Summertime Blues? No Way!

I've heard so many folks complain about the summers down here in Equatorial South Arkansas--
the heat, the humidity, the mosquitoes, the heat, the drought, the heat... It's enough to make you want to wear earplugs, for gosh sakes. When I was in school (shortly after the dinosaurs died off), summer was the second best time of year, behind only Christmas. It was a time of endless lazy days full of adventures just waiting to be had. The whole world was in your young hands to do with as we pleased.
As I've gotten older, and marginally more mature, I find that several things seem to anchor down my pirate ship ready to sail the oceans of summer. Work, responsibilities, family, bills, committments all fill up slots in the schedule, leaving little room for unfettered adventures. But then, I remember something someone very wise once told me: If you can't find time to have some fun, try ignoring something else for a while and grab some gusto. Do the dishes really have to be done right now? Does the laundry have to be washed immediately? Can your grass wait one more hour to be mowed?
The only thing in our lives we can really spend well is time. Money buys us luxuries and necessities, but in time, they all wear out or are gone. Time well spent leaves lasting memories and unfading smiles. Take a little time each day (who knows how many we have?) to walk in the woods, to watch butterflies in a field, to float on a pond, to play with a puppy. Take your kids to a park, plant a tree or some flowers, visit a museum, call up a friend to just chat. Take your Mom or Dad to lunch, write a poem, have a picnic. The list is virtually infinite.
Summertime is still the grand old dame of our lives, no matter how old we are. The whole outdoors beckons us. Listen. Then do.

Poetry and Art a Collaboration

The South Arkansas Arts Center and the South Arkansas Poets of the Pines are once again joining forces to present a collaborative performance on Saturday, August 28th from 6-8PM. An artists' reception will be held for some of the artists whose works are featured in the current exhibit "Collaboration" from the famed Garbo Hearnes collection. The poets have written ekphrastic works, or poetry inspired by artworks, to accompany many of the pieces, and will be reading these poems in the gallery next to each artwork.

The stage reading on the 14th was a huge success, and you don't want to miss this encore performance by some very talented poets. The art is magnificent, as well, and you will be glad you came. Admission is free, but the experience is priceless.

As one audience member said after the stage performance, "It gives a whole new depth and voice to the art. It makes you not only see and hear the work, but feel it as well."

I hope to see you at the Arts center in El Dorado on the 28th. If you need directions, e-mail me at jbob214@yahoo.com or call me at 870-943-2258. Thanks for your support.

How Do I Know My Poem (or story or essay) Is Ready To Share?

One of the most common mistakes writers, especially newer writers, make is to send out their work before it is ready. How do you know when your piece is ready to send out into the cold, cruel world of publishers, editors, contest judges and critics? Let's look at a few things that should tell you "WAIT!! Don't send this out yet!"

1) Your manuscript is riddled with typos, misspelled words, poor punctuation, etc. I'm amazed at how many intelligent writers send out their work without properly proofreading it. Spellcheck is not a proper proofreader. One set of eyes (your own) is not enough proofreading unless it is a very short piece such as a haiku. Always send it around to a qualified friend or acquaintance for proofreading only. You'd be surprised how many mistakes slip past your own eyes.

2) You haven't followed the guidelines EXACTLY. Judges tell me that the number one reason they reject poems in contests is failure to follow the rules. If the guidelines state "ten syllables per line", don't try to sneak in eleven. If the rules say "Put name on only one copy in upper right corner", don't autograph it at the bottom of each page. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse. The guidelines for any contest, magazine, publisher, etc. are readily available. Read them and stick to them religiously.

3) You have not researched your market. I don't care if you just wrote the greatest romance man or woman has ever seen, Scientific American is NOT going to buy it. Neither is a Shakespearean sonnet going to win a free verse contest. It is up to you to do the research, know your market, then target the proper one(s).

So, how then do you know your literary masterpiece is ripe and ready to sell on the open market? You must write, rewrite, edit, share, correct, tinker and rewrite again. Critique groups are an invaluable tool for writers. Qualified, caring writers in your genre are unbeatable when it comes to improving your work. If you fancy yourself a playwright, join a group of playwrights and stay in touch via e-mail, snail mail, Facebook, Twitter, phone, or even (OhMy!) face-to-face. The same goes for poets, fiction writers, essayists, and so on.

Reading your work out loud is a great tool for locating rough spots in the text, stumbling points in your poem, rough edges on your memoir. Hearing it read by someone else is also a wonderful way to pick up on those troublesome weak spots.

Most importantly, for any type of writing, you must suck it up and just sit down (or stand if you prefer) and WRITE. Write regularly. Write often. Write mentally, write physically. Phil Mickelson did not win the Masters by playing a round of golf at his local country club once a month. Take your writing seriously, or you won't be taken seriously.

If you can't find the time to write, MAKE the time to write. Try using writing as an excuse NOT to do something else for a change (like doing those troublesome dirty dishes).

Until next post, stay cool, stay safe, and stay at your writing desk just a few more minutes each day.

Contests, contests, contests!!!!

This time of year, I am busily preparing entries for a myriad of contests around the country. Some are poetry only, others include fiction and nonfiction. As a general rule, I try to hit contests that provide the most bang for my buck, since I am not among the one percent of writers lucky and good enough to earn a living from slinging ink. I look for contests that offer several categories for one low fee, or a low fee per entry in each. Contests that award only one prize are generally a waste of time, and contests that have no entry fee, though inviting, usually receive ten blue-zillion entries, drastically reducing your chances of winning. So, what are the contests I enter?

Most of the state poetry societies run good contests at a cheap price. I usually try to enter a good number of them. Some writers' organizations run contests that offer all types of writing awards, such as the Springfield Writers' Guild from Missouri, Saturday Writers, also from Missouri, and The Write Helper online. I enter several sets of convention/conference contests, as well. White County (Ark.) Creative Writers Conference in September, Maumelle (Ark.) Writers' Conference in November, and Ozark (Ark./Mo.) Writers Conference in October are all good ones.

In order to be a good contester, you simply MUST be ORGANIZED! No excuses. Buy a large wall calendar from Office Depot or WalMart with big squares for the dates and write your deadlines in ahead of time. Mark a reminder at least a week before the deadline to spark your steel-trap memory. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST DAY TO GET YOUR MANUSCRIPT(S) READY TO MAIL. You will pull out any hair you may have left, and you very possibly will fail to follow EXACTLY the guidelines for entries if you try to rush.

Make sure you have proper sized manuscript envelopes so the judges don't have to iron out your pages to get rid of the curls. Most judges won't do it. They'll simply relegate your unprofessional papers to the trash pile. They have too many other entries that are neat and mailed in proper envelopes to worry about entries jammed in too small envelopes.

Whatever you decide to enter, treat it as an audition of your talents and skills as a professional writer. Send only your best.

Next time, "How do I know my poem or story or essay is ready to enter a contest?"

The Write Time of Year

The year is half over, or is there half of it left? This time of year always gets me thinking about how much (or how little) I have accomplished in my writing. I have just finished the Arkansas Writers' Conference, but there are plenty more highlights left in our area this year.
September 4 at Searcy is the White County Creative Writers' Conference, always a wonderful learning experience. It is held at Harding and several contests are involved. Go to www.whitecountycreativewriters.org for information.
October features the Ozark Creative Writers Conference at Eureka Springs. One of my favorite Western authors, Johnny Boggs will be there this year. Contests galore at this one, too. Visit www.ozarkcreativewriters.org for further info.
November 6, the Maumelle Writers' Conference will be held at the Jess Odom Community Center in Maumelle. Contests and great speakers are featured. See details at www.maumellewritersconference.com
Besides these wonderful opportunities, there is Poetry Day in Hot Springs October 15-16 at the Comfort Inn on Central Ave. I'll be speaking there this year. My calendar is full of conferences and contests for the rest of the year, plus my duties with my two writers' groups in El Dorado, plus my writing and book readings/signings, and this little ol' blog. Ahhhhh, it's great to be a writer and busy with writerly things...

I encourage each of you to schedule several conferences, seminars, readings, writers' meetings for the latter half of this year. Finish up with a bang!
Write on, folks!

Conventional Wisdom

After a lengthy hiatus, I'm back. I found that I was just too busy with preparing for speeches and conferences and such, that I had no time to blog. I have now reached a lull in the activities, and will try to post at least twice monthly.

I just returned from two very helpful conferences/conventions, and I am full of (among other things) information. The first weekend in June, I attended the Arkansas Writers' Conference, which focused mainly on fiction and nonfiction. Roland Mann from Oxford, MS, was the featured speaker, and he led the group in several outstanding discussions on fiction technique. Velda Brotherton gave a wonderful talk on finding your voice, and Marilyn Collins gave a presentation on writing for regional magazines. All were outstanding.

The following weekend, in Memphis, I was part of the NFSPS National Poetry Convention. Outstanding speakers, performers and seminars kept us busy all weekend. Among the highlights: Dr. Harding Stedler (Maumelle, AR) performing a dramatic rendition of Poe's "The Raven"; Dr. John Crawford (Arkadelphia, AR) presenting in word and song his "Music of Poetry"; Catherine Moran (Little Rock, AR) with helpful hints in her talk "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Poetry"; poetry readings by the awesome Lola Haskins (Fla.); and other fine presentations.

I'll be gathering my notes in the next few weeks, and this space will be used as a writers' seminar of sorts, using some borrowed ideas, some of my own. I'll also be posting my talk "How to Win Poetry Contests in Only 853 Steps".

I'll be posting every 2 weeks at the least, possibly more often as time allows. I still work full-time shift work. Until my next post, keep writing!

Resolutions For a New Year

Happy New Year! Like many folks, I usually make a list of things I plan on doing in the new year. Some people like to set goals, both personal and professional, some promise to break bad habits or start good ones. I prefer to set some standards for my writing life. In the past, I've done fairly well with these--I've gotten poems published, read my work in public, gotten books published. I think every writer should try each year (or month or week or day) to improve his/her writing and writing life in some way. I make a short list and post it on the bulletin board above my work station, and refer to it throughout the year. I even revise it, adding new standards, but never (NEVER!) subtracting or downsizing any of them.

This year's goals are a hodgepodge of things--Readings, contests, poems to write, etc. I also want to move into my new home office and GET ORGANIZED! No matter how far along you are as a writer, it pays to try to improve yourself in small increments. Take a class, join a writers' group, write 4 poems a month, send off 4 poems a month to journals, read your work aloud to someone or someones.

A new year can be a new you if you put forth the effort. I bought my 2010 wall-mount appointment calendar today, and I'm already penciling in speaking engagements, contest deadlines, group meetings and conventions. I hope to have a very busy and rewarding new writing year, and hope you all have one, too.

Write on.