Tuesday, December 16, 2014

An Ode to the Senior Class of MacArthur High School By Gina Welborn (c. 1988)

Gina Welborn
Like dirt in the wind
wanting...
waiting...
knowing...
knowing that one day they will be sucked in the great vacuum cleaner of life.

Like dirt in the wind
reaching...
yearning...
striving...
striving to leave the oneness of themselves and unify with others to become one large dirtball.

Are you a dirtball? How many times do you “leave the oneness” of yourself to become just like your friends or celebrities or other writers out there?

“A true breakout is not an imitation but a break-through to a more profound individual expression. It demands that an author reach deep inside to find what is truthful, original, important and inspiring in his own world view.” ~Donald Maass, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL

Knowconflict.com defines worldview as “the way s/he sees the world and his/her place in it. In includes the person's beliefs about how things are done and by whom, what is good and bad, why things happen as they do, and who holds the reins of power. It also includes the group or groups to which a person belongs or with which s/he identifies.” Your worldview may contradict the mainstream, follow the mainstream, agree with the majority, agree with the minority, may be liberal, conservative, narrow-minded, open-minded, no minded. Everyone has a worldview. Everyone has a voice.

A good writer learns to hone her “voice.” How?

READ POETRY. Samuel Taylor Coleridge once said, “Prose consists of words in their best order. Poetry consists of the best words in the best order.” Reading poetry will cause you to become more aware of the dynamos of the correct word choice. Poetry helps you learn to hear grammatical rhythm.

READ MORE OUTSIDE YOUR GENRE THAN IN. What goes in, come out. If most of what you are reading is the genre you are writing, then you will end up regurgi-writing what you read. My two current voice-sharpeners are Let’s Be Brave by Annie Downs and Girl Meets God by Laura Winner.

PUT YOU IN YOUR STORY. Maass writes, “It is from the unknowable shadows of your subconscious that your stories will find their drive and from which they will draw their meaning. No one can loan you that or teach you that.” If a scene, chapter, story, character, scares you to write it, write it.

Publishers want something different. Publishers want something they can sell. That can seem dichotomy. What makes it not is You the Writer. Hone your voice. The world already has a ___(fill in name of your favorite author)___.

It’s just wanting...waiting...hoping for a you.
 
About the Author
Gina Welborn is the author of three Barbour novellas, including one in the ECPA-bestselling Mistletoe Memories, and is contracted for two more. The year 2014 ushers in the release of her novels: The Heiress's Courtship, The Marshal's Pursuit, and Masterpiece Marriage. A moderately obsessive fan of CommunityOnce Upon a Time, and Chopped, Gina lives in Oklahoma with her pastor husband, their five Okie-Hokie children, a box-lab, two rabbits, four guinea pigs, and a fancy Russian dwarf hamster named Tom Bob Deucalion. She is represented by the Steve Laube Agency. To learn more about her writing or read excerpts, visit her website: www.GinaWelborn.com


Masterpiece Marriage

Mary Varrs prefers botany to romance.


She thinks studying the growth pattern of her tomato seedlings is more time-worthy than pursuing a mate. When she needs illustrations of her prized plants, Mary turns to Priscilla Dane Osbourne for help.

Zenus Dane also seeks help from his Aunt Priscilla. In order to salvage his flooded textile mill, he wants to sell her hand drawn quilt patterns alongside his repurposed fabric scraps. No quilter had national name recognition like his aunt, but Priscilla is fiercely protective of her patterns. Convincing her would not be easy.


It seems Priscilla is the answer to both their prayers. But Priscilla would rather weave a masterpiece marriage for her nephew than save his flooded business. Trouble is, her plans don’t include Mary, whose own growing attraction for the textiler could jeopardize Priscilla’s good will toward her. If faced with a decision between love and ambition, will Mary be able to choose?