Category Archives: writing

Gathering to Spark Memories

Leave a comment

Girl-Scout-Camp-Smores-Pops

 

Guess where I am going? To a Girl Scout Alumni Bonfire! Campfire Songs, skits, s’mores and an evening of remembering days of a being a member of a 100+ year old youth organization is planned in Routt County, Colorado. I immediately sent my RSVP to the affirmative. Yes! I don’t want to miss it! The event will surely spark memories of my youth.

I live in a resort community of people who have moved here from places all over America and from different countries, so the evening will be interesting. We can compare what it was like to be a Girl Scout (there are six levels: a Daisy, a Brownie, a Junior, a Cadette or Senior  or Ambassador Girl Scout) in different hometowns across the globe. The experiences each girl had throughout her years as a member, I am sure, were varied.

The Girl Scouts was started in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low and it’s mission was universal. Here is what the founder said about her vision of the organization “My purpose……to go on with my heart and soul, devoting all my energies to Girl Scouts, and heart and hand with them, we will make our lives and the lives of the future girls happy, healthy and holy.” 

I reminisce about those wonderful days of being a Girl Scout in my memoir Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected. Chapter 28 – Paper Roses is one of my favorites.

After the event is over, I’ll let you know how it went.

I am looking for suggestions of campfire songs. If you were a Girl Scout and remember the names of the songs you used to sing around the bonfire or at Girl Scout camp, please post them as a comment on All Things Fulfilling. I look forward to your input!

This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

 

 

Harvest of Life Lessons

Leave a comment

“For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.” –   Edwin Way Teale

Greetings! It is a fabulous fall morning. I’d like to send out an invitation for you to come to my house! Enter through the doors of my childhood through my publication Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected.

In my youth I was kept in stitches by a beautiful character named Fanny and my heart was sewn together too. Both were gifts that led me to live a fulfilling life. Through my memoir, I share a harvest of life lessons taught to me by my strong family.

The teapot is filled in anticipation of your coming, there are homemade ginger snaps on the table and I hope you will enjoy the inspiring words of my beloved Fanny during this fine fall season. The real treasure lies in the voice in the EVVY award-winning audio book. But if you prefer the paperback or a digital download of an e-book, those are available too!

unnamed

Happy Harvest Everybody! Do return tomorrow and on Friday I want to tell you about an event that I just received an invitation to that will take me back to my childhood days. I am very excited.

 

Hey Boo: Best Movie Words

2 Comments

Life was always waiting for the right moment to act.” ~ Paul Coelho

No one ever expected Harper Lee to publish another book. The writer’s destiny seemed to be an author of a sole publication that has sold over 5 million copies. She surprised the literary world when it was announced that a second novel was in the pipeline for publication. Fifty years after To Kill a Mockingbird was published Go Set a Watchman was released. If you haven’t read either publications, as far as I am concerned you are missing out on very important American literature. I believe “Watchman” will also become known as an American classic in coming years.

harperlee_flatLast week I attended the second in a series of community events at the Bud Werner Memorial Library geared around Lee’s publication Go Set a Watchman. The screening of the  documentary film Harper Lee: From Mockingbird to Watchman (previously titled Harper Lee:Hey Boo) was at the center of the evening. In the film, interviews of famous people in the literary and media world talk about what the classic To Kill a Mockingbird has meant to Americans who love this book.

marymurphy_creditchriscarroll_m8398After the screening, the filmmaker Mary McDonagh Murphy Skyped in to take questions from the audience at the library. I had the opportunity to ask my question. “As a filmmaker what did you learn from Harper Lee about storytelling through the production of this documentary?” Her answer included remarks that to tell the story well, it was a juggling challenge.  She had to go back and revise and edit the film to include information about the 2015 release of “Watchman” by Harper Collins. She also mentioned that more revisions to her 2015 documentary will be necessary as the full impact of “Watchman” on the literary world is made known in coming years. For more information on Murphy’s film which has also been aired on PBS, visit the filmmaker’s website.

Thursday evening, October 15, 2015 is the third event for One Book Steamboat. Charles Shields, Harper Lee’s biographer will be at the Bud Werner Memorial Library in person. He was one of the first persons to be aware of Lee’s manuscript for “Watchman” that had been locked up in a safe deposit box for decades. I look forward to his presentation.

I have never been so immersed in the full study of an author before and it has been an extremely fulfilling experience. Thanks to Jennie Lay at Bud Werner Memorial Library for programming all the surrounding events of One Book Steamboat for this community.

This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Cornerstones: A Fulfilling Fall

Leave a comment

It is the nature of grace always to fill spaces that have been empty. ~ Unknown

Isn’t it interesting how we attach feelings to the cornerstones of our “seasonal repertoire of living.” Many of us would be out of sorts if certain things were missing from our lives during the harvest season. Other things bring a different set of emotions alive inside us during winter, spring and summer.

Do any of these images bring you home to a special place in the heart? If so, what emotions come to mind when you see these pictures? Use them as writing prompts to put your feelings down on paper.

apple-pie

healing-of-oak-trees-and-acorns-400x266

cold-hollow

autumn table

STONEWALL AND AUTUMN LEAVES

raking leaves

This blog is brought to you by Sue Batton Leonard, the award-winning author of Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Returning to Familiar Place

Leave a comment

“Each time you write something, part of you grows. You’re training your artistic muscles to find your voice.” ~ Pen Densham

Last week was busy, filled with all good things for a writer who seeks to take advantage of every opportunity to advance her knowledge about  the craft of writing and publishing.

BK Loren WSI attended an author presentation on Tuesday evening which left me hungry for more knowledge from multi-award-winning American novelist, memoirist and writing professor, BK Loren. She has been the recipient of several prestigious Pushcart Awards, the Dana award for a work in progress, the Colorado Book award and the Willa Award. She regularly teaches at the highly-touted Iowa Summer Writing Festival,  Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Chatham University and the Taos Summer Writing Conference.

BK Loren was a presenter this past summer at the annual “Day for Writers” sponsored by the Steamboat Writers Group. Last week she returned to town to spend time with creative writing students at Colorado Mountain College (Alpine Campus).

Since I am in the final revisions of my first fictional piece of writing I particularly appreciated her advice on how to advance a story through emotion, and listening to the character to determine obstacles and what actions they should take in the story. After all, Loren says “literature is the study of the human heart.” And I believe writers must craft a story that leaves an opportunity for the reader to get to know what they feel in their own hearts that attracts them to a story.

Do return to All Things Fulfilling tomorrow. I am very grateful I was able to return to a familiar place inside a creative writing class with Dr. Lindsey Royce. I had taken a course from this CMC professor a few winters ago where I learned to understand the words of Pen Densham.

This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard. 

 

Telling Narratives

Leave a comment

Memoir isn’t the summary of a life, it is a window into a life, very much like a photograph in its selective composition… its a deliberate construction. – William Zinsser

So, you’ve decided to turn your geneaology research into a publication but there are missing pieces of the puzzle. That concerns you. Don’t let it stop you. You could search till doomsday and never find what you are looking for. Move ahead…

Sometimes you have to narrate a story with only the facts as you know them. The creative part of memoir writing is what is fun! It allows you to fill in the blanks as best you can. But make sure you create missing content that falls in line with your fact gathering.

And don’t forget to add a disclaimer in your book something to the effect that  you have created a narrative based on the facts as you have them. That’s the best an author can do when resources have been exhausted.

JTPreview_FamilyTree001

Next week on  Things Fulfilling we will give you some good resources to help you identify where and how to begin writing a family story.

This blog is brought to you by 2014 EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Award-Winning Autobiography/Memoirs

3 Comments

Genealogical research often leads to writing and publishing memoirs. Today on All Things Fulfilling we will  feature 2015 EVVY award-winning memoirs. These publications were independently published and were entered into the 21st annual book award contest sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association(CIPA).

Here are this year’s award recipients in the autobiography/memoir category:

1st Place – Not in the Pink by Tina Martel

2nd Place – Goat Lips by Matthew Taylor

3rd Place – Song of the Mountains: My Pilgrammage to Maa Ganga   by Shaku Rajagopal

3rd Place – Zero to Sixty by Bruce Allen MacMullen

Merit Award – K for Katmandu by Cynthia T Kennedy

Merit Award – Peeling Back the Layers: A Story of Trauma, Grace & Triumph  by LaWayne Childrey

Penning a book about one’s life story can be heart-wrenching or joyous and fraught with human fraility. Sometimes terms like revealing and cathartic, might be appropriate when one bares ones soul through the written word.  Some stories take more courage to tell than others.

downloadToday, I’d like to congratulate this group of award-winning authors because as a 2014 EVVY award-winning author, I know first-hand the personal fulfillment that comes with writing a publication that is autobiographical in nature. To see the full list of categories in the contest and the other award-winning authors and their publishers.

See you back here tomorrow on All Things Fulfilling.  This blog is brought to you by EVVY award-winning memorist, Sue Batton Leonard.

Sundown for Labor Day

Leave a comment

What a glorious summer it has been.  It is the time of the year when I feel as if I have returned to days of my youth. An outpouring of memories come with that.

Over Labor Day weekend and for a few days next week I’d like to encourage our readers to check out some of the posts in the archives. You can look them up by category or scroll through the site. Something will catch your interest. There are over 1700 writings on All Things Fulfilling that have drawn 100,000+ viewers to this website.

Each of the postings is about something that has inspired me as a writer or as a human being to follow my own kind of bliss.

IMG_20150815_200957_813

See you back here a little later in the week. I promise. Refreshed, rejuvenated and with a wealth of ideas that will come together between now and the New Year.

This blog is brought to you by award winning author Sue Batton Leonard. Her books include EVVY award -winner Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected and short stories Lessons of Heart & Soul.

Fostering Joy Through Publishing

1 Comment

“We can not accomplish all we need to without working together.” ~ Bill Richardson

I wish you could really know the joy I am feeling right now. Last week I found out that four authors in our We Write Steamboat networking group are finalists for five awards in the annual EVVY book contest sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.

The group was formed in 2011 with a mission of “fostering independent publishing success.” Since then Steamboat authors have been well-represented each year as finalists and award winners. As the founder of the group, I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished in bringing recognition to this community of writers.

Here is the list of Steamboat’s 2015 EVVY award finalists.

celebrate the author

Major General Louis W Prentiss, Jr. for his book Memories of a Life in the Army (military category)

Lou Prentiss Book

Merit Clark’s Killing Streak in the fiction/mystery & detective category and also finalist for cover design

Steamboat author Merit Clark killing-streak-clark-2500px

Erik Landvik for Uncluttered Faith (spirituality/religion)

Eric Landvik

Jane Stein author & Pam Duckworth, illustrator for Dear Class: Traveling Around the World with Mrs. J (juvenile non-fiction)

Dear Class

What a gift it has been to live and work among a community of independent publishers. I must also give recognition to the Steamboat Writers Group. Their expertise and knowledge with regards to critiquing works in progress is very valuable and that is why for thirty-plus years the group has held together.

It’s a joyful time for all of the independent publishers who are finalists in the EVVY competition. Good luck to everyone! All Things Fulfilling will be posting more information about the 2015 EVVY award-winning authors in coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Tomorrow I will be featuring an artist whose life calling has gone from farm boy in Virginia to dentist to author/independent publisher and internationally acclaimed scultpure artist. Now there’s a story!

This blog is brought to you by two time  2014 EVVY award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.

Balance of Power and Economy

1 Comment

Before you become a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others. ~ Jack Welsh

Beth Macy, author of the National Best Selling book Factory Man, held an author talk and book signing in Steamboat Springs, Colorado a few weeks ago. I attended and bought the book. It is a narrative non-fiction about Bassett Furniture Makers. The story is jam-packed with complicated family relationships, history and a whole community of people whose lives depended upon the livelihood of the textile and furniture industry in the town of Bassett, Virginia.

big_chair_little_chairAt the foundation of the story is a “full of himself” character who often strained the family dynamic with his leadership style. Add to that the exodus of industry – furniture products being manufactured overseas more cheaply, and the battle that ensued in saving an American town. What do you have? An impressive and fulfilling tale to tell.

A very well-researched book that award-winning journalist Macy writes in a compelling and “you’ve gotta hear this style.”

Business people in every industry at all eschelons of power will glean something from this story about a multi-generational family furniture dynasty.

This blog is brought to you by award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.