The Jackpine Writers' Bloc of Minnesota

The League of Minnesota Poets
Lake Region Writer's Network

The Loft Literary Center

Kent Nerburn
William Kent Kreuger
Sharon Harris
Jerry Mevissen
Tarah L. Wolff

Beagle Books of Park Rapids

Coffee Connection Poets

Open Office
OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.
Great software
OpenOffice.org 3 is the result of over twenty years' software engineering. Designed from the start as a single piece of software, it has a consistency other products cannot match. A completely open development process means that anyone can report bugs, request new features, or enhance the software. The result: OpenOffice.org 3 does everything you want your office software to do, the way you want it to.
Easy to use
OpenOffice.org 3 is easy to learn, and if you're already using another office software package, you'll take to OpenOffice.org 3 straight away. Our world-wide native-language community means that OpenOffice.org 3 is probably available and supported in your own language. And if you already have files from another office package - OpenOffice.org 3 will probably read them with no difficulty.
And it's free
Best of all, OpenOffice.org 3 can be downloaded and used entirely free of any licence fees. OpenOffice.org 3 is released under the LGPL licence. This means you may use it for any purpose - domestic, commercial, educational, public administration. You may install it on as many computers as you like. You may make copies and give them away to family, friends, students, employees - anyone you like.

Whitesmoke
System Requirements: OS - Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Mac OSX (Browser Version);
Browser - Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Google Chrome; Active Internet Connection
For business, legal, creative, tech, medical, or general writing
Helps you correct your grammar and spelling
Gives you recommendations for more difficult spellings
WhiteSmoke is compatible with almost any web or desktop application that allows you to enter text, including forums, social media networks and instant messaging applications. Operating systems: Windows 2000/NT/XP/Vista, Mac OS MS Office 2000 or higher: Word, Access, Wordpad, Notepad, Word Perfect, Outlook, Outlook Express Browsers: Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0, Firefox 2.0 and above, Safari MacOS x10.4 Tiger and above
WhiteSmoke 2010 is an all-in-one tool for proofreading and editing your writing:

• Updated! Grammar Checker Detect and correct tricky grammar errors.
• NEW! Writing Review Get an instant quality score on your text.
• Updated! Style Checker Improve your sentences, vocabulary, and writing style.
• Updated! Spell Checker Fix typos and difficult to spell words.
• Updated! Punctuation Checker Improve readability with accurate punctuation.
• Updated! Error Explanations learn from your mistakes with error explanations and English lessons!
• Works Everywhere Runs with MS Word, Outlook, and all other text-based applications.
• Dictionary-Thesaurus Get accurate word definitions, synonyms, and idiomatic phrases.
• Letter Templates Get started writing with over 600 letter templates.

YWriter5
Windows, Win XP and above, Open source, Mono 2.2 and above, Linux, Free shareware
Organize your novel using a 'project'. Add chapters to the project. Add scenes, characters, items and locations. Display the word count for every file in the project, along with a total. Saves a log file every day, showing words per file and the total. (Tracks your progress) Saves automatic backups at user-specified intervals. Allows multiple scenes within chapters Viewpoint character, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene. Multiple characters per scene. Storyboard view, a visual layout of your work. Re-order scenes within chapters. Drag and drop of chapters, scenes, characters, items and locations. Automatic chapter renumbering.
Also has story submission tracking program and editing program you can download:

Sonar
Sonar is a manuscript submission tracking program
Can be installed and run alongside Sonar 2
Import Sonar2 data without messing up the original

• Load, use, save as many different databases as you want
• 'Stories' now called 'works', so non-fic writers can use the prog
• You can double-click entries in any list to view details
• Colour coded result lines
• Text fields now have unlimited length - guidelines, comments, feedback, etc
• List subs by work AND by market
• All lists can be sorted - including by date
• All forms are resizable
• Now written in .NET 2.0
• Entire project stored in a single XML data file
• Automatic daily backups

Edit2
Edit2 is a simple text editor with frequent auto-backups and a countdown word counter.
Last year, like every year, I used yWriter on my PC to keep all the bits and pieces of my Nano project together, and I bashed out my daily word count on the laptop. Unlike previous years where I wrote in Word or OpenOffice, this time I used a new tool called yEdit, which has a countdown word counter. (You put in 1700 as the starting count and start hammering out the prose until you see '0') I found it easy to set it up with 500 words and then type as quick as possible until I'd done them all. Music on the headphones helped, and Nano 2007 was the easiest I've ever done.

Yeah Write!
Yeah Write, the easy to use fill-in-the-blank word processor for the computer illiterate or for those business professionals who want to create a document quickly and easily, without having to worry about formatting. You can create journals, keep addresses, take notes, and write simple letters and memos. A memo can become a letter with just a few clicks of the mouse. Yeah Write is very fast, very small (the download is less than 1 MB), very easy to use, and very inexpensive ($19.00 USD). Its use of color and an easy to read screen make it an attractive alternative to standard word processors. Yeah Write is so small that the entire program and all of its documents can be saved on a memory stick or flash drive.
Yeah Write's pre-formatted documents include:

• Address Book
• Address Book (Kid's Drawer)
• Assignments (Kid's Drawer)
• Book Report (Kid's Drawer)
• Diary
• E-Mail
• Fax
• General Purpose
• Journal
• Letters and Envelopes
• Memos
• Notes
• School Papers (Kid's Drawer)
• To Do List

Yeah Write won the prestigious Shareware Industry Award for Best Word Processing Application and was awarded 5 stars by the editors at ZD Net.
If you'd like to give Yeah Write a try, you can download and install our shareware version. This version includes the free version, which includes about 50% of the features, and a 15 day free trial of the full version. If you decide to purchase the full version for $19.00, you can do so from our web site. Comes in a 32-bit version for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, & Vista (32-bit versions only).

WriteItNow
WriteItNow is novel writing software for PCs and Macs (OSX).
Version 4 runs on PCs with XP or Vista and Macs with OS X and Java 1.5 or higher. Free demo
$59.95 Version 4: $59.95 download software or $69.00 CD software The demo can do everything the full version can except save stories and use add-ons

• Write and store complete novels with storyboarding and story links
• Keep background details of characters, events, locations and ideas.
• Display charts of events and relationships
• Generate characters, names and ideas
• Registered users can generate characters and background notes using add-ons
• Record all manuscript submissions
• Sample story with tutorial.
• 100,000 word spelling checker
• Auto-scale charts
• 100 step undo and redo
• RTF output. Create a neatly formatted manuscript with two key-presses
• Save and load individual characters, chapters, events, notes and ideas.
• 200,000 word thesaurus
• Events summary screen
• Tree view of all characters, events, ideas, locations and notes

MyNovel
$35.00
Free demo
MyNovel was designed with Windows Vista in mind. It also works well on Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.
You can run MyNovel on a Mac using Parallels Desktop or other software like it.
MyNovel contains a complete word processor, so you do not need to own another one. Alternatively if you already have a favourite word processor, such as Microsoft Word, it can be used in conjunction with it - as a planning tool, as a writing management tool, as an aide memoire, and as a source of inspiration. It will avoid all those notes you have tacked to your wall, strewn all over your desk and floor. It will keep your imagination going, and your thoughts and visions consistent for long enough for you to get your novel written.
Particularly for new writers, MyNovel includes 'templates' - i.e. formulas - for you to follow to get your novel written. For example there is the Hero's Journey template, which you will recognize as the basis for very many of the books you read and the films you watch.
MyNovel also includes a diagramming tool where you can plan your novel visually - diagramming the relationships between people, places, and objects; and diagramming the chronology of events and situations that will build the skeleton of your story. You can build family trees, love triangles, parallel plot developments and so on. Registered users can also use the MyNovel website to generate ideas for their novels. Need a new character or setting? The MyNovel website will give you numerous ideas.

Dramatica Pro
PC or Mac
$209.00
Demo available
Got a great story but don't know where to start?... Dramatica Pro software is your creative writing partner. Create great characters. Plan your plot from start to finish. Dramatica Pro blasts away those writer's blocks. Dramatica Pro is the only story development software to receive four stars from Writer's Digest magazine. Structure your plot ... Answer Dramatica's questions about your characters and plot. This narrows down the possible ways of telling your story to the one that best expresses your vision. Illustrate your story... Use your story to write specific examples of character arc, story goal, plot points, theme, and conflict. At the click of a button, see how your story's scenes compare to examples of history's greatest writers. Create Scenes... Weave together all the parts of your story. Determine how elements of character, plot, and theme will be revealed to your audience. Place your examples into specific Acts, Scenes, or Chapters. Use this plot outline to write a killer first draft.
Works as a partner with Movie Magic Screenwriter (if desired) Steep learning curve
Top of the line

StoryView
$169.00
Windows
StoryView gives you the most powerful way to outline, plan, and present your ideas! It is a remarkable visual outliner for writers that lets you brainstorm, create, structure and organize your ideas. StoryView uses a timeline format that is vastly superior to index cards, blocks, and traditional outlining systems.
StoryView has limitless space for your big ideas. The software enhances the research and organization of your writing, helps you visualize your story structure, and speeds the process of brainstorming and creation. It lets you create virtual index cards that contain unlimited text: from a few words to hundreds of pages.
Structure your ideas with StoryView's powerful Outline View or remarkable Timeline View to get a stronger visual sense of your story. The Tracking Feature allows you to show connections between events and characters, objects or key words, revealing the rhythms and patterns of your story in seconds. StoryView lets you see your story like never before!
Instantly change the sequence of events by clicking and dragging Event Boxes
Size Event Boxes to represent the duration of an event or its importance
Customize StoryView to your personal structuring style or choose one of the many pre-built templates
Import a story or script you've already written to analyze it and get through the rewriting phase faster
Export into Movie Magic Screenwriter

Movie Magic Screen Writer
$209.95
PC or Mac
Demo Available
It's easy to learn. You'll be writing your first script in under 10 minutes. It's easy to use. All you need is the Tab button and the Enter (PC) or Return (Mac) key. It's professional and powerful. With the newest production tools in Movie Magic Screenwriter 6, you'll wonder how anybody ever made movies before. Free technical support. Free Phone Support. Free Web Support. Free E-Mail Support. For as long as you use Movie Magic Screenwriter. Only company to win an Academy Technical Achievement Award for screenwriting software. Movie Magic Screenwriter 6 is a preferred file format of WGA, West. Over 100 templates and tools to help you brainstorm, outline, write, and rewrite your story or script. These include: 8 Instructional templates (including stage play, screenplay, sitcom structure, and classic film structure). 10 industry-standard Blank templates to help you format your screenplay, TV show, stage play, radio play, radio show, or even a comic book. 12 Sample files from the pros including 2 new sample files (comic story arc & radio play) and 2 updated sample files (screenplay and stage play).
Over 86 TV templates including your classic favorites and 25 brand new ones. Fully editable Index Card view so you can jot down story notes and ideas for your screenplay. Updated tools optimized for the latest versions of Windows and Mac OS X include: Complete thesaurus and updated dictionaries for American English, British English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian. Import Text Feature lets you import screenplays already written in Microsoft Word or any other word processor. Text-to-Speech engines let you "hear" your character's voice through your computer speakers. Export or e-mail your script into many other formats (including PDFs) so others can read your screenplay. Never worry about losing your files with Auto Backup installed. iPartner online collaboration lets you write online with a writing partner thousands of miles away. Complete integration with Dramatica and StoryView.
Newest Production Features ensure your script is always Hollywood ready: Easily track all revisions from spec to final shoot script Full production tracking reports for film, TV, and animation. Full production breakdown reports with industry standard colors. Integrated script tagging for export into Movie Magic Scheduling & others Generate set lists and rundown sheets. Official formatting software of Writers Guild of America, East and preferred file format of WGA, West And the breakthrough new feature, NaviDoc technology: Create a Script Outline with Acts, Sequences, Scenes, and more. Create your own outline to follow the style of your script or screenplay. Add Notes throughout your Script for later rewrites or production needs. Completely customize the NaviDoc according to your needs. Simple but so powerful. Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter (MMS) have many of the same features. They are pretty much neck and neck in their use by the Hollywood industry today. The latest version of MMS with new features is giving Final Draft an extra run for the critics choice.

Final Draft
$249.00
Demo available
Windows: Microsoft Windows Vista or Windows XP; Intel Pentium III processor or later; Minimum 512 MB of RAM; 50 MB available hard drive space. MAC: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later; Minimum 512 MB of RAM; 50 MB available hard drive space.
Use your creative energy to focus on the content; let Final Draft take care of the style. Final Draft is the number-one selling application specifically designed for writing movie scripts, television episodics and stage plays. It combines powerful word processing with professional script formatting in one self-contained, easy-to-use package. There is no need to learn about script formatting rules - Final Draft automatically paginates and formats your script to industry standards as you write. Its ease-of-use and time-saving features have attracted writers for almost two decades positioning Final Draft as the Professional Screenwriters Choice. Final Draft power users include Academy, Emmy and BAFTA award winning writers like Oliver Stone, Tom Hanks, Alan Ball, J.J. Abrams, James Cameron and more.
Final Draft and Movie Magic Screenwriter (MMS) have many of the same features.
They are pretty much neck and neck in their use by the Hollywood industry today.
The latest version of MMS with new features is giving Final Draft an extra run for the critics choice.

ScenewriterPro 3.5
$29.99
Demo available
PC and Mac coming soon
SceneWriter Pro will change the way you outline, organize, write and develop your screenplay forever. Five independent and completely customizable windows allow you to outline & organize your scenes, write your script, develop your characters, keep track of your locations, and store any project notes you may have. Scenes can have "friendly", meaningful names.

• Color-code your scenes into acts.
• Assign a meaningful icon to the scene. E.g. a "heart" for a love scene.
• Scenes have individual notes for developing from an outline.
• Develop your characters in the same way as scenes.
• Auto MORE's and CONT'D.
• Predictive character naming when typing.
• Import existing scripts from TXT or RTF files.
• Export to RTF.
• Create PDF files.
• Use different workspace schemes to change the way you work.

IdeaWeaver
$49.95
Demo Available
IdeaWeaver is a stand-alone WINDOWS desktop software program and you don't need an Internet connection to use it. IdeaWeaver does not run natively on Macintoshes, so Mac users must have a Windows emulator to use it. IdeaWeaver is a content designer. Much like a layout tool helps you organize a design, IdeaWeaver helps you organize your written content. IdeaWeaver is designed to give you a place to store and organize your ideas as you think of them. Instead of forcing you to think linearly, you can put ideas in as soon as they pop into your brain. By encouraging creativity and letting you save aside your ideas, you can get past that dreaded "blank page" syndrome and work through writer's block.
With IdeaWeaver, you can: Banish writer's block. Put in your ideas as they occur to you and organize them later. Don't worry about "topic sentences" or introductions. Think first; organize later. Organize your ideas with Categories. Use the Category feature to group ideas by type. For example, you can associate all your background research with a category called "Research" so you can sort and work with it later. Organize your ideas with Topics. With topics you can relate your ideas in an infinite variety of ways, no matter how they will be organized in the final document.
Create an Outline. You can add as many (or as few) of your ideas into an outline for your final document. You reorganize ideas and group them under headings quickly and easily. When you're done, you can export the outline for use in your word processor. IdeaWeaver is ideal for both large and small projects. For example, book authors often have to keep track of "back story," timeline, or character information, which may never appear in the finished manuscript but is important to keep track of and remember. With IdeaWeaver, you'll be able to separate this type of background information from ideas and text that contribute to the final content. Many writers actually sit on the floor and organize their notes, papers, or index cards into piles. With IdeaWeaver, you can get up off the floor and organize all these miscellaneous tidbits on your computer instead.

Writers Blocks
$149.00
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME
Demo Available
Key Benefits
Increased Productivity - Writer's Blocks is writing software that lets you capture and arrange your ideas easier and faster than ever before. Create hundreds of blocks each containing a few sentences or a few pages of text. Arrange your blocks into a coherent structure and then transfer your outline into the integrated full-featured word processor and expound on your ideas. Each block remains linked to a section of your manuscript for quick and easy reference. Click on a block to automatically scroll the corresponding section of your manuscript into view.
Better Organization - Writer's Blocks software lets you store all of your notes and reference material all in one place, but unlike other software for writers, Writer's Blocks keeps all of your blocks visible in the workspace for easy reference. Writer's Blocks provides you with a rich toolset that lets you capture ideas, notes, and other information, quickly and easily - and gain the full benefits of the power of association from the information you have gathered on-screen.
Faster Outlining - Writer's Blocks lets you capture ideas at the speed of thought. And consolidating information from multiple sources is a snap with the Power Panel. Brainstorm to capture your ideas and information, and then arrange them later. Because each block can hold several pages of text, the program will not limit you during any stage of developing your document.
Better Structure - Editing your blocks is a breeze. Each block is like a tiny word processor document. When you are ready to structure your document, just drag and drop your blocks under up to 100 column headings that you define. Use the Auto Arrange and AutoNumber features to keep your blocks in neat columns and rows as you flesh out your story.
Document Overview - Writer's Blocks gives you the big picture. The bird's eye view of your data that you enjoy with Writer's Blocks will give you a completely new perspective on your work. With our software for writers you'll write better and faster than ever before!
Major Features New integrated full-featured word processor lets you use Writer's Blocks from start to finish. Split Panel interface lets you view and edit your blocks and manuscript at the same time.
Import and Export native Microsoft Word, RTF, HTML, and text documents. Convert an existing document to blocks and rearrange it, simply by rearranging your blocks. Float the Power Panel over your browser when collecting information from the web. Drag and drop text into the Power Panel to collect huge amounts of information on the fly, storing each note in a separate block. AutoType feature automatically completes any word that already exists anywhere in your document. No more creating word lists ahead of time.
Use Blockmarks to navigate to the section of your manuscript that is associated with the selected block. Drag and drop text between blocks and any Windows program that supports drag and drop such as your Internet browser. AutoScript feature let's you format a screenplay with 'Tab and Enter' ease.

Power Structure
$149.00
Demo Available
The first story development environment designed for writers who aren't in search of an electronic muse, but who have a story that they want to tell, and who simply want a better "place" to do it. With Power Structure there are no complicated forms to fill out, no new theories of story or arcane terminology to learn. Instead, it conforms to you, its nine unique story views giving you a Playground of the Mind where you can explore, develop and yes, even structure, the best writing of your career. Instantly jump from looking at the smallest detail of your story to the big picture with the click of a mouse. Graphically track conflicts, subplots, characters and themes so you never lose track of what you set out to do and what you've accomplished. Sure, there are almost as many Story Development software programs out there as there are Writing Gurus... so many of them that you are probably thinking: why do we need another one? The answer is surprisingly simple. Until Power Structure, the only sort of programs available were ones designed for writers who wanted writing help from some sort of electronic muse, and if you're anything like us... that just doesn't sound all that attractive.
I'm a writer because I have stories that I want to tell. Power Structure is designed to help me use my existing skills as a writer to tell these stories better, and to give me tools to help me discover my own weaknesses as a writer and overcome them myself.
What it won't do... Tell you "insert more action here," or "make your protagonist compulsively neat because your obstacle character is a slob." If you want that kind of computerized paint-by-the-numbers help, you'll need to purchase some other program. However, if you're a writer who wants to write, then Power Structure is for you.
What it will do... Inspire you to think about story elements and character development in ways that you might not have thought about before.
It will give you a Playground of the Mind: innovative, graphic methods of looking at your story, its conflicts, character development and more so that you can easily spot weak areas and strengthen them. It will let you write in a manner that is most comfortable to you, letting you jot down ideas and write scenes in any order you want.

EXERCISE
We mentioned some possible writing exercises -- writing a poem first, then writing it as a short story, then a prose poem, etc. Also perhaps rewriting someone else's poem after they have read it. Another good thing to do is to rewrite your own story or poem from a different point of view. Try writing your poem idea in various poetic forms. Try writing the same poem in several different forms and see how it changes the meaning or changes your ideas about the poem. This really helps you to come up with things you might not think of other wise.

EXERCISE
First, write a sentence that is not true. Then keep writing, write a paragraph that continues on and is true. Second, write a sentence that is true. Then keep writing, write a paragraph that continues on and is not true.

EXERCISE
1. Write for 3 minutes, all in one sentence.
2. write fast paced dialogue, one page. two characters talking, never allowing the other one to say over 10 words before they interrupt. you will notice that the voices will begin to distinguish into two very different people.
3. write 3 sentences, all on the same basic subject. the first sentence is something true about you. the second sentence is partially true and partially untrue. the third sentence is something totally false about you. Then, write 3 sentences again, all on the same basic subject. the first sentence is something totally false about you. the second one is partially true and partially false. the third one is true about you.
Which part of the last exercise was the easiest for you to do? the hardest? generally starting with the truth is the easiest for people. the lesson is to see if you can get away from being biographical

EXERCISE
Jerry had been to a class by Allison McGee. She wrote Shadow Baby from the perspective of a 12 year old girl. Here is the three part exercise.
1. Take a child, (preferably a character in a story of yours) or pick someone you know (under 12.) Write down a description of the child using nothing physical, no emotions, or personality. Say things that he or she likes, such as: sleeping late, home cooking, movies, chocolate chip cookies, video games, Xmas, dogs, etc.
2. Take an adolescent, (preferably a character in a story of yours) or pick someone you know. Add an object to the story with this person. (pocket knife, notebook, telephone, or torn dollar bill, etc.) For example, the adolescent sitting whittling with his pocket knife, explaining that it was given to him by his Dad, who he misses very much.
3. Write a paragraph, witnessing the vulnerability of an adult. For example, a challenged adult says that he misses his Dad too, etc.

EXERCISE
A great exercise is to rewrite a story of yours from a totally different point of view.

EXERCISE
Here is a good writing exercise. Have one person write one sentence. Pass the paper to the one on the left. That person writes a sentence to follow the first, etc.

EXERCISE
Pass around a photo. Have everyone write about the photo, start a story from the photo, etc. We will bring some photos for the next meeting. We took one of Tarah's photographs and each wrote for 3 minutes, whatever came to mind. Some of us got great ideas for the start of a story or poem.

EXERCISE
Russ wrote a pantoum. This is a poem with stanzas of four lines. They often begin and end with the same line or the second line of the first stanza might start the second stanza. They sometimes rhyme abab. It is the slowest of all verse forms and is perfect for evocation of a past issue. Writing a sistina or pantoum or some other very structured poem is a great exercise. Both forms are fun and a good exercise. Try writing a poem in one form and then the other and then free verse.

EXERCISE
Jerry also attended a Metaphor Writing workshop. He gave us several good tips from the class. Think of an emotion; give it a color, give it a temperature. Write 10 descriptors. Fear could be described as cold and blue. The other writers would try to guess what you were describing. Put some items in bags and touch the items without looking at them. Using adjectives, let others guess what you are describing.

EXERCISE
1. Write down your dreams. Sometimes they are like a vision or they give you a message. You can get great story ideas from them.
2. Set out a few assorted items on the floor. Choose one item and write about it for 5 minutes. Great way to come up with a story line. Or, add this info to a story you are already working on.
3. Slow down your writing. Change speeds in your story. Choose one detail to really write about thoroughly, like your character shaving, etc. Take some common ordinary detail and really describe it. This changes the pace of your writing.

EXERCISE
Try writing a piece in first person, then rewriting it in second or third person. Write as a poem and then as a short short story. For poems, watch the rhythm, try inner rhymes. Try cutting out as many words as possible, make it as short as possible.
It is very important to know how to re-write. Knowing when to stop is also important.
A poem should be like Teutonic plates in geology--two things going on at the same time, passing each other.
Take a well-known poem that you like. Try writing a parody of it, using similar lines and words and phrasing, perhaps a different subject. This helps to reinforce good rhythm.

EXERCISE
One exercise is to write 6 sentences that would make good last lines to a short story, one page. Then write the story to come down to each of those final sentences. Another exercise is to write a story that takes place in one spot. There has to be at least one clue to the reader that the main character is due for a major change in his life but he doesn't know it yet. Another exercise is to describe an act of rebellion either major or minor.

EXERCISE
If you had to empty your pockets (or purse), what in it would characterize you? What three items in your life would you like to have placed in your coffin?

EXERCISE
Write for 3 minutes. Describe someone you know in terms of two or three objects that you associate with them.

EXERCISE
Picture yourself going down some steps. When you get to the bottom, what do you see and where do you go next?

EXERCISE
Russ gave us an exercise. Write for three minutes about a certain situation, two people involved, each having a bad day and you can only use words with one or two syllables. The situation was: a guy is sitting at a car garage, waiting for his car to be fixed. His wife comes in, tells him about some problem she is having. He is having trouble with the garage. they are each trying to explain their problem to the other. Notice that when you write with only one or two syllables, the piece is fast paced, intensified.

EXERCISE
Another exercise is to write the same story or poem from 3 or 4 different viewpoints. You might still choose to write it from the original viewpoint that you were using, but you will now see it much better than you did originally.

EXERCISE
When describing something, show, don't tell. Attempt to describe moonlight without using the word "moon" or "light."

EXERCISE
There are several types of sentences, simple, compound, complex, and compound/complex combined. Using these in various ways, you can speed up the action or slow it down. This creates flow.

EXERCISE
Russ gave us an exercise to do -- choose one of these things and write for 5 minutes on it:
1. character -- describe a person who made a strong impression on you, an encounter you had, how they dressed, how they spoke, describe the place, why it was memorable, and as they walked away, where did they go, who was the next person they spoke it.
2. place -- describe a public place from your child hood that affects you today -- powerful emotions
3. first person -- write a true statement about yourself, like some traveling you have done, details. Then write a false statement about yourself. like -- I have never left the country. and feel how different it is to put yourself into a different persona rather than the truth - it liberates you.

EXERCISE
Here is a good writing exercise. Using a dictionary or even a regular book, just go through and put your finger down on a word. Write this word down and find a few more. Use these words in a poem. This can help you come up with something vastly different than what you usually write.

EXERCISE
LuAnne brought a sample of Burmese poetry. It has a long and distinguished history. Classical Burmese poetry comes in many lengths and forms, but most of it is characterized by a repeated sequence of 3 internally-rhymed lines consisting of 4 syllables each-a pattern that has become known as a Climbing Rhyme. Try it out!! We all learn by stretching ourselves. Often we learn that we can do something that we thought we couldn't do. Sample:
CAN'T GET TO IT
Cluttered desk annoys
unused toys hide,
swell, buoyed by dust.

CHARACTERS
You should take each major character and write down many things about each one. There are endless ways to describe a person -- don't just always use height or hair color. Make them so they are unique. Do it in narrative, usually more than an index card. The more you know these people, the more you know how they will react to situations in your story and interact with the other characters. Don't get stuck using people that you know -- if you have 3 cousins, make an imaginary 4th cousin and see what he would be like.

CHARACTERS
Give the bad characters some redeeming characteristic and the good ones some flaws.

CHARACTERS
We discussed that many writers outline their novel so they know where they are going with the story. They have one index card for each character describing all their physical characteristics so they can make sure not to contradict themselves.

CHARACTERS
Russ told us what he has been doing with his novel. He has a whole loose leaf notebook for the outline. He has all the scenes outlined. He has listed what the dramatic purpose of each scene is. He has a list of all the characters, then a description of each character. What are their desires? What are their fears, their beliefs? He also writes a physical description and a brief history of the character. He describes all the locales where the scenes will take place. He writes details about the towns, the farms, the homes, etc. He writes this all in long narrative sentences.

CRITIQUING
When you critique someone's work, mark what is good, not what is bad. (One method).

EDITING
There are two kinds of editing: 1. content editing, which is reading the whole thing and looking at the big picture, structural. 2. line editing, looking at punctuation, each word, is it in the right place, etc.

SUGGESTION
Your story will consist of an intro, you present a problem, describe how the characters deal with the problem, then solve the problem.

SUGGESTION
A mystery is more complicated to write because you have to know exactly what you have revealed to the reader. Everything has to tie together.

SUGGESTION
Mary Oliver writes about writing poetry. She says that artists start out by imitating the masters. Poets generally do not do that, but we should. If we could imitate the masters, then we would learn. We have to have a desire to create. If you imitate the masters, you can hone your craft and then find your own style. You have to know the rules first so you can break them if you want it.

SUGGESTION
One writer said that they had learned that the end of your story should circle back to the beginning. So, you have to know your ending first. Another writer mentioned that an attorney does this. They need to know what their final argument will be so that everything they say will lead up to that. Work toward your goal.

SUGGESTION
Russ took a class -- What do Editors Want -- they are looking for love of language, vividness, uniqueness, good diction, enthusiasm, love of their characters.

SUGGESTION
Russ was telling us that he has learned that in describing your story, you should be able to state the plot in one sentence. There should be several dramatic incidents that lead up to it. You can focus lots of power there. Sometimes it is as important what you leave out as what you put in.

SUGGESTION
Will Weaver sent us some very helpful writing tips.
1. First, there's no "trick", no formula for getting published -- but two things make the difference. Most importantly, your material (poem, short story, whatever) must be honestly heartfelt -- must have personal importance to you. This often means writing about things, issues, problems, etc. that most people would let lie. Thoughts that most people would never say aloud. Writing this kind of material means breaking through the censor inside all of us: our instinct to be a nice person and fit in with our family, friends, church group etc. I do not mean here that we should be about exposing our deepest darkest secrets all the time; what I am saying, is that we can give some of those issues and secrets to a fictional character, or to a poem, and that personal intersection will empower the writing. It will also help us finish what we're writing, which is no small matter. Call this the "energy of personal intersection." Example: Say we have elderly aunt whose life could have been so much more, and we have always felt badly about how things turned out for her. Why not use her, altered for fictional purposes, in a story, in a novel. She could even be the heroine of a romance novel, and our personal intersection will still be there...
2. My second point is simple: revision, revision, revision. Every page of a novel I write has been gone over 15-20 times, sometimes more. You hear this advice all the time. However, another important thing for emerging writers is to find a published writer who "speaks" to you -- whose writing you greatly admire -- and lay your page alongside his or hers. Closely compare the writing. How is that writer's prose different (better than) mine? What are her sentences doing that mine are not? This is very important, this visual comparison, in that it gives you fresh look at your writing style. This close compare/contrast was very helpful to me in the past.

SUGGESTION
Russ mentioned a book he had read by Twyla Tharp on maintaining creativity. It was about tuning in to your type of creativity. Is there a theme to the story? She called it the "spine." Try to see the structure behind the scenes, between the reader and the writer. Often the writer gives too much or not enough. The reader should be able to reach his own conclusions.

SUGGESTION
Someone mentioned that in a story, your ending should seem inevitable. You also need to be able to write about how circumstances affect the character in the story, not just always totally tell the story. We also mentioned knowing your ending before you start. One writer mentioned having an index card describing each character so you don't forget hair color, eye color, etc. If you decide to totally change something about a character, use Find and Replace in your Word processing program. Someone mentioned never having more than 3 characters in a scene since it is too hard to follow.

SUGGESTION
Russ told us a couple of nuggets of wisdom:
One theory is that the best writing comes out of a wound.
A happy story starts and ends happy. A story that starts unhappy can have an ending that is interesting and different.
To portray conflict, ask yourself, what does your character desire? What is your character afraid of?

SUGGESTION
Russ brought us some good information on revisions. One method for making revisions is to use bracketing. You go through your piece that you want to revise and bracket the best parts that show rather than tell, the parts that stand out as the best parts. Pick out the dramatic parts of your work, see how it moves from one dramatic conflict to another. This will show you other parts that you could improve or delete.

SUGGESTION
It is a good idea when you are writing, to quickly write your story through one time. You need to see where you are beginning and where you want to end up. Otherwise it is like driving a car-eventually you just run out of gas if you just keep on wandering without knowing where you are supposed to end up.

SUGGESTION
Another tip when writing-describe the major locales of your work thoroughly and completely, each by themselves. Later, as you are writing, you can draw some information from these descriptions. Also do this for the major characters, their thoughts, fears, etc. This makes them so they aren't so shallow, it helps you know how they will behave.

SUGGESTION
Use smell, touch, taste, etc. to show the reader things instead of always telling. This will make it much more vivid.

TIPS TO OVERCOMING WRITERS' BLOCK:
Sit down and just write, anything at all. It is like taking a walk in the woods. Sooner or later you come across a deer trail and you can turn onto that trail.
Write a word, any word. What does that word make you think of? Write down that word, and another and another. See a pattern and a connection.
Approach your story idea from a new angle. Imagine your story idea as scaffolding. If you are stuck, you can leap over it and write something that happens after the part you are stuck on. Or write the difficult part in retrospect.
When you are stuck with your writing, not sure where to go with your topic--try free association. Just sit and write thoughts, ideas, topics, tangents, that come to mind regarding your subject. This should help you see a pattern and a place to focus on in your writing.