Another possible motivational tool

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer, do not reflect the views of Salt Lake Community College, The Community Writing Center, any other writer on this blog, and should not be construed as an endorsement of any product, publication or process.


I am the world's worst procrastinator, so I'm always looking for ways to set goals for my life, and for my writing. recently, I introduced you to The Pomodoro Technique, a time management tool.

A local entrepreneur I met in another writing group (gasp!), Phil Davis, is an author as well as a publishing guru. His latest effort is entitled the I Survived 2012 Daily Journal.

I 've never been very successful at keeping a daily journal, but I recommend that all writers attempt it. I think this publication may get me further into this activity than past attempts because of its unique approach.

We're all aware that since the world began prophets have been foretelling its demise. The big scare these days is the supposed Mayan Prophesy that the world will end in 2012. Various theories exist as to what will actually happen on December 21, Winter Solstice 2012. They involve everything from global to universal cataclysms, a new world order, sweeping change in collective human philosophies and religions, and absolutely nothing at all. I think the best source for clarification is straight from the horse's mouth:

"Anthropologists visit the temple sites and read the steles and inscriptions and make up stories about the Maya, but they do not read the signs correctly...Other people write about prophecy in the name of the Maya...The Mayan elders are angry with this. The world will not end. It will be transformed."
 
      -Carlos Barrios, sprirtual guide of the Mayan Eagle Clan.

Davis shares this more positive outlook concerning the future, and challenges us to  work toward a better future for ourselves by "creating a legacy of choice rather than running away and hiding in fear."  With his 2012 journal, he creates a simple daily process anyone can adopt to inspire themself to get more out of each day.

Here's how it works"

• "Significant Acts" Prompt: Each day begins by prompting you to think of one "Significant Act" you will perform.
• "Quotes" and "Facts": Throughout the journal you will see "Seize the Day" prompts, 2012 Facts and Random Quotes....one of these prompts may get your creative juices flowing.
• "How did it go?" Prompt: Write down if you did what you said you were going to do and if so, what happened.
• "Other thoughts and ideas" Prompt: In this space, write down any other significant events, ideas or thoughts that occured on that day.

( from the I Survived 2012 Daily Journal by Phil Davis)

Easy, right? All in an attractive, spiral bound journal. The quotes are funny and thought-provoking, the facts are intriguing, and the prompts are motivating. It's simple enough that anyone from about Jr. High age (perhaps younger) on up can understand and make use of the devices. I can't wait to start mine in the new year; that's my resolution.

John Wilkes
CWC Volunteer
DWS co-mentor
The Rio Grande Report
Mister Write's Blog

For more information or to order your I Survived 2012 Daily Journal, go here.

Phil Davis is the president of ZDocs- a book printing and self publishing business based in Lindon, Utah-and Authors On the Net and The Author Platform, two sources for eCourses, online publicity, self-publishing programs, and an online writing community.

Volunteer Brunch November 14, 2009

We would like to thank, support and celebrate all of our volunteers for the amazing work you have done over the past year. Come eat brunch, receive recognition and share challenges and successes with other volunteers November 14, 2009 from 9:30am—12:00pm.

9:30– 10:00 am Brunch
10:00– 10:30 am Introductions
10:30– 11:30 am Small Group Discussion of successes and challenges: Mentors, Coaches & Workshop Facilitators
11:30 am– 12:30 pm Awards and Recognition

To RSVP contact Rachel Jardine at rachel.jardine@slcc.edu or call 801.957.4992. Hope to see you all there.

New Volunteer Training Manual!

Whether you’re a current volunteer, or just interested in volunteering with the SLCC Community Writing Center, a new Volunteer Training Manual is now available to assist you. The new manual includes the CWC Mission Statement and Founding Principals, details on volunteer opportunities, hints on providing feedback and group management, as well as discussions on pedagogy, philosophy, process and rhetoric.

Adapted by Jeremy Remy and edited by Andrea Malouf and Jeff Dixon, this new manual is a valuable resource for any CWC volunteer. Included within is training and assistance developed over the course of the SLCC Community Writing Center by Sara Gunderson, Joanna Sewall, Melissa Helquist and Tiffany Rousculp.

Get your copy today by visiting the PDF link listed under “Volunteer Resources” to the right.

Follow the Volunteer Blog

A new feature has been added to the SLCC Community Writing Center Volunteer blog. Readers with a Google account are now able to use the Blogger Following feature to keep track of the blog and highlight themselves as a reader. If you don’t have a Google account, the Following feature can help you sign up for free.

To follow the CWC Volunteer blog, click on the “Follow this Blog” link under the “Follow Us” widget to the right. You’ll then see a popup window with options to either follow publicly or anonymously. Select how you’d like to follow the blog, and click the orange “Follow” button. It’s that simple, you are now a follower of the CWC Volunteer blog.

If you elected to follow the blog publicly, your profile picture will be displayed with a link to your Blogger profile, and the CWC Volunteer blog will be added to your Reading List--allowing you to read all of the latest posts from your favorite blogs right on your Blogger Dashboard! It will update instantly each time a new post is published on any blog in your Reading List.

Start following us today!

Electronic Worksheet: Character and Setting Prompts

Both your characters and your setting can be explored endlessly. This sheet will provide you with ideas to further deepen your characters, expand your setting and use them to discover your novel plot.

Setting:

• Start with the natural landscape. What would your setting look like if it were unoccupied?
  
• What sort of buildings and structures can be found in your setting?
• Describe the interiors of these structures.
• Every novel is set in a time period. Describe the time in which your novel takes place.
• What is the political and economic setting of your novel?
• Describe the emotional atmosphere your characters find themselves in.

Character:

• Make a list of all the characters you can imagine using in your novel.
• Write a one paragraph physical description of each.
• Write about your characters' pasts. What happened to them before the story began.
• Write about one of your characters' greatest fears. Now deepest wishes.
• What relationships do your characters have with each other? Show this through interaction.
• Sometimes it might help to step away from the writing for a minute. Find pictures that look like your characters, or go out into the world and try to see them in others.

Connecting to plot:

• Describe any weather that might move your characters to action. How do they respond to it.
• What happens when your characters find themselves in a setting that is totally unfamiliar?
• How does a character's past influence the present? What happens when others find out about it?
• Write about what a character does to finally obtain (or achieve) his/her deepest wish.
• What happens when you bring two characters together who have never met?

These are just a few ideas that may help as you write your novel this month. Do all of them, or think of your own questions and prompts. This month is special: you have a lot of writing to do, and very quickly. Sit down and explore every aspect of setting and every character you can imagine. All of this will help you find your novel and deepen it.

The CWC Facebook Page

The SLCC Community Writing Center is happy to announce the launch of the CWC Facebook page! Now you can find out about the goings-on of the CWC, take a look at our photo albums, add us a friend, or even sign our wall.

The CWC Facebook page can be found at:

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/SLCC-Community-Writing-Center/21798437409

Electronic Worksheet: Standard Manuscript Format

When writing for a publication, it is always a good idea to research the desired standards for how that publication would like to receive a manuscript. If a writer is unsure of the desired format, or doesn't know where the manuscript will eventually be sent, standard manuscript format is a good option.

• The cover page should include the writer's name, address and telephone number (in some cases, the manuscript's total word count should also be given) in the upper right-hand corner.
  
• The title of the manuscript and writer's name or pen name should be halfway down the cover page.
  
• Each page following the cover page should include the writer's name, manuscript title and page number in the upper right-hand corner.
  
• A standard font should be used, and italics should be avoided (in some cases, italicized words are underlined to later be changed by the publication).
• Paragraphs should be left-justified and single-spaced.
• New paragraphs should start with a five-space indention.
• Margins should be at least an inch wide and equal on each side.
  
• Pages should be printed on only one side and left unbound (a paperclip would likely be appropriate for larger manuscripts, but avoid staples).
  

Beyond this, writers should check the publication's formatting standards as they get closer to submitting the manuscript, and alter the format to specifications.

Group Signs

Hey DWS Group Mentors!

We've just finished designing the new group signs and bookmarks to help you market your group and increase your membership! The signs are designed to be put out while your group meets, then taken down after your group concludes its meeting. These should help bring people into your meetings so they can see what you're all about. You are welcome to store them here at the CWC, your trunk, your house, or wherever you'd like. If you think that two or three signs would be more effective where you're located, let me know and I'll get you some more.

We want the mentors for each group to distribute the bookmarks at various businesses and institutions close to where that group meets, i.e. cafes, libraries, schools, etc. You don't have to hand these out; you can just stack them near registers, etc. (but make sure you have permission first). If you don't think you were given enough bookmarks to cover your area, let me know and I'll get you some more.

These should all be printed and ready to be picked up at the CWC by next week, so drop on by at your earliest convenience.

Thanks,
Quintin Graves
quintin.graves@slcc.edu

Electronic Worksheet: Haiku, Renga, Haibun

Haiku is a Japanese style of poetry with specific sound-units, called “on.” These sound units are written in three metric phrases of five, seven, and five “on,” one placed below the next—called the morae pattern.

When a haiku is written in English, the “on” are replaced with 17-syllables. Interestingly, this makes for a much longer poem than the Japanese version. To further keep true to the original haiku form, writers often make use of a “kingo,” or seasonal word, indicating the season in which the haiku is set.

Meaning lies as much
In the mind of the reader
As in the haiku
-Douglas R. Hoffstadter

Renga is a style of haiku written as a collaborative, linked poem. This type of poem starts with a haiku, typically written by a master haiku writer, or the writing group’s host. The poem is then passed to the next person in the group, who writes a waki—or a poem written in two metric phrases of seven and seven “on,” or syllables in English. The full renga should end on a waki, written by the final member of the group, or by the host after the poem has made a full cycle through the other poets.

The cat was yellow
And his tail was very long
He walked with a strut

He strutted with all his might
To impress the cat next door

She wasn't impressed
She thought he had a big head
And so she soon left

Continuing his love quest
He strutted to the city

Where he found a can
He walked right past it
And smelt the tuna

"Tuna's good, I like tuna
But I would rather eat mice"
-The Writers of Westminster’s Writing Your World Camp 2008

Haibun is a Japanese style of prose poetry, typically written in two autobiographical paragraphs followed by a haiku. This, however, isn’t a strict rule. The haibun should be written with a blend of haiku poetry and prose written in the spirit of haiku. The length of a haibun is unimportant, so long as it retains the brevity of haiku, with the focus on complimentary enhancement of text through an interaction of poetry and prose.

Ghost Calls

My friends give me a hard time about my seeming inability to answer my cell phone. I figure, there's a chance I might answer, and I almost always call back. I can't be alone in this habit.

Buzzing in pockets--
crowds of people with cell phones.
Many unanswered?

I just prefer to talk on the phone when I know I have a moment to speak, and when I'm not going to be overwhelmed with socialization.

It isn't as if I don't notice my phone ringing. The damn thing goes off all the time. I've started to develop these odd ghost-rings in my leg—right next to where the phone sits in my pocket. Little muscle spasms that feel like the vibrations of my phone. Sometimes my phone isn't even on me, and I instinctively reach for... nothing.

Nothing but spirits.
Calling. Wanting attention.
Leave them unanswered.
-J.E. Remy

The CWC Volunteer Blog

The SLCC Community Writing Center is happy to announce the launch of the CWC Volunteer Blog! Now volunteers for the CWC will have access to a central location for volunteer opportunities, ongoing training dates, Writing Center news, and more. All volunteers are welcome to communicate with each other through the comments section of each post. Writing Coaches and DiverseCity Writing Series mentors will each receive a personal log-in to add details regarding their own locations. If you do not receive an invitation by next week, please email the Volunteer Coordinator at jeremy.remy@slcc.edu.