SCOUR YOUR PAST FOR STORY IDEAS
Some of you may be fortunate to have a relative who used to tell you stories when you were still living at home with your family. Maybe you remember these stories; or possibly these relatives are still alive so you can interview and record them.
Transcribe the interviews, work them through and you have the potential for a wonderful book!
One of our Dandelion Books authors, Laurel Johnson (I am also a publisher; the web address for my company, Dandelion Books, is www.dandelion-books.com) was inspired to write her grandmother’s biography. Her uncle had made a series of recordings before this extraordinary woman passed away.
Laurel used these recorded sessions as the basis for reconstructing her story. This book succeeded in reuniting the entire family. All the cousins, grandchildren, grand-nieces and–nephews came out of the woodwork from all over the U.S. to buy and read the life story of their relative. (The name of the book is My Name is Esther Clara, by Laurel Johnson.)
IDEAS FOR POEMS
One of the best places to find ideas for poems is to browse through a collection of poetry. By “poetry” I am not referring to forced rhyme, song lyrics or greeting card ditties.
Good poetry makes a point or says something profound. It has its own internal music and hits the gut. Hard. I’ll be talking more about that later when I discuss poetry writing in detail.
Go to a poetry collection and imitate a poem you like very much. Imitate the style, content or energy. This is an excellent way to get the juices running and also “dish pan” some new ideas.
Some of you may be fortunate to have a relative who used to tell you stories when you were still living at home with your family. Maybe you remember these stories; or possibly these relatives are still alive so you can interview and record them.
Transcribe the interviews, work them through and you have the potential for a wonderful book!
One of our Dandelion Books authors, Laurel Johnson (I am also a publisher; the web address for my company, Dandelion Books, is www.dandelion-books.com) was inspired to write her grandmother’s biography. Her uncle had made a series of recordings before this extraordinary woman passed away.
Laurel used these recorded sessions as the basis for reconstructing her story. This book succeeded in reuniting the entire family. All the cousins, grandchildren, grand-nieces and–nephews came out of the woodwork from all over the U.S. to buy and read the life story of their relative. (The name of the book is My Name is Esther Clara, by Laurel Johnson.)
IDEAS FOR POEMS
One of the best places to find ideas for poems is to browse through a collection of poetry. By “poetry” I am not referring to forced rhyme, song lyrics or greeting card ditties.
Good poetry makes a point or says something profound. It has its own internal music and hits the gut. Hard. I’ll be talking more about that later when I discuss poetry writing in detail.
Go to a poetry collection and imitate a poem you like very much. Imitate the style, content or energy. This is an excellent way to get the juices running and also “dish pan” some new ideas.
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