Win A Signed Copy of Converting Kate and Read about the real places in Maine that Created Kate's World

Leave a comment below to be part of the contest to win a signed copy of Converting Kate!
Converting Kate Viking Books*2008 ALA Best Books
*Kliatt:Editors' Choice
*Books of the Teen Age-NYPL*CBC Notable Book
www.Beckieweinheimer.org

Have you ever wonder what inspires a story?
For me it was visiting Maine for the past 15 summers (counting this summer--I leave on July 7th and YES I AM SO COUNTING THE DAYS!!!!)

In my book Kate and her mother run Aunt Katherine's Whispering Woods Inn inspired by the real life Grey Rock Inn in Northeast Harbor, which is surrounded by Acadia National Park and was the town that inspired Kate's Puffin Cove.  The Grey Rock in is a bit pricey but if you are looking for a five star B & B to stay in, this is the place. And is just as wonderful as Kate's fictional inn.

As I put freshly laundered sheets on beds, I imagine the original owners who, in the early 1900's, were rich enough to build this seven-suite mansion for their summer home. Each room has hardwood floors and thick area carpets decorated with period antiques, lace-curtains and satin spreads covering the four-poster beds. All the suites have a fireplace and a private deck with views out to the woods or the ocean. After our small stucco house in Phoenix, with its Spanish tile floors and pale green walls, and Dad’s drab apartment, The Whispering Woods Inn seems like a fairy-book home to me. And besides, in Puffin Cove everything is green and alive, instead of brown and hot and dead.

At the edge of Northeast Harbor near the ocean is a small, historic church, called St. Mary's-by-the-Sea. I visited that church none summer and the musty smell stirred something deep inside of me. I began weeping and I didn't know why. I told my husband I have to write a story about this church and so I did.
At the end of the road, Jamie pauses in front of an old stone church. It’s beautiful. The sun hits the northeast corner, leaving one side in the light and the other in the darkness. Decades of moss cover several stones. Was the moss here thirty years ago? Fifty? A hundred? Who went to this church then? Did they come in horse and buggy? It’s so pretty. Like one of those sappy Thomas Kinkade paintings Mom always wants to buy. Only not. The faded red door could use a fresh coat of paint. The bricks in the walkway are worn down and cracked with age. My kind of perfect.
    The church is surrounded by a grove of pines. And behind the really old, gray granite building with its stained-glass windows, the ocean peeks through. It’s so quiet and peaceful. And yes! Water! That’s why Jamie stopped. She’s grinning at it and then at me.
    “Yes!” I say. “Let’s.”


This summer I'm going to stay in another of my favorite little towns called Southwest Harbor. It's called the quiet side of the island. You can watch lobster fisher-men-women at their work, eat fresh lobster at the Beals lobster pound and stop by the Quiet Side Cafe for the best homemade cookies, pies and ice cream.

But the best deal in Soutwest Harbor, and my very favorite place to stay on a budget is Acadia Cabins, a five minute walk from the heart of town, the library, shopping, wonderful bakery, restaurants, organic grocery and farmer's market, but so tucked into the woods that all you hear are the singing frogs and the trickling streams. The cabins are four star quality at an affordable price and your hosts Gordon and Lisa are the best! When I decide to extend my visit on impulse last week they scrambled to find me a place to stay even though they were totally booked including inviting me to stay in their own house. Lisa bakes cookies that make their way to your cabin while still warm from the oven. Its the best writer's retreat ever and only a short distance from my favorite swimming place, Echo Lake where I have gone  swimming to the haunting sounds of loons overheard and hiked the steep mountain for a panaramic view of Acadia National Park.

I haven't even mentioned the hikes, kayaking,biking, whale watching and puffin searching boat tours, nor one of my favorites, a boat ride on a lobster boat with a working Maine fisher-man-woman which is where I learned enough about lobstering to write about Will.
   
“Here,” Will hands me a pair of over-sized rubber boots. “Put these on,” he directs. I sit on a bench attached to the side of the boat. The spray from the water and the wind hit my face as we leave the harbor and the boat picks up speed. After getting the boots on, I stand and try to keep my feet steady. When Will moves toward the back of the boat, I tag along, grabbing onto whatever I can. He begins sorting through a pile of metal cages.
    “Are those cages for the lobster?” I shout.
    He smiles and hollers, “Yep, guess you could call them that. We call them traps,” he says as he pulls one up and ties a long piece of black rope around the top.
    “Oh. Can I help?” I call out.   
    Will nods, cupping his hands around his mouth and says, “When we stop at our buoys, you can help re-bait the traps, after Pop and I empty them.”

Okay writing this has made me even more excited for my Maine Vacation. The skies are blue when a sudden rain storm isn't passing by. The days are in the lovely 70's and nights can be chilly enough for a fire, or at least hot tea or cocoa. Blueberries are everywhere, if you sit on the ground, you might just sit on a wild patch of berries without even knowing it. And check out the libraries, they have the best librarians and I might even be giving a writer's workshop!

To Take a Writing Critique or Not to Take a Writing Critique: From Someone who Just Finished and Sent in Her New Novel!

View From My Bedroom Window

Hello, I'm so cold today, I'm not even in my office. I'm sitting in my bed with the electric blanket on high. The wind is howling out my window, but the world is white and sunny. I love snow mixed with sun because it makes my world bright, and really what I think I hate most about winter is not the cold, or even the shorter days, but the brown and gray. If I could have snow all winter, I would be a happier camper. Now if I could have beach and sun and 75, well I would be in Nirvana! 

So two days ago I finished the last of the edits from my husband, daughter and my pseudo-son-in-law on a novel I've been working on for a long time. Yes, my dear family in VA spent two of their snow days earlier this week reading my manuscript one more time to find the tiny problems like bus, spelled bust, and two as in more than one, spelled too. It happens, no matter how hard I try. And then found tons of such mistakes. I know I would never write a book, never probably even post this blog (which I do not have anyone critique--so please forgive typos) without my dear close writing friends and family's help. My younger daughter a, journalist, showed me how to put in links, see above. You can find out what Nirvana means in case you don't know, because she showed me how to put in the link. She also showed me how to link my blog entries, so if you want to find out about writer's tips, you can find them, and if you want to see an author interview you can find that. Isn't that cool? And aren't I lucky to have such supportive family?

I guess what I'm trying to say here is it takes a village to write a book or post a blog.

Even though writing  is something you do alone--getting published is not something you do alone.

I don't know a single writer who doesn't have trusted friends who edit their writing, to find the small things like two and too and the bigger things, like "this whole chapter is boring" (which is what my husband said to me last week about one of my chapters, when I thought I was almost done with my novel and ready to send it in!). 
I love these words from a popular song, "You are the wind beneath my wings." And that's what I think of all my family, and friends who help me get published. I couldn't fly without their wind. I couldn't write without their edits.

And so here's my writer's tip.                                       Woods I Walk In

Find two or three maybe even four people you really trust, and let them help you, and critique your writing.

But never, never, let 10 or 20 people all give you feedback that you actually take.

A few trusted friends' edits can help your writing. Too many people who don't know you that well can actually ruin your writing. In one of my first attempts at writing, I did that, I let everyone and anyone read my story and took every piece of advice and I lost the heart of my story. My story became a hodgepodge of other people's words and edits--as was only worth throwing in the garbage. Only we the writer's know what we want to say at the core, at the heart, from our soul. It is true that we may not always be able to get it out right, so we need people who we trust to help us perform that miracle, but they should be people who trust your soul, trust your story, and aren't going to rewrite it into their own story.

Accepting a writing critique is something one should do with grace and dignity. Even if someone totally rips apart your story. Thank them. But then go home, and trust your own gut. I know advice is good when it rings a bell inside of me, when I can see that doing this will make my story better. But if it feels like someone just put a big X through the heart of my story, I smile, say thank you and then go home and throw, rip, toss the critique away.

Do not let anyone take away your heart, your soul, your passion. Ever!!!!!!!!!

That's my two cents.

And so today on this day of days when my novel is finished (at least for the moment--I know there will be rewrites ahead) I want to thank those in my life, who trust my story, who believe in me as a writer, and are still willing to tell me, this chapter is boring!  To you, the wind beneath my wings. I say thank you!


* Be the first to leave a comment below or email me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com and
1)Define--Nirvana
2)Define--Hodgepodge
3) Tell me who composed (2) The Wind Beneath My Wings
and you'll win a critique of two poems or ten pages of your writing.
(As long as you haven't won in the past two months.)

Writer's Tip Sentence Completion. Fill out this Handy Dandy Worksheet and I Promise It will Provide Miracles!

Hello from Icy Cold Grey Bleak New York City. The good news about the grey skies, it means the Groundhog didn't see his shadow earlier this week and we'll have an early spring. We will see. I tend to be a skeptic about that, living in this icy cold city where winter goes on and on and on! And sigh, no, this picture is not my back yard, its my dream world, the place I go in my head this time of year, to keep my warm and sane.

So enough complaining. I've got another fun writing exercise for you. It's called Sentence Completion, and I cannot remember who shared this with me, but I did learn about it at Vermont College. Thank you unknown saint! I'd give you credit if my brain were not so forgetful!

Sentence Completion
This is a great exercise to use for each character in your story/poem

Complete each sentence with the first thought that comes to your head. Do it for each character. It’s amazing what you will find out! This taps into our subconscious and magical part of our brain. I use this with everything I write and I ALWAYS find out new things about each character that helps me write their story with more depth.

1.  Work is

2.  I sleep

3.  My mother

4.  Men usually

5.  Eating

6.  No one

7.  My greatest flaw

8.  I love

9.   Fighting is

10.  My worst fear is

11.  My father is

12.  Sex

13.  I feel lonely

14.  My biggest secret

15.  Religion

16.  Traveling

17.  I am most proud

18.  I am happiest

19.  I am most ashamed

20.  My dreams

21.  I hate

22.  My clothes

23.   I am embarrassed

24.  My willpower



For Example I'll use my main character in Converting Kate...

Character:  Kate

1.  Work is something my mom expects to do around the inn
2.  I sleep in the basement next to my mother’s room
3.  My mother is my biggest trial in life
4.  Men usually ignore me
5.  Eating is something l love to do after a long run
6.  No one knows about what I have in my closet
7.  My greatest flaw is not having the courage to say what I think
8.  I love the ocean, the woods and running
9.  Fighting is something I do with Mom
10. My worst fear is I will never see my dad again
11. My father is hard to understand but I love him
12. Sex is something I know so little about
13. I feel lonely when I think about Dad
14. My biggest secret is I don’t know if I believe in God
15. Religion is my biggest trial
16. Traveling is something I have hardly ever done
17. I am most proud when I run fast
18. I am happiest when I am with Aunt Katherine
19. I am most ashamed of the way Members of the Church of the Holy Divine try to seek out new converts
20. My dreams are so simple, to read books to listen to music to go to a dance to shop at a mall, to wear    something stylish, to flirt with a guy, to just be “normal.”
21. I hate Men who think they rule religion and have the monopoly on God
22. My clothes are not cool
23. I am embarrassed by my mom
24. My willpower is strong. I can push myself physically past endurance

So try it out and let us know what you think. Comments welcome. Also feel free to share a Sentence Completion Form for one of your characters. Either use the comment option or email it to me at Beckieweinheimer@gmail.com and I'll add it to this page!

Stay warm. Drink the favorite warm beverage of your choice and if you are living in a place where it gets to 70 this time of year, yes I'd love to come visit you, thanks for the invite!

**Also look in Carissa's Young Aspiring Author Interview For a Clue to Winning A Signed Copy of my book! No one has found out how yet! Be a sleuth!

Writer Tip--Why Is This Day Different From Every Other Day?

Greetings Fellow Writers:

It's me again. Still in my office. Still in my apartment in NYC. It's raining today. And cold. But I'm warm because I'm dog sitting my daughter's two Yorkshire Terriers and they like to cuddle!

So I've decided it's time to talk to you about where to start your story or poem, it's time to talk to you about beginnings.

Did I ever mention that when I decided I wanted to learn how to write a novel, I went back to school? I was 42 years old and I enrolled in an MFA Masters In Fine Arts Program at Vermont College.And it while sitting  on a very uncomfortable white plastic chair in a crowded class room, watching snow fall outside, in Montpelier, Vermont on a cold January day that I heard Adam Rapp give a life altering lecture about beginnings.

*Warning Sidetrack ahead. When I was in college the first time around,18 years old, and my hometown was Phoenix, Arizona, I loved the poem Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, so much that I had a copy of it along with a photograph of the Vermont Woods hanging abov my bed in my apartment. I told people I was going to live in Vermont after college--nor more desert for me. Ha! Well I finally did sort of live in Vermont  for a month each year for two years exactly 22 years later while I did my residency part of my distance program at Vermont College. Sometimes dreams take a long time in coming.

Cough, sputter. Okay now back to the main story, while at Vermont College, one of my mentors, (full time authors who worked with students one on one for six months at a time), was Adam Rapp, a young playwright and author. Yes, if you go to college at my age, there is a good chance your professor will be younger than you. Adam was much younger than me. He still is! Adam has written many great books and plays. My favorite is Under the Wolf Under the Dog. Adam taught me how to find the beginning of my story. Here is his famous question. What makes this day different from every other day? And that is where you start your story.

For example in my book Converting Kate which Adam reviewed, edited and critqued, I began Kate's story on a certain day. Now a lot of new things happened on that day.

She started a new school

She met some new friends.

She decided to join Cross Country.

But the reason that this day was diffrerent from every other day in Kate's life is that this is the day she told people "No I do not belong to the Church of the Holy Divine."  That statement made by Kate made this day different from every other day because up until that point in her life, Kate had been a member of the Church of the Holy Divine.

Okay, so what makes this day different in your character's life? In your poem, or in your story. In an earlier blog I posted a poem I wrote called Friday Night At the Santa Monica Promenade. Even a poem will be a better poem if it has a reason for being told. In the case of this poem, I often went to the Santa Monica Promenade on Friday nights, when I lived near by in Pacific Palisades. I would meet my husband there for dinner, movie or a walk. Often we'd bring our children and watch all the street performers. But this Friday night that I chose to write about was different, because this night besides all the normal acts I heard a mournful beconning sound in the distance. I heard bagpipes, and I didn't normally hear them. And that made my night different listening to those bagpipes took me to a magical mystical place that made me want to write a poem.

Does this make sense?

So here's a little questionnaire you can fill out and check your poems and your stories, to see if they have a strong enough reason for being. Sometimes we have a great story, or poem, we just haven't picked the right day to talk about. For example, when I first wrote Converting Kate, the story began three months earlier. It began when Kate and her mother moved from Arizona to Maine, I had them packing up their house, I had them flying on the plane,I had them unpacking and getting settled in their new house in Maine, all before school started, or before Kate denied she belonging to The Church of the Holy Divine. And those were all new things that happened to Kate, but those things were not at the heart of what Kate's story was about, it wasn't just about moving to a new town, it was about deciding to break away from her religious past. So I had to pitch the first 60 pages of my novel and start where Kate's story really began. When I could answer the question, what makes this day different from every other day in Kate's life.

The Questionnaire

This is a story about ____________________.
Who wants _________________.
But _______________ is stopping her/him.
The story begins when ____________________.
This story ends when ______________________.


For Example

This is a story about Beckie Weinheimer
Who wants to write a blog about beginnings
But her daughter's dogs who are visiting want attention and this is stopping her.
The story begins when Beckie says, "Okay Doggies, time for you to be on your own."
This story ends when Beckie finally sits down at her computer, ignores her growling stomach, her stinky body that needs a bath, the dogs who have now cuddled on the couch and gone to sleep and begins writing her blog.

Okay that is a really boring story. Here's a more exciting, realistic example.


For example:
Let’s say this story is about Sarah.
Who wants to get away from her abusive father.
But not having any where else to go is stopping her.
This story begins when Sarah decides to go to her school counselor for help.
This story ends when Sarah moves in with her Aunt and has learned to stand up to her father.

The place to start the story is the day that is different for Sarah. It’s the day she decides to get help for her situation.


For fun, we could ask ourselves the same question about books most of us have probably read.


What makes the day Harry Potter's story begins (in book one) different from every other day?


In Twilight what makes Bella's first day different from every other day?

In Larie Halse Anderson's Speak, what makes Melinda's first day different from every other day?

And for and old classic, What makes Scarlett's first day different from every other day in Gone With The Wind?

Just leave the answers here as a comment or email me at Beckieweinheimer@gmail.com with your answer and I'll post it for you. The first person to answer a question correctly (please only one answer per person) will win a free critique of two poems or up to five pages of your writing. By cough sputter, me! If you leave a comment please leave contact information for me. Thanks.
:)
Happy Writing.

Writing Dialog: Tips for Writers Part II

So, hello, it's me again. Still in my New York City apartment, and it's still Autumn outside. Last time (in part I) I chatted with you I chatted about setting scenes.

Now today I'm going to talk about dialogue--with you. Yes, you are going to talk back to me. Hey, I write fiction, I can make your part up, easy as pie. Oops, easy as pie is an overused metaphor--avoid them at all costs, rack your brain think until you can come up with a unique metaphor of your own, it helps if it relates to what you are writing about. For example, I am writing about writing, so perhaps off the top of my head as simple as a poet penning a two line poem--hey, cool I also organically added some alterations-- "poet," "penning" and "poem,"--all p words. Cool!

**Wikipedia tells us that alliteration is a literary or rhetorical stylistic device that consists in repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in close succession. An example is the Mother Goose tongue-twister Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers...

I even picked P at random and so did Wikipedia. Okay, I'm getting all jazzed about this writing thing. And oops I haven't even mentioned dialogue. Sometime soon I'll have to do a writer tip blog about rewrites and cutting out the boring, unimportant parts of your writing, which would mean, if I was practicing what I preach that this entry would begin right here...

But then that would contradict the whole message of voice, which is basically this--ignore the rules of writing, listen to your heart, write from your soul, use your unique way of saying things, to thine own self be true....

Okay, so my authentic voice is chatty, and often digresses from the point, but I happen to think my diversions are fun, sometimes entertaining and hopefully informative.

I also like myself, did you notice?

Okay to Dialogue.

Once again a definition from Wikipedia. Sorry, Maria (My friend Maria is a librarian and she absolutely hates Wikipedia because it is often--shock--not accurate!).

A dialogue (sometimes also dialog in North American English) is a conversation between two or more people. It is also a literary form in which two or more parties engage in a discussion.

I am sort of a British Wannabe, hence I spell dialogue with a "ue" on the end.

To explain dialogue, I'm going to steal an idea from a writer I admire, because she was so cool when I heard her explain it and besides that's what writers do, we copy ideas we read about, we are like tape recorders eavesdropping on interesting conversations that we will later use in our stories, in short we are thieves.

But I will give credit for the floating dialogue--to the great and famous and wondrous Jane Yolen.

So here is an example of "floating dialogue." The kind you don't want to have in your stories.

"Hello," I say.

"Hi," you reply.

"So you want to know about dialogue?"

"Um, sure."

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" I ask.

You reply, "Um, the short?"

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene setting, plot, believable, well developed characters and dialogue."

"Oh."

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a news caster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?"

"I guess."

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck."

"Um, thanks?"


Okay that is floating dialogue.

Now for un-floating dialogue, grounded dialogue or for lack of a better term, dialogue that works!

Notice carefully that I will use all the same words as before, but I will ground the dialogue, you will know where it comes from, instead of just letting it float on the page in front of you.

"Hello," I say as I spot the young writer walking into the Starbucks cafe where we had agreed to meet.

"Hi," you reply, and sit down across from me in the corner booth.

"So you want to know about dialogue?" I ask sipping my chai-latte tea. I've just discovered this heaven in a cup. I thought only coffee came in latte form, but I was so wrong. Yum. Sip, sip.

"Um, sure." you say, taking off your white, "I love New York beanie and picking up the menu.

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" I ask between sips of my latte. Lattes are so great, if she requests the long version I'm seriously going to order another one.

You reply, "Um, the short?" and then eye the menu again.

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene setting, plot,  believable, well developed characters and dialogue." I say. I actually looked these elements up this morning on Wikipedia. To be honest I have no idea what makes up a good story. I just write whatever the hell comes out of my head.

"Oh." You fumble with the menu and it drops to the ground.

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a newscaster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?" I really can pull this off. Maybe I'll meet with one new writer every morning and then I can deduct my tea latte as a business expense. How great is that?

"I guess." You pick up the menu from off the floor and then play with your I Love New York Beanie.

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck." I sip the last of my latte. I have decided after she leaves I'm going to get another one. It's my life and I can drink what I want.

"Um, thanks?" You put your beanie on and leave the table without ever ordering. Should I have ordered you a latte?

Okay, that is first-person,singular point of view. Mine. We could switch main characters, its normally the main character who's thoughts and point of view the writer shares if she/he is doing a limited point of view. You can write in first--I or third--Beckie and still only see one person's point of view. Now for fun let's switch main characters and let you be the main character with the same dialogue.

"Hello," Beckie says and waves to me as I enter the Starbucks.

"Hi," I say as I sit down across from her in the corner booth. Beckie Weinheimer, the author, looks older and a bit more chunky in the flesh than she does on her website. How long ago was that photo taken? Can you say Photoshop?

"So you want to know about dialogue?" She asks as she sips her drink. 

"Um, sure."Her drink looks warm, and I am so cold. I hope someone waits on me soon.

"Okay do you want the short story or the long story on dialogue?" She asks.

"Um, the short?" I scan the menu, they have hot cider with caramel. Will she think I'm a wimp for not ordering a caffeinated drink?

"To create a solid story normally there are several important elements, narration,  scene-setting, plot, believable, well developed characters and dialogue." She smiles, like she's extremely proud, and I swear her answer sounds like it came off Wikipedia, but that can't be. I mean she's a published author, with Viking no less. And she made the ALA list. She's got to know her stuff, right?

"Oh." I drop the menu so I can look for a waiter. I'm so cold and thirsty. I can't see a waiter. Hello I'm thirsty here, wait on me.

"Dialogue helps move the story along, often revealing parts of a character that would be much more boring with narration alone. It would be like a newscaster on television just giving you the news and not ever interviewing anyone live. Do you see what I mean?" she asks sipping more of her warm, warm drink.

"I guess." I have no idea what she's said. Seriously, she is boring and so smug with her big warm drink, I want to scream, get me a drink, get me a drink.

"Good, then you're off to write the best darn story in the world.  Good luck." She says not even looking at me, she's opening her purse and counting her change. She's standing to leave.

"Um, thanks?" I say and decide what I already knew--Starbucks sucks, writers suck, and I'm going to listen to my dad and get that degree in history and hide myself inside a library doing research for the rest of my life. And I will never use Wikipedia for anything!

Okay I had too much fun making myself the bad person. I do admit to having just discovered about tea latte's however and must also confess to ocasionally checking Wikipedia. Sorry Maria.

Now if we wanted to write with an omniscient point of view, which allows the writer and the reader to get into more than one head, then we could add the two single viewpoint together into one story line and you get the idea.

One more point. You don't need to ground every piece of dialogue nor probably should you, as it would be really heavy, hard to read or slug through. It's very fine to have several exchanges with just dialogue alone, but by grounding your dialogue every once in a while, you can use dialogue to let your reader know where the character is while they talk, what they are doing while they talk and for me the most fun of all, what they are thinking while they talk.

Any questions. Just leave a message here or email me at Beckieweinheimer@gmail.com. Your question could inspire my next blog!

Continue reading, if you missed the Writer Tip on Setting Scenes.

Bye. I'm going to go get a latte, at, um, Starbucks??

I write poem sometimes. . .

Friday Night
At the Santa Monica Promenade

I hear its mournful sound
Beckoning in the distance
So Faint I wonder. . .

I push through throngs of
teenage girls in spaghetti-strap tops and skinny leg jeans
young men in pants belted below their boxers
a homeless man huddled by a lamppost
shaking coins in a paper cup
around two lovers arm in arm
past the buzz of the outdoor cafes
with their chinking of glass and table chatter
I am not tempted by the aromas of basil and garlic
But press on past the onlookers gathered around the clown
shaping balloons into animals
beyond the young boy, maybe ten years old,
dressed in a tux too big for his body
break-dancing to music
from a boom box rusty and splattered with paint
I do not pause to gape at the contortionist escaping his chains
nor to listen to the woman with long braided hair
Strumming her guitar
Humming a melancholy tune

But only stop when I see him—
Yes, he is here
Beyond the dinosaur vine fountain
He stands legs apart with his bag and pipes
Under the lit doorway of a store now closed
The sound fills my ears
And suddenly
The ground is green
The hills are purple with heather
An ancient stone castle sits before me
The wind, salty and wet
Whips through my hair
And brings a thousand voices from the past
I see their kilts and plaids
And hear the names of those before me
Stewart and McMinn
My eyes grow wet with the foggy mist
My heart swells with feeling
For a hidden part of myself
I do not know

People ask me if I’ve ever been to Scotland
And I don’t know what to say
Because I’ve been to the Promenade in Santa Monica on a Friday night
And heard the bagpipes play

By Beckie Weinheimer



-- Post From My iPhone

Tips for Writers and Questions Answered--Just Ask Away!

It's a wet autumn day in New York City. From the window beside my office desk in my 11th floor apartment I can hear the rain tap tap, tapping. I wish there were smells of hot bread, or tea, because my stomach is growling, but its noon and I've been too busy writing, to even eat or cook so my apartment smells like nothing. Empty nothing, unless computer keys smell. Sniff. No smell.

Okay that's a bit about setting. If you want to start a story its a good thing to let us see where the story is set.
Mine is set in my apartment. Give a few details. Desk, window, 11th floor.
And then give us some sensory detail.

Wet--touch
rain tapping--sound
smells (absence of in this case)

I heard an author I admire say he tries to use three out of five senses in each when setting up a scene.

This is a first draft, and I barely, sort of have three.

If I took time to make my blog writing look as pretty as my novel writing, well I'd never get to the novel. In novels I rewrite, and rewrite and rewrite. I did eight complete drafts of Converting Kate.

But I have had so many teens writing wanting advice on writing, I've decided to start adding tips, even if they are just first draft tips.

If you have a question you'd like answered about writing (not that I'm any expert, but practice does make perfect and I do have a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and a published book, so through trial and error I have learned a few things) please email me at beckieweinheimer@gmail.com and I'll feature your question on my blog. Or leave a question here on the comment option.

Notice the first sentence in the last paragraph above. That is a really long, bad sentence. You may also learn how NOT to write, by reading my tips!

:)

Happy Autumn!

From Beckie Weinheimer, who is going to stop writing and fix herself some Earl Grey cream tea and whole grain toast. And as she sips at her tea and nibbles at her toast, she will gaze out her window to the tall buildings, the rain and the autumn colors. The orange, yellow and red leaves will beckon her to desert her computer that does not smell, climb into her pink wellies, her pink raincoat, and take a splish splash walk in the six miles of woods across the street! Yes, Beckie can see tall buildings and woods out her window. She can see red oak, white oak and pine trees as well as the Empire State building from her bedroom window. Even when she is lying down in bed! Now that is something to get excited about!

*Photo taken by me with my iphone--Forest Park Across the street from where I live