Press 53 and Me

Here I am with the Press 53 poets and co-publisher/co-editor, Kevin Watson, while we read at the Borders in Winston-Salem, Thurs. April 19th.

from left to right
Joseph Mills, Valerie Nieman, Alice, Kevin Watson and Beebe Barksdale-Bruner


Alice

Book reviews and no time for reading

This year I've had several book reviews published in the Independent Weekly -- here's my latest review:
The Marines of Montford Point Book Review

The funny thing is that I don't have time to read anymore except if it's "work." Most of my free time is taken up by my editing projects, meeting new editing clients, preparing for my workshops and reading/critiquing my students' stories. I also spend a lot of time e-mailing folks and marketing my work. I do remember a time when I would read for Book Club or I would check books out at the library and actually read them! Now what's on my nightstand has been sitting there for over a year!

My magazines are also piling up. The Writer and Allure are the two I always read and I do read the newspaper and Newsweek to keep up with the world. But sometimes it takes me the entire week to read Sunday's paper.

I hope to have more time to read and to even write when I go to Iowa for a weeklong poetry class at the Iowa Summer Writing Workshop in 3 weeks. After I return to Raleigh, I will attend Meredith College's Focusing on Form for the fourth straight year. This year I'm taking the weeklong fiction class with Louise Hawes. I also have a new laptop which will ensure my mobility and hopefully not make me less productive (I need to shut off my e-mail from time to time).

Till next time,
Alice

Dorianne Laux at NC State

I had the priviledge of meeting Dorianne Laux when she came to NC State to judge the 2007 NCSU Poetry Contest. I'm happy to say my poem, "Ghostcards," made it to the top 5 out of 793 entries! And I got to meet Dorianne to boot. She's an excellent reader, she's warm and genuine and you're automatically pulled in. Plus, she lives in Oregon, where my husband once said to me, "This is a town full of Alice's!"meaning eccentric, REI-wearing types like myself. All of Dorianne's books sold out - lucky I snagged "A Poet's Companion" (she's the co-author) before everything was gone.

Alice

Alice Osborn and Friends Read at Cameron Village

Here we are, Poets Extraordinaire! Me[RIGHT LANE ENDS], Bob Rogers [STAIGHT, NO CHASER] (he's the one looking at me), Tom Lisk [THESE BEAUTIFUL LIMITS], and Chris Salerno [WHIRLIGIG] (with the snazzy glasses) all read our poems Tuesday, April 3rd at Cameron Village Regional Library in Raleigh, NC. We all read both poems from our books and new poems.

We had a great turnout and I made new friends. We had a very responsive audience. Special thanks need to go to Erik Sugg, Library Assistant/Reader Services, who pulled this whole event together.

Please check out Matt Mullins's review here:

www.unstableeuphony.blogspot.com

Tom even had a heckler! Who knew, a heckler at a poetry reading? Also, Chris is leading a discussion at Cameron Village next Wed. on Walt Whitman at 6:30pm -- check it out! It's National Poetry Month!

Cheers,

Alice

Marketing, the Necessary Mistress

Here I am at my computer checking e-mail and sending e-mail. If my writing life was a pie chart, I think e-mailing would be 70% of my work. Sounds high, doesn't it? But, it's my best and cheapest way to get the word out about my classes, workshops and readings. It does take a lot of time though, but if I didn't do it, then no one would know what I was up to and no one would come to my workshops/classes/readings, etc. I've been sending out a gazillion e-mails because April's National Poetry Month and I'm reading or have read in 6 venues around Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and even Winston Salem. Check out my link "Appearances" on my website.

It's a balancing act, though. I don't want to waste all of my creative energy sending out e-mails, so I try to limit myself to one group send around 3-5 every day and then I leave it alone. Or it controls me. Sometimes I feel that me sending out these posts doesn't matter since no one on my list responds. However, folks do respond to me in person and that's always nice. It's good to know that all of my shouting down the well and waiting for the echo is worth it (Thank you, Jane, for this image).

Till next time and please don't delete my e-mail until you've scrolled to the bottom!

Alice

The First Writing Workshop of the Year!

On Wed. Jan 17th 10 writers gathered to share stories, coffee, laughs, fellowship and encouragement. The Free Prompt Writing Workshop was held at Write More Educational Resources in N Raleigh off of Old Lead Mine and Lead Mine roads. It's a good sign when you see folks hugging each other at the end of the night (and they didn't know each other before the workshop!)
Thanks to everyone who came out! The next free prompt writing workshop is Wed. March 14th from 7-9:30 pm at the same location.
till next time,
Alice

Alice Graduates!

I graduated from NC State with my MA in English December 20th 2006 and boy am I happy!

My husband, Keith, and friends Jane, Beth and Nancy were there to cheer me on, and later that day I picked up my son from daycare wearing my cap and gown. Daniel kept saying, "I'm so happy!" echoing my feelings.

So I made it happen. I managed to balance family, work, school and graduate on time. I think the key to my success was enjoying my work in English and having the necessary support to make it happen. For instance, if Daniel had not been in daycare/pre-school full-time, I would never have made it, because I hardly did any schoolwork on weekends, if that's any indication.

A Long Time Goal

Ever since I was out of college back in the pre-Internet days, I wanted to go to grad school. I remember this phone interview I had the co-owner of the Moultrie News in Mt. Pleasant, SC (near Charleston) about a job as an account exec and he asked me what my 5 year goal was. Naturally, I said grad school. He then told me that was the wrong answer. The right answer was that I should want to own a home in 3-5 years. Why? I thought. I wanted education and a chance to be in front of my career. Much to my disappointment, my dad agreed with this fellow, but that's another story (and, no, I didn't get the job). Now, I didn't know what I wanted to do in grad school, only that I wanted to go. Not until 5 months after Daniel was born did I position myself for an MA in English and then I decided in June '04 that I wanted a concentration in Rhetoric/Composition. Some folks may say, why didn't you go for your MFA, since that's my focus. Well, I didn't have a good enough writing/English background for the MFA back in 2004 since my undergrad was in Finance, not English. The MA was perfect for me and maybe someday I'll go for my MFA...

Looking Back...

Fall '05 sucked. 11 credit hours, 6-7 tutoring center hours a week, 3 sessions of speech therapy/OT for my son. And I took all hard classes in rhetoric and critical theory. I think French was the easiest. But, I sure did learn about Plato, Aristotle, Foucoult, Zora Neale Hurston and many, many others. My classes were Tuesday and Thursdays from 1:30-4 and I had my rhetoric class which was a night class from 7:30-9. I worked from 10-1 in the tutoring center. M, W, F were speech therapy days and I also worked the occasional Friday for Lancome makeup, too. It seemed that I never had enough time to read my assignments. I would fall asleep in my critical theory book at 11am and then wake up at 3am and keep on going. I pulled an all-nighter for my 2-credit research class. And Keith and I mashed in a vacation in late October, so I missed all my classes for a week. It turned out that things actually got better for me after the vacation (I think I had about 2 hours of sleep the night before we left so I could get some work done ahead). I sure rejoiced when that semester was over and I had managed to survive it with all As and an A-.

Journaling Class Photos

My "Journal from the Inside Out" workshop series met Nov. 1, 8 and 15 (all on Wed) at Ideas! Coffee House in Durham. We shared our entries, reflected upon our lives and experienced great fellowship! My next workshop is FREE and it's Wed. Jan 17th in the Greystone Office Park in N Raleigh on 901 Paverstone Way, Suite 8 from 7-9:30. We'll be prompt writing and making the creativity flow!

Pictured: (from left) Deborah, Alice and Carol

Right Lane Ends at the 2006 Writers Conference

Beth Browne, Alice Osborn and Jane K. Andrews -- all part of the Right Lane Ends phenonmenon!

The three of us wore our RLE T-shirts to generate enthusiasm and excitement for my new book of poetry, Right Lane Ends -- it worked! I sold many books and now more writers know where to find me. I also gave away 4 shirts.

I think this year's conference held at the Sheraton in RDU (Raleigh-Durham) was one of the best North Carolina Writers' Network Conference I've ever attended!

If you'd like a T-shirt -- contact me via www.aliceosborn.com -- there's only a few left!!!

Check out these writing blogs!

I've gathered a few fellow womens' writing blogs. Please check them out and feel a part of the writing community -- we all go through the same things (i.e. finding the Muse, writer's block, rejection and sometimes success!)

Peggy Payne: www.peggypayne.com
Author of NY Times Bestseller, Sister India
Blog: http://peggypayne.blogspot.com

Christy English
Blog: www.christyenglish.com

Therese Fowler
Blog: http://theresefowler.blogspot.com

Ideas Coffee House Reading

Here are a few photos from my reading/signing at Ideas Coffee House on Friday, October 20th .
To open up the night, we had talented singer/songwriter La'wren'ze perform, followed by Alice Osborn reading from selected poems from her new book, Right Lane Ends.

Launch Party Pictures

Photo by Michael Graziano




Here are a few pics from my Right Lane Ends Launch Party held at the Royal Bean Coffee House, Friday the 13th of October.

Prompt Writing Workshop

Thank you everyone who came out to my free Prompt Writing Workshop at the Royal Bean Coffee Shop Wed. Sept. 27th. We had a great turnout, as you can see (photo by Michael Graziano). We did 5 timed writing exercises, made new friends and collaborated!

Why Be Normal?

I’m complicated. When I was younger, no one could figure me out. How could I like Phil Collins and Nirvana? How could I love cars, yet couldn’t drive? How could I major in engineering and be learning dyslexic in math? How could I bake scrumptious brownies, yet not be able to fold a T-shirt to save my life? How could I live in Myrtle Beach and not have a tan? Let’s say I confused others and myself for a long time. My favorite question these days is how could I major in finance and now pursue my master’s in English? But, why not? Why can’t a business major switch to writing if that’s what she’s been doing her whole life anyway? I wrote newsletters when I was eight and decided to be a novelist when I was nine. Then something happened: I wanted to get a “real” job when I graduated from college and I didn’t even consider teaching or writing as a career. But, I still wrote on the sly for my high school’s paper and my college’s yearbook, and then later on for my sailing club’s newsletter. I became a shadow artist — I admit it. According to Julia Cameron of The Artist’s Way, a shadow artist doesn’t admit she’s an artist, but wants to be around artists in the worst way. No wonder all of my dates were photographers. After college, I worked for Belk Department Stores, first in their advertising department, then in store management, and lastly in the buying office. Near the end of my career with them, I remember buying a book on writing your first novel and thinking I still needed to do this. Then, life happened when my son Daniel was born four years ago.
The fact is, I love change and complication and am not afraid of it. Change is good and it wakes up the soul. For without change, I wouldn’t be a writer, I wouldn’t have a new poetry book published, and I wouldn’t be within inches of earning my M.A. I’d probably still be in retail management, still believing that Saturdays are the worst day of the week. However, before we can change, we need to let some things go to free up the space for new people and experiences. Daniel made me realize that I’d done a lot of things over the years to please my parents, but once he was on the way, my parents decided to break off our relationship. Of course, I was disappointed and it still saddens me that Daniel has never met my parents, but if I think that my parents left a vacuum for me to change and grow, and now I can see their estrangement in a positive light. When they let me go, I was forced at twenty-nine to define who I was and where my life should turn. My husband and I got married, I kept my name and my 1996 red Mustang, and released myself from my retail career to find out what I really wanted. When on maternity leave, I signed up for correspondence course writing classes at UNC-CH, became more active in my book club, joined a writers’ group and plunged into motherhood — the hardest job on the planet. Slowly, but surely, I wrote bad short stories and sent them off to contests and then took advantage of all the North Carolina Writers’ Network conferences. I also read writing books and novels to study the craft and improve.
This summer I learned a lot and opened myself up to new experiences that were a little scary. I designed and uploaded my website. I published my first chapbook, Ghostcards. I wrote a blog and learned how to upload photos onto this blog. I created a MySpace page and think it's a great networking tool. I read poems and wrote poems, getting two of them published in literary journals (I’ve only started writing poetry since February). I taught a free writing workshop with fifteen participants. Then, I taught a fee-based workshop on creative nonfiction, and that was also successful. My first perfect-bound book of poetry, Right Lane Ends, will soon be hot off the presses and I can’t wait to keep my first dollar from the first sale. I should have started writing earlier. Maybe. But, the time wasn’t right and I didn’t have anything interesting to say. Now I do.

More Pictures from Write from the Inside Out Class

Write from the Inside Out was a course designed to create creative nonfiction in a supportive environment.
The workshops were all held at the Edible Art Bakery on Hillsborough St in Raleigh across the street from Meredith College. All of the classes took place on three consecutive Wednesdays from 7-9:30 pm. All of the participants received a workbook and gourmet dessert and coffee with each session.


Here are a few more photos from the workshop.

Alice

Write from the Inside Out Workshop

Thanks, Nancy, Conrad, James, Ida, and Suzanne for making Write from the Inside Out -- CNF (creative nonfiction) be such a great experience!

Alice

Writing Groups

We hear a lot of talk about writing groups being like marriages, and it's true! It's very important to find a good fit with the 2-3 people whom you share your writing, your thoughts, your concerns, and a lot of your life with. Because writing is so much in our heads, so much of us will come through on the page -- well, sometimes your writing group can be a little like a therapy session, and you know, that's OK! But, if you do this with the wrong group, and/or the energy level is different from yours, then watch out. You may need to move on and find you a different group. Right now, I'm in a fantastic writing group with Jane and Beth. We support each other, share info on upcoming contests in both poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction, and we listen to each other when we need a sympathetic ear (usually not writing-related). I feel this was a long journey to get to this point, though.

Three years ago, I met with my first writing group. I was very new to writing then and was inspired by the NC Writers' Network Conference in Wilmington to find fellow writers. Well, one woman approached me from a historical fiction workshop -- Meagan -- and then she connected me with Sandy, who was completing her second novel. Meagan was writing a memoir on her coming of age which involved a lot of abuse, both physical and mental. And me? I was working on a short story (really creative nonfiction) about a young woman who reconnects with an old flame, who is also dating her sister. Then all three of them get stuck in the sister's apartment during a hurricane which hits Charleston. Fantastic stuff, I tell you.

Meagan, Sandy and I all exchanged numbers, e-mails and manuscripts and before long, we met at Meagan's house. I was a little late because my husband stopped at the gym first and I had brought cookies. I remember Sandy saying, "I don't eat sugar." I never got good vibes on her after that. We didn't talk much about my work (we focused more on Meagan's), but they both gave me suggestions (Sandy wrote all of hers in red ink).

The next time we met was at my place on a January Saturday at 11:30. Daniel was just starting to walk (he was 16 months) and I knew that once everyone got settled, D-boy would go down for his nap at 12:30. In the meantime, I would put on his "Little People" video while Keith was out grocery shopping and getting in his workout. I even planned on getting Panera bagels for us. First, Meagan showed up, a little lost, and then Sandy came in with a Hardees bag. The first thing out of her mouth was, "You didn't tell me you were bringing bagels!" Sorry, maybe read your e-mail next time. She may have felt cheated because she spent $6.24 on a Hardees burger.

My short story was the first to go and it was ripped apart before we even got to the 2nd page. Sandy didn't like how I used brand names to describe tea ("Celestial Seasonings") and told me that I write "like Danielle Steele." Then Meagan chimed in with "you write about rich people too much -- show some diversity." I don't remember a single positive comment. Was this how a writing group was supposed to work? Then we discussed Sandy's story about a talk show host who picks up empathy and starts acting nice. It was good, but the tone was very angry and sarcastic. Meagan's piece was fine, except Sandy quibbled with Meagan till the end about how the speaker would not have folded her clothes that neatly. Meagan responded that she as a troubled young girl was seeking some order in her life (Duh!). Sandy didn't buy it.

Three and 1/2 hours later, Sandy and Meagan left, just as Daniel woke up from his nap. I felt worn out and a little despressed. I recall not looking over Sandy's notes on my story for about a year.

Later that night, Sandy cc'ed me on Meagan's e-mail telling her that she found my home to hold too many distractions for a writing group. I think the "Little People" played for 15 minutes with Daniel being very quiet and Keith's coming in and out for 2 seconds bothered her. I was furious! I expressed my concerns to Meagan, who didn't respond to them, but later one she e-mailed Sandy to tell her she disagreed with her point about the speaker's orderliness.

The writing group disbanded after 2 sessions and it took me a positive critique from Quinn Dalton at the 2004 NCWN Spring Conference at Peace College to have confidence back in my work. A bad group can do that to you, especially to a new writer, like me.

My advice is this: don't jump into a writing group. Get to know the members as people before you meet and then see if your styles and goals are compatible. If not, run to the door. Your writing and your self-esteem deserve better. Also, see what level the other group members are at. I was at a lower level than both Sandy and Meagan (at the time), so we were never going to match. Find a group that wants to make their writing better and is at pretty much the same skill level.

Tell me about your writing group experiences -- good and bad!

Till next time,
Alice

Writing Rituals

This has been a great week for me. One of my poems, Sex Ed, will be published in Jonathan K. Rice's Iodine Poetry Journal (Spring 2007 issue). I also found out I'm the local winner of the Raleigh Jaycees "Write Up" Contest. I wrote an essay of 500 words last month about writing and how my writing projects with the Jaycees has influenced participants. So I get to compete with the other finalists in Asheboro next Sat the 9th. I think it's a timed essay situation. Never been to Asheboro, so it should be something to blog about.

Also this week, my husband, Keith found this car keys that had been missing 7 days. Turns out our son scooped them off of the counter and hid them under the living room couch, where we never go. But, Daniel found the keys, so that was good.

Here are some rituals that may help you focus before you start writing:

Light a scented candle or incense
Listen to instrumental music
Wear a special outfit or hat
Brew up tea or coffee before you write
Read your favorite poems
Stretch
Take a walk
Clear your desk of odds and ends
Take a few slow, deep breaths

In Light & Love,
Alice

Body, Mind, Spirit Show

This is a my little summary of the Body, Mind, Spirit Show Sat. Aug. 19th

Tips for Writing Success

I'm hard at work on my thesis, detailing how first-year students can generate first drafts. I spent all of yesterday and the day before writing/revising my 8-pg syllabus.
Here's few tips for you writers out there that I'll share in my Prompt-writing workshop Wed. Sept. 27th at the Royal Bean Coffee Shop.

***
In a Writing Workshop, when your work is getting critiqued:

1) Listen to all comments -- take what you want from the group, but you're the final authority
2) Allow everyone to finish their comments, then feel free to respond
3) Take notes on your copy

When you Critique others:

1) Be respectful and courteous
2) Always begin with a positive
3) Flesh out your answers -- don't just say "I liked it" or "I didn't like the story" Explain what worked and what didn’t work for you

Revision is crucial
You can revise as you go or revise after you complete your draft
Revision helps you find the right word and "look again" at what you've written.

"The difference between the right word and the almost right word is like the difference between lightning and the lightning bug" — Mark Twain

Try to write in 15-minute increments. Have a piece of paper/pen handy in the car, bedroom, computer, kitchen, or bathroom so that when a great story idea hits, you'll be ready!

Start a notebook for freewriting and start a journal for your early drafts of your work

When you revise in fiction watch for:

Structure/flow: Don't take too long to get into the story. Need action early on.

Characterization: do we know the basics of the characters early on? Make the characters unpredictable.
Reveal your characters through their clothing, actions, dialogue, gestures, bodily reactions, values, and possessions (also valuable for creative nonfiction)

Characters must be credible and consistent (Sally Buckner)

Setting: readers need a sense of place to feel grounded

And also check to see if you have a(n):
Ending that resonates with the reader (not one that just stops!)
A plot twist that has some suspense