A time where endings and beginnings meet.
Seems like a good time to initiate my blog.
Welcome to Marjorie’s pages. I hope you will enjoy your visit and that you’ll stop in often. My intention is to showcase guest authors, talk about the writer’s life, discuss elements of craft, and in general, have a good time. If there are particular topics you’d like me to address, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
Like starting a novel, this blog begins as a blank page. I know what I would like to accomplish: connect with readers, show them a piece of who I am, validate who they are. But the story, i.e., the direction this blog will take, is not yet formed. I have only a vague idea about how it will take shape. I know for example, that in social situations, I struggle with chit-chat. Yet talking intimately one-on-one is a rewarding experience. Maybe that is how I should structure this blog, as an intimate talk between friends. I like that idea. I wouldn’t have known that if I hadn’t begun to write this. So, here is the lesson I share with you today. If you want to write fiction, get out your computer, your alpha-smart, your pen and paper and begin writing.
My personal story. I always wanted to write a novel. I wrote poetry, and in high school, a novella. When I confessed my desire to my friend, Cornelia Childs Beach, she asked me why I hadn’t written that novel. I told her I didn’t know what I wanted to say. Cornelia suggested I just start writing. “You’ll find out soon enough,” she said. Well, I did, and I did. As the characters began to develop and take shape, they guided me through their story. Oh, I know that many writers know exactly where they want to go and what they want to write before they begin. That’s great for them. (In more recent works, I have the story idea, the ending, the conflict, or some other element that I want to write about before beginning. But back then, I thought I needed to have to whole thing planned out before I could start.)
What I want to encourage you to do today, is BEGIN. Don’t wait. And it doesn’t have to be writing that you are preventing yourself from doing. Whatever ambition you have, as Nike says, Just do it. If it is writing, sure you’ll need to learn about plotting, structure, characterization and other craft elements, but you don’t have to wait until all that is in place before you begin. Evelyn Rogers, a writing colleague of mine, has a saying that I’ve posted on my computer, “If you don’t know what to write, make something up.”
It’s the start of a new year. You have dreams you want to accomplish. What better time to begin?
Speak with you soon,
Marjorie
Beaufort, South Carolina, opened its heart to the authors and readers of the short story genre. Tim Johnston, editor of the Short Story America Journal and the SSA Anthology, did a sensational job organizing this first annual event. A full day of readings and a full day of workshops gave participants an opportunity to indulge their passion for the creative. A cocktail party to launch for Volume II of the anthology was held at the Old Bay Marketplace Loft. The third floor loft of the Marketplace opened onto an outdoor patio, allowing a scenic view of the city and waterfront. Authors were not only able to meet with colleagues but with readers—those wonderful individuals we strive to entertain with our stories. Gwen and Scott Myers opened their antebellum home for a tour and shared information about the history of the people who inhabited the house and the town. Next year’s Short Story America Festival will be September 26-29, 2013. Hope to see you there.
