Sunday, July 29, 2012

Writing through Critical Thinking Skills

Concept/Objective:

A. Affective Strategies

S-3 exercising fairmindedness



On a scale of 1 to 10, how fair or unfair is this author’s view of happiness? Explain your rating scale.



“For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don’t enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are you’re not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn’t going to be happy much of the time. If on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness."



~ Andy Rooney (b. 1919 American television commentator, humorist



from Secrets of Serenity – Timeless Wisdom to Soothe the Soul; Courage Books 2004

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Art is Fun

 
 
My name is Bob Smeets. I am an illustrator, painter, comic book artist, and poet.


Art is fun; anybody can do it. All you are doing is expressing yourself. If you have problems expressing yourself use art. I urge you to paint what you feel (inside) and from the heart; for the heart is where talent lies. To be a professional artist try not to become overly proud. You should think of other artists fondly and with respect.


Quote by Saint Francis of Assissi - A laborer uses his hands, a craftsmen uses his hands and head, and an artist uses his hands, head, and heart.
 
 

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Don't forget!

July 31 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Monday, July 23, 2012

$25,000

At a recent Writers for All Seasons meeting, I read a portion of Comes the Warrior in which the main character has a bail amount of $25,000 for a certain offense.  My listeners questioned that amount as possibly being too high, and suggested I find a list of bails set for specific charges.

Here it is (and strangely enough - I was right!)

http://bailbondservices.com/penalcodes.htm

It's a very interesting site!  Keep it in your list of writing references.

Type at you later ~~ Evelyn

Sunday, July 22, 2012

WritingRainey: Bedina's War Chapter 1

WritingRainey: Bedina's War Chapter 1:  Actually, you'll have to click here.  LOL Comfort publishing is incredible!  I am so very honored to be one of their authors. (They ...

Writing through Critical Thinking Skills

Concept/Objective:

A. Affective Strategies

S-3 exercising fairmindedness



What does the author mean by courage in this passage?



“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong."

~ Laura Ingals Wilder (1867-1957) American writer



from Secrets of Serenity – Timeless Wisdom to Soothe the Soul; Courage Books 2004

Friday, July 20, 2012

Richard Byers

Special Guest for September 11, 2012 will be Richard Byers

For a list of this incredible author's books and a brief bio, please visit his Amazon page.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Why I Write

~~ Alison Nissen

In 1980, my ninth grade English teacher believed I couldn’t write. I would be destined to have an endless string of jobs ringing cash registers and popping out babies.  Well, to be frank, she didn’t say that exactly.  She did recommend remedial high school classes. Which I took and aced, as in A+.

What Mrs. Cannazzaro didn’t know was that I would later receive both a BA and MA in English Literature and go on to teach college writing. 

In ninth grade I couldn’t spell worth a darn.  Mrs. Cannazzaro based her assessment on spelling exams, which I consistently failed.  No matter that I submitted a toothpick replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre or that I devoured the few classics we read in class that year.  I couldn’t spell.

In college, I still couldn’t spell.  In fact, I wrote a paper that had nine misspellings of the same word.  -45 points.  Ouch.

Then along came spell check.  That miraculous invention that puts little red squiggly lines under words it doesn’t recognize.  I still had to look up the words, but at least I could figure out which ones were spelled incorrectly.

It became a game: guess the correct spelling before I found it in the dictionary.  I won more times than not.  I became a spell check champion!

In 1997, I received a dyslexia diagnosis.  That explained many things…why I always turned left instead of right, why I constantly misdialed phone numbers, and why I couldn’t spell.

My personal struggle is like many millions of others who share in learning differences.  Today I fashion myself a writer, not because of or in spite of Mrs. Cannazzaro.  Rather, I write because I enjoy it.  Writing allows me to express myself, share stories, and keep in touch with family and friends. 

I write because I have stories to tell.  Some are fiction, some are true, but to me, seeing my words on paper or a computer screen pleases me.  I am my most important audience; I write for me…okay, maybe it also has a little to do with the fact that a long time ago someone suggested I should have an endless string of jobs as a cashier.






Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The next meeting is July 31, 2012

  July 31 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

August 14 –  The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

August 28 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Sept. 11 – Special Guest Richard Byers

Sept. 25 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson on
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Oct. 9 – The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Oct. 23 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson on
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Nov. 6 – Special Guest/Event

Nov. 20 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Dec. 4 – Christmas Party

Next meeting – Jan. 8, 2013

A Call to Write


A good blog is an online diary – it gives the writer a vehicle to express him/herself.

A GREAT blog in an online dialogue between the writers and readers with which to change each other’s lives.

Writers 4 All Seasons blog is going to be a great blog.  By working together and sharing our ideas, we will help each other as writers, artists, musicians, and humans.  By becoming better writers, artists, musicians, and humans, we will change the world. 

I would like you to start emailing me stories, articles, poems, writing exercises, and songs which you would like to have posted on Writers4AllSeasons.blogspot.com . Think about the kinds of writing you look for on line when you are searching for information about our crafts.  WRITE that kind of a post. 

Use this blog to promote your own writing adventures.  Tell us when you’ve had something published or you’ve found an interesting contest, magazine or publisher.  Critique a book.  Interview an author.  Question the plot of a mystery or uncover the fallacies of a non-fiction! 

Length does not matter!  It can be as short as a one-liner or so long I decide to divide it into a series of posts.  You’ve heard this before if you have had a good English teacher:  Make it long enough to say what you want it to say. 

If you are an active participant of the W4AS meetings, your writings will be accepted immediately.  If you are an email member or you are just reading this blog, I would ask that you sign up to Follow This Blog before you send me anything. 

I will use your name on the byline as a link to your email, so our readers can respond to you directly.  As a reader, be sure to comment on what you liked.  Use the post as you would a critique session during one of our meetings:  praise, suggest, and ponder.

Another thing I will ask each of you to do – every time you read an article, story, poem, or other kind of post on this blog, use the social media icons to re-post it.  The more people we can gather to this blog, the more people who will write for this blog, the more information we can share about our craft, the better we will become at our craft, and the better we can make our world.

I look forward to blogging with you!

Evelyn

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Character Traits

Which of these Character Traits would you weave into your protagonist?  Why?  How?


Reliability
Uprightness
Respect
Admiration
Dishonorable
Show-off
Braggart
Devious

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

The next meeting is July 17, 2012

  July 17 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson on
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

July 31 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

August 14 – Special Guest/Event

August 28 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Sept. 11 – The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Sept. 25 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson on
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Oct. 9 – The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Oct. 23 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson on
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Nov. 6 – Special Guest/Event

Nov. 20 The Club at Eaglebrooke
6:30 – 7:15 Lesson 
7:30 – 8:30 Shared Critique Time

Dec. 4 – Christmas Party

Next meeting – Jan. 8, 2013