At the Abbe Museum Indian Market yesterday, it was about artists and bringing attention to the Wabanaki heritage and culture.
That’s what the Abbe Museum is all about.
The event though? It also created connections as people exchanged snippets of their lives and stories with each other.
One artist showed a old photo in a book to a guest. “It’s this picture. She’s right here.”
“Yes! It’s my grandmother’s niece.”
There was a moment of nodding, smiling and the artist asked the man on the other side of the table, “Are you a writer?”
“Nah, just a regular person wandering around today,” he said.
“Oh, that’s what we all always are, isn’t it?”
His smile grew bigger and they shared a silence.
Sometimes when you hear real truths? There are no other words.
I hope that your Monday and your week is full of truths and big realizations of wandering around and being regular and being real.
Here are some photos I took:
What does it mean to be a regular wandering person? What does it mean to find your own truths? It means you aren’t defining yourself by your job, your labels, other people’s expectations.
It means you are being and existing and observing without definitions.
It means that you are drawing in experiences to use later if you’re a writer or an artist or a person who interacts with others.
When we live our biggest lives, when we wander and experience? We learn, not just about other people but also about ourselves.
Gabby the Dog is so into that and I am, too.
As writers, we try to create emotional truths in our readers. We try to make them feel and understand life and story through our characters.
Here are a couple things to remember when you’re writing fiction:
- Thoughts lead to feelings.
- Saying “I am so sad,” doesn’t really make us readers feel sad. But showing us how a woman feels the cold side of the bed. A name comes into her head. She reaches out her hand. The bed is still cold. She hugs a pillow, clutching it to her. . . . That can show us more than ‘sad,’ it can show us ‘sad-lonely.”
- Emotional truths in our story are the truths that resonate with us. They are the things that hurt us deeply, lift us up. Things we are passionate about. Remember your passion, your beliefs, when you write. It will help inform those truths.
WRITING NEWS
Yep, it’s the part of the blog where I talk about my books and projects because I am a writer for a living, which means I need people to review and buy my books or at least spread the word about them.
I’m super good at public image and marketing for nonprofits but I have a much harder time with marketing myself.
So, please buy one of my books. 🙂 The links about them are all up there in the header on top of the page on my website carriejonesbooks.blog . There are young adult series, middle grade fantasy series, stand-alones for young adults and even picture book biographies.
Write! Submit! Support! Begins Again in July!
There is a quick webinar (free) on Tuesday about the Write! Submit! Support! class that was created at the Writing Barn in Austin. You can sign up for that here.
It’s not easy to create a thriving writing career in the children’s industry, but what if you didn’t have to do it alone? Write. Submit. Support is a six-month program designed by author and Writing Barn Founder Bethany Hegedus. Classes are led by top creatives in the children’s industry field; they’ll give you the tips and tools you need to take both your manuscripts and your developing career to the next level. Think of it as an MFA in craft with a certificate in discovering (or recovering) your writer joy! – Writing Barn
And more about the class I specifically teach? It is right here.
Here is what current students are saying:
Carrie is all strengths. Seriously. She’s compassionate, funny, zesty, zany, insightful, honest, nurturing, sharp, and…Wow, that’s a lot of adjectives. But really, I couldn’t praise Carrie enough as a mentor. I’ve long respected her writing, but being talented at something doesn’t automatically mean you will be a great mentor. Carrie just happens to be one of those rare cases of extreme talent and excellent coaching. Aside from the specific feedback she offers, she also writes letters in response to the process letter and analyses. These letters have been so impactful for me as I writer that I plan to print them and hang them up. Creepy? Maybe. But they are so inspiring. And that, in the most long-winded way possible, is how I would summarize Carrie as a mentor—inspiring.
Dogs Are Smarter Than People
And finally, the podcast DOGS ARE SMARTER THAN PEOPLE is still chugging along. Thanks to all of you who keep listening to our weirdness. We’re sorry we laugh so much… sort of.
