A force of nature who is a mother, wife, writer, teacher, coach, book fairy, and runner
I am so glad you are joining me for coffee today! This post is inspired by Eclectic Alli. My summer has officially started and I am feeling amazing! Let’s take our coffee and go for a little walk and then we can sit under the trees as the time stretches on.
You can read the rest of the post here. Please clap and comments if you enjoy what you read!
I am so glad you are joining me for coffee today! Today feels special today because it is my second day of summer vacation. This does not mean that I am out of work completely. There are some workshops and training I will be going to but I do not have to drive into work every day. To be home is glorious. I appreciate this schedule change. It usually takes me a week to recalibrate myself but I do not think I will have that issue this year.
You can read the rest of the post here.
Please clap and comments if you enjoy what you read!
Happy Sunday! If you would like to support me additionally you are welcome to buy me a cup of coffee: http://ko-fi.com/tammybreitweiser
Today please join me for a coffee. Click here to read and clap!!
I love the red bookmark in the above picture. There is something centering about it.
Have you read this story? You should.
Have you read this story yet?
The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington
Have you read this story yet?
What about this one?
Joan of Arc Sits Naked in Her Dorm Room
Today please join me for a coffee. We have some catching up to do!
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I was a guest blogger on Teachwrite’s blog on Monday. If you missed that post you can read it here. It is called Ten Minutes of Truth.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am still writing everyday with Storyaday May. This week my stories got a little dark and a little emotional. It is not a bad thing, but it was surprising to me. Here are some of my favorite prompts this week:
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am using Sarah Selecky’s writing prompts every day. It is pushing me to think differently about stories somehow and I am pleased with them. Some I will revise and submit and others I will expand. I am considering her Story Course for my birthday. I would love the benefit of mentors but the price point is not one I can swing right now.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I was a little disappointed I wasn’t able to earn a scholarship to a writing conference. It happens and I will still keep writing. I was hopeful this time. I threw my hat into the ring so I am pleased with the effort.
If we were having coffee I would tell you my students did their Living History event on Wednesday. Children from the elementary school come and learn how to dip candles at our station. There is a fire where we melt the wax and my 8th graders do a skit to explain the process. They really did a great job and led the little ones well.
While we are having coffee, I will tell you the Bradbury Trio challenge is going strong as well. I am hoping the input of great writer words will influence my writing and help me hone my craft. I need to make sure I am savoring the writing and not just ticking off the poem, essay, and short story for the day. I was doing that with the books I was reading just to get the number. It doesn’t make it satisfying if I do it that way.
Do you need a refill on your coffee? I am going to get another.
If we were having coffee, I would tell you I received my Small Beer Press publication on Saturday. If you have read my blog at all, you know I adore Kelly Link and her writing. One speech I watched she spoke about horoscope stories she had written for a friend’s Kickstarter. I found the booklet of stories for sale and have been reading them over and over. I will use it as a model to write my own.
If we were having coffee I would tell you I am nearing the end of the school year. The 31st is my last day. I have some training this summer but not too much. I am going to be teaching a workshop on Better Conversations at the end of July. I have a flash fiction writing class at the beginning of July I am super excited about as well. My birthday is in June too so that will mean a good dinner!
If we were having coffee I would tell you I finished reading a novel. I have not been ticking off the books like I have in the past since I am focusing on the Trio. I would recommend this book.
It was well written and there were some surprises at the end. It was a Book of the Month Club selection several months ago.
Here is the link to Eclectic Alli and her weekend coffee post and link up.
Today please join me for a coffee at a little diner that looks like we have gone back in time. The mugs are ceramic and thick. The booths are red pleather. There is a buzz in the air that is snippets of conversation from babies to retirement age and the smell of strong coffee.
While we are having coffee I will tell you this past week was full of testing, late nights, and writing.
While we are having coffee I would tell you Storyaday May is going strong. I have written everyday and it is going well. I am following the prompts from Julie and Sarah Selecky. Most days I am able to combine both into one story which makes me happy and satisfied for some reason. I also was able to come back to my manuscript and start to write some stories that will be embedded into the novel. At my writing retreat in Feb. I was able to outline the whole book and see where there were holes and alignment issues. my brain is starting to plug those holes as I write which is exciting.
While we are having coffee I would tell you I am enjoying my writing community. I am checking in with the group every day. I have a few people I talk to more often with email or private messages. Monday night was our video meeting and it was nice to do some timed writing sprints with people around the country. I was also able to check in with a small group on Friday as well which was a great vibe.
While we are having coffee, I will tell you the Bradbury Trio challenge is going strong as well. I cannot pinpoint works this week that have stayed with me. I did relisten to The Ormulu Clock by Muriel Spark.
While we are having coffee I will tell you testing has gone on all week. I had my regular group two days and then on all the off times I was doing make up tests. It gives me time to write by hand since I cannot be connected to technology. I welcome the tech vacation every year at this time.
While we are having coffee I will tell you I had a good coaches meeting with one of our consultants. She is always motivating. We talked about goals and reflecting. The year is not over for my building yet so I am not quite in the end of year mode.
While we are having coffee I will tell you I am back to running. I am having some complicated feelings about the activity to be honest. I was hard core before for various reasons but now the motivations for the runs are different. I had a glorious run at the national lakeshore on Friday and ran down a new trail which was beautiful and sandy. I even ran along the water which I have not done in years. the stairs took me to overlook the park too.
Do you need a refill on your coffee? I am going to get another.
While we are having coffee I will tell you I am tired but am not dwelling on it. Sunday is Mother’s Day. I have complicated feelings about this holiday. I will spend some time with one of my sons and enjoy that. The rest of the day I will deal with my memories. Maybe it will end up in a story.
Here is the link to Eclectic Alli and her weekend coffee post and link up.
Every Tuesday I write a slice of life and share it at Two Writing Teachers.
Meeting with my writing group is life giving for me and even as the end of the school year is upon us I am glad I am taking the time to do this project.
I had mentioned in my previous writing club post that the discussion process needed some work. I decided to pose a question to the group that they would have to answer individually and then we would popcorn after that to agree, disagree or pose a related question to what the rest of the group said. I will say that once the expectation of collaborative conversation was presented they did a much better job. My next step is to get them to talk more to each other rather than bouncing everything off me. I do not want to be the center of the conversation, only a part of it.
The question was “What is the perfect life?”
The story used for reading like a writer was Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver.
+Use the title
+Write sentences that conjure strong visualization in the reader
+Write about fighting over an object or a picture that represents a bigger idea
+Write a story with 2 characters
+Write the story about what happens before this story
+Write the story of what happens after this story
+Start with action – dive right in with a big moment
+ Open with a paragraph and talks about the weather to se the mood for the story
+Use a last line that leads to more than one conclusion
We then finished the session with a 4 minute freewrite. The pencils were feverishly writing on their paper at my tables.
–One was a flash piece full of strong emotion and sadness.
–One was the before story – what happened to explain why the couple was fighting
They noticed lines I glazed over and had specific reflections with text evidence.
I was gifted with 45 minutes of time with these students. It went by quick. I sent them a link to storyaday and the challenge I participate in every May and September.
I think I am going to use some of Sandra Cisneros stories from The House on Mango street next.
I am so excited for StoryADay May this year! StoryADay is a writing challenge conducted every May (and September) where you set goals to write short stories.
My personal goal is to write 31 stories – one for each day. I like the routine of writing every day. StoryADay helps me to focus and finish and I am a sucker for a great prompt. I love this quote from Ray Bradbury:
I can be an extreme person, and gladly take on the challenge of one story a day. I often set goals for myself just to see if I can do it. Everyone in the challenge makes their own goals though! My stories will be drafts and I will revise my favorites later. StoryADay gives me the opportunity to play with different forms of story. I also will use my Bradbury Trio reading to help me structure and inspire my stories for the month.
I am excited about the Superstars program this year too! The community has been invaluable to my process and keeping me on track. I write anyway, but it is special to be part of a group. Just like I don’t need to be reminded to eat everyday, I don’t need reminders to write every day. But on the days I am struggling, it is nice to have a group to go to for encouragement at any time of the day. I also love to talk about writing and the video hangout meetings and the Slack channel really lends itself to this daily conversation.
Click here to watch and listen to a great video from Julie about the history of the challenge and your opportunity to move to the next level of your own writing.
The challenge itself is free at storyaday.org but the community is a year long support.
Hope to see you in the comments!
