Writing about Your Life classes in April, May and June

Plans are being made for my two writing classes that will begin in April and go on through June. I will teach a class for the Institute of Continuing Learning on Tuesday afternoons beginning April 30, 2:00 PM - 4:30 PM, and ending May 21.

For class description click here.

This class will be taught at my studio in Hayesville, NC instead of on the Young Harris College campus. To register for this class, contact ICL at www.iclyhc.org

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Beginning June 4, a new Writers Circle Studio course is scheduled. 
Instructor: Glenda Beall - 

Use registration form at top of page.




June 4, Tuesday 2:00 – 4:30 pm
June 11, Tuesday 2:00 – 4:30 pm
June 18, Tuesday 2:00 – 4:00 pm
June 25, Tuesday 2:00 – 4:30 pm 

Read description of this class here.

Piliated Woodpecker helps me celebrate National Wildlife Week

This week is National Wildlife Week and I am so happy to live in an area filled with wildlife. Every day I see deer, squirrels, chipmunks, and all kinds of birds in the woods and in my yard. I live on a small piece of land, but the surrounding property is still free of houses and people. That gives access to those creatures that might be afraid of too many humans.

Red-headed Woodpecker

"The gorgeous Red-headed Woodpecker is so boldly patterned it’s been called a “flying checkerboard,” with an entirely crimson head, a snow-white body, and half white, half inky black wings. These birds don’t act quite like most other woodpeckers: they’re adept at catching insects in the air, and they eat lots of acorns and beech nuts, often hiding away extra food in tree crevices for later."

I am used to seeing this beautiful bird, and I am sorry to hear that this species has declined severely due to lack of habitat and changes in its food supply. As we humans build and take away the woods, we kill off our birds.

The red-headed woodpeckers like my suet feeders. They also eat seeds and acorns they find in the area. Other food they eat is corn, beechnuts, pecans, and lots of fruit including apples, pears, cherries, blackberries, strawberries, grapes, mulberries and poison ivy fruits. 

Piliated Woodpecker

Yesterday I looked out my window and saw a Piliated Woodpecker on a fallen tree in the woods. This is a very large bird not easily missed. He also has a raucous call.

"The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens."

The dead trees in the woods by my house attract the Pileated Woodpeckers and other similar birds as they forage for food or roost and even nest in them.

Unusual things about this bird: He digs rectangular holes in trees to find ants.The Pileated Woodpecker prefers large trees for nesting. Because these trees are often taller than the surrounding forest, they present a lightning hazard to the nesting.

I watch owls and hawks as well as crows in my yard and woods as they hunt and protect their habitat. I would really miss my wildlife if I ever moved to a city.

NEVER TOO LATE FOR ANOTHER STORY

Although the weekend is over, it is never too late for me to write. 

Saturday, March 2 was the birthday of my late husband, Barry Beall. As I celebrated him I remembered a story he told me about his childhood. 

He was born in 1935 in Georgia. When he was a small boy, he spent time with his grandparents, Roy and Myrtice Alexander who lived in Roopville, Georgia. The Alexanders had an unusual business - at least it is considered unusual for today.

They drove around the rural areas of western north Georgia and showed movies in the small towns where there were no movie theaters at that time. Barry said they loaded up a movie projector and screen as well as the large reel-to-reel films. They arrived on Saturday and set up in a library, a church fellowship hall or any place large enough to seat the audience that turned out for the show. The whole town welcomed them.

Barry was about five or six years old when he toured with his granddaddy and grandmother. He played while they worked. After setting up the projector and making sure it worked properly, Grandmother Alexander sold tickets. Families arrived together and young men brought their girlfriends to see the western movies or the latest Humphrey Bogart films.

Barry was too young to enjoy the picture shows, but he always was given a nice treat to eat. He remembered falling asleep in his grandmother's lap and waking when the lights were turned on.

Time Management Tips for Writers

I am one of the writers who complain that we never have enough time to write although we claim that we love writing. Are you like me, planning to write, but thinking about other things like, I need to do laundry now, or I need to pay some bills before I forget about it, or I must clean out my refrigerator and on and on. Do you procrastinate about your writing?

At this link I found some good tips and you might like to check it out.
One that I like is scheduling my writing time on my calendar just as I do doctor's appointments.
Recently while discussing how overwhelmed I feel about what I have to do in the next month or two, I realized I must cut these tasks into manageable pieces.

I want to set aside a day for each project I am working on and not let anything else interrupt me.
One day I will only work on NCWN-West tasks. Another day I will plan my classes for Writers Circle around the Table. One day will be spent organizing my studio.

It is hard to write or do the things we really want to do when we are at home all day and have the responsibility of keeping house. Often the organizing gurus say, delegate some of the chores to your family members. Well - my little Lexie is not much help. She is an eleven pound canine who demands her feeding and her playing time. I have no human in my house to help me.

LEXIE

But, I can limit my telephone time, my online reading of blogs and other interesting sites, and make certain tasks top priority. What I can't do is stop the wasting of time with technology interruptions such as today when I could not get into my online bank account, or talk to a human being when I called about my credit card. Do you find that what is supposed to make life easier is often taking much more of our time because it is not working properly?

Anyway, I hope you are organized and find time to write and create what is waiting in your mind today. If you have any tips to help us, please leave a comment or email me.

Maureen Ryan Griffin featured Glenda in her WordZine today

I am delighted today that Maureen Ryan Griffin, poet, writer, writing instructor and owner of WordPlay, featured me, Glenda C. Beall, on her WordZine.

Maureen has been a friend of mine since I first met her at the John C. Campbell Folk School after signing up for one of her writing classes. She has set so many would be writers and poets on the path to publishing and I am one of them.
Check Maureen's Facebook page where you can read the article about me, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins and some words about my co-writer, Estelle Rice.

https://www.facebook.com/WordPlayNow/

Thanks Maureen for all your support.

What is a failed haiku?

Pat Daharsh lives in Florida and writes haiku. Recently she submitted another form of short poetry,  Senryū  to  https://failedhaiku.com.  

The editor liked her poems and published five of them. Pat says, "It’s an ‘acquired taste’ for some. I don’t write a lot of it, but now and then I realize that’s what I’ve written instead of haiku – and occasionally I write one or two on purpose." 

Senryū is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction. Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious. 

This Editor says further – “Many years ago, at a haiku meeting, someone asked me what my definition of a senryu was, and I said: “It is just a failed haiku is all.” It was a flip answer, not particularly literary, but I have grown to like it for both its brevity and its lack of preciseness, both of which fit the spirit of senryu perfectly.”

bruised sky -
the lab tech searches
for a vein

snowmelt…
the road less traveled
reappears

laundry day
grey sheets of rain
unfolding

workday morning
the burnt toast odor
hitches a ride

always polite
a child waves goodbye
to the waves

Congratulations, Pat. I like these short poems. Readers, try writing some yourself. Send them to me and I will share them with the world. 

Planning to Publish a Book?

Important decisions when you are planning to publish a book:
Don't skimp on cover design.

Cover design - Most important. If you want to use a picture or photograph, find a cover designer who can use your picture in the best way. You might find your photograph does not make the best cover. Look at the work of a cover designer online and find one whose work you like. Authors are not always the best judges of what makes a good cover. I learned the hard way. 
When I published my chapbook in 2009, I did not use color in my cover. What a mistake. My book that I worked on for years, gets lost on a book shelf. Make sure your cover is eye-catching and represents what your book has to say.

https://blog.bookbaby.com/2019/01/you-cant-skip-hiring-a-cover-designer/

Second most popular post on Writers Circle around the Table

I recently met with a writer who brought along her first book. She had not published before and now wants to know how to sell her book. Luckily she knows many people, has tons of friends and will likely sell her first printing if she follows my guidelines.

I gave her pointers that I have learned over the years and we brainstormed ways she can reach her audience. Her finished product is a beautiful work of art. She is an artist (visual) and did her own illustrations and used her own

photographs. She published with a company called Blurb. She bought a finished copy first and then made some revisions before she bought more books. Her next order was 20 books and they costs her almost 20 dollars each. The more books you purchase the less the cost. 

The artist/writer had really planned to print only a few books for friends, but she has become enthusiastic after a few sales and compliments. Because this beautiful book is as much a work of art as it is a story, her audience will be wider than most. When she is ready to take orders for her book, I will announce it here and give you much more information.  

Meanwhile, if you want to publish a book, read this post from 2015. I think you will find it helpful.


https://tinyurl.com/y2psg64g     Second Most Popular Post

Another post on publishing and marketing:

https://tinyurl.com/y2q574qr