bookrecs – Page 2 – Tammy L. Breitweiser

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 23

All month I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out. I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

#10minchallenge

Join me for the July #10min challenge. Each day I will send you inspiration to create for 10 minutes a day. Change your creative life and create a habit. It is a low stakes challenge with levels of accountability! Join us here Sign up here!

June 23

Poem: While

Story: What Can’t Be Carried Should Be Left on the Side of the Road Chelsea Stickle

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – A Long Chapter For A Short Practice

Reflections

The poem is odd and came into my email today. Here is the first stanza.

I go to drink the vending machine lights. I insert the coins I was fiddling with. I like how the machine lights up. I like shaking hands with paper cups. Warm as newborn quails. I like engraving teeth marks on the rim. I leave the cup on a chair. It becomes trash, becomes a letter.

The first line intrigues me and is a play on the idea that you go to a vending machine for something to drink. The idea of drinking light makes me think. There are observations of concrete details here that I can use in my revisions.

The story fascinated me when I read a draft of it in a class and I was drawn into the idea that there was a place you could go to scream. The compact nature of this piece inspires me.

I love these lines: Decades of screams raced out of her. It pressure washed her insides.

The essay from NG is about an exercise she poses to her students. To choose a place and write down what is happening at a cafe at the same time for a week. See what you observe. She does this exercise herself and she found out how much resistance it brought up for her and also what she noticed. It is an exercise I would like to try myself…maybe not for 7 days though! I need to find a cafe here. There is Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks of course but I would prefer a smaller place with a variety of baked goods!

Last night’s PUSH group was great and full of pulled lines to write with today. There were lots of great wins shared and we talked about what play meant to us. It was different for everyone ranging from things that were new to no expectations.

Do you want to join next week? Go here for the details: https://mailchi.mp/7a65558c8526/push

Happy Writing and Reading!

June 23, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt 2 Comments

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 22

#10minchallenge

June 22

The amount of flash pieces that came out yesterday was astounding. So many writers I respect had pieces published. The SmokeLong Quarterly released their new issue (#72) and it is full of wonderful pieces.

Poem: The Summer Day Mary Oliver

Story: Undergrowth by Bowers

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Loving a Place

Reflections

I went with a classic Mary Oliver poem today because I wanted to read it. The last two lines are some of the most popular from Oliver:

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Undergrowth is a story that won a recent contest from Smokelong. I love the way this story is organized and will use it to revise a memoir piece that I wrote based on some inspiration from Lidia Yuknavitch. It is an emotional piece.

The NG essay is about loving where you live. I have this feeling now that I live in Wisconsin. I think this also applies to the space you live in. You need to be comfortable where you spend your time. It needs to work for you. One of the things I will not give up next time I move is to have a fireplace. I love where we live now but I miss my fire!

Today’s reading is more about good word input rather than direct revision. I listened to Traci Skuce on two podcasts on my walk and found her revision conversations helpful.

Happy Writing and Reading!

June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 21

How are we at the 21st of the month already???

July is Coming!

June 21

Poem: In a Place Where Trees Can Speak by Jane Brunette

Story: Hunger Pains (A bit racy…fair warning before you click)

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Lists

Reflections

The poem is from Jane’s poetry collection Grasshopper Guru. There is a rhythm and ease to Jane’s poetry that feels dream like and soft to me. There are images and then you sift through to reveal a memory of hers that you feel like you were let into from a peep hole. It feels magical.

In the story I love her opening line: Eating nacho-flavored cauliflower chips is like eating the crisp skeletons of dead leaves.

I like some of the lines and the lists and how she uses food, but the explicit nature of the piece is not my favorite. In something I read today she said she wrote it when she was hungry!

NG writes about the writing of lists and how they are simple but one of the backbones of writing. Whenever you don’t know what to write you can always come back to a list. She gives some opening lines to play with in this chapter. For revision, formulating a list opening line that corresponds with your story can open up a new way to look at it and add details.

What list will you make today?

June 21, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt 1 Comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 20

For June, I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out. I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

July is Coming!

June 20

Poem: Mourning

Story: Click Clack the Rattle Bag by Neil Gaiman

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Things to Draw

Reflections

This poem draws me in with all the objects contained within it.

This short story is one of my all time favorites. It is about 1400 words so not considered flash fiction. There is a moment in this story where you gasp and you realize what is happening. It is a story told through dialogue as well which I find difficult to pull off.

NG talks about drawing with words. Sarah Selecky talks about this a lot as well – the idea to describe something with words. Lean descriptions keeping close to the object and the senses. It can add to the experience for a reader.

What inspires you?

June 20, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Weekend Coffee Share

Thank you for joining me for our weekly coffee chat today. It has been a busy week!

July is coming!

If we were having a beverage I would tell you I am considering my July challenge. I am considering doing the #10min challenge again. It would be a low stakes challenge where I would send a prompt for 10 minutes of creativity. Let me know in the comments if this idea interests you! Sign up here!

If we were having a beverage today I would tell you I am continuing my Bradbury revision Challenge and am on Day 19.

For the month, I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out.

I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

If we were having a beverage I would tell you this is what I read today:

Poem: Those Winter Sundays

Story: Mrs. Fox’s Wedding Grimm Brothers

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg Kiss

I just absorbed the words today mostly. I have been up since 2am and was able to go back to sleep but the essay was the one that resonated the most. NG talks about a passage she has read aloud at several places by William Kennedy. She uses the structure of his piece to encourage us to write our own.

She asks us to categorize something we have a passion for and then talk about a specific to us.She says to,” Break down category, idea, boundary. Follow your own trail out into the rain.”

What passion would you write about?

Her example is running shoes but even though I am a runner, that topic didn’t appeal to me.

If we were having a beverage I would tell you I attended Sarah Selecky’s FLOW class this week and it was amazing. The first session was about her classic writing exercises that put you into a state of flow. The second day she shared a more indepth exercise from Writing the Wave a book by Elizabeth Ayres. The third day she broke down more of the concept in the book FLOW by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and how they relate to the Story Intensive. I was about to get a copy of the WAVE book from my library. I will work with it this week. You can sign up for the Story Intensive until June 24th.

If we were having a beverage I would tell you that I had an amazing birthday on Wednesday. We went to a great White Sox game. There is always great food too. It was a long but pretty perfect day.

I hope your week was amazing and full of things that bring you joy!

June 19, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt 6 Comments

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 18

Welcome to Friday!!

For the month, I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out.

I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

July is Coming!

Since it is more than halfway through the month I am considering my July challenge. I am considering doing the #10min challenge again. It would be a low stakes challenge where I would send a prompt for 10 minutes of creativity. Let me know in the comments if this idea interests you!

June 18

Poem: Subtraction

Story: Straw, Coal, and Bean Grimm Brothers

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg Story of Love

Reflections

This poem reminds me of the This + That book by Amy Krouse Rosentahl and the life equations I write with my students. One of my favorites I wrote is:

coffee+writing=Breakfast

There are several lines from the poem I am drawn to:

This is my temporary mind.

You taught me math

in color: “Red + Blue=Purple.”

Imagination is an intraocular organ.

The story is another Grimm brothers tale that I was not familiar with. I am drawn to it since it is told through objects. It is on the silly side I think and also has an ending that explains why beans have a black seam. It is quite short as well.

NG gives an assignment in the first sentence of this essay. Go for one hour, in the middle of everything, and write about your story of love.

She did this exercise with students on the 4th day of a silent retreat. Then after they read later she asked them: What did I find interesting about what I heard?

I will tell you after many guesses from the students, which were all wrong, she said simply she was glad they stayed writing for the whole time. She knew from this they were settled.

Then they brainstormed other topics for this exercise and noticed what was different about the list. One was growing tomatoes which was hyper specific.

Then she joked it would be chapter two of her new book.

This was a playful chapter to read.

The takeaway today is specifics in writing. Earlier in the week a podcast referred to the fact the more the writer is specific the more universal the message. It is much more interesting to hear about a specific detail from a writer rather than a generality.

In the story I was revising this morning I added to a list of objects contained in a zippered plastic bag a rock from the shores of Long Lake in Minnesota. These small details are important. The more odd and pinpointed the more they resonate and stay with you.

What topic would you add to a list?

NG added loneliness.

June 18, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 17

Welcome to Thinking Thursday!

For the month, I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out.

I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

June 17

Poem:

Mothers I Once Was

by Kaveh Akbar

From The Paris Review

Story: The Three Spinning Women- Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg Seven Attitudes of Mindfulness + At The Beginning

Reflections

I love Kaveh Akbar’s poetry and was happy to see this poem show up in my inbox from The Paris Review. Of all the daily poem emails I seem to like the ones from this publication the most. It is a poem that I like the repetition of but not necessarily the poem as a whole. The last line: Mother who held on while it was happening. Is the one I like the best.

The story is a Grimm brothers tale is one I was not familiar with and is on the happier side which surprised me. A good deed is rewarded and not punished. There seems to be no twist of the knife that often arises in these tales. I like the rule of 3 but it is done differently. I am liking the idea of continuing the reading of the fairy tales. They are old and I love that about them.

The essay resonated with the Seven Attitudes of Mindfulness which I used in my newsletter for this week. The essay that followed the list is about getting out of your own way. She recommends writing practice for 2 years before you even think about a novel.

NG talks about writing as discovery. To take a topic and write about it in several timed writing sessions over time and then reread them. To follow the trail of the writing and see where it leads.

“Time lets the blood dry.” Isn’t that a fantastic line?

“The places where you were present almost glow off the page.”

“..eventually your path reveals itself.”

“Writing is magical, extraordinary, but we have to pick up the pen to run down the rails and catch that caboose.” This line caught my eye today because I was stopped by a train on my walk.

This project is causing me to rethink revision on a grand scale and what I even consider a draft. It is opening up a new level for me which is exciting.

What are you excited about today? It doesn’t have to be about writing!

June 17, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 15 & 16

For the month, I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out.

I welcome your comments, recommendations, and insights!

June 15

Short Story: Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff

Essays: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Dreams and Lying Down

Poem: Sonnet for A Tall Flower Blooming at Dinner

By Yona Harvey

Southern Flower, I want to quote the bard,

to serenade you, to raise a glass to you.

lone & tall you are always parched

& hungry. You wobble in strong winds, you

pull your bright hair when it rains, you

toss off the lint of dandelions, you

lean into the evening haunts

with your indifferent afro. You

were born in the old-world city, the invisible

dark girl city, the city that couldn’t hold

a candle, a straight pin a slave-owner’s sins

to you. You are the most beautiful

dark that hosts the most private sorrows

& feeds the hungriest ghosts.

Reflections

Today I am sharing one of my favorite short stories. It was introduced to me through Sarah Selecky’s Writing School. [Her intensive registration is open now! Here is the link for more info and sign up.]

It is an example of a story that utilizes a list. The main character is unlikable and is critiquing the robbers of the bank he is in. There is a whole list of things he doesn’t remember as he is dying. It is an interesting piece because often I list as a freewrite. This is a published story that has that type of list contained within it. I come back to this story again and again.

This poem has some lines that pop out for me

raise a glass to you

bright hair when it rains

feeds the hungriest ghosts

Poems helps me appreciate phrasing and sentences. There is beauty in words that rise up from the text like they are glowing.

This poet was introduced to me Sunday and I recommend her short poems as well. Her sentences have bite and I love them. Jane Brunette introduced me to her: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XYPYDRQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

In the NG essay she speaks of dreams being tied to the unconscious. In silence at the retreat with all the sitting, walking, and writing the subconscious is listening and often brings participants tangled dreams. She talks about writing them down. I have been doing a lot of inner work with my dreams and the associations I have with the images contained within them. It is an interesting practice.

June 16

Poem: How to Live

Short Story: Death’s Messengers by the Grimm brothers

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Breaking Silence

This poem is one I have come back to often and rewritten for my own life. It changes as the years pass. Since it is my birthday I find myself reflecting about truth, risk, and my ideal life. It is the little things I have found that make a life – the good coffee, the daily walk, a surprise on the page when I am writing.

What would be in your version of the poem?

I think it would be an interesting exercise to examine a character I am writing as well. Lately a new character, Bridget, has shown up in my writing. She is the character in the story I am writing with the 7 daily prompts.

Fairy tales are a particular flavor of flash fiction. I like to retell fairy tales so decided it would be a good idea to reread them. The originals are often much different than the Disney versions. This tale is one that is lesser known. Death and a Giant get into an altercation. A man helps death so Death tells him he will allow him to know he is coming. Death is tricky however and in my opinion doesn’t exactly keep his word.

Death and a Giant are unexpected characters for sure. The idea of a man helping him is even more surprising to me. I appreciate the concise nature of the tale. It is a good lesson in telling a complete story quickly.

The NG essay is about transitions. The chapter specifically talks about coming back to speaking after so much silence. When I was training to be a yoga teacher, I went to a retreat where we did more advanced poses than I was used to and deeper meditation. I was almost in a trance after one session and didn’t speak. I didn’t feel the need to, nor did I want to. The people with me kept asking me if I was ok.

Yesterday I posted about the transition from school life to home life.Another transition I have been thinking about is coming into writing and moving out of a writing session. Sarah Selecky added Somatic practices to the Story Course lessons in this update. It is a way to open and close a session. Sometimes I open with breathing and I always feel better about it but often forget. Ending a session is simply closing the notebook or computer.

Maybe I should think about how my rituals can be revised as well.

I would love to know what you are reading! Please share in the comments.

June 16, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 14

I am following Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of using the idea of good words in = good words out.

I welcome your comments and insights as well! I also welcome any recommendations you would like to share with me.

June 14

Poem:A Warm, Small Rain by Adam Zagajewski Paris Review

Story: https://fictionkitchen.berlin/2021/06/12/death-row-dinners/

Essays: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Orientation
And Not a Novel A Memoir in Pieces Jenny Erpenbeck On “The Book of Words”

Reflections

I have reread the poem several times. The sparkles from this poem for me are:

a street with no name

actors appeared,

from your dreams and my dreams

The story is from a publication I respect and read often. The story is a short list that reads to me like a character sketch. Underneath each paragraph is a brief line separated with the death row dinners. One is an olive, one is a slice of pecan pie, and the last is hard candy. It is an off center story for me.

NG’s essay is about the routines of the rituals she has established for her retreats. Sitting, slow walking, jobs, meals, etc. There is mindfulness built around everything for her retreats. One of the ideas that resonates with me is the Food Offering that is written out that students pick up and read before they eat. It is a moment of pause and reflection and appreciation. Some might call it a prayer but I like the label of offering.

She also discusses interviews in this chapter. She talks with students in groups of 4 which she says allows them to learn from each other and takes the pressure off all parties.

The Erpenbeck essay is another lecture she gave a concept she talks about is a motto Silence is Health promoted by military in Buenos Aires. She discusses how it was used in the war to quiet people but also refers to writing and reading being done in silence. She discusses writing her book and the ideas behind it. There is a lot in this essay about writing, craft, and silence.

Yesterday I had my monthly writing circle which is always an interesting gathering. We do timed writings each time and then do an activity called Readback Feedback. The teacher talks a lot about the “gems” we write and hear. It is the same concept of underlining phrases in a story or poem that pop out to you. I teach this technique to students in various contexts but especially when annotating.

There is magic in this group. Something about the chemistry and the trust is a special time. The group is three hours and it always flies by. To hear someone speak their words aloud is interesting in itself. I have come to recognize everyone’s style of writing in each of the pieces they read. There is a flow that happens while we all write together. We do a bit of grounding and meditation beforehand but I am not sure that is what causes the extra sparkle in the group. I appreciate it and try not to overthink it. There is no formula to be followed.

Next month we are meeting again for a bonus session and I am excited it is being offered. I have learned so much from this group and Jane herself. It is truly inspiring.

TakeAways

What do I take away from all these readings? We are almost halfway through the month now and I am maintaining that the Good words in = Good words out is a good motto. The conversations I have had the last 5 days about craft and writing have been some of the most in depth conversations I have had in a long time directly tied to reading. There is power in a common text within a group of people.

I feel l am more carefully crafting my sentences and pieces. The most effective exercise is using my daily prompts to write one story. I reread and revise what I have written on the previous days which makes me feel productive. I am using the 7 prompts to write one story. Today the prompt is about suet which I had to look up. The only thing I knew about it was it is used for bird feeders in craft books I read when I was young.

Next week the experiment will change slightly.

The concept of silence is coming up in the pieces. I am noticing threads through the readings and what I am paying attention to. I will freewrite with the word silence today as well and see what connections come through.

June 14, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

Bradbury Revision Challenge Day 12

Each day in June I will follow Ray Bradbury’s self directed MFA by reading a poem, a short story, and an essay with the intention of revising a story already in my files. I will share my reflections.

I welcome your comments and insights as well! I also welcome any recommendations you would like to share with me.

June 12

Poem: Interrogation of an Alternate Timeline

Essay: The True Secret of Writing by Natalie Goldberg – Altar

Story: Big Red

Reflections:

I am obsessed with writings about time and was immediately drawn to this poem.

In the essay, NG talks about the set up for the essential pieces of how she does her retreats.

The story was published at Fractured Lit.

Today, I am just reading and allowing the good words to come in.

I am working with revision with my daily prompts and that is going well but the reading is mostly about pleasure today.

I would love to know your thoughts about writing today! Please comment!

June 12, 2021 by TammyB Categories: bradbury, Challenge, creativity, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, reflection, Short Story, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: #ideas, amwriting, bradbury, writing, writingprompt Leave a comment

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