Category Archives: Blog

Dear Reader: Silence and work

Dear Reader,

It’s finally here.

You’ve probably noticed the radio silence on this site. There’s a reason for that. A great, awesome, wonderful reason for that.

I’ve been putting together the AfroLatina Writer’s Retreat. What is that? Well, I won the Owl of Minerva Award that allowed me to put this together.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing. Putting it together. And it’s a small retreat. Six wonderful women.

Man, it’s been hard work. From putting out the information to reading the apps, to choosing (which was so ridiculously difficult) to picking a date, a venue, and even putting a menu together, this was not an easy thing to do.

Oh, yeah. I also teach English composition courses during the day. I am current swimming in essays and midterms.

And somehow, I was able to write a new scene for the Jennie Manning book. More on that later.

I did have some help and it’s been great. But now, it’s here. Like in a matter of hours I’ll be sitting among talented playwrights, documentarians, poets, and fiction writers. We’ll talk shop and talk existance. These kind folks will be on a plane today because they are coming to an event I put together.

No pressure, bruh. Seriously.

I’ve thought about how this could go one of two ways. It could be amazing and the start of something beautiful and wonderful and inspiring. Or it could be the worst mistake of my life. Everyone will also think so and be angry because they spent the money to be here. I’m really hoping it’s the former.

What is keeping me grounded is quite simple, this is about writing and art and community. It’s not about the logistics which are important, yes, but not as important as the opportunity to do something I’ve never done before in the name of something I love.

So, now, it’s time to be in the moment. Now it is the time to do something great. Here’s to a great weekend. Catch you on the flipside.

5 banned books lists you need to read

TAG

This is the week where we take time to, essentially, honor the power of the written words and how something as simple as a book or an idea can make people uncomfortable. Yes my friends, words are powerful

4 surprising books that will jump start your writing

ASTRONOMY 101

Someone asked a great question on Twitter the other day and I had to share it.

 

Writing prompts are awesome because it gets you writing. It can shake the dust or rust off the brain and get you started down the road to either a new piece or just gets you back in the game.

It also helps you get to writing on days that you don’t feel like writing. I personally use them to throw a monkey wrench in the plot of a story I’m writing. I may or may not use it but it usually reveals something that I need to know or that I can use in my story.

Over the years, there’s been some great resources for getting the jump start on writing. Obviously, I’ll plug my prompts which we started doing on this blog. The Monday Morning Prompts are designed to get your writing week started and to set your intentions for the week.

Here are some other resources for you if you’re needing a prompt or two to get it going.Continue reading “4 surprising books that will jump start your writing”

Calling all AfroLatina writers! A writing retreat for you

 

You know when you apply to something and you hope you get it but you know that the competition is stiff, but if you got it it’d be so amazing.

Well, that just happened to me.Continue reading “Calling all AfroLatina writers! A writing retreat for you”

Monday Morning Prompt: The story inside the story

What story is in a picture?

I spent lots of time explaining this to beginning storytellers and photographers the past year.

Photographers are storytellers. They use a lens instead of paper and light instead of pens.  However, they are limited. While they capture moments like the one up top, a write can capture what lead to the big moments.

So for your prompt today, take any picture that moves you (could be a painting, a favorite picture in the paper today, picture from your family album or the one above) and write a short story, the background story, that lead up to that moment.

When I mean short, I mean no more than 500 words. This exercise can easily get away from you so limit yourself. Just tell what you need to tell. In fact, this is a prompt that poets can also get in on.

 

Monday Morning Writing Prompt

It’s the first day of school here in Houston. Lots of kids, both kid and small, are heading back to get their learning on. That leads me to this week’s Monday Morning Writing Prompt.

Prompt: Clark Kent and Lois Lane are at Jimmy Olsen Elementary school dropping of their children for the first day of school. All is well until all of a sudden something goes wrong. What’s more, Lex Luther and Lex Luther Jr. go to the same school as their children.

Write a quick story or poem (oh, the challenge) about what Clark, Lois, and the kids saw and what they’re going to do about it.

Actionable step: It’s a brand new week y’all. What goals do you have for your writing this week? Write them in the comments below. Bonus points if you post your story in the comments! 

How to drive traffic to your blog. What writers need to know

Oh, how the digital world is changing!

This week, Fortune magazine reported that Facebook book referrals have surpassed Google as a traffic source for news.

As a former news person this was interesting but not as interesting to me as a blogger and writer.

I have debated with friends who are marketers and social media managers about whether this is something that we should pay attention to. Do we drop SEO? Do we pay for getting our posts into more timelines? How does this impact the writer?

I think time will tell how this will impact news websites, which is what the article is mainly about. However, this will impact writers and bloggers who depend on their platform and/or communities to establish themselves.

I have a blog post coming soon about what exactly is an author platform. For now though, know that a writer’s website/blog is the anchor to their platform. And platform is important because that’s how you grow customer base, i.e. potential readers. Continue reading “How to drive traffic to your blog. What writers need to know”

3 Things to Know About Applying For Writing Residencies

Imagine getting time and space to write? That’s an actual possibility.

Editor’s Note: Today’s blog post is from writer Glendaliz Camacho. Camacho, a 2013 Pushcart

CamachoPrize nominee, has worked in the editorial departments of Victoria Sanders & Associates and Cambridge University Press. She has attended several residencies including being the 2014 Jentel Foundation Artist in Residence, and 2015 Caldera Arts, Kimmel Harding Nelson, and Hedgebrook Artist in Residence. She is also a proud alum of the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation (VONA) 2010 Fiction Workshop with Tananarive Due and the 2013 Fiction Workshop with Junot Diaz. Starting September, she’ll participate in the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s nine-month Workspace artist residency program. She’s also been a judge on a selection panel for a residency.

She’s offering a webinar on how to land a residency with an exclusive offer for my blog readers!

After a month in Wyoming, I knew this was how I was supposed to live. I don’t mean the wide open sky, flat landscape or backdrop of mountains. As a New Yorker, yes, I gawked at those things like a tourist in Times Square, but what I meant was writing all day.

I’d gone to Banner, Wyoming (population 40) on my first writing residency through the Jentel Foundation. I had already been through fiction workshops at VONA twice that left me brimming over with ideas, clear direction on how to go forward with revisions on work I’d had critiqued,and with a renewed sense of vigor for writing. I had no shortage of material – notes for a novel, drafts of essays and short stories – what I need was uninterrupted time.Continue reading “3 Things to Know About Applying For Writing Residencies”

5 ways writers can use Periscope

I love Periscope!

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. As a social media fanatic (I prefer guru) learning new apps and services is the equivalent of watching the Superbowl for some people.

Almost automatically, just like for Twitter,there’s been some early adopters of the technology and they are setting the standards early.Continue reading “5 ways writers can use Periscope”