May 31, 2012
2012 Half Yearly Contest Winners
Drumroll here....
The winners of the 2012 Half-Yearly Contest are:
First Place: Last Kiss, by Karen Ross Samford
Second Place: Metamorphosis, by Cara Achterberg
Third Place: Talking with Chloe, by Annie Murray
We sincerely thank all who submitted their stories and invite you to submit again in August. Guidelines for the Annual contest are here.
December 22, 2011
Steve Martin and My Metaphysical Writing Group
The funnest part about this journey is that I have started a new writing group. Steve Martin, who I adore as a writer, is in my group. Some of you know that I have been wanting to meet Steve for a while. Well, I finally met him in a metaphysical imagery journey in which we were both sitting in two chairs by a cozy fire in a cabin in the woods. If you are wondering, yes there was a stream outside. Ah, the mind.
Warning. This blog is about to enter the realm of the metaphysical and unprovable. Right where I like to be. Most of the best things in life are unprovable. Like poetry. How does it work? How does it break the chains of time and space and shift us when we hear it read aloud next to paintings of flowers and haystacks. No one really knows, and when we try to talk about it, we are using the part of our mind that doesn't really believe in it anyway. That's why analyzing and talking about the metaphysical always feels woo-woo.
But back to my writing group. Steve and I really connected when we met and we decided to start a writing group. He insisted that we invite his friend Julie, because she is a very good workshopper and has been very valuable to him in his writing journey, and I trust him completely. So we invited her. I don't know her well yet, but she seems to be quite lovely. I wanted to invite Annie Dillard, but Steve was not sure at first. He's much shyer than you'd think. I'm not sure what his hesitation was, but once we got her on Skype she was great and we all had great chemistry.
So we meet like that, the 4 of us, weekly around my square dining room table, and sometimes we are serious and sometimes we laugh and sometimes we lie on the floor and listen to a recording of some hypnosis track that I made earlier. And sometimes... well no, I won't share everything.
Suffice it to say, I'm happier than ever and producing great writing. Perhaps I will even update Cartoon Physics, soon. I hope everyone is enjoying the writing life as much as I am.
Who is your metaphysical writing mentor?
October 20, 2011
The Winners are...
Memoirs Ink is happy to announce the winners of the 2011 Annual Writing Contest:
First Place: The Narrative Voice, by Emily Gambone
Second Place: A Great Love, by Sue Granzella
Third Place: The Circus Inside Me, by Re McBride
Honorable Mention: To the Edge, by Patricia Schultheis
Please read and enjoy them and pass on or comment on any stories you enjoy. If you would like to enter our next contest, you can view the guidelines here.
August 26, 2011
Life Histories and Colorado Peaches
It has been some time since I have traveled for work, and I'm surprised how much I am enjoying it. Lately, instead of traveling myself, I have been training others in the art of "Life History Facilitation" and certifying them through Memoirs Ink. The plan is to create my own army, because there is only one me and there is a lot of work to be done in the world. The demand for recorded life histories is growing, and I love training people. What better job could one have than to be paid to listen to interesting stories, learn new things and sometimes travel to interesting places.
Here are just a few of the things I learned about today:
The Road to Berma
The Flying Tigers
Mount Everest
The Forbidden City in Tibet
Gurkas
Riding an Elephant
August 18, 2011
2 Memoir Genres That Will Change My Life This Fall
Let me tell you about two genres of memoir that are currently on my radar and why. They are: food memoirs, and dating memoirs. Culinary memoirs are on my radar because I love food and because Memoirs Ink just started a food memoir blog called Heart of the Platter. Starting this blog has changed my culinary life and brought me and others around me much joy. (I'd like to invite readers to think about food stories, too and submit them if they have them. They are fun and easy to write.) The latter genre, dating memoirs, came onto my radar when Tamara Duricka Johnson showed up in The Writer's Mind Class this February.
Tamara was in the editing phase of her dating memoir, 31 Dates in 31 Days, which is forthcoming this October 2011 from Seal Press. I got to hear her story and read some of the chapters. It was fun to see how her dating experiment changed and stretched her, and ultimately brought her true love (but you'll have to read it to find out how). I realized that dating memoirs are a legitimate genre. And so in honor of Tamara (who is now a dear friend), and her forthcoming book, I have decided to do her 31 date challenge this fall. Lucky for Tamara, and some good men out there, I am currently single, rooted in self-love and open to any and all learnings. Seems like the perfect time to do it.
Eek!
However, I am not quite crazy enough to attempt 31 dates in 31 days, so I will be doing the 30 dates in 60 days (September and October), and the 31st date will be a second date of my choice sometime around the end of October.
Just to satisfy the highly voyeuristic, I might blog about it here every other week or so and let you know how it is going. And I'll be doing a guest post on Tamara's 31 Dates blog sometime in October.
So fun! May the force be with me.
| Me at my last Art, Music, and Spoken Word Salon. (Before I spilled tea and honey on my shirt.) |
July 19, 2011
Editor Quote to Consider
W.H. Auden said, "A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language." I believe this to be true of all writers. Do you agree? Tell us why or why not here.Looking forward to reading all of your feedback.
xo,
Christina
July 12, 2011
Editor Tip: Stop Making Excuses—Write Now
I am in awe of how many people believe that in order to write a memoir you must be a celebrity, elderly, or on your deathbed. While having a huge following (as celebrities do) will help you get published, it's not necessary. As for being elderly or on your deathbed, where would we be without such great memoirists as David Sedaris (Me Talk Pretty One Day), Annie Dillard (An American Childhood), Steve Martin (Born Standing Up), and Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle)?Just Write
Don't create excuses for yourself. Memoir binds people together; it is the day to day, the conversations at bus stops, a missed exit on a train ride, a stranger at the supermarket, an eccentric family or friend that create great works. Don't think you need to climb Mount Everest or win an Oscar to write about your life; there is value in your story, so write it—and then share—with your parent(s), child(ren), friends, family, Memoirs Ink, and the world.
Looking forward to reading your stories.
Cheers,
Christina
