Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Write a letter to a child explaining how to do one thing (for example, ride a horse or throw a punch) (This is from my thesis story. I'm working on changing a lot of it and one of my ideas is making the recipe sections into letters. This prompt gave me the idea and this is the first one I changed into a letter from a mother passing on a family recipe to her daughter.)  Baby Girl, In the tradition of the women in the family I’m writing you this letter now while you are only days old. You won’t be opening this letter until you are much older. I received the letter my mother wrote to me on the night I graduated from graduate school.  She received her the night before her wedding to grandpop.  I don’t know when you’ll be getting this letter but when you read it, you will finally learn the secret to the family gravy. The recipe currently in my possession is sadly not the exact recipe my grandmother made.  Your grandmother had made some adjustments over the years. It still...

My thesis has been submitted! I have a good solid start on my short story collection of intertwined stories. Here's what my professor had to say about my work: Hi Amelia, thanks for your hard work this term. I'm really impressed with the way this is coming together. You've really built a world here--and as unf amiliar as it is, it comes alive to me. I'm so impressed with the way you're able to create life out of the long-gone past, people who seem modern and real even if their moment was decades ago. I feel that you've really imagined your way into the characters' lives in these stories, and your imagination and largeness of heart come through. I'm thrilled! He's also given me some great advice for editing once I finish the first draft of the collection!

So the layout for my Thesis Project (I'm not ready to call it my novel in progress or short story collection in progress yet) includes three elements: From the Table:  These sections are like author's notes. They are the stories from real life that kind of tell the background of the fictional short story that will follow. The Short Story: These stories are based on real stories told throughout my childhood.  They are linked together to tell the story of my maternal grandparents. I have set it up so each decade from the time my grandparents met to when my grandfather passed away is shown in two stories.  Recipe: Since we're Italian we have a lot of stories linked with food...or food linked to stories. Some of the stories I'm telling involve food or at least have a strong connection to some kind of food/drink from my life. Here is a sample of my format. From the Table – Why I Still Live at Home Traditionally, in Italian households a child lived at home until such a time a...

Around the Table is a collection of fictionalized short stories based on the lives of my grandparents, Carl and Mary. The  'From the Table' sections are the stories I grew up hearing around the kitchen table. The titles with years after them are the fictionalized stories based on the ones I grew up hearing.  Some stories (well most stories) are connected with food and include a recipe. From the Table – Genealogy Courtship (1931) From the Table – Sauce vs. Gravy Sunday Gravy (1937) Recipe – Grandma’s Gravy From the Table - Head of the Family The Draft Board (1941) From the Table – Green Acres From The ‘Burg to the Farm (1945) Recipe – Tomato Sandwiches From the Table - Now vs. Then Close Call (1950s) From the Table – Break of Dawn Day at the Beach (1950s) Recipe – Italian 'Picnic' From the Table - Letters Back to Italy (1960s) From the Table - JFK A Family Gathering (1963) Recipe – Pasta Ceci From the Table - My Grandmother Untitled Story (1976) From the Table - We Risk...

For Short Story #4 we had to write in a point of view we hadn't used in the pervious three stories. I had wanted to write in second person, just wanted to try, but I couldn't get started.  With this last story of the semester I wanted to try writing in the style of a frame tale with each layer of the frame in a different point of view.  Here's a sample of what I submitted: You want to keep reading, but you need to eat something, with the manuscript in hand you head into the kitchen.  You prepared a quick meal before sitting down to read some more. You want to know more about your grandfather’s military career and you’re finally getting a peek into the childhood of your father.  You remember him talking about his family driving across country when his father got stationed in Hawaii and he would only occasional mention what life was like on the island.  You’ve just started reading about that trip and want to see what your grandfather writes. The storm from the nig...

This assignment called for us to write in a point of view we hadn't used yet for class. I tend to be a third person point of view writer and my three previous short stories were written as such.  So for this assignment I went with first person.  I wanted to edit a story I had written during my under grad creative writing classes and wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome.  I took the story to our Monday night Writers' Group and was given a suggestion that I went with and really ended up loving. I was asked to consider chopping the first two pages of the story. Below is the original story and I've marked where I started the story I ended up submitting for class. After I made the cut, I changed some aspects of the story, including adding in a small bit of dialogue inspired by another comment made at Writers' Group. (That Eddie's actions sound a little Dateline-ish). I love winter; it’s my favorite season.  I love waking up to crisp morning air.  I love takin...

For week 3 our discussion  read: After reading Chapter 8 in The Scene Book , pick one of the examples offered in Elaborating Sentences (page 121) and write a single paragraph using descriptive language, symbolism, and imagery to communicate the deeper meaning of the simple sentence.   I chose the simple sentence: The attack happened in the blink of an eye.  And wrote this descriptive paragraph: A glitch in the system and then damage reports came flooding in; right and left hands reporting minor damage, left knee was hit hard, right knee reporting only minor scrapes, right shin is reporting high levels of pain, no word from back or any join locations. Movement in all extremities. Attempting to stand in 3, 2, 1. Stand achieved. Lower back is reporting major pain with limited movement. Humility has been depleted. Embarrassment level on the rise. All systems are functional; continue walk into house.

Two Brothers             Maggie sat in the crowded pub watching as Stephen and D.J. set up to play.  She didn’t know why she was even there. She hadn’t seen either of them since she broke up with Stephen over a year ago. But some how she got talked into going and watching as well as helping to transport equipment. Now she watched as Stephen set up his drums, and D.J. set up the amp for his guitar.  They started to tune up and Maggie was joined at the table by a few of their friends that had been helping to set up.              “So why’s Maggie here?” D.J. looked over his shoulder to talk to his brother.             “Just felt like inviting her.” Stephen didn’t want to let his brother know the only reason Maggie was here was because he needed a ride and knew he could talk her into it.     ...

Last week I started the first of my fiction concentration classes, Fiction Fundamentals. We had to write a short story between 1,000 and 1,200 words long. I finished writing this one and was at about 1,400 words (and I wasn't even fully happy with the story). Here is what I submitted, but I'm keeping the longer story for my portfolio. Maria’s Family Maria quietly moved around the bedroom trying not to wake her sleeping child.  Santina was finally sound asleep on her parent’s bed after an hour of restlessness. She ran a hand down her daughter’s mass of black hair, saying a silent prayer that her child would feel better in the morning. Santina was looking forward to the small Halloween party her class would be having in the afternoon.  Which reminded Maria, part of her sewing for the evening was to finish the little hat for Santana’s clown outfit. Gathering her supplies, Maria slipped out of the room and quietly closed the door. Walking down the hallway, she passed by the room...