The Craft of Writing

My students at the ICL class going on at this time are already good writers. Those who studied with me in the past have improved and become quite knowledgeable about the craft.

I've been told that talented writers don't need to take writing classes. "If a person has talent, he shouldn't need to study writing."  Well, I disagree.

A person might be talented in visual arts - painting and drawing - but he needs help to learn about the colors and kinds of paint, the brushes he might need if he is painting a miniature instead of an 18 x 20 canvas. He might get this information from someone in a store or a friend, but somewhere he will need some help in the craft of painting.

Back in 1976, I decided to follow a goal of becoming a painter. I had not done any painting, so I found the perfect teacher for me. Her name was Verna. She was a fabulous teacher and I learned how to use oil paints, to use a fan brush, to use tools other than brushes for painting, how to create shimmering water and so much more. I enjoyed my classes and also enjoyed painting scenes from our farm in south Georgia.

Yes, talent is important, but it also takes time and perseverance to learn how to write. In my classes, I help my students make their stories entertaining as well as informative for the readers. How many want to read a book filled with facts that doesn't entertain us as well.

Two prompts I give my students to motivate them to write involve sketching. First I ask them to list all the houses they remember living in and then choose one to visit in detail. They draw an outline of the house and then draw in the rooms, just boxes on paper. The student goes through the house and in each space he notes the memories that come to him. In the kitchen he writes notes on who he sees there and what he smells and hears in that room. He goes on through this house and each room provokes memories of people and events that happened to him at a certain age.

One drawing like this will bring on a flood of memories that beg to be told. My mother is gone now, but I can see her in the kitchen making biscuits. I can see and smell the food, hear the radio playing in the other room just loud enough for Mother to keep up with the game show.

To be a good writer one must read, and I suggest read what you like to write. After taking classes, we learn to read in a different way. When we begin to read like writers we see so many things in books that surprise us, that open our eyes to what the author is saying, and that we remember.

Wherever you live, try to find a good writing teacher and good classes where you can grow and expand your own work.  Ask at the library or a local college. We need the right tools to write well. Sometimes taking one class will motivate a writer to jump in and begin that novel or memoir she has always wanted to write.

Estelle Rice and I read from our forthcoming book at CWPW.

Estelle Rice and I read from our forthcoming book, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, today at Coffee with the Poets and Writers. I was delighted to see the large audience and to see that they enjoyed the stories and poems. I read "How to Bridle an Uncooperative Horse" which has been published elsewhere.

ESTELLE RICE

Our writing organization, North Carolina Writers' Network - West, is a program of the state organization. We hold free events for the public to attend and to give our members opportunity to share their writing. Each month one of our NCWN-West members is featured. This month it was two featured.

Five of those attending today read at Open Mic, a time on the program when the guests are invited to read original stories or poems. Bob Grove read a humorous story about his mother. Richard Carey read a poem about cicadas.

Why do we need a writing community?

Being a member of a writing community is important for many reasons. Members can meet other writers, they attend critique groups and classes with other writers. A member can befriend someone who will read his stories or poems and give him feedback. In our community of writers, we don't compete with each other. We encourage each other and are happy when someone we know is published or wins an award.

I was taught when I joined NCWN-West twenty years ago, to do what I could to help other writers and they would do the same for me. I still do that today, and I hope new writers who join us now will do the same.

Three Poets will read at the John C. Campbell Folk School on May 16

This Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 7:00 PM, the North Carolina Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. The event will be held in the Keith House in the Community Room. The reading is free of charge and open to the public.

Staci Lynn Bell is a retired 25-year radio/ television host and commercial production copy writer. She is also an elite dog trainer.  Her emceeing skills have allowed her to serve an emcee for many NCWN-West conferences and events. Staci writes poetry, creative non-fiction, memoir and essays. She has been published in, Kakalak 2017, 2016, and several online journals, including, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Wolf Warriors Anthology II. Bell has poems in numerous Old Mountain Press Anthologies, Bell’s poem, "Escape" was published in the Old Mountain Press Anthology, Wish You Were Here. Her poem, "Unanswered Prayers" was published in the fall edition of Kakalak 2016. Additionally, her poem, "Time," won a bronze medal and her short story, "Cheyenne" won a silver medal in the North Carolina Cherokee and Clay County's Silver Arts 2016.

Joan Ellen Gage is an author of humor and inspiration written from her own unique perspective. Her photos are the spice in the mix that serve to punctuate the writing and add that special garnish to her creations. She has written and published five books, Water Running Downhill!, Embracing Your Inner Cheerleader!, A Redhead Looks At 60, Trinity's Adventures in Imagination, and a special edition of Water Running Downhill! the Rose Edition, as a tribute to her friend Rose Helena Macedo Kull. Gage is serves as administrator for the NCWN-West’s blog. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com,and A Redhead Blogs at 60!, https://joanszoneblogalicious @wordpress.com.

Mary Ricketson of Murphy NC, has been writing poetry for 20 years; to satisfy a hunger, to taste life down to the very last drop. She is inspired by nature and her work as a mental health counselor. Her poetry has been published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, and the anthologies, Lights in the Mountains, and Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Freeing Jonah, and her chapbook I Hear the River Call my Name. Mary's second poetry book is Hanging Dog Creek; her third book, Shade and Shelter, is newly released from Kelsay Books.
Ricketson is Cherokee County's Representative for the North Carolina Writers Network-West, and is president of Ridgeline Literary Alliance. Ricketson writes a monthly column, "Women to Women", for The Cherokee Scout, Murphy , NC’s newspaper. She is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, an organic blueberry farmer, and is currently working on a new collection of poetry.

Some things you would like to know

Writers' Night Out

The 2018 schedule of featured readers from North Carolina and Georgia

April 13: Mike James and Michael Walls

May 18: Jennifer Lux and Rupert Fike  - The third Friday, not the second.

June 8: Michelle Castleberry and Karen Paul Holmes

July 13: Joan Howard and Jane Simpson

Aug 10: Kimberly Simms and Mary Ricketson

Sept 14: Robert Kendrick and Janice Moore

Oct 12: Danielle Hanson and Loren Leith

Nov 9: Glenda Beall and Estelle Rice
karenpaulholmes@gmail.com

 

 

COFFEE WITH THE POETS AND WRITERS

• Wednesday, May 16, 10:30 AM
• Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC
• Estelle Rice and Glenda Beall are featured this month.
• Open mic is offered and poets and prose writers are welcome to read.
• Limit your reading to two or three poems and 1500 words for fiction or nonfiction.

We love to have guests as well as members. Everyone is welcomed.
glendabeall@msn.com

Writers Circle Around the Table Summer Classes

Taking registration now. Don't wait. Space is limited.

Tuesdays, 2 - 5 p.m.  Six weeks of classes in comfortable setting, casual and fun. We welcome beginners and those who feel they still need some instruction to help them be the best they can be.

Get motivated to write again by taking a writing class. You will find your enthusiasm growing, ideas clamoring to be heard, and stories urging you to write them.

Tuesdays, June 5 - June 26  and July 10 and 17
Fee: $48.00                Limit 10 students
To Register for classes, Email or call Glenda Beall. gcbmountaingirl@gmail or 828-389-4441. You may also pay online with PayPal for this class.

Creative Writing for Fiction and Nonfiction 

Creative Writing for beginning writers and intermediate writers who want motivation and inspiration. We share our work and gain from feedback of other  students.

• Prompts are offered but no one is required to follow them. 
• Students are asked to write a short piece each week and bring copies to share. 
• Receive instruction in dialogue, content and copy editing, transitions and basic writing tips to make your work polished and ready for submission.

Now Taking Registration

 

Writing Classes at Writers Circle around the Table

Hayesville, NC

 

Don't wait until the last minute to register for a class. If we don't have a minimum five days before the start of the class, we cancel the workshop.

To Register for classes, Email or call Glenda Beall. gcbmountaingirl@gmail or 828-389-4441. You may also pay online with PayPal for this class.

 Writing Classes at the studio with Glenda Beall 

Tuesdays, 2 - 5 p.m.  Six weeks of classes in comfortable setting, casual and fun. We welcome beginners and those who feel they still need some instruction to help them be the best they can be.

June 5 - June 26  and July 10 and 17
Fee: $48.00                Limit 10 students

Creative Writing for Fiction and Nonfiction 

Creative Writing for beginning writers and intermediate writers who want motivation and inspiration. We share our work and gain feedback from other students.

• Prompts are offered but no one is required to follow them. 
• Students are asked to write a short piece each week and bring copies to share. 
• Receive instruction in dialogue, content and copy editing, transitions and basic writing tips to make your work polished and ready for submission.
  

Glenda Beall is a published writer and poet. She is a seasoned teacher of writing memoir, short stories, personal essays and poetry. Glenda has taught for the EAGLE program in Sautee, GA; the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC; Tri-County Community college, Murphy, NC and the Institute of Continuing Learning at Young Harris College, Young Harris, Georgia. Her students have gone on to publish books and to publish poetry and creative nonfiction in magazines and journals. See testimonials

Institute for Continuing Learning - Young Harris College, Young Harris, Georgia

If you can, please join me when I teach a weekly class May 3 through May 24, 3:15 - 5:45 p.m.for the Institute of Continuing Learning.

Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA

4 Sessions, Thursdays

May 3 through May 24,

3:15 - 5:45 p.m.

Cost $18

www.iclyhc.org  Visit this site to register for this class.

 Classes will be held at the Towns County Fire Station 6,

 441 Sunnyside RD, Hiawassee, GA

Entertain and Enlighten your Readers with your Life Stories

How do we begin to write about our lives? Can we use dialogue, stories passed down from parents, and do we have to prove they are true? In today’s world where family members often live long distances from each other, it is difficult to share the interesting lives we have lived. There seems to be no time to sit on the porch and talk about the past. But we can still share our life experiences with our children, grandchildren and future generations by writing them now. In this class we will write entertaining as well as enlightening short pieces and receive feedback from our classmates.  

Contact ICL for registration information

Writers’ Night Out Announces 2018 Schedule

Karen Paul Holmes began Writers' Night Out in Blairsville several years ago and it is one of my favorite literary events in our area. She has created another outstanding schedule of readers for this year. I am excited, of course, that Estelle Rice and I are on this schedule. We will read in November from our soon to be released book, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, Stories and Poems about Our Pets and Other Creatures. 

Writers’ Night Out begins its eighth season on April 13 and continues the second Friday of the month through November. Featured readers present their work at 7 p.m., and an open microphone follows, where audience members can share three minutes of their own poetry or prose. The event is free and open to the public and takes place at the Union County Community Center in Blairsville, GA.

The 2018 schedule of featured readers from North Carolina and Georgia

April 13: Mike James and Michael Walls

May 18: Jennifer Lux and Rupert Fike

June 8: Michelle Castleberry and Karen Paul Holmes

July 13: Joan Howard and Jane Simpson

Aug 10: Kimberly Simms and Mary Ricketson

Sept 14: Robert Kendrick and Janice Moore

Oct 12: Danielle Hanson and Loren Leith

Nov 9: Glenda Beall and Estelle Rice

April reader, Mike James, is the author of eleven poetry collections. His most recent books include: Crows in the Jukebox (Bottom Dog, 2017), My Favorite Houseguest (FutureCycle, 2017), and Peddler’s Blues (Main Street Rag, 2016.) 

His work has appeared in over 100 magazines throughout the country in such places as Tar River Poetry, Soundings East, and Laurel Review. He has also been active as an editor for The Kentucky Review, Autumn House Press, and his own Yellow Pepper Press. After years spent in South Carolina, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, he now makes his home in Chapel Hill, NC with his large family and a large assortment of cats. 

 James will also teach a poetry class on April 14 at Writers Circle in Hayesville, NC. For more information, visit http://www.glendacouncilbeall.com/ . (see the studio schedule)

Michael Walls has had poetry published in a variety of journals and magazines including The New York Quarterly, South Carolina Review, Atlanta Review, Chattahoochee Review, Poetry East, The Midwest Quarterly and others. 

His chapbook is The Blues Singer and his full-length collection is Stacking Winter Wood (Kelsay Books/Aldrich Press, 2017). His poems and articles have also appeared in law reviews and journals. He is a retired labor lawyer who now spends his time working as a volunteer on environmental and other issues, hiking, hanging out with friends and family, writing poems and letters to the editor, and listening to rock and roll, blues and jazz. He spends time in Atlanta and the North Georgia Mountains.

Writers’ Night Out is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. The Union County Community Center is located at Butternut Creek Golf Course at 129 Union County Recreation Rd., Blairsville, Georgia 30512, off Highway 129 near the intersection of US 76, phone (706) 439-6092.

Food is available for purchase in The View Grill, but please arrive by 6 pm to get served.  For more information on Writers’ Night, contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com.

Register at least a month early to be sure you get a seat. We are limited to only ten students.

What is in store for everyone at Writers Circle around the Table in Hayesville, NC, this spring and summer?

First we have Mike James, well-known poet who will teach a four hour workshop on Saturday, April 14, noon until 4:00 p.m.  He will teach us about the many different forms we can use in poetry. I am looking forward to this class because I don't often use different kinds of forms in my poetry. I'd like to learn something new. I also expect this class to motivate me to get back to writing poetry again.
Read a recent interview with Mike here.
Read about his class and about Mike, an interesting man with many publications, here.

In June I, Glenda Beall, will teach six weeks of classes on Tuesdays, 2:00 until 5:00 PM . June 5 - June 26 and July 10 and 17.
 This will be a class for writing fiction, nonfiction and creative nonfiction. Some of my past students have already told me they plan to be there, and I look forward to seeing them. Read more here,

Many of you have said you would like to take a class with Carol Crawford, poet, essayist and writing instructor. We are happy Carol will be back with us Saturday, July 14, 1:00 - 4:00 PM to help us improve our prose - fiction and nonfiction.
Carol has her own business, www.carolcrawfordediting.com Read all the testimonials given to her by her clients. Read more about this class here.