Weekend Writing Adventure at the Eastern Shore
A few of my favorite moments from the Eastern Shore Writers Bay to Ocean Conference
This weekend, my friend April and I attended the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference hosted by the Eastern Shore Writers Association. The event was held at Chesapeake College and kicked off on Friday night with a reception and readings from poets including the keynote speaker, Brian Turner. At his keynote address, he opened by reading a powerful poem he wrote as a soldier in Iraq. He scribbled it down quickly and put it into a ziploc bag imagining that if he died in battle, the mortuary affairs specialist (who was a friend of his) would pause to read it while processing his body.
The day was well-organized with six concurrent sessions organized by fiction, poetry, nonfiction, craft, marketing and promotion and specialty.
My favorite session of the day was Richard Peabody’s experimental writing workshop. Richard is the editor of Gargoyle magazine. He gave attendees prompts that were unlike any I've written to before:
Take a cartoon or a comic book character and put them in a situation with a relative of yours.
Describe a new animal—tell me what it's name is, what it looks like, what it eats, how it sounds, etc.
Describe a new kind of weather
The guy next to me read his cartoon story aloud—it was a conversation he had with his brother who met Calvin at a NA meeting. It turns out, Calvin had gotten hooked on drugs after Hobbes died. The room erupted in laughter when he finished reading.
I shared what I wrote about a new kind of weather inspired by the fact that New York has always had a problem with sewage. Sometimes our beaches are closed because of “elevated levels of bacteria” due to runoff—a friendly way to say e.coli in the water.
“Grab your base shield on the way out, the air pressure is high and it’s supposed to kerfunkle today,” my husband said.
He knew how much I hated carrying a shield around, so for Christmas, he had given me a top-of-the line inflatable one. As I walked up the subway stairs, the stench confirmed what I already knew was true. The air pressure surge must've happened when I was underground.
Protected by my inflatable base, I waded through the brown murky water that seeped through the sewer grates turning the streets into filthy streams.
New York really needs to figure out a better way to handle all this shit.
It was fun to write and share a fictional and nonsensical story like this.
I also enjoyed the session by Brent Lewis entitled "Better Listeners Make Better Storytellers.” He shared tips for how why interviews are critical for writers of all genres:
Interviews can provide inspiration you hadn’t even thought of. Sometimes it’s just a word or comment that makes your light bulb go off.
Details bring everything to truth. Through interviews, you can find the a phrase, word or description can make all the difference in a reader’s mind.
Accuracy is credibility. Readers can tell when you’ve done the work.
We all have our own biases and assumptions and interviewing someone who thinks differently than you do can open up your story in a way you hadn’t even considered.
Interviewing is a way to find that deeper humanity. It allows you to escape your own biases and stereotypes no matter how unintentional they may be.
The Eastern Shore Writers is a wonderful organization that welcomes writers from beyond the Eastern Shore. They often host workshops over Zoom and they hold their writers conference annually in the spring. You can learn more about them here.
Words of the Week
“Art never completely reveals itself. It’s what keeps us coming back.” —R.A. Allen (a line from his poem read aloud by
during her Things A Journal Editor Would Like to Say seminar.Photo of the Week
This is Basil, our four year old mini-goldendoodle. The other day, I was working at my desk when I heard loud barks coming from the bathroom. Basil had found her way into the tub, but wasn’t able to get out!
Lia, your post is one of the highlights of my week. Each Sunday, I find a nugget (or a few) that resonates with me. In addition to the Calvin anecdote and the NYC shit (both hilarious), it is this quote that stuck with me "Art never completely reveals itself. It’s what keeps us coming back.” I feel Iike I am discovering art through you and your posts. You are what keep me coming back.
Terrific post xxx