are soon as hard and dry as sun-baked dirt At the end of August. My five small packs nestle in the sack Like boxes of tulips minus the stems. My thumb punches through the cellophane of the one on top-- Better than any groundhog's shadow, More pure than the first robin's song, A promise of pollen shakes loose with sugar spilled on my lap. I pull the yellow blossoms apart, And eat Spring. 
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I'm offering only ONE Interp Writing Intensive in 2011.
It's at San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico, August 8-13 (Monday night through Saturday morning).
Grab your spot now!
Extra-early bird registration saves you $150 and is open through March 30 (assuming space is available).
Tight travel budget? Sign up for a shared room and save even more. Register yourself and two or more friends (even if you're not from the same site) and save an additional fifty bucks each.
Don't wait--register today!
Can't make it to this one? Here are some options:
- Bring Greenfire Creative to you: We offer 1- to 4-day writing workshops for interpreters for your site or organization.
- Sign up for one-on-one writing coaching with Judy.
- Delegate writing, editing, and related tasks: We're a full-service freelance company, from concept development and research to final proofreading.
- Wait until 2012 and hope for the best.
Call 888/886-9289 (toll-free in the U.S.) or email for details and pricing.
For more info about the Taos workshop, call (888/886-9289), email (judyb@greenfire-creative.com), or visit our website (http://www.greenfire-creative.com).
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Improve your writing this summer with the
Interpretive Writing Intensive
August 8-13, 2011 San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, NM
Freeman Tilden said interpretive writing should be
"concise, focused, inspirational, and engaging."
Lofty goals for any writer!
- What makes interpretive writing interpretive;
- How to create writing that connects with the reader;
- Techniques for strengthening language, including pacing, language use, and word choice;
- Strategies for organizing;
- How to write for any length or space;
- How to write for different media, different audiences, and different uses;
- How to write for maximum impact;
- How to write even if you think you can't;
- How to take your writing "off-site";
- Humble punctuation;
- Accessing--and improving--creativity (or, the Muse will visit if chocolate is involved);
- Dealing with writer's block (or, how to get the Muse to visit if you're out of chocolate);
- and MORE.
Improve your writing this summer at the Interpretive Writing Intensive, August 8-13, 2011 at San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico.
Extra-Early Bird Registration Now Open
Register today and save!
Register today to take advantage of the Extra-Early Bird discount--$150.00 off the regular registration! Register three or more people at the same time and save another $50 per person! Extra-Early Bird Registration prices effective through midnight, March 30, 2011 or until workshop is full, whichever happens first. To ensure a quality experience with plenty of individual attention, workshop size is limited to 15 people. Registration is first-come, first-served.
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Improve your writing this summer
at the
Interpretive Writing Intensive,
August 8-13, 2011
San Geronimo Lodge, Taos, New Mexico.
REGISTER BY March 30 and SAVE!
Extra-Early Bird Prices good through midnight, March 30, 2011 or until workshop fills, whichever comes first.
Extra-Early Bird Shared room: $1775.00
Extra-Early Bird Single room: $1900.00
Extra-Early Bird Commuter: $1170.00
Optional--Extend your stay: $80.00 per night (includes breakfast) Sunday night before and up to four nights following the workshop, based on availability.
Shared and single rooms include 5 nights lodging at San Geronimo Lodge, 5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 suppers; workshop and materials, one half-hour individual consulting session, instructor review of one previously submitted writing sample, and snacks, coffee, and tea.
Commuter includes parking at San Geronimo Lodge, 4 lunches, and 4 suppers; workshop and materials, one half-hour individual consulting session, instructor review of one previously submitted writing sample, and snacks, coffee, and tea. Commuter registration fee does not include lodging or breakfast.
Built in 1925, the San Geronimo lodge was one of the first hotels in Taos, and the first "resort" hotel. This enchanting inn offers historic charm with all the comfort and convenience of modern day lodging.
For more info about San Geronimo Lodge,
click here.
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