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August, 2009
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Dear Cowgirls and Friends,
Welcome to the first edition of Write 'em Cowgirls Express! June was a dynamic month, what with my first month-long online board meeting for Solar Cookers World Net, my application-by-invitation process for Solar Cookers International, work on my new websites, gardening, and my fourth annual trip to Skidmore College in upstate New York for the annual International Women's Writing Guild Conference. I returned home exhausted but inspired. July sped by as I scrambled to catch up after the trip, enlivened by a visit from one of my California grandsons and preparations for the northern hemisphere's annual solar cooking holiday. We're starting to pick cherry tomatoes, the first Early Girl just turned red, and the season of abundance for pesto and summer squash has begun. The weather has mostly been great for solar cooking, so I don't have to turn on my stove very often, which definitely helps keep the house cooler.
Sorry it's taking so long to get this newsletter out and more of the site up, but all sorts of life keeps happening, and Josh (my husband and the one who knows how to take text and graphics and make them be web pages) and I only have so many hours in us. Thank you for your patience. For anyone who hasn't checked in since the very early days, Health Tips for Writers is up now, as are On Creativity and Ideas in the Creativity Corral, the Purple Suite 3 Gallery, and Random Elements 1. The About section has its first two entries, and the Guestbook is working right. I am hoping that Writer's Links and Poetry pages will start going up soon, as well as the tour of my way-cool and unique camp-trailer-turned-writing-studio.
I did purchase Holly Lisle's Create A Character Clinic, and once again I am so impressed with her practical approach. Character has always been a strong suit for me, and it will be even stronger now, especially since those twenty creativity tools in the Create a Plot Clinic can also apply to character development. I know I have to learn to be meaner to my little darlings if I want their stories to sell, and I can see already that Holly is going to be a big help. This e-book is well worth the modest price—less than the cost of a pizza, and it will last a lot longer.
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We're into the heat—as well as the heart—of summer, so here are some cool words for you ….
cool convertible float blue shade waterfall breeze lift boogie melody beach lazy night trout shadows tall cruise trail huckleberry ice-cream lantern woodland otter burble creek boat bubble slip lily green deep free journey nook guitar shade mountain cavern
Pick two or more words from the list (randomly or by choice). Give them ten or fifteen minutes and see where they lead you or your characters.
Ok, enough tranquility. We must never forget (particularly those of us who hope to market fiction) to add conflict and complications to our writing. So what kinds of things go wrong in mid-summer? What lies beyond the classic car-breaks-down-on-vacation scenarios? Whose neglected apricot tree is dripping wormy fruit onto whose new patio? What was lost on a trip to the zoo? What—or who—was unexpectedly dug up when digging the foundation for the new gazebo? Did a surprise encounter on the trail add spice—or worse—to a hike? Come up with a good mid-summer conflict or complication, add a sprinkle of words from the list, and take another write.
The more you write, the more you will recognize your voice.
— Marsha McGregor (whose workshop, "Giving Our Word: Five Paths to Personal Essay", was one of the highlights of my IWWG conference experience this summer)
Close your eyes and remember being a kid in summer. Try to imagine yourself back in some favorite summertime room or outdoor setting. Take some deep breaths, just being there, opening memory's senses. Now open your eyes and write yourself in the second person (thank you Jan Lawry). Give the experience at least fifteen minutes if you can.
Now for a recipe that is perfect for nights when it is too hot to cook and almost too hot to eat. My spinach dip tastes like party food but is high enough in protein and moderate enough in fat to use for a light main course. I could make a meal of this and good bread on a hot night, though if feeding people with heartier appetites you could add a deli roast chicken, some grilled fish, or a simple bean or summer vegetable soup to the menu. Cherry tomatoes are really good with this dip, too, especially if you grow them yourself or get ripe ones from a farmer's market. (If you're in a la-di-dah mood, you could hollow out some cherry tomatoes and fill them with dip. Yum.)
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Sharon's High-Protein Low-Fat Spinach Dip |
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Blend until smooth in food processor or blender: 1 cup low-fat or fat-free cottage cheese |
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Add: 1 cup fat-free sour cream 1 cup lighter mayonnaise (the olive oil kinds are especially good—don't use fat free for this) 1 package Knorr Vegetable Soup 10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry |
Optional: 1 tablespoon hemp protein powder 1 clove pressed or minced garlic (good for heart) Handful salad sprouts like alfalfa, clover, radish, etc. 1 tablespoon Bragg Liquid Aminos |
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Process or blend well. Check seasonings. Add a little salt or some soy sauce, if you think it needs it, especially if you didn't use the Bragg's. Add some Tabasco or other hot sauce if you think it needs more pizzazz. Add: 3 sliced green onions 1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained Pulse on and off until onions and water chestnuts are minced. Refrigerate. Serve with chunks of French, sourdough, or Italian bread or other dippers. |
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Lists are useful tools for writers. No, I don't mean shopping lists; I mean lists of such things as memories, wishes, ambitions, experiences, objects, places, etc., because all of these things can provide great writing inspiration. Mary Reynolds Thompson, who often teaches at the spring IWWG conference near Santa Cruz, likes "Lists of 100," which is a good number to shoot for whenever possible. I actually have a cool purple journal (a bargain, from Ross Dress for Less) in which I am working on a few different Lists of 100, one of which is memorable shoes/clothing/outfits I have owned.
It is interesting, the memories that can rise out of the deep from remembering something as seemingly simple as a pair of shoes or summer dress. When we recall the larger details, smaller ones often spring to mind. Remember, it's supposed to be a list, so keep entries brief. If you're pulled to write more about some of the items, go into a separate write for that.
Moon Child by George Kobreek |
Midsummer is a good time to spend by water for many of us in the northern hemisphere, so consider starting a list of places where you have spent time on, in, or near water. How far back do your memories of water go? (One of my oldest memories—I was less than two years old—involves fun with an old washtub full of water while visiting rural relatives. For tiny me, that was more exciting and memorable than the beach at Lake Michigan—walking distance from our Chicago apartment—that I was taken to regularly, because the washtub was new and unusual and it was fun to splash with my little cousin.) If a particular place starts really pulling at you, stop listing and go for a write.
I'll give you a bonus second recipe in celebration of this first Express issue. If you ever want or need to make a classy but relatively natural and very easy dessert (especially if you use a store-bought crumb crust), that won't heat up your kitchen in the process, you'll thank me for….
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Chocolate Truffle Pie |
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1 9" chocolate crumb piecrust (homemade or store-bought) 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels (aka chocolate chips) 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, divided (aka whipping cream) 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (+ optional flavorings, see below) Over low heat, melt together 1/2 cup of the cream with all the chocolate chips, stirring gently and making sure it doesn't scorch, until it's all smooth and melted. Cool to room temperature (which you can hurry up by putting the pan in a container of cold water and stirring the chocolate stuff, but try not to splash water into the chocolate, and keep stirring). You are going to beat it into whipped cream, so you want it cool enough so it won't melt the whipped cream but not so cool that it stops being soft and easy to beat into the whipped cream. Mix the sugar and vanilla (see flavor variations below) in with the chocolate stuff (and don't stick your fingers in too often, or there won't be enough left for the pie!;-). Whip the remaining cream until it is fluffy. Add the chocolate stuff (in three additions) and beat briefly but thoroughly into the cream. Spoon it artfully into the crust. Refrigerate until firm (at least a few hours) and keep it refrigerated for storage (though once people start eating it you won't be storing it long!). Flavor variations: Instead of (or in addition to) the vanilla you can use up to two tablespoons of various liquors or liqueurs. Rum is good with chocolate and vanilla. So is Amaretto, and things like Creme de Menthe and Grand Marnier and Kirsch would probably be good too. Those flavoring syrups for flavoring espresso drinks and Italian Sodas have potential also (and don't contain alcohol, for people who would rather avoid it). Note: If you're being ultra fancy or can't resist gilding your culinary lilies, you could garnish this with whipped cream and/or white or dark chocolate curls or leaves and/or raspberry sauce. Enjoy! |
My fourth trip to the amazing annual International Women's Writing Guild conference in up-state New York in June was, as always, inspiring enough to be worth the exhaustion and expense. Sharing a college campus with hundreds of other women who believe in empowerment through writing is always a blast, and I really got a lot out of workshops with Jan Lawry, Marsha McGregor, Leiah Bowden, and Linda Leedy Schneider. Throw in a week's worth of wonderful food that I didn't have to cook and a modest 2-day R&R in Albany after the conference for recovery time and I am definitely a happy camper about that experience! I'm going to leave you all with the last paragraph of the last piece I wrote in a conference workshop, which happened to be in Linda's workshop, "The Wonder of Words—Writing for Your Life". This piece started with a longer part about how much I enjoyed being pregnant the one time I got to experience it. Then it shifts to this bit, which I really liked:
"Now the deep red bloom of fertility has been replaced by the sharp, hot flashes of growing crone-hood, blood and milk replaced by ink flowing over pages. Then I gave birth with my body. Now I give birth with my keyboard and pen. But it all comes back when I wander the gallery of memory… or feel an infant's head against my heart."
I hope you enjoyed the first Write 'em Cowgirls Express. Feel free to email me and let me know if something worked for you, and I'm always happy to hear prompt ideas and suggestions. Until next month, be well, write on, and never forget that your vision is depending on you.
Best Regards,
Sharon
P.S. I just finished a terrific read, Mingmei Yip's first novel, Peach Blossom Pavilion. I have seldom read a debut novel as well written and edited as this engaging tale. It went down like silk, transporting me to another time, another place, another way of being that I found difficult to leave whenever I had to put the book down. Lively and haunting, I recommend this one for anyone who enjoys a good other-place-other-time story, smoothly and elegantly told. If you can't afford to buy it (or would prefer to borrow it) ask for it at your local library, and if they don't have it ask them to please get it. The only thing that could possibly make this one better would be qin music in the background while reading it. Great job, Mingmei! Can't wait to see the new story coming out next April!
NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!
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