Author Archives: PJ
Literary Mix Tapes: The Movie Project
{Sorry for the long absence here … you always know where else you can find me, right? Of course, there’s my Twitter, Metro Fiction and Tuesday Serial … that’s where I’ve been putting my attention lately. But don’t worry, I will be back soon 
In the meantime …}
I want to share some exciting news with you! My story “Golden Opportunity”, which appeared in Literary Mix Tapes: Nothing But Flowers, has been selected, along with nine other stories, for inclusion in the “Movie Project.” The movie project – led by Jodi Cleghorn and Devin Watson – will be coordinating authors, scriptwriters and film crew to adapt the films to the big screen.
I’ve been paired with lovely and talented Emma Kerry who will be writing the screenplay based on my story. For more information about the project, you can visit the Literary Mix Tapes site or, for more specifics, you can see Devin Watson’s posts over at Write Anything.
Inspiration Minute – Kidney Transplant Chain – Feb 20, 2012
In my Monday feature, “Inspiration Minute,” I’d like to share with you something that has caught my attention or inspired me recently. Be forewarned, it may take a bit more than a minute! 
If this story about kidney transplants doesn’t inspire you to “pay it forward”, I’m not sure what will. Check it out, along with the photos of all the members of the chain: ”60 Lives, 30 Kidneys, All Linked.” I found the stories of the member of the chain to be fascinating and inspiring. I hope you do too!
I hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s installment of Inspiration Minute! Feel free to share it with your friends
5 Steps to Leveraging Your Dreams in your Writing
Ever wake up in the morning and think “Wow – what a fantastic dream! That would make a terrific story – I’d better go start writing!” But then you get distracted by the day’s events and by the time you sit down at your computer in the late afternoon, you are dismayed to discover that the dream is gone. Poof. Or you make it to your notebook and begin writing, but realize that your dream is in a jumble.
After having this happen to me several times, I have finally figured out the steps to leverage my dreams in my writing. I don’t remember my dreams every morning, but when I do, this is my approach:
1. Upon waking, transcribe the dream from start to finish in as much detail as you can remember. Describe the settings thoroughly. Describe the people or “beings” in your dreams with as much detail as possible. Narrate the action of the dream. Include all of those fantastic (and embarassing) details that people would never believe. Also include those details you aren’t sure about, e.g., “I think I might have been flying at this point in the dream, but I’m not sure.” Once you’re sure you’ve captured everything that you remember, …
2. Tuck your description away and forget about it. How long? At least a couple of days, maybe a couple of weeks. This allows the dream to fade from your memory so what you’ll be left with is an objective view of the story rather than a jumble of muddled memories.
3. Pull out your transcription when you’re ready and read it all the way through. You’ll probably discover that the fabulous dream that you thought would make a great story is still interesting, but incomplete. Either the setting and characters are terrific but there’s no plot or vice versa. Often part of the plot will be very well-formed, but it’s not clear what the main character’s goal is. Without a goal, your story will fall flat.
4. Identify the gaps in your story and that’s where your writing process will begin. Remember that you don’t need to stay true to the original dream when you’re writing your story. Change whatever elements you need to in order to create a cogent, compelling story with a beginning, middle and end.
5. Just for fun, you can compare your finished story to the original dream transcription and see what elements you changed. You won’t want to or need to show anybody the original transcription – tuck it back away for safe keeping
To clarify, I’m not talking about the concept of “lucid dreaming” where you know you’re dreaming and jump into the driver’s seat for your dream. Some writers have used lucid dreaming to discover new stories and explore their works-in-progress. This is an advanced technique and not for beginners
If you don’t tend to remember your dreams, then consider keeping a dream journal on your nightstand (this will help with step 1 above!). The simple intention to remember and transcribe your dreams can sometimes help you remember them better.
And, according to Native American tradition, you could consider investing in a dream catcher (as seen in the photo) which is said to capture the good dreams as they go floating by while you sleep.
So, have you written stories based on or inspired by your dreams? Please let me know what tips you have! Sweet dreams!
Remembering the Combination
I stuffed my pink gym bag into the locker, slipped the combination lock through the door and paused. I’m paranoid about forgetting the combination to my lock and always take a moment to recite it to myself before securing the clasp.
It’s getting easier now that my daughter is in school five mornings a week and I can get to the gym more often. There was a time when weeks, even months, would go by and I had to sit in the locker room trying to remember the combination while I imagined my daughter’s screams echoing through the gym from the nursery room. (Sometimes I wasn’t just imagining them.)
Working out is still hard to get in just the right doses. Work out too much and other areas of your life suffer and you can end up more tired than you started or you can get injured. Work out too little and energy flags, sleep patterns get disrupted and overall health is affected. It’s just like other aspects of our lives.
Quality time with family versus time spent on “personal infrastructure” – i.e., errands and household management. Quiet time for reflection and creative inspiration versus work time. There are a lot of moving pieces to our lives and it’s difficult at times to get everything in just the right balance.
Sometimes we don’t control some of the moving pieces. Our work can get too demanding and other areas have to be sacrificed as a result. Or our personal infrastructure can be overwhelming at times. But it’s always important to try to bring things back into the right combination over time. And it’s important to not leave things off balance for so long that you forget what the right combination is.
But there are some things that I never doubt that I have in the right combination. Like love for my kids. And the combination that was formed when I married my sweetheart so many years ago.
I remember the combination of the lock, secure the clasp and twist the dial. I’m off to get in my workout, then cooking one of my husband’s favorite dishes for Valentine’s Day: Cornish Game Hens. Let’s just hope it comes with microwave instructions.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I’m over at #amwriting today
Just a quick post to let you know that I’m talking about Metro Fiction and the reading practices of mothers over on the #amwriting blog today: ”Introduction: Metro Fiction – A Reading Nook for Moms.”
Stop by and say ‘hi’, won’t you?
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