"Memorial Day and Unfinished Stories" By James Pressler

Tomorrow I will recap my first at-home writing retreat of 2024.

Today I am working - yes, I actually volunteered to work - just so I could cover local Memorial Day events. It's my way of honoring and respecting the reason for the day.

Also, today, I'd like to direct you to the blog of writing comrade and WriteOn Joliet member James Pressler. 

In his Memorial Day post, he wrote, "Memorial Day is about the stories not finished, the pages left empty, because someone put service to country before themselves."

And in this post, James shares some of those stories - and our responsibility toward those stories after we hear them.

This is likely the best Memorial Day post I've ever read. I hope you take a few minutes to read it, too.

 http://www.writingandtheprocess.com/2019/05/memorial-day-and-unfinished-stories.html

Dialogue is Essential

“I’ve never seen, heard, nor smelled an issue that was so dangerous it couldn’t be talked about. Hell yes, I’m for debating anything!”


That is one of the quotes from one of my (and my family's) favorite movies: "1776."

And if anything summed up our family motto, this quote would do it.

Probably nothing got under my children's stepfather's skin more than their tendency to debate just about everything.

But if you're a person giving feedback to someone's writing, back and forth conversation (and a bit of debate) is essential.

Only then can you understand what the writer is trying to convey and how the writer is trying to convey it.

Don't be the "expert" who feels a story can only by told "this way" or "that way" or must have "these elements" or (horrors!) should not be written at all.

Be the person who can offer useful feedback so the writer can writer his/her/it best story possible.

And if you're the writer, be open but don't blindly accept the criticism of any beta reader/editor who is not also open to healthy debate - or at the very least, your questions about the critique.

One member of WriteOn Joliet wrote a good post about this topic.

It's called "Workshop Warnings" and you can read it here:

http://www.writingandtheprocess.com/2020/03/workshop-warnings.html?fbclid=IwAR2T3EFNF8fCJJrskExxav1K58rnw8BG5r4NrKB4_gjklFkpOicqPIaIZCU

Illustration by Kathleen Rose Van Pelt for "Bryony."

"A Funny Thing Happened on the way to The Open Mic..." Jim Pressler

Open Mic Night 2019: James Pressler

Open Mic Night 2018 2: Jim Pressler