Don't miss the Anza-Borrego Writing Retreat!
Registration closes
Jan. 18, 2015.
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The goal is to convey why science matters to the person, to our society, to us as shepherds of this planet. It involves presenting science in ways that connect to you, so
Cosmos can influence you not only intellectually but emotionally, with a celebration of wonder and awe.
Science should be part of everybody's life. The prerequisite is not that you become a scientist. It's that at the end of the series, you will embrace science and recognize its role in who and what you are.
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Articles, essays, tips, & techniques
for writing, editing, & finding your story
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Coming
soon! 
Creating Stories that Make a Difference:
Advice & Guidance for Interpretive Writing and Writers
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Surprise and the Promise of Story
HREEEEE!
I peered into the cloudless sky: no hawk.
I was sure it was a red-tail; I'm not a very good birder, but the cry was unmistakable.
I slid the patio door open as quietly as I could, disturbing a handful of mountain chickadees busily cleaning up the mess I made when I'd overfilled the plastic cylinder feeder before breakfast. A Steller's jay clutched the side of the red spiral feeder  next to it, brandishing an unshelled peanut in his beak as if daring me to challenge him for it. He dove over the side of the railing as I sidled onto the porch. I stood long minutes in the cold, watching and waiting. Still no hawk. Ah well; I'm supposed to be sitting at the table inside, working on a story, not out here in bare feet trying to spy a raptor.
Inside, settled with my back to the patio door (less distracting that way), I scrawled away at the flash fiction story I was determined to finish by day's end. A bright stripe of sunlight widened on the floor beside me as the sun curved around toward the south. Movement-a shadow in that stripe-caught my eye at the same time I heard the hawk's cry again. "Gotcha!" I thought, and turned to look.
It wasn't a hawk; it was the jay.
I laughed in surprise; somewhere in my brain, I must have known jays were mimics, but I'd never thought much about it. The jay I'd seen the day before had a call that sounded like a rough-spoken, "HEY HEY HEY"--I'd thought that was a normal call for jays. And if not for the fact that a second jay, shouting "HEY HEY HEY," showed up just as the jay who thought he was a hawk sailed off the railing again, I would have thought the same jay made both sounds. Now I wonder if the jay who scolds "HEY" learned his call from my friend who owns this cabin where I'm spending the week on writing retreat. She has a special fondness for hummingbirds, and I can imagine her shooing the jay: "Hey, Hey, HEY, get away from that feeder!" She has the same kind of husky alto as the Jay, though her diction's a bit better.
I get back to the story. I'm always experimenting with different forms and structures of writing. What happens, what's different, what overlaps, what's harder or easier? Writing a script is a very different process from writing a novel or memoir; writing an extremely short story (the current name for ultra-short stories is flash fiction) is as different from writing a novel or feature length film as writing a 50-word interp sign is from writing a textbook.
I'm using an approach developed by Holly Lisle. I've been intrigued throughout the process by similarities between Lisle's method and interp writing. Her "problem sentence"--a 12-words or less sentence stating the obstacle to the character's desire--is analogous to (and just as tough to write as) an interpretive theme. Her observation that "every word has to be there for a reason" is true for any kind of excellent writing, but it's crucial for these ultra-short forms.
Lisle's method also pushes me to think the story through much more completely than I usually do for an early draft. My typical creative process involves writing to figure out what I'm writing about, then figuring out how to write that in the space allowed. Can I create a 500- to 700-word story without first writing a rambling 2000- to 5000-word draft?
I have the basic story cobbled together. I've written the beginning and most of the middle, and I have notes about how the story ends. It feels like a mostly straight line to get from where I am to the final line.
I don't actually finish the story before it's time to quit for the day--I'm disappointed and a little surprised, though I shouldn't be; I'm perpetually optimistic about how quickly I can Get Things Done, plus I interrupted myself to watch the jays and chickadees fairly often. I kept wondering where the jays were stashing all the peanuts, even spent some time spying on them from a hidden corner under the porch.
Next day, and the next, I pecked away at the story, fussing and reworking as I went, trying to get the action to move the story in the direction I wanted it to go. Trying to get the characters to act in ways that were believable and consistent with who they were. Trying to get everything just right so it would fit within the word count. Trying to write to that ending I had figured out long before.
It was late afternoon, near sunset. The jays and chickadees were gone for the day, my pencil was skittering across the paper, in the final stretch, I was sure I was done but then the pencil wrote one more sentence--it wasn't the ending sentence I intended to write. It wasn't anything like what I'd even been thinking about, but it was there, and it was exactly the right sentence. The surprise of it was so strong that it felt like the breath had been knocked out of me.
Surprise yourself, and you'll surprise your reader. Surprise your readers, and they're more likely to remember your story.
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Registration Deadline is January 18!
Anza Borrego Writing Retreat!
February 8-13, 2015
Borrego Springs, California
I create a safe space for you and your work; Anza-Borrego is the perfect landscape for a winter retreat.
Join me for an inspiring writers' retreat in warm and beautiful Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
- daily group sessions,
- individual coaching and feedback with retreat leader Judy Fort Brenneman (that's me!),
- 2 guided field trips (including a sunset/starlight tour in this Dark Sky Community),
- Sunday kick-off with guest author Susan Zwinger,
- inexpensive lodging options, and
- plenty of time to write and explore.
Open to all levels and genres--
"nature writing" encompasses everything from memoir to short stories, poetry, and interpretive programs.
Registration and more info:
REGISTRATION CLOSES JANUARY 18, 2015.
Don't miss this opportunity for a relaxing, fun, safe space for writing, sharing stories, and exploring.
A great gift for yourself or fellow writer!
REGISTER TODAY
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