Shelby Dean Stephenson has been selected the new Poet Laureate of North Carolina and will be installed in February, 2015.
Read more here.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Saturday, December 6, 2014
Why Count our rejections?
I am always surprised when I read that a writer knows
exactly how many rejections he has received. I wonder why one would want to rub
salt in the wound that occurs when the rejections arrive. I make note that the
journal has rejected my work, and then put the info away in my files. I have
two files in the drawer. One has all my acceptances and the other has
rejections. Those that come now by email get filed in my documents. I have no
idea how many times my work has been rejected.
Once a poem has been turned down a couple of times, I revise
it and send it out again to different publications. I have an idea of the number of publications I have because I list them on my
blog, but I have never counted them to make me feel good or bad. If I counted all
the rejections , I am sure I’d be unpleasantly surprised. Since I have no idea
of their number, I never think about it.
Part of my approach to life is making sure I don’t poke
sticks in my eyes anymore. Why torture myself when it is unnecessary and does
no one any good? Why would I lash myself with a big whip?
Instead of thinking of the negative, I glory in my acceptances
when they come and share them with friends that I know care about me. I think
it is best to celebrate our greatness every chance we get.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Classes for 2015
We are happy to have Paula
Canup, former English teacher, writer and journalist, join our faculty in 2015. She will teach a
workshop in March. The date and time will be announced later.
We can always use a brush up on
our basic skills and new writers often have forgotten those details of grammar
that we learn in high school and college. I see many problems with new students
such as when to use ellipses, where to place quotation marks in dialogue, what
is an em dash and where to use it. How often can we use an exclamation point or
when should we use it?
Put it on your calendar now to
sign up for Paula’s class at Writers Circle next March.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Glenda Beall teaches at TCCC in March
I will be teaching in
March at Tri-County Community College. The dates are: March 24, 31 and April 7
and 14. Time for all classes is 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The title of the class is
Write Your Life Stories for Your Family or for Publishing.
I have taught adults to write stories about their lives for
a number of years. The stories are often written for grandchildren or other
family because the writer wants to leave a legacy of what life
was like before cell phones, before computers and video games, before families
were too busy and before they were scattered all over the country and around
the world.
Each of us has a unique story, and in this class you learn
- where
to begin
- how
to begin
- how
to organize your work
- what
to write and what not to write
- how
to write so that your audience will want to read your stories
Each student will have several stories completed and written
by the end of the course in an entertaining and interesting form. Each student
will carry home a number of tools he/she can use in the future.
Classes for 2015
We are happy to have Paula
Canup, former English teacher, writer and journalist, join our faculty in 2015. She will teach a
workshop in March. The date and time will be announced later.
We can always use a brush up on
our basic skills and new writers often have forgotten those details of grammar
that we learn in high school and college. I see many problems with new students
such as when to use ellipses, where to place quotation marks in dialogue, what
is an em dash and where to use it. How often can we use an exclamation point or
when should we use it?
Put it on your calendar now to
sign up for Paula’s class at Writers Circle next March.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Glenda Beall teaches at TCCC in March
I will be teaching in
March at Tri-County Community College. The dates are: March 24, 31 and April 7
and 14. Time for all classes is 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. The title of the class is
Write Your Life Stories for Your Family or for Publishing.
I have taught adults to write stories about their lives for
a number of years. The stories are often written for grandchildren or other
family because the writer wants to leave a legacy of what life
was like before cell phones, before computers and video games, before families
were too busy and before they were scattered all over the country and around
the world.
Each of us has a unique story, and in this class you learn
- where
to begin
- how
to begin
- how
to organize your work
- what
to write and what not to write
- how
to write so that your audience will want to read your stories
Each student will have several stories completed and written
by the end of the course in an entertaining and interesting form. Each student
will carry home a number of tools he/she can use in the future.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Monday, October 13, 2014
Friday, October 10, 2014
From my journal, September 30, 2014
Today is September 30, 2014, our first full day at
the house on Cape Breton Island in Nova
Scotia, Canada. I slept better last night than I have in a long, long time. The
bed is just soft enough and has the exact right amount of cover. I cracked a
window to get the fresh cold air into the room. When I turned off the lamp,
darkness settled over me so black I couldn’t see anything. I closed my eyes and
immediately fell asleep.
This is an unusual occurrence for me. I have been an
insomniac all my life. Being thousands of miles from my responsibilities makes
a huge difference I think, even though my waking hours are often filled with
concern about my work and my house. Will my plants die while I am gone? Did I
get the article into the newspapers soon enough? Will I stay healthy for this
week away from home?
But those thoughts didn't enter my mind last night.
I am on vacation with my sister and brother-in- law and they are great traveling
companions.
We left their house in Roswell, GA
Sunday at 8:30 a.m. We arrived in Halifax, NS around 3:45 but did not
leave the airport in the rental car until nearly five. We had no GPS and no
good directions to the hotel in Dartmouth, so we became lost and finally found
the place after dark. Thankfully a restaurant, on the premises, had a fine menu. A large bowl of seafood chowder, brimming with lobster, scallops, crab and fish was all I could eat. After our meal I collapsed on the bed and slept
for nine hours.
I had called ahead and asked for a chemical free
room. I was told it was no problem and I found out the entire hotel, A Best
Western Plus, used no polluting air freshener or fragranced cleaners. The lobby had no
odor and the rooms were completely clean and free of synthetic scents.
I love Canada. The people are far more conscious of
the earth than where I have lived and they know how to care for it. Recycle
containers are everywhere and people seem to know how to use them. Even in my hotel room, I found recycle containers available.
I remembered that I had heard of a hospital in
Halifax for those with chemical sensitivities. Wish I had had time to
investigate that place.
 |
| The view from the house we rented in Nova Scotia |
For now, I think I will take a nap.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Elizabeth Hunter teaches workshop October 25
October 25, Saturday, 10-1:00 p.m.
Fee: $35
Second Draft Strategies: Taking the Terror Out of Revision
Congratulations! You’ve completed a first draft. You know it needs work, but where to begin? This three-hour workshop will supply you with a roadmap through revision that will improve your writing and calm your nerves. We’ll work our way through a structured set of questions, beginning with the big one: Have I said what I wanted to say? Others follow, concerning beginning and ending, voice, tone, tense, language, and flow. Students who wish to are invited to bring a first draft (maximum length 1,000 words) to read and critique.
Elizabeth Hunter began her professional writing career as a newspaper reporter before becoming a freelance writer. A columnist, contributing editor and writer for Blue Ridge Country Magazine, she was commissioned to write the text for two coffee table books on the Blue Ridge Parkway and one celebrating the 150-year anniversary of Mitchell County, NC, where she lives. She is a self-taught naturalist, and has taught nature writing at John C. Campbell Folk School for many years.
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