Happy Spring?

So, I've lost hope that spring will ever come. Forget summer. That Disney movie Frozen couldn't have come out on a better year.

Meanwhile, I've admittedly been in a bit of a writing slump. I've acquired three jobs, plus my rabbit was just spayed (poor baby) - so I've been playing nurse, and I can't possibly do anything but sit under a blanket when it's a consistent -20 degrees in Wisconsin.

And you know what? I'm not worried about it. I know, when it's time for me to write, it will happen. In the meantime, I'm catching up on this year's movies (Frozen was better than expected) and doing a lot of reading. If it's what my creative writer-brain needs right now, then I'm not going to push it. Eventually I'll pull my laptop out and start scribing again because I always do after writing slumps.

Also, though writing is not what I'm doing right now, art definitely is. I realized it's been a while since I showcased some of my artwork, and since you can't look outside at mountains of snow all the time and expect not to be depressed, here's some color to brighten the coldest March in history.

This piece, titled "The Universe is Shifting", is a 9x11 oil pastel on paper. I've already framed it, as you see.

 

This piece, titled "Life Inside the Box", is a much larger (I didn't measure, sorry) acrylic and marker on canvas. It's my most recent piece, unless you count the unfinished panel sitting on my table now.

 

 

 

And for Throwback...Tuesday(?)...here's my favorite art class final. The project was to paint yourself into a classic. I chose Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" from 1908/1909. My version is an acrylic on panel board and I even painted in my (at that time) red hair and geek glasses, circa 2012.

 

None of these are available on my Etsy shop, for those of you who were reading this blog when I announced its creation. I've kind of slacked in the shop lately due to overwork and exhaustion. But, they're nice to look at, yes? If you're an artist, feel free to share with us pictures of your art as well.

 

Otherwise, don't sweat it if you're in a spring writing slump. It happens. Often. Breathe, read, and create again another day.

 

Happy Tuesday everyone!



The Art of the Short Story vs. The Art of the Novel

I have safely returned to my frozen Wisconsin wasteland. It was a balmy -30 when I landed and now is slightly warmer - warm enough to produce a 5-8" snowstorm over the next two days. If nothing, the cold weather forces me to be dormant and work on my writing.

It also forces me to have extended Facebook or text conversations with old friends. Yesterday, I was speaking with a friend of mine who was just accepted into an MFA program for fiction writing. I asked if she was excited and she said yes, but no. Throughout her undergrad experience, she wrote short stories, then created a portfolio of short stories to get into the MFA program. Now, she learned that the extent of her MFA program would be writing, critiquing, and perfecting even more short stories.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to write fiction, but I want to write a novel. Short stories aren't my calling," she told me via technology. "I read this article that said writing a short story is like making a row boat, whereas writing a novel is like building a yacht. You can't build a yacht by building thousands of rowboats."

She didn't remember who wrote the article or where she read it, but the quote stuck with us both. Writing a short story - from the plot to the character development - is a completely different world from writing a novel. That's why I enjoy the "novel writing" seminars I attend over the "short story seminars". Though both can help you tame your craft, you have to pursue what you love. You don't see poets in forestry class, or painters spinning at the ceramics wheel. You have to follow your calling. If you want to write short stories, take the MFA classes and become a short story master. If you want to write novels, then find a writing group and novel writing seminars that most often take place over a span of weekends or at a month-long retreat.

Just as we understand the difference in craft between clay and oil paint, it's about time we start realizing that not all fiction is identical. It takes different abilities and techniques to write short stories than it does to write novels.

My advice to my friend as well as to you, blog reader and fellow scribe, is to follow your heart. Don't worry about the professors telling you you won't go anywhere without an MFA. Don't worry if everyone else is singing up for the Carver-esque class. If you want to be the next Grisham or Patterson, write your novel. Read more novels and find the correct classes for you.

Check it out: Indie Writer Death Match

You know when your fingers are too cold to type? When you have to enter your email password 6 times before you hit every key with enough force for it to come out correctly? When you put hand sanitizer on then think, "When did I get that paper cut?" but then realize it's just your cracked skin because it's too flippin' dry and cold in here?

Yeah, that's why next week I'll be taking a week off. I'm leaving the frozen tundra of northern Wisconsin to hit the Southeast (so get your ice storms out of the way now and make way for 70 degrees!). At approximately this time next Tuesday, I'll be somewhere in the air space above southern Wisconsin or northern Illinois, where I'll make a connection to make another connection to get to my vacation destination.

You may, of course, contact me via blog comment below, but I will not respond until March 18th, when I'm safely home again (and freezing) and back in Central Standard Time.

To while away the hours until then, check out this awesome new writing competition I found a few weeks back and have adored following. It's called the Indie Writer Death Match and is brought to you annually by Broken Pencil lit mag.

The Death Match is like a cross between the Hunger Games and your Sunday book group giving their hipster opinions on the newest Claire Messud novel. Tons of writers submit their best short stories, then the editors narrow the field down to the Death Match participants. From there, the voting is up to the people as stories go head to head in sets of 2 until they make it (or not) to the final round. While all of this is taking place, the comments section explodes with reader jabs, writer defenses, and moderator schemes.

Don't believe me? Here's a sample of the comments from the currently running final round, which takes place until March 9th. The two final stories are Eraser and Idiot Without a Coat On.

Cody Oschefski: "Eraser seems to be the clear winner here. Not sure how she fell behind."
Cat B: "Ummmm...I attribute it to the fact that Idiot Without A Coat On is the clearer winner."

So partake in the Death Match (and maybe write something for next year's Death Match? Huh? HUH?) until I return. There, words are the weapons, and literary slingers are abundant. Immerse yourselves, my friends, while I search for weather above 7 degrees.