Archive for the ‘Fodder for Fiction’ Category
SOCIAL NETWORKING FAST
Today is the first day of school for my children and it’s Breakfast-time for me! I don’t mean I’m making scrambled eggs and bacon (although, that sounds yummy). You may have noticed that I’ve been pretty quiet around here lately. That’s because I decided to go on a social networking fast.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy catching up with friends on Facebook, tweeting about what’s happening in my writing life, and blogging about quirky observations at Fodder for Fiction. However, I needed to take a hiatus from the virtual world and focus on real-world experiences for a spell.
My imagination has been nourished. My soul is energized. I’m ready to go. Stay tuned for updates on what I’ve been up to in the real world.
It’s all fodder for fiction!
Lisa Lipkind Leibow Author of Smart Women’s Fiction www.LLLeibow.comThe Hypocritical Pacifist
Over the years, I have tried to encourage my hubby to take up jogging with me, or yoga, or spin class. But he has no interest in that. Don’t get me wrong. He’s active. He coaches our sons’ basketball games, has played softball, golf, and tennis. But those aren’t my ‘things.’ I tried to learn tennis but I can’t play with my husband because I’m a beginner and he’s been playing since he was a kid. Our abilities don’t match up. I tried golf and decided three holes are enough for me. It just takes too darn long to play that game!
Face it; so much of my social life with hubby revolves around our children, food, and drink. The kids are growing up so fast. I want to make sure that when it’s just the two of us at home that we have some healthy hobbies to share!
I decided to look for the most macho exercise class I could – Boxing. When I suggested it to hubby, his first reaction was “No way.” He pictured an aerobics-style class where instead of dancing in step, participants kicked and punched the air. In spite of his reservations, he agreed to at least check out the place with me.
The instructor wrapped our hands, let us borrow boxing gloves, and we waited in a room full of heavy bags. (NO! not fat old women—boxing heavy bags hanging from the ceiling.) What an awesome workout! One hour of three-minute intervals of jab-cross, hook combinations, sprinkled in with 45 second-sets of push-ups, crunches, planks, etc. After an hour, we were surprised we were still standing – but enthusiastic.
Boxing has become part of our new Sunday morning routine. Each of us try to attend at least one other class during the week. It’s pretty cool. The funniest reaction to this crazy new hobby came from my oldest son. “How could you? It goes against everything you believe in.”
I just looked at him. “What are you talking about?”
“Boxing? You won’t even let us play video games with violence or play with toy guns and you’re training to fight?”
“I’m not hitting people. Just the heavy bag.” I pictured my new pink boxing gloves and wondered where to find unicorn and pony decals to stick on them.
This silly situation got me thinking about character development. (Yes, I’m a fiction-writing nerd and almost everything in life reminds me of some element or another of crafting a story!) Put any character in an ordinary world, set in her ways like the pacifist in my example above. Then BAM! Throw her into some uncomfortable situation that goes against everything she believes, like a boxing match or a war. This is a recipe for a great story. It’s a way to frame the catalyst that propels your protagonist into a page-turner. It sets up a great framework for placing obstacles and writing your character out of them.
Have fun with it. Build suspense. Weave a fantastic plot.
It’s all fodder for fiction!
-Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
My Goofy Numbers Game
Most of my friends and family, know I love to get lost in language — words are my passion. But every once in a while a day and time roll around that make me taken note of the numbers game. This post is on the silly side, as it’s main purpose was to post at 1/11/11 1:11
Enjoy your day. I hope it’s a perfect “one.”
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow, Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
http://www.LLLeibow.com
Target for Inspiration
I’m planning to visit the Target Gallery. This is the third time I have been invited to write a short story inspired by one of its juried art shows. I have a month to get inspired and complete the story. I’ll read my new creation at a Spoken Word Performance to be held at the gallery in February.
The first time I read at Target, the Clothesline Project (a benefit to help victims of domestic violence) served as inspiration. I read a piece called Forbidden Passion, which appeared in Sanskrit Literary Arts Magazine and has since grown into a novel — winner of Pitchapalooza D.C. Wish me luck on the path to publication!
When I embarked on my mission to write the second Target-gallery-inspired work of short fiction, the inspiration exhibit was called Systems Failure. The artists showed work related to the financial and mortgage crisis, environmental issues, and healthcare struggles. I expected to show up and zero in on one painting or sculpture as my inspiration. To my surprise, I found myself drawn to the exhibit as a whole. Characters inspired by portraits, settings inspired by landscapes, and metaphors inspired by surrealist and abstract expressions of emotion. It turns out I wrote characters into a horrible mess in a short story I call The House On Narcissus Street. The beauty of fiction, however, is I have the ability to write them out of it! Someday I might do just that! In the meantime…
Crafting fiction with a deadline is a challenge. Reading a rough draft or new work takes a lot of guts. At least it feels that way to me. But I’m excited to push the envelope on my creativity.
So, as I embark on my next Target Gallery challenge I’m excited, savoring the anticipation of walking into the gallery for the first time to view the new exhibit. The show is called Mixing Bowl. I’m particularly drawn to the idea of the immigration-related exhibit. Living in the melting pot of the D.C. Metropolitan area, I’m immersed in the lives of modern immigrants and fascinated with the social, political, and cultural histories of the people in my neighborhood. I love to imagine what the lives of the members of my community were like before they arrived and as they settled in. In Double Out and Back, Chandy Markum is a Jewish South African-immigrant escaping ghosts of her past in Apartheid-torn South Africa. Forbidden Passion, the short fiction I read at the Clothesline exhibit, grew into a novel that chronicles the life of an Iranian emigre from her repressed childhood in 1960s Tehran to her eventual liberation. The motivations and tribulations of the immigrant keep popping up in my fiction. There are a few characters floating around in my brain who made their way to America to escape war and persecution, to chase love, or under promise of economic prosperity. I can’t wait to see if the inspiration from the exhibit feeds the already germinating character development or sparks something entirely new!
Well, I’m off to the Target Gallery. I hope it’s inspiring!
If you”d like to find out what I come up with, you can hear me read a the Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA. Thursday February 10, 2011, 7 p.m.
New Year Brings New Opportunities
Happy New Year to Fodder for Fiction readers! The New Year is starting off great. I thought I’d give a little teaser on some upcoming events on my calendar. I’ve been invited to read my work at some upcoming events. Here’s the schedule. I share more about the events later. But mark your calendars and come out to hear me.
January 29, 2011
Spoken Word Performance, Book Signing and Sale at Art Carnage at the Soundry in Vienna, VA, 8 p.m. – midnight
February 3, 2011
Reading is Sexy Kindle Party! The Soundry, Vienna, VA, 7 p.m. (too far away to attend in person? Watch for more details on live streaming of this event!)
February 10, 2011
Target Gallery, 7 p.m. Spoken Word Performance. Come hear stories inspired by the Mixing Bowl exhibit.
My Kids Make Me Laugh Every Day
Whack! I missed the bug and hit myself on the knee. Another one. “These flies are everywhere! Their stings are bringing tears to my eyes.” I swatted one from my shoulder as another one bit my leg. “Ouch! What are these things? They’re too small to be horse flies.”
Thing 2 said, “Maybe they are pony flies.”
Thing 1 said, “No. Too mean to be pony flies. Jackass flies.”
…now if I could only find some Jackass fly repellent I could avoid any more of these huge itchy welts they leave behind.
It’s all Fodder for Fiction!
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
I Must Have Heard Wrong…
My Emily Litella Moment
Wanted to share a recent telephone call with my sister who over the years has worked on rape hotlines and with organizations who support victims of domestic violence.
She opened the conversation. “I have a new assignment.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ve been working with a lot of prostitutes and one of the biggest problems is literacy. I’m trying to find books for them. But the problem is, the reading level is about fourth grade.”
“Oh?”
“Well, since my kids are older and you have kids who have just entered middle school, I thought you might have some books I could give them.”
“I’m sure I have books at that reading level, but the subject matter might not be that engaging for adults.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the books I have are geared toward young kids. I don’t really think adults will want to read Magic Tree House and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” I scanned the bookshelf. “Maybe some of the nonfiction books like Mistakes That Worked, The Big Book of Bugs, or The Guinness Book of World Records could hold an adult’s interest.”
My sister’s voice went up an octave. “Adult? What are you talking about? Who do you think the books are for?”
I nodded. “The prostitutes.”
“I’m not working with prostitutes!”
“What? Who are your clients?”
“Foster kids. I said, ‘Foster kids!”
“Oh…That’s different… Never mind. My children’s books will be perfect. I’ll pack ‘em up for you and put them in the mail.”
During lunch with some of my girlfriends, I relayed this story, laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. (Yes, I laugh at my own jokes! My delivery may be poor, but at I’m my own good audience.). One of my friends was quick to try to make me feel better by offering the following personal experience.
When working on a volunteer project at school, she struck up a conversation with another mother helping out. The two sat at a table stuffing envelopes or some such.
My friend asked, “How old is your daughter?”
“She’s 16, a junior this year and so busy!”
“Really, what she involved in?”
“Well, she’s a stripper.”
There must be better ways for a high school girl to earn a buck. “Really?”
“The hours are so long and she has to shower when she finishes, so it makes for a really long day for her.”
Now, my friend, a pretty lenient parent and rarely speechless, nibbled her fingernails and widened her eyes. “Uh huh.”
As my pal tells the story this conversation went on for a good five minutes before she realized the fellow volunteer had said, “SWIMMER – her daughter was a swimmer,” not a STRIPPER, after all!
Tell me about a conversation that turned into a game of telephone (remember the one when a whispered phrase is sent around a circle and winds up completely different by the time it reaches the last player!) I’d love to hear about something you heard wrong that made you laugh when the light bulb finally went off above your head with the real meaning of the conversation. Share a story. It’s all fodder for fiction!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
http://www.LLLeibow.com
I’m Getting SPARKED!
I just sent a short story as an inspiration piece to my SPARK partner and received a work of art from her. I have until the 29th to create something new, inspired by her work and she’ll create something inspired by mine. I can’t wait to see what comes of it! Wish me luck. It’s all Fodder for Fiction!
For more information about this challenge, check out http://www.GetSparked.org
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
Breaking the Ice
by Lisa Lipkind Leibow, Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
My three sons came home from the first day of school, itching to tell me tidbits of new classes, new teachers, friends, and more.
Thing 1 ripped open a bag of chips. “In science, to break the ice, the teacher went around the room and had each of us introduce ourselves by saying our name and one interesting fact about ourselves. I raised my hand to go first. ‘I have something interesting! I’m a twin.’ Turns out, that wasn’t all that interesting. Six other kids in the class were twins and one was a quadruplet! Can you believe that?!”
What are the chances of that? Leave a comment. Share one interesting fact that makes you feel unique (or not…). Ha!
Family Bucket List Series. Volume 2. Issue 11.
by Lisa Lipkind Leibow, Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
Through this blog, I was able to let my summer vacation linger well into autumn. Thanks for indulging me in my travel log. (Travel blog? Tlog?…who knows?) In any event, I thought it would be fun to share the secret photos I took of my family during the layover in Phoenix between our red-eye from Maui to the mainland and our final leg from Phoenix to D.C. Aren’t they cute?
