Check out the new Manzanita Arts Emporium!

Manzanita Writers Press is situated in Historic Downtown Angels Camp, surrounded by wonderful artists and writers’ books in a gorgeous gallery. MWP publishes local and regional authors, community anthologies and historical collections.

MWP hosts Writers Unlimited meetings for writers of all levels, workshops, literary and historical events, lectures, and more.

Artists and photographers featured in the gallery include photographer Ty Childress, botanical artist Janet Trinkle, geometric abstract artist Gary Rose, wood artist and furniture maker Andy Trinkle. Then there is watercolor artist Kevin Brady, acrylic and oil equestrian and bovinic painter Patty Payne, jeweler Roberta Hughes, and oil artist George Haskell.

Other artists and photographers: Wanda Mozcosiek and Robert Standiford, Paul Neil, Judy Wilmot, Cate Culver, Gordon Long, Shay Baker, and Susie Hoffman.

Books:  a large Mark Twain book collection where you can find scholarly books about Mark Twain as well as his novels and collected works.

The bookstore features Manzanita Writers Press authors, such as Glenn Wasson, Jim Fletcher, Stephen Archer, Ted Laskin, Dave Self, Monika Rose, Scott Thomas Anderson, Denella Kimura, Joy Willow, Sy Baldwin, Amy Smith, and other writers from our region.

Check out the Facebook page and our Manzanita Arts emporium website page.  Come in and visit, have a cup of tea, and chat with the editors about your new writing project.

Location:  1211 S. Main St., Suite 110, Angels Camp, CA 95222  Phone: 209-728-6171  – open every day except Tuesday, 10 am to 5 pm.  Writers Unlimited meets 1st and 3rd Monday mornings at 10:30, and 2nd and 4th Monday evenings from 6:30-9:30.

 

eBook publishing workshop was a success!

Lou Gonzalez led a wonderful workshop on formatting the eBook using Word last Saturday in San Andreas. The writers that participated are moving ahead with their writing projects and we’ll be reading their books on the Kindle or Nook or ipad some time soon!  You wouldn’t think that in such a small, rural atmosphere, we’d have this virtual neo-Renaissance of literary writing—but there it is and there we are.

 

 

 

 

How to Avoid Writer Procrastination

Every writer does this–makes excuses about not having time to write, whether it’s the pressure at work, pressing family needs taking precedence, or— fill in the blank for an excuse: 1)______________2)_____________3)____________________4)________________etc.  Does this ring a bell? Yank your chain?

Usually this kind of procrastination can hold a writer back from completing a writing project–it can prevent that novel from getting written, delay the book of poems from seeing daylight, or hinder the query letter from being finished. This is not productive!

 I have found that the best method to solve writer’s block and procrastination in writing your novel is to write in rebellion.

Yes, you heard right. Rebel against another activity that is distasteful.

Go ahead and procrastinate! I give you permission, even. But…..Procrastinate with something else!

 Find an activity that you should be doing, and to avoid doing that activity, sit down and write instead.This works out pretty well for me. Here’s a handy list of things you can choose  NOT TO DO so that you can make time to write. This is a healthy counterbalance to feeling guilty about not writing. It’s good for about 2,000 words of a rough draft of a short story, about 3,000 words of a novel chapter, or several poems.

The following is a handy dandy list of procrastination ideas to get you started:

 1.  Rebel against cleaning – Pretend you’re a Bohemian writer living in Soho or Greenwich Village in the 1960s or early 1970s. No one visiting you in this imaginary Bohemian artistic world would mind if there were earthy leaves lining the bathroom floor, brought in with the wind,  or a little fashionable clutter on your table, or even unmade beds. Being slightly slovenly was fashionable then–and also fashionable today.  Artists and writers used to sleep on their pin-striped mattresses without sheets and leave dirty dishes in the sink, sport unemptied ashtrays proudly displayed on coffee tables, and treat guests to a trail of clothing casually draped over furniture.  Ah, the good old days when non-materialism prevailed in the midst of wealth. Artists and writers coveted their preoccupation with their craft and their avoidance of material worldly clutter. Since you’re creative, you have no time for such mundane things as making a sink shine. You have more important things to do, like write your novel and make a splash in this world. You have important things to say.

 

2. Yard work — ignore it. Let the weeds take over. Don’t fuss over pulling a few errant plants or trimming off some of the dead stuff and fussing over detritus.These wild entities are perfectly natural in a garden. Why fight nature? You are an eco-naturalist and environmental protective agent. Get your journal out and go sit on your deck or yard and write while a gentle breeze and the warm sun massages your skin. Don’t look at your scruffy plants. The weeds will just get a little higher and become natural sculptures in your garden. Unwanted greenery even adds nutrients, in some cases.

 

3.  Call in sick one day to your daily job.  You could be sick if you continue like you are going–ignoring your creative side. Take a mental health day. Write in rebellion. Don’t answer any calls from work since you’re in bed writing.

 

4.  Rebel against checking your calendar and list of to-do items.  Un-check the check marks on your list by turning them into little O’s, then, leave your Franklin planner by its lonesome and take off on a journey–a day trip. Get in your car and go somewhere — without a plan. Have your laptop with you or your spiral writing notebook and a collection of favorite pens. Stop in a cafe for lunch or coffee and deliberately sit near people, and write down people’s conversations near you. Write this into your book-in-progress. You’ll never see these people again. Or park near a natural landscape that inspires you. You could do this on the day you call in sick and take care of two things on this list at once.

 

5.  Rebel against random shopping. Instead of going to the local drugstore or grocery store and buying things you actually need, but could well do without, put off the trip. Sit down and write instead. You can use that little box of baking soda sitting in your refrigerator to brush your teeth for a couple of days. Economy and thrift help writers to succeed in finishing their projects. Think how much money you will save!

 

6. Add your own activity that you can avoid right here: ___________________________.

Think of all the things you can procrastinate in doing–distasteful things and those chores you just can’t bear: finishing a project at home; washing your car or cleaning up the garage; doing extra things at home for your job; cleaning out the closets and sorting through memorabilia deciding what to give away to goodwill or what you can keep; or whatever you dread doing. Whatever. Make your list here so that you can choose one at any time to avoid when you need to write.

 

So–what are you waiting for? Quit procrastinating about writing and procrastinate with some other activity instead! Write in rebellion. Get to your keyboard or writing journal and fire away, while you neglect something else. Your guilt in ignoring the things you are supposed to be doing will be assuaged by the pleasure in writing. The underlying guilt will also give you an edge and a sense of urgency. If you do this at least once a week, picking one task or item a week, you should have a chapter a week finished and your novel completed in 24 weeks!

The other things, well, they will pile up. So what?  Your book will be read by others and may even become art valued by millions of readers some day in a few hundred years.  Who will care if you didn’t weed your garden or whether that little dust bunny grew into a monstrous rabbit that popped out of Lennie’s head in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck’s little novel that the dog almost finished off? Or the March Hare from Alice in Wonderland.  Or Peter Rabbit running from Mr. MacGregor. But I digress, good thing. Instead of doing what I should be doing. Cleaning my toilet. Yes,  I digress. Blissfully so.

 

 

10 Great Writers Resolutions for 2012

Ten Great 2012 Resolutions and Other Writerly Activities to Stimulate Your Writing Life

1. Find more creative ways to counteract procrastination including physical pain, if necessary. German method: Slap yourself…but not too hard or you won’t be able to read what you just wrote down.

2. Reward ourselves for writing well.   Get a massage, a glass of wine or other libation, and a loving lick from the dog or cat. WE earned it! 

3. Write in rebellion to generate surprise writing. Type anything in a hurry not worrying about spelling, thought, ideas, or even coherence. Then,  just print it out. Circle the words that form or almost form and use them for something. Voila. Should be good for something. Second thought – get the cat to do it. Furry good words.

4. Put sticky notes with wise words, reminders, inspiring phrases from literary greats, all over the computer screen edge and in other places of the house, including the fridge door and coffeemaker. They will all fall off but the simple act of putting them there draws us closer to the act of writing. Bending over and picking up the drifting sticky notes is great exercise, too! On second thought… Get the cat to do it.

5. Find great lines out of books from favorite, ancient, and/or dead writers and type them up, print them out, and post them on the wall. When feeling inadequate, throw darts at the darn thing. Better yet, copy the lines and change them a lot. A lot, a lot. They’re yours, now, heh-heh-heh.

6. WE will finish our novel this year and get it out to an agent before 2013 arrives. So…how will WE do this?

Typing really works. That thing we do with our fingers. We shouldn’t worry about thinking. Just sit down and type and let  automatic conversation just pour out into the document. Or let’s try the Sony Dragon program and talk the entire novel into the microphone of the computer. It will type it up for us. WE are going to finish our novels this year. Plus, it would help if you would call or email me and nag, dare, or order me around. Let’s get bossy with each other. What else are writer friends for?

7. Back up all writers’ files so we don’t lose anything. Also back up emails and save  attachments.

Charles Herndon recommends the downloadable, free for awhile, viceversa program, which will back files up to an external drive and after that is done, will recognize new files, and back them up, for a very short process!

8. Find a way to make the writing space inviting. Get a massager for the chair, or get your cat and get her to stay there with you, purring away at your feet or in your lap. Better yet, get the cat to write for you while you pet him/her. Dogs won’t do that but they’ll keep your feet warm while you fire away at the keyboard.

9. Write rave reviews about your book even though it isn’t out yet. Put them somewhere in a drawer and sneak a peak at them. Everyone needs a cheering section!

10. LEARN WORD thoroughly. Write something coherent in your blog. Update Facebook regularly with something cool to read about. Update your NING page and blog. Make your web page look cool. Direct traffic over to it this year by putting up articles and information that people love to read about.

LAST ONE! NUMBER 11.

THINK ABOUT STUFF. TALK ABOUT STUFF. READ ABOUT STUFF. THEN….WRITE ABOUT STUFF. STUFF WILL HAPPEN. YOUR STUFF WILL HAPPEN. OTHER PEOPLE’S STUFF HAPPENS. RECORD THE STUFF. YOU’LLNEED A PLACETO PUT ALL YOUR STUFF WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT. DON’T LOSE YOUR STUFF. WRITE MORE STUFF AFTER THAT. READ GEORGE CARLIN’STREATISEONSTUFF. TELL THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE STUFFY TO STUFF THEMSELVES. WITH THEIR OWN STUFF, OF COURSE. THEN, GO ON TO NEW STUFF.

 

Gift-giving: Write a poem!

Dear Writers,

In shopping for the perfect gift comes a bit of stress in contemplating what to buy that special someone, or that distant relative, long lines at super stores and gift shops,  wrapping gifts once you get home, and then waiting to mail packages at the post office or mail store.  Avoid all the hassle and try this activity on for size: Write a custom poem, type it up and add it to a power point presentation slide or two, put it on a decorative background using publisher or some other program, add some photos to the slide show that you have personally taken, to share, put the entire power point in a digital photo frame, and then send it off to relatives and friends.

What a delightful gift that will sit on a counter or on top of the piano, or mounted to the wall, and remind them of you!

You can have the powerpoint transfered to a flash drive and send that little gift in a padded envelope. Add some original music or taped/transfered favorite music to the mix, and you can have them play this on their laptop or computer at will.  What a thoughtful gift.

If you need feedback on your poem, contact me.

 

 

 

Art Reception – Hard-Edge Design and Writing Workshop on Ekphrasis – Writing About Art –

Gary Rose, artist, and Monika Rose, poet, had a reception on Friday, October 14, from 2-7 PM, for an art show, ekphrasis workshop, and poetry reading/signing at the open house reception at Mountain Ranch Community Center in the darling community of Mountain Ranch! Art show and reception occurred 2:00 P.M. through 7 PM – with artist Gary Rose, featuring his large, geometric hard-edge design wall sculptures and join a chat with the artist about minimalism, design, and modern art. His work will be visible from October through November at the center.

EkphrasisWorkshop  (writing about art) with Monika Rose   3-4 PM Writers and public art lovers enjoyed this art form, which is writing about visual art, dramatic art, presentation art, and more.  River by the Glass, a 212-page collection of poems spanning two decades, was signed by the author.

 

 

Formatting a Poetry Manuscript – Saving and Preparing Files and Text

Preparing Your Poetry or Other Manuscript for Publication   © Monika Rose April 2011

A few tips from Monika Rose, Editor  – monikarosewriter.com

These are not conclusive…many more things to think about abound, but these are a few….

Manzanita Writers Press      manzapress.com

1. Saving your Files:

  •      Keep a working folder with your book project name.  

It is important for you to save your drafts and document changes, as well as to save your files in folders that indicate the final draft and date of each poem. Some day, it will be useful to view your drafts and process. Back these all up to a CD or DVD disc, external hard drive, flash drive (which can corrupt). If anything, it keeps MA candidates busy if your work is studied in the future.

  •     I keep a folder for each poem. Inside of that folder are two folders. One has draft documents of the poem with dates, and they are numbered in succession. Each time a change is made, the document is given a new number added to the title and a new date for revision. This tracks any changes made to the poem. The other folder has the one final draft of the poem going to press.
  •     Copy final poetry files that you have labeled to the section folders in your main folder. Do not move them, but COPY them.
  •     When it is time to copy these final drafts into a folder for the publisher, then they are copied in succession from the final draft folder of each poem, into the section folders ready for the publisher.  

2. Organizing your files for the publisher:

  •      Front Matter materials organized in a folder called Front Matter- copyright page, dedication, etc.
  •       Back Matter materials also organized in a folder called Back Matter – author bio, photo, credits, etc.
  •      Sections numbered or saved with titles- with section titles and any quotations/photos
  •      Poetry matter is saved inside each section.  

3. Preparing ancillary materials:

  •       ISBN number – some people advise to purchase your own ISBN # for the book, but publishers do this and they are listed in Ingram and distribution sites – if you self-publish, or partner with another press and exchange printing favors, then purchase your own as well as the bar code afterwards, from the Bowker site online. This takes about a half hour for the process.
  •       Library of Congress Catalog # – obtain this free. It takes about a week or so to get it back via email.
  •       Copyright page – retain copyright of the book – list your name as copyright owner on the copyright page.
  •       Attributions and Credits – where your poems have appeared in print – give publication and dates if possible for every poem
  •       Acknowledgements page – front or back – thank you’s
  •       Dedication – short – usually to one or two people
  •       Blurbs for the Back – quoted lines from other writers and editors or readers to whom you have sent your manuscript to read and give commentary for the back cover
  •       Author page: bio and  photo with photographer caption – saved as a larger tiff and as a jpeg  and name them so you know (two types) – this goes for all photos and images used. 5 or more megapixels camera used(larger files with good resolution are needed – the jpeg files are used for smaller files, web sites, newspaper photos, etc.)  

4. Preparing the text for the manuscript

  •       Fonts – use Times New Roman – or other serif – don’t use a sans serif font

Do not change font styles for titles or anything – don’t bold your lines or use all caps

Some fonts have strange italic styles, or letter configurations. Don’t use different ones.

Stay consistent.

  •        The typesetter and editor will select fonts/depends on the arrangement you have with your publisher. If self-publishing and you want to do your own layout, take Tom Johnson’s class. Learn about fonts and sample them. Some of the fonts don’t print well in a large run and are hard to read.

 5. Use a style manual and study it carefully – Chicago Manual of Style is best

  •       Use Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary -or latest one  www.merriam-webster.com
  •       Check those darn hyphenated (or not) words! I never realized how tricky these were until putting words in print. Edit carefully. It will cost you a lot of money if you send the typed manuscript to the editor and publisher, and then once it is laid out, you discover many changes you want to make to it.

 6. Check your manuscript in Word.

  •       Note spacing issues, spelling, grammar, capitalization of lines  do go through and check to see if your own format is consistent to the lines in the printed poem. Check contractions–are they needed? Get rid of them if possible. Check line length and evenness — visually and rhythmically. Check for best words. It is never too late to revise your poems. W.B. Yeats did this constantly in various printings.  But I would advise that you do this before the book is printed.
  •       Also, set your tools in Word to catch all your errors, including passive construction, grammar, style, etc. Check all spelling options if the word is in red. This saved me several times, and I’m an English teacher! I knew that the word maize was not spelled maise. But I didn’t pay attention to the cute little red line.Good thing we caught it just in time!
  •       Check punctuation carefully. Do you need the extra commas and periods? Get rid of them if they are not necessary. What about those colons?
  •       Use M-dashes for those long dashes poets love to use – Emily, this one’s for you!

            Sometimes, Word will change those double hyphens for you, sometimes not.

Go to insert symbol—look for the M-dash (the longer one). The shorter one is the N-dash.  Do not use that one. Set cursor to the spot and click the dash. Voila! There is no space on either side of the M-dash. However, there is a space after each ellipsis. . .

  •       What style do you want your numbers to be if you have sections numbered in your poems Roman numerals or other? What other styles do you prefer? Page number location, etc.
  •       Check your titles – are they too long?  Do they give everything away too soon?
  •       Epigraphs: These are those dedications after poem titles, or extra information about the place or time the poem references. Indent with an M-dash and then italicize them. Be consistent.
  •       Line length: Depending on the size of your book, your lines, if too long, will automatically be shifted to the next line and will split, depending on spacing
  •       Do this yourself before the heartache comes. Shorter lines are best. Measure your space. For a 6 x 9 formatted book, leave about a 1 and 1/2 inch margin inside and outside, to be safe. Then see if your printed poem fits inside that frame. If not, you need to think about how to split your lines and reform your stanzas. It may mean rewriting. Think about this as you write your poems to save you heartache later. See what editors do with Walt Whitman’s poems and their very long lines.
  •       Speaking about lines, VERY IMPORTANT:

Most poetry is flush left margin, not centered. Think very carefully as to whether you want to center any of your poetry. Unless it’s a concrete/shaped poem, leave it conventional flush left.

  •       Watch stanza consistency. There may be shifts in your lines once the stanzas are laid out, with lines dropped and moved to the next page. Carefully proof your galleys.

 7. Seasoned poets have formed typing habits that can hinder a typesetter:

  •       eliminate your two spaces after a period – only use one space as the computer program adjusts the spacing after a period automatically – difficult to change typing habits practiced over the years, I know
  •       don’t use the space bar, use tabs, to place words in shaped poems or poems that have creative spacing,  and don’t space over to the end of the line. They show up when a typesetter goes to place your poem.   
  •       single space your poems and double space between stanzas – if a stanza is split at the bottom of the page, then indicate the stanza break or indicate the stanza is continuous if it goes to the next page – best thing is to keep stanzas intact.
  •       turn off your system’s hyphenation if you have prose poetry
  •      don’t justify (don’t full justify – the block symbol in the tool bar) 

8. For more book manuscript information, check this site online:

http://www.press.umich.edu/press/authinfo/auguide.jsp

 

Contact MWP local layout designer as a reference: Joyce Dedini   imacoolcat64@yahoo.com

For any other advice, contact Manzanita Writers Press. We would be happy to help.  

manzapress.com

mrosemanza@jps.net

 

Monika Rose, Editor

Joy Roberts, Business Manager, Editor

Linda Field, Fiction editor, Events Coordinator

Copyright 2011 – Monika Rose

How to Write a Sonnet by example – two poems by Monika Rose

                                                          

 Here is how Monika Rose converted a free verse poem to a Sonnet form — see the poem titled “Father” below the sonnet titled “Fish”, which was transformed from the free verse form.

                                                Conversion to an English Sonnet     (time: 2 hours)

Start with a situation and a statement of a condition, situation, or event which begins a plot or set of complications or logical argument—there should be a motive behind the speech:

 

The Fish

 

My father taught me how to swim to life

He must have seen my sudden fetal crawl

My body slicing membranes like a knife

While gasping, choking, wriggling in the squall

 

Continue with elements or aspects of that condition or situation and be sure to further the story — there should be a complication or advancement of the narrative:

 

How I kicked my legs and leaped into his world

Beginning struggle at an early stroke

And like a butterfly in flight unfurled

To wings of infant innocence he spoke

 

Add the volta (9th line — a turn or some kind of complication or reversal)

Then an explanation or elaboration . . .

 

Push off the heart he warned when leaving home

And turn like silver lest you lose retreat

Keep moving under water and its foam

So journey take you back where all ends meet

 

Add a resolution or solution to some aspect of the situation set up:

 

The backstroke takes you far into the start

The breast stroke brings you back into your heart.

 

 Finished! Fait accomplit!

 Finished sonnet:

 

— from River by the Glass, A Collection of Poems by Monika Rose

 

The Fish

 

My father taught me how to swim to life

He must have seen my sudden fetal crawl

My body slicing membranes like a knife

While gasping, choking, wriggling in the squall

How I kicked my legs and leaped into his world

Beginning struggle at an early stroke

And like a butterfly in flight unfurled

To wings of infant innocence he spoke

 

Push off the heart he warned when leaving home

And turn like silver lest you lose retreat

Keep moving under water and its foam

So journey take you back where all ends meet

 

 

The backstroke takes you far into the start

The breast stroke brings you back into your heart.

 — from River by the Glass, A Collection of Poems by Monika Rose

Father                                                

 Prenatal

 He watched from the outside

As I swam inside

The breast stroke

The butterfly

He watched

As I swam out

Wriggled

Gasped

Choked

 

Parental

This is the crawl he spoke

The fastest stroke

Kick your legs

Pull your arms

Cup your hands

 

This is the breast stroke

Push out from the heart

 

This is the butterfly

Unfold your wings

 

This is the backstroke

Retreat sometimes

 

Paternal

 My father the fish

Who taught

Me how to

Stroke ripples

Blow bubbles

Gulp quickly

Push away

And swim back