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June 19, 2012

A Snapshot of My Days in the Ongoing KMWP

A Multi-talented Room Is KMWP (June 19, 2012)

It is a room where thoughts spread and sprinkle like a kaleidoscope of bubbles: rich, composed of many faces seemingly alike, but what comes out blows the mind.

It is a room filled with pervasive positive interactions.

It is a room of compassionate educators who carry their empathy for students in the words they put out without being aware of the depth of their compassion.

It is a room to which I race every morning filled with genuine and from-head-to-toe anticipation.

It is a room that gives me a 10x magnifying lens into many positive and progressive aspects of the humanity I love so much.

It is a room from where I know I will emerge a transcendental writer, so multi-layered, so grown, so wise, so much more compassionate, so much more grateful to be in this business of education that has been the center of my life’s force.

It is a room that I will carry with me in my emotions, as a reference material and as a guide book, as a memory that will cause my heart to skip in gratitude that I finally was chosen to be a part of concepts, processes, and topics that propel me to examine old topics in new lights and new topics in future lights.

It is a room of my dreams, making my imagination real.

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The Second Friday of KMWP Sizzles! (June 15, 2012)

Things that sizzle force me to response with many reactions, imagined or real: excitement, anticipation, nourishment, and the fulfillment of that noisy imagery that grabs my attention and refuses to allow me to take it for granted.

Today dawns with a higher level of awareness of promises of growth, a higher call to what must be achieved with joy.  I am pumped, ready, filled with all the  eagerness of a child watching chopped onions sizzle in a pan, forecasting the certainty of being fed.

Today shoots off like a meteor as fingers grip pens and dive nose down in a white-water-rafting plunge of adrenal activity, “The English Throw Down”. We threw down on demand with elaborate sentences, figures of speech interspersed like black pepper. We borrow words from any foreign language on demand and from someone’s quotation, famous or not. We throw down. Somehow our creative thoughts gel, thoughts that seemed written with randomness come together in a mind-blowing cohesion.  I am always ready, free and ready.

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 Writing from Without and on a Dare (KMWP) (6/14/2012)

I dabbled into a new area out of a self-inflicted dare: writing a young adult fiction. However, I wanted to write it as an out-of-body experience, not me writing as I would but writing as I imagined a young adult writer putting down thoughts and ideas. Let me tell you, the “process” challenged me.

Plot is evident in the story, and although it is necessary, it cannot move the story by itself. Dialogue is there. Unfortunately, I buried it/him/her several pages behind, which made it excruciating to read. Teenagers have no patience. We know that.

Yesterday’s adventure into memoir writing exposed me to the art of relocation: moving chunks around with these guidelines: nice but doesn’t fit, save it; not nice and doesn’t fit, cut it; eradicate chaff words such as “-ly”; compare and compress by removing the telling part of the story; and make ten specific changes.

Needless to say, I have work to do. I will not give up on the young.

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Posted by J. Stalnaker
June 14, 2012 at 11:43am

Frances-

I love reading YA fiction! Most likely because that is the age group I teach and I am always sneaking peeks at their titles to see what is going on in “their” world. Don’t give up…and let me know when you have something meaty to chew on!

Joy

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A Name That Failed to Float (KMWP) (6/13/2012)

We peeled the layers in our names yesterday. My parents baptized me with a beautiful name that floated with a life force; however, I blame it for turning me into an enigma: good-natured, a sympathetic friend, tough at times, blunt, and stealthily sarcastic. My name is music, a three-toned instrument, and I loved growing up in it. Family members dissected it, made pet names out of it, each to his or her idea of me. It responds quickly to kind words or any expression of appreciation.

As serendipitous as my name is, my high school English teacher brought me down to earth, causing unworthiness and fear to lurk around that name. He began each chastisement with, “Do you know what your name means?” if I punctuated incorrectly, mouthed a fragment, or failed to decipher the function of an adverb.

On the generous end, I insulted bullies in high school without them realizing I trounced them until months later when they heard the insulting word or words bandied about blatantly. Any follower of my name can attest that, if the wind blows, I become loquacious.

My birth name begins like the “Eu” in Europe, shifts in chord into “kay,” and finishes up with the last hard “ria;” and I am not Spanish nor fond of the rolled “r.” My name is Eucharia. All in all, I soaked in a very revealing part of me yesterday as I journey to the core of memoir writing. I am anxious to get started today.

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Posted by Megan Barker
June 13, 2012 at 10:53am

Pretty piece. I love your way with words.

The Journey of Self-discovery Begins with One-fourth of Me (6/12/2012)

Write a memoir? Who? Me? The thought scares me at first, but I am a free thinker who says yes to anything that involves writing. I dig in, searching through the walls of my well, as circular as it is, with a high-powered light, looking at my life in quarterly segments, trying to find the aspect of it deep enough for me to lower my literary pail and pull up enough water to write a memoir.

This is truly intoxicating! Looking at my life, I take my life story in snapshots. I realize now that I miss my life, that life, the one-quarter of it that I am examining now. Wow, and that is only 25%. I am looking forward so much to today’s events, and boy, am I ready!

The instructor, an associate dean here at my university, seems to know something that we (obvious ignorant lot) do not yet. She placed tissues in the middle of each group’s table. Are there going to be tears today? Who is going to cry? Hmmm.

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Comment Posted by Theresa Allen
June 12, 2012 at 1:32pm

it was very interesting to me to view my life in segments of time.

My Theme for the KMWP This Summer is Free (6/11/2012)

I am attempting to encapsulate that word, “free,” just for this summer’s (2012) KMWP outlook. Truth be known, “free” (not just the connotation in the suffix, “-dom,”) has always been the foundation of my perspective on education all my life. Why should I restrict myself or my students in my abilities or theirs? Even if we believe (and that is the crux because belief can be changed) that the person is incapable of achieving the feat, we cannot choke effort and energy out of their willingness because of our own short-sightedness. We must think freely, feel freely, and allow others to engage in intellectual development freely.

I spent Saturday here among my fellows soaking in all that glided my way, and every single event propelled me into more thirst for more knowledge. The exemplary demo we previewed was about art. The day only got better with us trying to see art in a different life: writing about it. We described different pieces of art, judged them, analyzed all the nuances, and interpreted them, allowing our minds to see familiar art in ways we never had the time or allowed ourselves profound introspection. The bar is raised.

We need to meet or exceed it, and those are the only two options. Pensive moments cause me to grow, not being pensive for looking thoughtful, but really digging deep into the crevices of every hidden corner of your intellect and pulling out what astounds you before it astonishes anyone else. Every inch of my fiber is free to re-view (see again), rethink, re-appreciate, re-visit, re-evaluate, and all the words that allow me to re-grow intellectually, spiritually, selflessly, and socially.

I look forward to each new day with a new bride’s potential familial growth and a lifetime of promised love and life.

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A Place for the Free-spirited (06/09/2012)

I am ecstatic to be involved in the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project after many years of hoping and wishing. An ebullient feeling fills every nook and corner of my free-spirited, inquisitive, and absorbent intellect. I thought I was the Queen of WAC, but I am simmering in self-discovery of the rarest kind. Gurus jar my brain with unique writing-across-curriculum activities of the socio-scientific nature, “writing with brush strokes,” what I call contributive poetry, and so on. The summer is just beginning. I am gripping my seat for this roller coaster ride unlike any!Comment viewing options

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Posted by Theresa Allen
June 9, 2012 at 11:53am

I can’t even think of an adjective to completely describe my feelings about being involved with the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project. Like you Frances, I am ecstatic. I know this is going to be a transformative experience and I look forward to applying my new insights and knowledge to my class in the fall.

Posted by Shirley Hanner
June 9, 2012 at 12:57pm

I think this will be a time of discovery for all of us! I am glad to share the exploration with you!

June 11, 2012

I HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!

I am one of very few fellows selected this year for the renowned Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project! After many years of hoping and wishing, I am strapped into my seat waiting for (not take off but) lift off. Ebullient feelings fill every nook and corner of my free-spirited, inquisitive, and absorbent intellect. I thought I was the Queen of WAC, but I am simmering in self-discovery of the rarest kind. Gurus jar my brain with unique writing-across-curriculum activities in the socio-scientific realm, “writing with brush strokes,” contributive poetry, and so on. The summer is just beginning. I am gripping my seat for this space shuttle ride unlike any!

May 12, 2012

Sometimes When You Lose a Job, You Gain Much More

When literature is relatable, a person soaks it in happily, remembering every look, every unspoken message, and every fiber of human connectivity. Such it was last night when I “read” the movie, Larry Crowne, starring Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, two Hollywood A-listers.  

Because I could relate to the movie on many levels, it resonated with me with great profoundness. Unfortunately, I had read Stephen Holden’s review of the movie and felt that he lived in another country away from the movie’s essence. He missed the bull’s eye from all possible points because of “shaking hands,” otherwise known as self-imposed disability.
If a person cannot relate to a book or a movie, all the nuances, minuscule connections, and the humanity in the plot scale over his or her head with a car racer’s zooming speed. I did not chuckle like Holden presumed that I would do. I laughed aloud on numerous occasions. When a reviewer views a piece with obvious prejudice and begins from that reference point, it is a complete hard sell to try to change that person’s biased stance.
SME on Yahoo responded to the question about the relatability of literature and stated, “All literature relates to someone. That is why people read. To get information and pleasure and a new point of view, I read because it makes me think and feel challenged.” I thank SME for his or her open-mindedness, but I wish I could say the same for Mr. Holden’s tongue-in-cheek review.
How did the movie/literature relate to me? Borrowing from Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “…Let me count the ways.” First, like Julia Robert’s character, I have a last name that people mispronounce all the time. I teach public speaking at a university, and many of the scenarios in her classroom and the speech activities drove home to me with an immense force.
I saw me and my students in many of the roles in the classroom: matters pertaining to attendance; I (as the instructor) sat in the back while listening to and grading the speeches, always mindful of the time limits allotted to the speech, always calling time, always assigning self-introductory speech, speech that required research, persuasive speech, and many scenarios too numerous to mention. Also, I try to show my humanity while retaining a little detachment.
Like Larry Crowne, Tom Hank’s character, I lost my job after a 20-year investment in it. Just like Mr. Crowne, losing the job was harrowing at first, but it became the best fun he/I ever had. As I watched Crowne, I related with receiving unemployment benefits, filing for voluntary foreclosure in order not to be homeless or become a victim of the bank’s/mortgage company’s brand of foreclosure, having boundless fun, and reinventing myself by taking classes.
Additional similarities include downsizing lifestyle and expenses, meeting new people, having the time to meet new people, having the time to do what I/he wanted and when I/he wanted it, freedom from the 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. grind, and many other possibilities that transformed themselves from impossibilities.
This affirmative movie drove home, resonated with me, and sent me this profound message: Sometimes when a person loses a job, he/she gains much more, gains of the biggest proportion.
April 27, 2012

The Progenies of Literature

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” ― Lao Tzu

 

I attended a writers’ event last night, and I was encouraged by the promise in the room. The baton-passing is in strong hands, creative minds, and agile legs. What am I rambling about? The young!

I started writing when I was very small, and growing up in Nigeria, there were no outlets for me and my budding-writer kind to take our dreams to the outer realm of creative exposure. Except for my elementary, junior high, and high school teachers who recognized my talent, there did not seem anywhere else to go with all that talent.

When I taught English, I always tried to pay it forward by exposing my students to writing competitions and other outlets. More recently, when I heard of the Kennesaw Mountain Writing Project for the young, I immediately sent e-mails to all the parents of my previous middle school students encouraging them to align their budding writers with that literary outlet.

Granted, a lot of people give J. K. Rawlings credit for increasing the number of pre-teens and teens who started reading voraciously and devouring dictionary-volume books. There is another wave of pre-teens and teenagers who inspired me last night—the ones who can actually write from the wells of inner inspiration, not forced, coerced, or threatened.

These students won awards last night, and as the presenters read the excerpts from the pieces that won the awards, I rested assured that literature would be in excellent hands, that the baton has been passed on successfully, even as we older generation toil and pound words into obedience.

I heard flowery language enough to make me want to cry, something I seem to be doing a lot lately. As I listened to each piece, something moved in me; recognition dawned; smile spread broadly, and something within shifted as genuine respect, not grudgingly, but readily.

The little event last night mirrors a grander and more widespread one as writers, publishers, promoters, and those at the helm of literary and scholarly penmanship recognize that the young have a voice.

Every year, professional authors, hobbyists, writers, educators, creative leaders, and others (who have vested interest in the young) seek out budding and unheard voices. We recognize the names of these literary giants who won awards as young writers: Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates, Bernard Malamud, Carolyn Forché, Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, and many, many more who won or did not win awards but who wrote from their hearts with technical skills, creative take on words, originality of thoughts, and personal voice.

Below are some online outlets for budding/emergent writers who wish to enter writing contests and competitions. Placing this list on my blog is not an act of endorsement or approval. When in doubt, parents and students, my advice is “caveat emptor.”

Home page

http://www.bennington.edu/NewsEvents/YoungWritersCompetition.aspx http://www.youngvoicesfoundation.org/writingcontests.html

http://www.rehobothbeachwritersguild.com/youngwriters.html 

http://amazing-kids.org/main/

http://blogs.walnuthillarts.org/thebluepencil/about-us

http://www.cricketmag.com/CIC-CICADA-Magazine-for-Teens-ages-14+-

http://www.newpages.com/npguides/young_authors_guide.htm

April 17, 2012

Validation Is an Empowering Feeling

Validation comes in all sorts of ways: increasing readership numbers, “friends” who friend but do not know you, and being invited to make a media appearance. The ultimate validation is from a stranger who has no stake in a person’s popularity or wealth.

Imagine my surprise when I drove around the internet and parked at an online site because I was attracted by the heading, “Blogs to Explore,” and my newly birthed blog, (https://literarynomad11.blogspot.com) made the list! I was elated beyond words. Wow!

I could go on and on about examples of validation, but right now, I find myself speechless. Thank you to the stranger who recognized something special in my blog! Thank you!

March 24, 2012

I AM TRAYVON MARTIN!

Subtitle: “The Racial Profiling of Trayvon Martin”

I have cried my eyes out since listening to the 911 tapes of a crime that gives me a headache each time I hear its particulars.

-Borrowing from President Barack Obama, “If I had a son, he would have looked like Trayvon Martin.” http://www.thegrio.com/politics/obama-speaks-for-black-fathers-if-i-had-a-son-hed-look-like-trayvon.php

-If I had a son, he would have acted like Trayvon Martin: worn hoodies, eaten Skittles, and drunk iced tea.

-I have prayed daily for every black male in America because of racial profiling; I have prayed for black males who are mine (blood brother, nephews, cousins, and lover); I have prayed for those I know (friends of family members, friends of friends, friends’ sons, husbands, lovers of female friends , and my religious brothers), for those I hope to meet one day, and for those I may never meet. I have prayed and will keep praying for every black male in America because of racial profiling. Why are black males the only ones who look “suspicious?” Why?

-If I had a son, he would have looked up to who would have been his older sister and would have done these normal things his sister loves–wearing hoodies, eating Skittles, and drinking AriZona iced tea.

-I own jackets with hoodies for rainy and cold nights; I love Skittles, and I drink tea.

-My father’s first name was Martin.

I am Trayvon Martin. I am Trayvon Martin. I am Trayvon Martin!

-I was an A-student and an athlete in high school. “Trayvon, the 17-year old, A-student and athlete, was gunned down in Sanford, Florida on Feb 26th by a neighborhood watch volunteer and wannabe police officer, George Zimmerman. Martin is dead because Zimmerman — in his own words — found the child “suspicious”. When pressed by a police dispatcher for what made the young man’s presence a cause for concern, Zimmerman said, ‘he’s a black male’.” (An excerpt from an article)

-I was a model student and daughter. “By all accounts, Trayvon was a model student and son, having saved his own father from a burning house at the tender age of 9 years old. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Martin’s English teacher described the young boy as “an A and B student who majored in cheerfulness”.

–“Sights and Sounds of the Million Hoodie Match”–http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,1524606068001_2109812,00.html

–Time Magazine article on Trayvon’s shooting: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2109975,00.html?xid=feed-yahoo-top-linkbox

–The Miami Heat (of Florida) wears hoodies in solidarity. http://www.thegrio.com/news/miami-heat-don-hoodies-speak-out-on-trayvon-martin.php

–Sanford (FL) police chief announces he will step down for botching the Trayvon Martin murder incident. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/trayvon-martins-death-sparks-national-outrage-mourning/#shooting-death-of-unarmed-teen-trayvon-martin-sparks-national-outrage

–Tracy Martin, father of the slain teen, joins the “Million Hoodie March” in Union Square, New York City, on March 21, 2012. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/trayvon-martins-death-sparks-national-outrage-mourning/#tracy-martin-father-of-slain-florida-teen-trayvon-martin-joins-a-protest-to-demand-justice-for-his-sons-death-in-new-yorks-union-square#ixzz1q3I8apyR

–Supporters of Trayvon Martin block traffic as they march through Union Square during the “Million Hoodie March” in Union Square in New York City on March 21, 2012.http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/trayvon-martins-death-sparks-national-outrage-mourning/#a-million-hoodies-march-protests-death-of-trayvon-martin#ixzz1q3ItZZI6

–A memorial to Trayvon Martin sits outside The Retreat at Twin Lakes community where Trayvon was shot by George Michael Zimmerman while on neighborhood watch patrol. http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/23/trayvon-martins-death-sparks-national-outrage-mourning/#neighborhood-of-sanford-florida-still-reeling-in-aftermath-of-unarmed-teen-shooting#ixzz1q3JCQl37

–A timeline of events in the shooting of Trayvon Martin: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/trayvon-martin-case-timeline-of-events

–Students from 50 schools walk out in Florida in protest of the shooting of high school student, Trayvon Martin. —http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/03/trayvon-martin-furor-expands-to-school-walkouts-petition/

–“Does race play into it? Certainly. I have no doubt Trayvon would be behind bars if he’d been the shooter in that scenario.”–http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-george-zimmerman-20120323,0,6326075.story

–Racial profiling of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman–“Looks like he’s up to no good. …” Zimmerman told the dispatcher. “This guy’s hand is in his waistband, and he’s a black male.” http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-george-zimmerman-20120323,0,6326075.story

–One middle-aged man with dreadlocks who was marching with hundreds of other people on Thursday night in Los Angeles’ Leimert Park in the Crenshaw District said, “We’re not going to get rid of racism. All we’re asking is that the justice system work.” http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks-20120324,0,6872957.column?page=2&track=rss

That is all we are asking for Trayvon Martin: Justice.

May his young soul rest in God’s eternal peace. Amen.

March 9, 2012

Sitting on Revision

When I taught reading to middle school students who groaned loudly every time I asked them to read anything, I gave them this mantra: “I do not like to read, but I have to read.” I gave reasons why they should read. Those who allowed the sprinkled dust of tacit persuasion to touch their intellect bought into it.

Today, I find myself at crossroads and have to adopt my mantra in order to get over a huge chasm the size of the Grand Canyon. I do not like to revise my work, but I have to revise it for several reasons.

When a writer submits a purported best-write, and the publisher comes back with the proverbial red ink suggestions for a rewrite, it takes a lot to pump up the shoulders, keep eyes on the prize, and buckle down to those suggestions. I repeat: It takes a lot!

That is where I am. I have stated numerous times that I do not have the old fanged and famous diagnosis of writer’s block as hashed out by Edmund Bergler, Purdue Online Writing Lab, Irene Clark, and many others.

Since I have a continuous influx of ideas, I refuse to subscribe to this school of thought. I write because ideas bombard my brain constantly. I choose not to write not due to any writer’s block.

What I have is the Kilimanjaro-reluctance to do what I must do. Some will classify it as procrastination; others will call it writer’s block. I just refused to revise my work. Simple, case closed. Or is it?

I have been sitting on my publisher’s recommendations for months now. I wanted to arrive at a place where I actually would allow myself to take that novel apart, perform the necessary surgery, and reattach the limbs (if possible). It is a tall order, this submission to dismantling a well-built house with a wrecking ball.

I admit, ego blocked my progress. That confounded chip is the undoing and the downfall of a writer who refuses to detach herself from that most magnificent creation and be humble. Today was such a thing for me. I went to bed at 1:50 this morning because transformation gripped me. I devoured books by people who know the business. They tolImaged me to get over my elitist self.

They informed me that I was misinformed. Because I taught English, writing, and literature for decades, and because some colleagues called me “word wizard,” I figured I was that. They said I needed to get real, take off that title, fling it into the bottom of the Pacific, and find a tattered cloak of humility to put on for the world to see that I have written diddly, nada, nothing.

Heather Sellers and The Portable MFA in Creative Writing were kinder in their phraseology, but Les Edgerton let me have it without mincing words. When I say, “me,” I am sure he has no idea who I am, but the “me” refers to any reader who picks up Hooked. Yes, the man knows how to title his book. I was hooked from Page 1 until I put the book down around 1 A.M. and picked up Page after Page by Sellers.

With my tail tucked between my legs, I am humbled and owe my publisher an apology for wasting valuable time on what I should have finished months ago. Then again, I am glad I waited for the tough love that came.

It arrived early this morning with waves of inspiration and resolution crashing down on me to get my lazy behind on the chair, what Sellers calls “Butt-in-the-chair” determination. Needless to say, I needed a figurative kick in the shin (which hurts more than a kick on the derrière).

As any writer worth her salt knows, a writer must be a reader first and must read and read. I feel better now that I have heard other voices to imbue me to do what I must do.

“Go crazy! Punch a higher floor!” sang Prince. I am not letting the elevator bring me down, not until I finish this most important necessity. I hear Prince’s instrumental as I jump into revision. “Oh, no, let’s go! …Let’s go nuts!” (With revision, that is.)

February 14, 2012

Building a BRAND with SWAG

I found an intriguing article written exactly one year ago today. To mark the anniversary of Elise L. Connors’ article, I need to examine my writing style by engaging in an introspective search of my own branding. As an aspiring author, I am constantly writing with passion. Writing is an obsession, an ambition, an aspiration, and is the essence of my being and my survival.

As such, I have been writing without worrying about branding or doing it with swag. I am borrowing these words, brand and swag, from Connors in the context that she used them in her article. I confess that I never paid attention to brand and swag in terms of writing.

It is now time to excogitate. Assuming that I do have that BRAND and that I built it with SWAG, what would the package look like exactly? I presume that after I have built my brand, I would like to maintain it for the duration of my “new-found” career. Branding oneself is a long-term goal and process and relies on audience perception. I do not know if I have an audience yet, considering that my Kickstarter project did not start; pun intended shamelessly.

I will now attempt to examine the acronym Connors created in order to gauge my progress in the branding-with-swag endeavor. She states that “Success as an author depends not only on writing a quality book (which is VERY important) but also how you are able to connect with your audience.”

As Connor’s defines it, brand is more than my name. It is my identity. It is how the general or reading public views me. BRAND stands for:

“B oldness (You have to be able to say things others are afraid to.)

R elevance (Are you talking about the things your audience wants to hear about?)

A nd

N otable (Are you saying things that are “newsworthy”?)

D edication (Are you dedicated to yourself and your audience?)”

What is SWAG? This isn’t the swag that normally comes to mind. This is SWAG:

“S ophisticated (Are you offering high-quality content? Big tip: proofreading is important.)

W orthy (Are you doing anything to deserve the notoriety you’re seeking?)

A nd

G rateful (Are you appreciative for your audience?)”

Taking the first word and dissecting it, I would say that I definitely am bold. I do not flinch from situations, and I say it like it is, which tends to contradict with the expectations of people. I try to make my postings relevant, always looking at the grand picture, always seeing how my postings will benefit people, and trying to find out what readers want. It is difficult to please every preference, but my aim is to try.

I will help Elise L. Connors a little by changing the word, “And,” to Accessible. In acknowledgement of that substitution, I make my postings accessible by linking my blogs and other literary efforts to social media and other viable avenues.  

If you visit my Yahoo! Voices postings, you will discover articles about people who are making strides in their different fields. In that sense, these are notable people and notable topics, newsworthy people and newsworthy topics.

The final component of BRAND is dedication. I am a loyal, committed, and dye-in-the-wool kind of person. I thrived in education for decades, have stayed in the same volunteer capacities for decades, and I am unswerving in my devotion to my writing and my love of it, which has lasted almost four decades. It is that love of writing that gripped me at an early age, caused me to obtain two degrees in it, and I am poised to obtain a third one.

For the next acronym, SWAG, I want to believe that by virtue of having a Master of Arts degree in journalism and by being an editor, a freelancer, a book reviewer, and a copy writer–among other attributes, that my content is sophisticated in quality.

Anything we put out in cyberspace or publish brings with it the positive and the negative. The question is, “Are you doing anything to deserve the notoriety you’re seeking?” Notoriety carries both a negative connotation and a negative denotation. I want to see my glass as half full and take the good that exposure brings to me. I hope that I am worthy of fame and should deserve it when it arrives by dint of my hardwork.

Again, I am going to substitute the word, “And,” with another adjective that begins with “A.” That word is “Adventurous.” Am I allowing myself the courage to explore my creativity and take it as far as audacity will allow? Although several colleagues have recognized creativity in my intellectual products, I hope to grow in my ability to drizzle morsels of words with different tasty confetti that will entice all to partake in and savor the cornucopia of literary offerings that I craft.

The last word on the list is grateful(ness). I want to believe that I am appreciative of my audience. As I check my readership, I find it increasing daily, weekly, and cumulatively. I am eternally grateful to all who have stopped by and all who will visit. Please leave a mark of your presence by putting down comments so that I can express my gratitude formally.

I want to thank Elise L. Connors for providing the foundation for today’s posting, and I hope to Pay It Forward by returning the same type of favor to several people. As my friend and critic, Cynthia Adams, said, “Frances Ohanenye is a writer with a finger on the pulse of creativity.” I could not have said it better myself. Thank you, Cynthia, for always being my sounding board.

February 7, 2012

Exploring Genrelific® Situations

Words come to me out of the blue as inventions. For example, I used the word “fantabulous,” for the first time to my students in 1997 without realizing that someone else had documented its use in 1957. I invent words continuously and use them personally–blended words, unique words, and so on, but I never venture to clamor for the general public to herald their birth until now.

This morning, as I brewed my herbal tea and pondered over the topic for today’s blog, I sought to take stock of my versatility in the literary realm. I am a writer of many genres, meaning that I am prolific in those genres. In search of the ONE word that would capture my uniqueness and brand me at the same time, I (Frances Ohanenye) invented “genrelific” on February 7, 2012.

I went to the Lexico Publishing Company and to Merriam-Webster to find out how I can add my newly coined word into their respective dictionaries. In summation, usage is the passport for inclusion into that privileged class. Therefore, I encourage everyone to begin to use the word “genrelific.” The more people who use it, the higher the chance of my word being included in any dictionary. I searched the internet, and it does not exist.

For example, you could say, “My friend, Frances Ohanenye, is very genrelific. She writes across many genres.” Or, “My brother is a genrelific reader and does not restrict himself to one genre.”

I admit that my motive may seem self-serving for now, but ultimately, my goal is for the general reading public to describe writers who cross the boundaries of the literary world with one word instead of with a string of wordy morsels. “Genrelific” captures the literati, that group of authors, writers, and other people involved with literature and the arts.

I am realistic and patient. The process of inclusion takes weeks, months, and even years. I understand. I am not myopic at all either. I see the far-reaching use of the word, genrelific. We speak of types of art, movies/cinematography, music, and wherever categories and sub-categories exist within an industry. The applicability of the word is limitless.

To establish ownership of my coined word for evidentiary purpose, I took the liberty of corresponding with those two companies to queue myself on their waiting list and introduce my brainchild as well. Now, let us get back to my “genrelific” self. I am prolific in these genres: children’s, young adult (YA), mystery, science fiction, short story, poetry, religious/inspirational, and adult/realistic/women’s. I want to delve into creating plays/drama, mythology, romance, fairytale, historical fiction, folktale–which my father used to tell us a lot of, and others.

Kathleen Hall Jamieson‘s “Antecedent Genre as Rhetorical Constraint” declares that rhetorical situation determines discourse as well as antecedent genres. I admire Jamieson’s succinctness because past definitions of genres still control our present analysis, appreciation, and emulation. “Antecedent genres are genres of the past used as a basis to shape and form current rhetorical responses.”

I have penned at least one volume in each of the nine genres listed above, and some genres can boast of at least eight creations in my literary repertoire. I have many ideas marinating for many more explorations within each of the types of literature in which I have traveled.

That I have not dabbled into the romance genre purely as a writer is not for lack of desire; no pun intended. The muse has not called me yet. To be a writer, one must first be a reader. I devoured at least 100 of Barbara Cartland’s romance novels and by other authors, enough to inspire me despite myself.

I consumed at least 70 of René Brabazon Lodge Alan Raymond’s, (famously and lovingly known as James Hadley Chase) crime fiction novels, not to mention many from Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, Ian Fleming (the creator of James Bond), and several more.

I read and memorized texts of classic novels (Charles Dickens, Jonathan Swift, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jane Austen, Horatio Alger, Charlotte Bronte, Guy de Maupassant, Nathaniel Hawthorne, David Henry Thoreau) and William Shakespeare’s dramas, the springboard for my rapture with literature.

I nourished my soul with Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Hilaire Belloc, Kofi Awoonor, and other poignant authors and poets. As a matter of fact, one year, I read at least 180 novels, not teacher-mandated readings, required texts, or textbooks, simply self-chosen glorious novels.

Now I write furiously. I write many genres and can write all genres. However, my creation relies on inspiration cascading like confetti rather than by a self-inflicted time-table. Who knows, when the inspiration floods my brain for romance novels, I will create that genre as a full bloom or any other genre my mind chooses to birth.

The type of literature into which I will never seek membership is horror. The simple reason is that I do not wish to stain or sell my soul because I may not be able to buy it back or get it back from the dark forces that inhabit that sphere. Superstitious? May be, but I have read both Steven King and Edgar Allan Poe, and they both scared the living daylights out of me and my house.

Venturing into many genres allows me to dabble into unrestricted spheres. I perceive myself as a living testimony of Richard Coe’s words when he said that “tyranny of genre” constrains individual creativity (Coe 188). Therefore, I allow myself to mingle within genres, cross their boundaries, shake hands with their inhabitants, and dine luxuriously among them.

In my mystery novels, romance abounds. In one YA novel, religion trumpets out of the mouths of youths like the Sermon on the Mount, and religious-infused allusions thrive. In my science fiction short story, realism and fiction fight for supremacy, but because I want it classified as a science fiction endeavor, that genre triumphs. As Amy Devitt states, “A genre is named because of its formal markers” (Devitt 10), and I wanted that story formally marked as a science fiction.

If I have failed to make it known before, unique words feed my brain like food and my brain feeds me unique words. Today will go down in famousness as the birthday of the word, “genrelific,” another synergy for the literary world.

©2012Genrelific by FrancesOhanenye

January 28, 2012

Response to Literature: A Recipe

Link to image: http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/favicon.ico

sixminutes.dlugan.com

Following the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Sweetheart) principle, here is the simplest recipe you need to follow when responding to any piece of literature (regardless of age or academic level). Blessed with so many nicknames (book review, literary criticism, literary critical analysis, response to literature, analytical review, literary interpretation, and so on), there is, indeed, a worthwhile dissimilarity among all the aforementioned explorations, from the simplest (book review) to the most complex (literary critical analysis). Regardless of your preference for moniker, your job is to help a potential reader to get a glimpse into a piece of literary work before he/she decides to read it. You are the reviewer.

  • Needless to say, before you engage in response to literature, you must read that novel to the end of it.
  • Break your critique into three major parts: introduction, body, and conclusion.
  • Pull the audience in with gripping sentences in the introduction.
  •  Summarize the story within the first few paragraphs with beginning, middle, and ending; however, you should mesh the summary into your analysis (preferable).
  • From your notes (taken during the reading), identify any interesting situation that caused very strong reactions in you: What inspired you? Confused you? Surprised you?
  • Include and organize these reactions; discuss each major thought in each paragraph in the body of your review and link them to the events in the order they occur in the story.
  • Give insight and make judgment so the reader can determine your feeling about the story: like it, don’t like it, or lukewarm. Support each opinion.
  • Identify elements of literature and comment on them in your writing as they pertain to the story.
  • Identify those figurative expressions the author used in the story; comment on his/her style, ingenuity, creative playfulness, and such, as they pertain to the story.
  • Allow your voice to come through clearly; showcase your style.
  • Employ the six traits of writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.
  • Paint colorfully vivid pictures with figures of speech, action verbs, and descriptive adjectives.
  • Quote the author’s most salient and moving phrases/words.
  • Place a check beside the bulleted requirements above as you complete each one.
  • Edit and revise your work with the proofreading/copy-editing guidelines.
  • Pre-grade your work physically; before submitting it to an instructor or for publication, repair any defects that might impact negatively your grade or your reputation.

I look forward to reading your literary criticism, and criticism can be constructive. Thanks for stopping by today.