Time & Circumstance...a MUST read...more than once!

This beautiful writer has been my blog friend since some time in 2009. I have to admit, I stole her from another writing friend. I knew she had to be mine the second I saw the title of her blog. She was a substitute teacher and I had just "retired" from teaching. Me, being me, I wanted to help her reach her goal of having her own classroom. I'm sure I filled her head with so much information it might have exploded, but it was the beginning of a great friendship and critique partner relationship.

Theresa did get her classroom, furthered her education and wrote and edited and wrote and edited and excelled.  My (pre-ordered) copy of Time & Circumstance arrived on Friday, March 17th. I read it and sent Theresa notes about what I loved about it as I was reading.  My favorites: First Apartment, Collision, Substitute Teacher, and my MVP (most valuable Poem) Card Game. (If you've ever bought a card out of obligation you will totally get this one.)

I asked Theresa to tell us a little about her writing process for Time & Circumstance....

Poetry inspiration has come from many different places. Because my imagination is activated from challenges, visual and written prompts work well for me. A few of my vignettes in the collection came from prompts. But real life has served as ample inspiration as well.

A now inactive blog, “Magpie Tales” used to post picture prompts on a regular basis, which I sometimes posted on my blog and sometimes wrote for myself. I’m a visual person, and the photos and paintings paired nicely with poetry. My first Magpie attempt, “Brolly Folly,” was inspired by a black and white photo of what looked to be a man with holding a red umbrella and a purse. It’s still one of my favorites. Of the maybe 20 in the collection that were inspired by Magpie Tales, I must admit that about half I’d written in advance and waited for a picture that fit with the poem, and the other half the picture actually inspired me. I miss that blog. I’ve tried to find another on that solely uses images, but so far, no luck.

Written prompts mostly informed the prose rather than the poetry, and I’d love to do more of them. There was a Neil Gaiman challenge in The Guardian to begin a piece with the lines: “It wasn’t just the murder, he decided. Everything else seemed to have conspired to ruin his day. Even the cat.” I was too late to add my piece to The Guardian’s online comment section, but “Injustices” made its way into my collection. Another favorite, “The Door” also came from a challenge to begin with “The door swung open” and to end with “The door slammed shut.” I would love to be part of an anthology that all came from the same challenge—what fun it would be to see where our styles and imaginations took us.

Real life, in its wonderful and ugly carnations, has also enriched my writing. One of the last poems in my collection, “Summer Song” came from a vacation on Cape Cod when my family rode on a boat from Woods Hole. The weather was gorgeous—not too hot, not too cold. The views were postcard perfect—everything blue and bright. We passed by all the grand Kennedy family homes. We eventually stopped at a couple of beaches and walked through the clear waters. On the way back, these lovely lines kept popping into my mind. I typed them into the notes section of my phone, so I wouldn’t lose them. Later, I sorted through the notes and wrote the poem. On a darker day, the poem “Boundaries,” was inspired after hearing a hate-filled speech and comparing it with the realities of the poor children I taught at school. I used the dichotomy to channel my feeling onto the page.

Often I find there’s something I want to write about. The idea is in the back, percolating. It takes just one inspiration to take it from my brain to my fingers. My advice is to look for these inspirations and see where they take you.

Theresa Milstein writes middle grade and YA, but poetry is her secret passion. Her vignette collection, TIME & CIRCUMSTANCE, will be published by Vine Leaves Press in March 21, 2017. She lives near Boston Massachusetts with her husband, two children, a dog-like cat, and a cat-like dog. For her day job, she works as a special education teacher in a public school, which gives her ample opportunity to observe teens and tweens in their natural habitat. 

TIME & CIRCUMSTANCE is available for preorder.

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$12.99 AUD (paperback)
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Leave a comment  and you’re eligible to win a prize during my blog tour!

1 $25 Amazon gift card

1 signed paperback copy

1 ebook

Answer the question:

“If you could relive any moment in time, what would it be?”

Extra entries if you share on Facebook or Twitter and link it to me.

@TheresaMilstein on Twitter.

@Theresa Milstein on Facebook

#ReliveMoment or #TimeandCircumstance

Winners will be announced on April 5, 2017

A Charming Giveaway...

Why do you write? Is it because you want to be rich or famous? Is it because you have stories in you and they must come out? Does writing give you freedom?

For me, I write because I have stories inside me that have to get out.

Back in the summer, my friend Robyn Campbell shared with me a writing project called a Crock Full of Charms. Eighty-eight writers joined together with freelance editor Sally Odgers to create three volumes of short stories. We didn't do it for money or fame...well, maybe some of us did it for the darling charms that Sally sent us. You can only get a copy by contacting one of the writers who is in the book. (So if you want a copy you'll have to let me know and I'll sell it at cost plus shipping.)

My story,  A Charmed Life, is in volume 2.

Three of my critique partners are also in the Charms Anthology.  Lenny Lee and Robyn Campbell are in Volume 2 with me and Theresa Milstein (and her daughter) are in Volume 3.  It was so much fun doing this project with them. Sally tied the three books together, but they can be read separately.

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Josh, Hannah, Ash and Immy are clearing the attic when they unearth a mysterious treasure. Someone has collected dozens of charms in silver, bronze, gold and brass. Whose are they? What are they for? No one knows, but as the four are about to discover, every charm has a story...

The Charms anthology is a collection of stories for readers aged four to fourteen. It will be available in late 2013 in three age-graded volumes. Charms is an innovative project containing more than a hundred stories and poems by authors from several different countries. The stories are linked by a storyline that flows through linking and embracing the stand-alone pieces by contributing writers.

Our authors range from teenagers to senior citizens, from multi-published pros to moonlighting artists and those entering print for the first time. We were all inspired by the project and we all love to write. We look forward very much to sharing our stories with readers. The first volume is packed with stories and poems for younger readers. We have lighthearted poems, bedtime stories, pets, grandparents, friends and wild adventures.  Volume One is a sunny place, where pirates may run but they'll never catch you, and teddies find their way to loving owners.  This is the place where readers from four to eight may happily browse for hours. The last few stories may appeal more to adventurous readers or nine or ten.

The second volume has older characters and broader-ranging themes and genres. Volume Two has more excitement, stronger fantasy, science fiction, steampunk, historical stories, a few tangled dilemmas, some tears and even a few shiversome creeps. Mature readers or nine or ten will find plenty to enjoy, while young teenagers may find the later stories more to their taste. 

The third volume is mainly for the teenaged reader. Watch this page for updates. Titles of the stories can be seen here.

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I'll be giving away a copy of Volume 2 (signed by me LOL) on December 28th. All you have to do is leave a comment telling why you write.

Don't Bug Your Critique Partners...

I used Grammarly to grammar check this post, because mistakes really bug me!

(This post was sponsored by Grammarly.com.)

SNAP!

I did something I swore I would never do... I sent one of my critique partners an unformatted piece of my WIP (work in progress). Thankfully, she is a good friend and didn't hold my lack of proofreading against me. Normally, I would only send a manuscript for a critique after I had done a spell check, a grammar check, and read the manuscript out loud.

Why is it so important to me that my manuscripts be polished before I send them to a critique partner?

My critique partners are offering their time, energy, and skills to help improve my writing. So sending them my very best is what I should do every time. (Sorry, Theresa!) Even in the WIP phase of your work, you should check your work. I found a great site that helps you do this: Grammarly.

This is what Grammarly said about the piece I sent Theresa:

Grammarly found 45 critical writing issues in your text.

Score: 65 of 100(weak, needs revision)

Plagiarism		The text in this document is original
Contextual Spelling Check	9issues	Spelling (4) Commonly confused words (5) Ignored words
Grammar	16issues	Use of articles (1) Incorrect use of prepositions (1) Pronoun agreement (2)
Punctuation	4issues	Punctuation within a sentence (4) Closing punctuation Formal punctuation
Style and Word Choice	16issues	Writing style (15) Vocabulary use (1)

YIKES!

I found out all of this information for free. I copied and pasted my writing into the box and discovered I sent Theresa a really rough draft of my first chapter.

I should have checked it before I hit send. This really seems like a super tool. I won't be sending messy WIPs to critique partners again. I value their time. By sending something that's not polished it looks like I don't value their time.

Have you heard of Grammarly? They also post interesting and sometimes funny things on Facebook. Please check them out if you have a moment.

Operation Help the Elf

 Operation Help the Elf (Pete) is the brainchild of Angela and Becca.. What a wonderful way to end 2012!  We're supposed to let Pete know someone who been especially good this year....Now I know a lot of you have been really good, so it was really hard to chose one person to tell Pete about, in fact I couldn't chose one person.  I settled on telling him about two people.

Robyn Campbell and Theresa Milstein

 Robyn is an amazing woman and a great writer and critique partner.  She is one of the most positive people I "know."  She has lifted my spirits so many times over the past twelve months.  I don't usually talk about my religious beliefs, but let me tell you...Robyn is an amazing prayer.  She has prayed for someone I love daily.  In return I do the same for her family.  This year her family has been through a lot of things and even through everything, Robyn, kept a positive outlook on life and continues to work on her writing goals.

I am so proud to call her my friend....Robyn, be watching your mail for a little something from me.  (wink)  Be sure and hop over to Robyn's blog and meet her.

I "met" Theresa a couple years ago.  She was a struggling substitute teacher.  A position I had been in many times.  I tried to comfort her and encourage her not even thinking about the writing side of her life.  Her blog was just one of those blogs I had to visit to see is she was okay.  Over the past year we've become closer, trading manuscripts (OMGoodness she is SO helpful), emails and even a phone call.  I know my mg novel will be better because of her.  Not only has she ripped my manuscript to bits (LOL), she gave me suggestions on how to improve it, and she has encouraged me so much this year.

I am grateful to consider her one of my friends and a critique partner.  If you haven't met Theresa (or T, as I call her) please hop over to Theresa's blog and check her out.  T, keep an on your mail a little something should arriving in a couple days from me.

Our writing community is full of selfless people and I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

If you didn't join in on Operation Help the Elf and you'd like to give props to one of the people who have influenced, helped you or made a difference in your life...feel free to do so in the comments.  (It will make you feel good, whether they see it or not.)

Have a wonderful holiday and I'll be back on schedule after the new year.
(((HUGS))) to everyone!