Episodit

  • When we live our life in the present, being in the moment, we can develop a love-hate relationship with people and things we encounter daily.

    We donā€™t ā€œlove to hateā€ these; we love them at some times while at other times we hate them. We may happily encounter and deal with them, then on a day not too far away, we groan and say, ā€œNot today, please, not today.ā€

    That contradiction, that contrariness, is engrained in our human nature. We arenā€™t changing our minds. Five days from now, love will re-emerge. When someone reminds us ā€œYou said you hated thus-and-so,ā€ we retort ā€œWhen did I ever?ā€, conveniently forgotten.

    As writers, we work to keep the predominant mood of a work. We donā€™t wish to confuse a reader. In longer works, we can gradually shirt the mood, dark to bright, Shorter works are better with one mood.

    We have strong tools to create mood and manipulate our audience with that mood. Our words are influencers upon the world.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome

    00:40 Introduction / Mood / Lesson 1

    2:53 Tools to Influence Mood / Lessons 2 and 3

    5:35 Frost and Clare

    6:19 Frostā€™s ā€œMy November Guestā€ / Lesson 4

    9:57 Clareā€™s ā€œNovemberā€

    13:00 Writer as Influencer

    14:00 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 16:07

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Bio of Frost https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frost

    Bio of Clare https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Clare

    ā€œMy November Guestā€ https://poets.org/poem/my-november-guest

    ā€œNovemberā€ https://pickmeuppoetry.org/november-by-john-clare/

    #johnclare #robertfrost #novemberpoems #mood #connotation #imagery #tone #atmosphere #poetaslegislator

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/11/fall-into-poetry-writing-dark-and-bright.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • ā€œShare your innermost life,ā€ marketing gurus advise writers, ā€œwith your readers, your newsletter folks, with everyone. Make it all public Make it pop-ular.ā€

    Thatā€™s a certain way to burn out most of your audience, who just want the knowledge you have or just want to be entertained.

    ā€œOpen the window. Let them see into part of your life.ā€ Thatā€™s reasonable and rational marketing advice.

    A window doesnā€™t give access to every room of your home, and it certainly doesnā€™t give access to what youā€™ve stored in closets or tucked deep in drawers or hidden in old boxes in the attic.

    We writers have a constant push-pull dynamic of revealing ourselves. Heartfelt emotion is one of the four requirements of song, applicable to all writing. It speaks to us, touches us soul-deep, and leaves us weeping because we have a similar wound.

    In this segment we have two poems by a man who wrote for public consumption but also purged his private anguish in a poem meant only to be published posthumously.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome

    00:40 Introduction / Public vs. Private

    2:20 Deceit with Reader / Heartfelt Emotion

    4:23 Longfellow / Long Rant

    7:05 HWL Public vs. Private Poems

    8:53 Lessons 1, 2, and 3

    9:50 ā€œThe Harvest Moonā€

    11:00 Lessons 4 and 5

    12:30 ā€œMezzo Camminā€

    14:45 Lesson 6

    15:50 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 17:58

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    #henrywadsworthlongfellow #marketingadviceforwriters #harvestmoonpoem #mezzocamminsonnet #sonnet

    LINKS

    Bio on Wiki https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow

    ā€œHarvest Moonā€ https://poets.org/poem/harvest-moon

    ā€œMezzo Camminā€ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50629/mezzo-cammin

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/11/fall-into-poetry-writing-public-vs.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Puuttuva jakso?

    Paina tästä ja päivitä feedi.

  • Monsters of all sorts inhabit literature, for they crowd into peopleā€™s consciousness whenever we face trials and tribulations.

    The unnatural monsters, goy and terrifying, gorging themselves without mercy or conscience, these are our nightmares, rarely encountered.

    The deceptive monsters, the ones that camouflage who and what they are, still gorging themselves, relishing each victim, these inhabit our everyday lives. We should be wary of them, but we still find ourselves caught in their devastating traps, even after we finally recognize them. Only when we are burned enough or wounded enough do we manage to escape, scarred for all future encounters with people who arenā€™t monsters.

    These deceptive monsters are alluring, beautiful enticements that we canā€™t quite let go. And that unwillingness to escape is truly the monstrous behavior.

    Join The Write Focus as we offer 6 Lessons for all Writers as we examine the famous deceptive monster of the wild fairy in two poems by John Keats and e.e.cummings.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction / Deceptive Monsters02:40 Keatsā€™ ā€œLa Belle Dame sans Merciā€4:00 Lessons 1 2, and 3 for All Writers11:26 Lessons 4 and 514:00 e.e.cummingsā€™ Wild Fairy17:00 Lesson 618:45 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 20:51

    #wildfairy #labelledamesansmerci #johnkeats #eecummings #allingreenwentmyloveriding #dreams #writingtips #artasinspiration #4requirementsofsong #writingtheseasons

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    LINKS

    Keatsā€™ bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keats

    ā€œLa Belle Dameā€ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44475/la-belle-dame-sans-merci-a-ballad

    The Artwork https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Belle_Dame_sans_Merci

    e.e.cummings bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Cummings

    [all in green went my love riding] https://allpoetry.com/all-in-green

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/10/fall-into-poetry-deceptive-monsters.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Love. Betrayal. Death. Those subjects we discussed in our story-song and in other recent poems, including Christina Rossettiā€™s particular version of false love and twisted betrayalā€”Lust that isnā€™t love, summer friends abandoning her in her self-exile, her false love leaving her to face her trouble alone.

    When weā€™ve endured betrayal, our memories of that traitors are as a monster.

    Monsters need not have venom-dripping fangs and wicked-sharp talons. The worst monsters are in our own selves, the ones who want to stay with that ā€œdragon who keeps so fair a caveā€ (Shakespeare).

    As we near All Hallowā€™s Eve, we look for stories and poems and blogs about monsters. The horror genre gives us unreal monsters while the thriller genre gives over-the-top monsters, like Hannibal. We have fantasy monsters and domestic villains as monsters. We writers bend tropes.

    The best monsters, though, never seem like monsters until we fall into their clutches.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction / Monsters03:55 Heinrich Heineā€™s ā€œThe Lorelaiā€ / the femme fatale08:10 Lessons for all Writers #1 and #211:48 Lesson #3 Find your Monster15:00 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 17:04

    #heinrichheine #lorelai #femmefatale #blackwidow #theme #thesis #womenasmonster #goddessofrevenge #nemesis #siren #gorgon #graiae #odysseus #mythology #revenge

    LINKS

    Heineā€™s bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Heine

    ā€œLorelaiā€ http://www.poetryatlas.com/poetry/poem/2255/the-lorelei.html#:~:text=The%20Lore-lei%20has%20done!%20The%20American%20Poet%20Thomas%20Bailey

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/10/fall-into-poetry-unexpected-monsters.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • October is a month of changes, of transitions, anticipation of the colors even as summer gives us a few reminders of his warmth.

    And October ends with All Hallowā€™s Eve, the evening before a holy day ~ a time of riotous revelry by the forces defiant against God, Father, Creator, Savior.

    Creeping upon me with the early chill of October mornings was the realization that Christina Rossett should be next in our Fall into Poetry series. Born 1830 and died 1894, Rossetti is sister to the artist-poet Dante Rossetti of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, the Victorian painters who reached into the past and into mythology for the primary subjects of their lush artwork.

    Most know Christina Rossetti for ā€œGoblin Marketā€, a long narrative poem of two sisters. One sister succumbs to temptation and tastes the fruit sold by the goblins. Weā€™re not going to look at ā€œGoblin Marketā€. I know youā€™re disappointed.

    Instead, weā€™re looking at three other poems, two straight-forward and people-pleasing, one personal and puzzling, all three with lessons for all writers, not just poets.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction / C.Rossetti03:30 First Poem / First Lesson07:25 Second Lesson08:30 Second Poem / Cold Poems11:00 Third Poem17:02 Last 2 Lessons19:00 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 21:06

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    LINKS

    Biography https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina_Rossettiā€œJanuary Cold Desolateā€ https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/january-cold-desolateā€œA Yearā€™s Windfallsā€ https://allpoetry.com/A-Years-Windfallsā€œFrom Sunset to Star Riseā€ https://genius.com/Christina-rossetti-from-sunset-to-star-rise-annotatedā€œGoblin Marketā€ https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44996/goblin-marketā€œA Birthdayā€ https://poets.org/poem/birthday

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/10/fall-into-poetry-rossettis-3-cold-poems.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • We have a theme of Dances of October for this episode ~ although one of our two poems doesnā€™t mention dancing and the other doesnā€™t mention October. How are we connecting these two works to that theme?

    Well, my brain said ā€œPut them togetherā€, and here we are.

    The first poem is by African-American poet Paul Laurence Dunbar. Heā€™s barely anthologized anymore, but that doesnā€™t mean he should be neglected. Dunbar is an excellent writer with diverse style in different forms, including prose and plays. His verse elevates him above the one-trick ponies who are studied because they represent a type (Louise May Alcott, e.g.).

    Our other poem is a lesser-known work by the famous William Butler Yeats.

    Follow along as we find unexpected connections with these two unconnected poems. Weā€™ll also add in a few writing lessons that will help all writers.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction01:35 Dunbarā€™s ā€œOctoberā€07:09 First Lesson for All Writers08:46 Yeatā€™s ā€œTo a Child Dancing in the Windā€12:44 Second Lesson for All Writers15:35 Reaching New Meaning / Dunbar & Yeats17:25 Third Lesson for all Writers, A & B18:25 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 20:32

    LINKS

    Paul Laurence Dunbar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Laurence_Dunbar

    ā€œOctoberā€ https://poets.org/poem/october-2

    William Butler Yeats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._B._Yeats

    ā€œTo a Child ā€¦ā€ https://www.poetryverse.com/william-butler-yeats-poems/child-dancing-the-wind

    #paullaurencedunbar #williambutleryeats #writingadvice #dirtydozen

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/10/fall-into-poetry-dances-of-october.html

    become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • What sparks a love of poetry?

    The highbrow puzzles of e.e. cummings or the imagism of Ezra Pound. The lyrical music of John Keats or Christina Rossetti. The logical jumps and intellectual gymnastics of the metaphysical poets. The gimmick that marks Ferlinghetti. The emotions that lurk in a Longfellow sonnet. The intriguing story-songs that we just examined last month.

    None of the above sparked my love of poetry. They deepened my love and enriched it, teased me by simultaneously engaging mind and heart.

    My love of poetry was sparked by my mother. She gifted her daughters with a love of birds, of flowers, of nature itself. She quoted poems that sheā€™d memorized over the years, poems that echoed with her love of nature, and those poems still echo for me. When I saw poetic lines expressed in nature, poetry lived for me.

    Over my years, Iā€™ve found more poems that live, some highbrow, some with a lowbrow snicker, some middlebrow which are frowned upon by intellectuals as ā€œnot clever enoughā€. I say if the poem is to a personā€™s taste, then who has a right to disrespect their choice?

    And so we come to this episodeā€™s poems, two that reveal autumnā€™s glory, both with marketing and writing ideas for anyone interested in a writing-focused life.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction / Taste in Poetry02:16 Writerā€™s Growth / Marketing Lesson03:34 Helen Hunt Jackson03:51 ā€œSeptemberā€05:39 Easter Eggs and Secrets08:41 ā€œOctoberā€13:25 Famous Love Story / Clever Word Choice16:05 Marketing Genius / Audience-Focused18:00 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 20:07

    Links

    Helen Hunt Jackson bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Hunt_Jackson

    Her poetry https://www.poemhunter.com/helen-hunt-jackson/

    #helenhuntjackson #writergrowth #marketingforwriters #septemberpoem #octoberpoem #octobersonnet

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/10/fall-into-poetry-two-autumn-poems.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Wine is heady stuff. A simple goblet of wine relaxes us; a mega-pint or a bottle can tip us into trouble.

    Do you prefer the creamy full-body of a fine cabernet or the bite of a sauvignon blanc? Perhaps a medium red like a spicy Zinfandel or a lighter Riesling? Or a fruiter, sweet-forward wine, like a strawberry wine? Homemade, requiring only fresh strawberries, sugar, yeast, and water?

    Hi, everyone. This weekā€™s episode is another story-song, not a ballad of love, betrayal, and death. This is a sweet song which still has a bite, a rite of passage that leaves a heady memory in the speaker. Itā€™s ā€œStrawberry Wine,ā€ launched into country music in 1996 but still speaking to all of us.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction / ā€œStrawberry Wineā€02:42 Song Structure / 4 Requirements of Song06:28 Impact Events / Chorus08:27 Second Stanza / Bridge10:51 Speakerā€™s Dilemma / Inherent Drives14:20 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 16:29

    LINKS

    Song Lyrics https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deanacarter/strawberrywine.html

    Video Performance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up06CryWQpE

    Bio of M. Berg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matraca_Berg

    Bio of G. Harrison https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Harrison

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/09/fall-into-poetry-sweet-wine.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hereā€™s an odd way to start a conversation about a song: the word moron.

    Hi all. Itā€™s the third episode in our autumn series Fall Into Poetry. Weā€™ve featured two story-songs (narrative poems) that are ballads, not the modern power ballad of the music world but the literature-based ballad with its focus on the subjects of love, betrayal, and death.

    This episodeā€™s song is not a ballad, even though it concerns love and betrayal and the death of a relationship. Itā€™s not even a story-song. Itā€™s a lyric poem, which means that it expresses an emotion. We do have hints of a story but not really.

    And weā€™re delving into the song by looking first at the word moron. Odd, I know. A little weird. But there you are.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction03:44 Oxymoron / Shakespeare07:52 Oxymoronic Characters08:03 ā€œLittle Liesā€11:00 Stanza 2 Twist13:23 Summation for Writers14:20 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 16:26

    LINKS

    ā€œLittle Liesā€ performance https://youtu.be/uCGD9dT12C0

    ā€œLittle Liesā€ lyrics https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/fleetwoodmac/littlelies.html

    #fleetwoodmac #christinemcvie #littlelies #oxymoron #hamlet #romeoandjuliet #poets #fictionwriters #indiepublishingforwriters

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/09/fall-into-poetry-sweet-lies.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Story-songs, like last episodeā€™s ā€œRead my Mindā€ by Gordon Lightfoot, leave a mark in our memories. Very little is needed to return them to the foreground of our mind.

    Thatā€™s also the case with this episodeā€™s story-song, another ballad, this time for Broadway, written by the fantastic Stephen Sondheim, a great in American stagecraft.

    I first encountered this song in 1976 as part of my chorus class, not on the radio. It requires a maturity of experience, which I didnā€™t have then. I caught the songā€™s cosmic irony but didnā€™t truly comprehend the personal devastation of the character who sings it. Nor did I catch the revealing epiphany of the last line.

    Many greats have performed it: Frank Sinatra, Judy Collins, Barbra Streisand, Judy Dench. The version in my head harkens to Bernadette Petersā€™ performance. First to perform it, though, and the singer for whom it was intended was Glynis Johns.

    If you know Sondheimā€™s work, youā€™ve already guessed the song: ā€œSend in the Clownsā€.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Introduction to ā€œSend in the Clownsā€02:58 Clear Communication03:30 Strong Imagery and Emotion08:52 Powerful Lines / Ballad13:10 Four Lessons for Fiction / Nonfiction Writers15:52 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 18:02

    LINKS

    Lyrics https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/judycollins/sendintheclowns.html

    Performance by Bernadette Peters https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOZhmsp6iBQ

    & by Glynnis Johns https://youtu.be/OAl-EawVobY

    #stephensondheim #cosmicirony #ballad #sendintheclowns #writingpoetry #writingfiction #writingnonfiction

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    [Fair Use declares that we can quote from copyrighted works by other writers as long as we use those quotations for analysis, explication, and teaching examples.]

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/09/fall-into-poetry-clown-faire.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7K1x02UAlihWKKom_5keJrg

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Every writer is after memorable writing, whatever will strengthen our words and ideas so they haunt our audience.

    We want our audience to return again and again to our writing, either to recapture that original impact or to puzzle out a question that wasnā€™t answered.

    Capture our audience, and they stay with our writing to the end.

    Satisfy our audience, and they seek more of our writing.

    This is our goal: win-win, us and them.

    Our series Fall into Poetry would seem to appeal only to poetsā€”but thatā€™s a surface glance. We writers can learn from any writing style, poetry teaching fiction, dramas teaching nonfiction, any mix-up we can contemplate.

    We begin with a story-song from the realm of popular music. This songā€™s endurance proves that it is memorable writing by one of our greatest modern songwriters, now sadly gone: ā€œIf You Could Read my Mind, Loveā€ by Gordon Lightfoot, a ballad when most songs are lyrics.

    If youā€™re unfamiliar with ā€œRead my Mindā€, then pause this podcast and head off to find a new song to add to your favorites list. Come back to hear our analysis. (Links Below)

    Join The Write Focus all through autumn as we examine great poems that teach a multitude of lessons for all writers.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Word Count Challenge / Final Check-in03:10 Fall into Poetry introduction05:40 ā€œIf You Could Read my Mind, Loveā€07:00 Four Requirements of Song13:57 ā€œRead my Mindā€ as a Ballad14:55 Two Special Touches18:47 Closing

    Total Run Time: 19:49

    LINKS

    Lyrics for ā€œRead my Mindā€ https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/gordonlightfoot/ifyoucouldreadmymind.html

    YouTube performance of ā€œRead my Mindā€ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DK--A-IaZnA

    Rick Beatoā€™s analysis of the music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X33YyowZZxQ

    Link to The Write Focus website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/09/fall-into-poetry-read-my-mind.html

    #writing poetry #poetry #GordonLightfoot #Ifyoucouldreadmymind

    Analysis is All Original Content / No AI Used

    [Fair Use declares that we can quote from copyrighted works by other writers as long as we use those quotations for analysis, explication, and teaching examples.]

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is Fall into Poetry. Hereā€™s a link to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73Pe3yKV5HixAUjBNOg47A

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, everyone. Welcome to the fourth check-in for the Word Count Challenge with the theme of Surviving that Horrible Week for Writing.

    I thought I was smart, earlier in this year, when I scheduled a Wednesday to Tuesday trip. The hectic weekend driving would be avoided. When most people would be arriving or leaving, I would be snuggled in and could enjoy. That plan is great for a trip, not so much for a Word Count Challenge.

    I delayed drafting this episode to Tuesday morning. I drove home on Tuesday and had the Start2Finish recording to posting of the audio file when I reached homeā€”with unpacking and laundry still to do. Yet I did squeeze out the words for this episode as I drank my two cups of coffee.

    How did I do with the week, start to finish? Letā€™s do the check-in.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome

    00:40 The Horrible Week

    01:37 Check-In #4 begins

    04:26 Friday Onward

    09:34 Success vs. Failure

    11:20 Closing

    TOTAL RUN TIME = 12:19

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/08/word-count-challenge-check-in-4.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Word Count Challenge. Hereā€™s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KcgVD4ZFyCt54chOhRtiqI

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hello, everyone. Itā€™s the 3rd Check-in for the Word Count Challenge here in August, and weā€™re discovering problems.

    I continue to meet my goal of 500 new words daily, no matter the interruptions. Iā€™ve had to write fiction and nonfiction to achieve 500 new words, and other writing tasks are still occurring, all in a mix of daily fun time with family and commitments and responsibilities that Iā€™m promised to.

    I actually started this episode draft on Monday to finish words for that day because other things were going on that prevented my finishing 500 fiction words.

    And Iā€™ve discovered issues with the daily push for new words, issues related to achieving the word count. Join in as we discuss creativity and challenging problems.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Opening / Creativity vs. Filler06:43 Word Count Challenge Problems08:30 WCC Check-in #312:20 Success vs. Failure / Next Steps15:03 Closing

    Total Run Time = 16:05

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/08/word-count-challenge-check-in-3.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Word Count Challenge. Hereā€™s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KcgVD4ZFyCt54chOhRtiqI

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, Everyone. Itā€™s the second check-in for the Word Count Challenge here in August.

    How have you done? Leave a comment about your goals and successes.

    Iā€™ve managed to meet my goal of 500 words daily, no matter the interruptions, and they were many. Things tugged at me every day of the past week. The massive part of the day is lost to writing but early mornings and late evenings have saved meā€”and twice, both evening and morning writing saved me.

    At our last check-in, the first draft of the third short story was finished and needed a weekā€™s separation before revision started. After errands in the cool morning, the writing part of Wednesday began: something forgotten, something needing fixinā€™, something on the To-Do List, and finally writing.

    Stay connected to hear how the rest of the week continued.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Word Count Challenge Check-in #204:55 Success or Failure?05:32 Next Steps07:40 Closing

    Total Run Time = 08:40

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/08/word-count-challenge-check-in-2.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Word Count Challenge. Hereā€™s a link to the YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7KcgVD4ZFyCt54chOhRtiqI

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Old Challenge vs. New Challenge ~ thatā€™s the theme for this weekā€™s episode.

    We say goodbye to the Summer Writing Challenge, which tracked all the pesky jobs that writers have to do in addition to the writing, and we welcome in the August Word Count Challenge, which is the kind of challenge that writers want to focus on: NEW WORDS ONLY. No sketched words, just an estimate from the Rough, any overage in changing Rough to Draft as well as overage that comes with Revision and Proofing.

    The only way to achieve the challenge consistently is to Write New Words Daily.

    Join us as we challenge disruptions and distractions to derail us from a daily word count.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Say Goodbye and Hello01:18 Last on the Summer Writing Challenge08: 35 Word Count Challenge for August09:40 First Check-in for the WCC12:43 Closing

    Total Run Time = 13:44

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/07/old-challenge-vs-new-challenge-word.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Word Count Challenge.

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, all. Itā€™s the last full week of the Summer Writing Challenge. Weā€™ll have one last day to report in our first August episode. This week, though, finishes out our challenge.

    Did I succeed? Did I fail? What can I do better? What changes can I make to be more successful in the future?

    Letā€™s start with our day-to-day report before we answer those major questions.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome

    00:40 Check in 9

    02:10 Counting Projects this Year

    03:20 Priorities, Goals, Boundaries

    08:34 Hurry Up to Wait

    10:10 Busy Monday

    17:40 Final Day to Come / New Challenge

    19:10 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 21:04

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/06/summer-writing-challenge-check-in-9.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Summer Writing Challenge at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7LEoaG-XelXEjBW_Xukjy3I

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, all! Itā€™s our 8th check-in for the Summer Writing Challenge. A little over a week to go to the end of July BUT not the end of the Summer Writing Challenge.

    Iā€™ve struggled and Iā€™ve soared in this past week. Itā€™s all a matter of juggling the bad with the good to keep a mental balance and motivation.

    Last Wednesday, first day of our work week, is a perfect example of this juggling act.

    We cover a lot this week, including characters who are ciphers and easy-out solutions to plots; objective distance; copyright, ideas, and the Fair Use doctrine; crafting newsletters and book descriptions, fiction and nonfiction; and our tally of Success vs. Failure.

    Weā€™ve a lot to discuss. Letā€™s do it.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Check-in 82:00 Ciphers / Objective Distance7:00 Copyright, Ideas, and Fair Use10:26 Newsletters15:00 Book Descriptions, NonFiction and Fiction17:33 Success & Failure18:22 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 20:18

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/07/summer-writing-challenge-check-in-8.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Summer Writing Challenge at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7LEoaG-XelXEjBW_Xukjy3I

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, all. Time for Check-In #7 of our Summer Writing Challenge with the theme of ā€œWhatā€™s Up, Doc?ā€

    The challenge this week was to steady up and recover from last weekā€™s losses. Luckily, most of my weekly activities are on hiatus in July although my personal commitment remain strong.

    A Special BONUS this episode: 9 minutes from Dashiel Hammett on Accurate Details

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Check-in 702:01 Kanban Flow05:55 Sputter to Flow08:50 Research for Reality11:15 Failure vs. Success13:45 Dashiel Hammett on Accurate Details22:33 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 24:30

    LINKS

    KanbanFlow project board https://kanbanflow.com/

    Audacity Recording Software https://www.audacityteam.org/

    Bach Toccata and Fugue snippet, licensed from AudioJungle, by creator sviridpavlov https://audiojungle.net/

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/06/summer-writing-challenge-check-in-7.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Summer Writing Challenge at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7LEoaG-XelXEjBW_Xukjy3I

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, All! Welcome from the Land of the Lost ~ Lost Days, Lost Time, Lost Plans, Lost Chances.

    Thatā€™s me this past week, and Iā€™m still dealing with the aftermath. Iā€™m also scouting the area to find out who infected me.

    Yes, in a week when I knew I would lose three days before it startedā€”the holiday, you knowā€”I lost three more days because I came down with a horrid respiratory sickness, with coughing and crusty eyes as the bane of my existence. This episode is only coming to you with the assistance of powerful drugs that are slowly pulling me back from the brink. The doctor refused to give an infection windowā€”but I have recon going to find the culprit.

    To start the week with high hopes and to end with hopes in fragments on the ground ā€¦ cue violins. Letā€™s talk about what did happen to the good and the little highlights that keep us going.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 Check-in #603:20 Task Lists / Incentives05:23 Rotating Promos08:35 Cover Design13:40 Writing Hell17:35 Writerā€™s 3-Part Mantra19:20 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 21:17

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to the Blog Site: https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/06/summer-writing-challenge-6th-check-in.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Summer Writing Challenge at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7LEoaG-XelXEjBW_Xukjy3I

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)

  • Hi, all! Herewith is our 5th check-in for the Summer Writing Challenge. Weā€™ve started a new month; we still have the same goals.

    Of everything that I expected to happen in June, that did happen, disruptions and distractions but also a slow-moving progress toward the goals. Of everything that I wanted to accomplish, not there yet.

    Am I upset and frustrated by the disruptions? No.

    Did I have some time-wasters? Yes. Do I want to kick myself for those. Yes and No.

    Am I irretrievably behind? Wellā€”One thing that I learned while in the business world and also in this writing realm is that nothing goes as smoothly as we plan.. Nothing actually functions like a regular work week. No matter where we are, disruptions occur.

    We can have a Do or Die attitude about our writing ā€¦ but I want to enjoy it.

    I cannot enjoy it when I feel chained to the work, to constant on-demand performance.

    And creativity suffers.

    TIMINGS

    00:00 Welcome00:40 The Do or Die Attitude06:15 Check-In #512:25 Be a Writer, All 13 Steps Listed13:27 Track Reality to Overcome Blinkered Thinking15:25 Last Words / Closing

    Total Run Time = 17:21

    All Original Content / No AI Used

    Link to Website https://thewritefocus.blogspot.com/2024/07/summer-writing-challenge-5th-check-in.html

    Thanks for listening to The Write Focus. We focus on productivity, process, craft, and tools. Our podcast is for newbies who want to become writing pros and veterans who are returning to writing after years away.

    Our current focus is the Summer Writing Challenge at this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXi3M_aM-d7LEoaG-XelXEjBW_Xukjy3I

    Support the podcast with a cup of coffee at https://www.buymeacoffee.com/winkbooksr

    You can find workbooks and templates at Buy Me a Coffee. Available is the Enter the Writing Business Workbook and templates from the Discovering Characters Available Now: worksheet templates and a video trailer script for Discovering Your Author Brand.

    For more links and resources, visit www.thewritefocus.blogspot.com .

    Write to us at [email protected].

    If you find value in this podcast, please share with your writing friends or write a review. (Weā€™re small beans. We donā€™t have the advertising budget of the big peeps. You can make a difference.)