NEWSLETTERS
January 2009
The Write Stuff
The Official Newsletter of Word Journeys, Inc.
bobyehling.wordpress.com • 366writing.wordpress.com
Special Offer! To ring in the New Year, we’re offering signed copies of the entire Word Journeys Poetry Series at a discounted price! Buy signed copies of The River-Fed Stone, Coyotes in Broad Daylight, Shades of Green and Freedom of Vision today and receive a special bonus—the spoken-word CD, Nature’s Writes, featuring 25 poems with accompanying music.
Package Price: $42.00 (regularly $54.80), plus $5.00 S&H. Express Shipping: $15.00.
Make checks payable to: Word Journeys, Inc. and mail to: 854 Long Branch Rd., Sturgis, KY 42459
For gift orders, please give us the name of the recipient, so we can personalize the signing.
Please allow 2 weeks for delivery.
Upcoming Events
• January 29 — Western Kentucky Writing Series begins with True Stories: Compelling Non-Fiction Writing, 7-9 p.m. Crittenden County Public Library, Marion, KY. Info: call 270-965-3354. Check with www.wordjourneys.com for additional dates and locations.
• February 12 — Western Kentucky Writing Series.
• March 1 — Launch date: www.thewritetimecompanion.com.
• March 15 — Launch date: www.authorstart.com.
• April 9 — Barnes & Noble Poetry Night, celebrating National Poetry Month with readings from Rusty White Smiddy, Missy Feller, Aysia Matz, Mark Williams, Linda Reising, Bob Yehling and others. 6:30 p.m. Barnes & Noble, Evansville, IN. For more information: crm2692@bn.com or info@wordjourneys.com.
• April 25 — The Write Time Teens and Twenties Writers Conference, co-hosted by Pen & Publish and Word Journeys, Bloomington, IN. For more information: info@penandpublish.com.
• April 25 — The Write Time preview book signing, Bloomington, IN, 5-7 p.m. For more information: info@penandpublish.com
• May 4-9 — The Write Time writing workshops in Denver and Montrose, CO. Check www.wordjourneys.com for exact dates and locations.
• May 8-15 — Writing It Real’s Annual Writer’s Conference, on board the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas Writer-teachers Sheila Bender, Meg Files and Jack Heffron know how to choose settings for their conferences! This time, they’re cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage while lending their expertise to participants. Conference price: $300. Cruise price: app. $731. For more information: conference@writingitreal.com.
News from WordJourneys.com
The Write Time Teens & Twenties Writers Conference: You’re hearing it here first. On April 25, young writers from throughout the Midwest will gather in Bloomington, IN for the first annual Write Time Teens & Twenties Writers Conference. Keynote speaker and mystery novelist Michael Koryta, along with literary agent and Capitol City Young Writers founder Verna Dreisbach, will join co-hosts Paul Burt and Bob Yehling and a variety of workshop presenters at this special event. Following the day-long conference, Bob will sign copies of The Write Time from 5 to 7 p.m. at a special after-party. Registration begins January 15, after which the official conference website will be launched. Check with www.wordjourneys.com or www.penandpublish.com for up to the minute information.
Coming Soon: Authorstart.com: We’ve decided to carry our popular one-stop editing and author consultant service the next step. On March 15, we will launch authorstart.com, a complete portal for authors seeking assistance with story and manuscript development, editing, preparation of book proposals and synopses, contact with agents, editors and publishers, and development of promotional platforms. The site will feature a network of contacts and links, tips and advice on all aspects of book preparation – and an opportunity for clients to post excerpts of their work well in advance of publication. Check wordjourneys.com or write info@wordjourneys.com for more details on how you can be a part of this highly visible portal.
Capitol City Young Writers: Bob Yehling of Word Journeys has been selected as a board member for Capitol City Young Writers, an ambitious non-profit organization dedicated to developing teen writers throughout the country. Founded by Verna Dreisbach of the Dreisbach Literary Agency, Capitol City Young Writers will stage conferences and workshops in coming months. Check for more details at www.capitolcityyoungwriters.com.
The Write Time & Companion Site: Now that the decade-long dream of compiling The Write Time: 366 Exercises to Fulfill Your Writing Life is finished, we’re busy preparing for the preview events in April and May—and the launch of the official website, www.thewritetimecompanion.com, on March 1. The site will contain excerpts from the book, along with posted writings from contributors who utilize the exercises. Promotions, signings, and a tutorial section will also be featured.
Barbara Stahura to Host Internet Radio Show: Author and essayist Barbara Stahura (What I Thought I Knew) is diving into the Internet radio world. Barbara is producing a show that focuses on creativity, spirituality, growth and the theme of her acclaimed book — how changing our minds can change our lives. Check www.wordjourneys.com or www.barbarastahura.com for updates on show launch and show times.
New on Our Blogs
Bobyehling.wordpress.com: The latest on The Write Time, along with an assortment of news and stories on aspects of the art, craft and business of writing, with occasional features on authors, artists, musicians and poets, reviews of books, coverages of major literary events and more.
366writing.wordpress.com: We’re posting exercises from The Write Time, as well as writings that pertain to the exercises. A new daily blog of dynamic exercises for writers of all abilities and genres, as well as artists, musicians, healing arts professionals, educators and others who use writing in their professions. The exercises are informed by our upcoming book, The Write Time.
New Releases
The River-Fed Stone
Robert Yehling’s newest collection of poetry and essays, The River-Fed Stone, is now available at bookstores nationwide and through www.amazon.com and www.aislingpress.com. The River-Fed Stone includes 144 pages of all-new poetry and essays, wrapped around a wisdom-gathering journey through life. It features more than 20 poetic forms—several of them thousands of years old.
Order Signed Copies Now!
Table of Contents and Sample Poems
Poetry Through The Ages
The newly launched Poetry Through The Ages is captivating educators, fans of poetry and the media. This 256-page web exhibit, featuring the dynamics of poetry’s 4,500-year history, was written by Robert Yehling and produced by the Institute of Dynamic Educational Advancement. The exhibit features hundreds of classic and current poets, along with poetic forms dating back to Sumeria and forward to include SpicyNodes, the meshing of downloadable technology with 3D poetry. Poetry Through The Ages is free to view. Go to: www.webexhibits.org/poetry
Stretch Your Writing Muscles: Writing Exercise of the Month
A BOW TO THE TINIEST DETAIL
All details are vital. We populate our writing with major details, so let’s give a bow to the tiniest detail. Always dig for something new. Seek incisive, titillating details that give a new twist to even the most familiar subjects or themes. Why else would biographies of Abraham Lincoln still roll off the presses more than 140 years after his death, if not for the emergence of new details or re-ordering of known facts? Unearthing these “tiny” details involve a lot of sleuthing, but they create the biggest buzz with the reader.
Write a story or essay with crisp, original details. Identify the tiniest detail—the insight that could create a sense of wonder—and exaggerate its importance. Write a vignette specifically about the detail—how you came up with it, what it symbolizes or shows, why it is significant. If you’d like, use the detail in another story to see if it resonates the same way.
—From The Write Time: 366 Exercises to Fulfill Your Writing Life, by Robert Yehling (to be published in July 2009)
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