Jennifer Lauck's Blog
July 6, 2017
Working with My Hands
I've finished my fifth book tentatively titled Breathing Just a Little. This book has eaten up nine years of my life, in the telling and the living and now it is in the hands of my literary agent, Chip McGregor and I am taking a break. This is laughable because I'm not the kind of person who feels comfortable "taking a break." I am a do'er. Go. Go. Always on the move. In between tinkering around with ideas for the next big project (do I work on the novel set in Italy in the 1900's? Or begin a new novel set in Dresden just before the February 1945 bombing? Or should I just do a series of essays?), I've taken to cooking. Specifically brining, and testing every recipe in this clever little book that features almond flour. I've made the chocolate chip scones, the cherry chocolate cookies and now the very vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting. My waistline expands but life is short! Grape seed oil, almond flour and agave.
Over at brining central, I've put up sauerkraut (this is surprisingly hard to make), and a jar of mixed veggies (below). There's something incredibly therapeutic about massaging salt into cabbage and then waiting for the brine to release. I cannot believe our ancestors did this and survived. I have yet to make one decent batch of sauerkraut, and it's really hard to get that much brine going. who knew? Still, I'm sticking with it though, and making sure to release that C02 build up. By the end of the summer, I hope I've cracked the code to making excellent sauerkraut, and that I have made every recipe in my almond flour cookbook, that way, when the school year starts (and I get serious about whatever writing project I decide to tackle), I'll be a pro!
July 4, 2017
The Opportunity within the Reality of Trump
There is a site that clocks the seconds of Trump's presidency. Click here to see for yourself. As of this writing, it has been one hundred sixty five days, two hours, twenty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds.
I remember back to the morning of November 9th, and how I was so despondent, I posted this:
The Road is the Pulitzer Prize winning novel that depicts the world after a nuclear attack. The reader isn't told how the world went up in smoke though, thus my comment on the morning after DT was elected. Goodbye beautiful world, I thought as I stumbled through November 9th, because a sociopath like Trump would surely blow us all to smithereens and laugh while pushing the button down. In the midst of my sorrow, something happened though. As I went through the day, I found the colors of the flowers more intense. The air more sweet. The people I met more lovely and more precious. There was a profound sadness, even fear, in me, but I also noticed a profound awareness too.
Here we are, five plus months later, and a kind of cleansing has taken place, a refinement. I left a relationship that no longer served, let go of several toxic connections, and my bond to my children, and my most precious friends, is now a major priority. It's strange to say my life is better because the world is just as screwed up, perhaps even worse. Personally, I'm likely to lose my health insurance, and as someone in the Pacific Northwest, I'm painfully aware that I'm in the first strike zone for the missiles that North Korea aims at the U.S. Meanwhile my president is off golfing (for the 21st time), after endorsing violent methods for dealing with the media, and savagely attacking (via Tweet) a woman who hosts Morning Joe.
Those of us who have had bad fathers are pretty familiar with the routine of a guy like DT, and those of us ready to grow up and be the good parent we've never had, are being presented with remarkable opportunities to express ourselves. Because DT is so outrageous, so out of line, people who usually do nothing are getting involved. They are talking. Meeting. Writing. Rather than folding under this strange leadership, and falling silent, many, many of are standing up for what we believe in ways that we never have before. For example, Comey keeping his meticulous notes and testifying before the world, the Woman's March, and the We are Still In movement where American businesses grouped together to remain in The Paris Accord.
I think of the people in Pompai, or those wiped out by the plague. I revisit the horrors of WWI, and then II, and then I ask myself if our time is more intense than any other? Or is it more intense because it is now? That kind of distance helps me re-think my initial fear. DT is not the end of the human race. He's a former reality TV star, or as Obama said, "a bullshi*#er." Yes, DT is a painful, even frightening presence, it's important to remember he's just a man. The power he has is only in proportion to what we give him, or project on him.
I chose to believe we, as a species, are in state of intense evolution right now and DT is just a part of that process. Those pursing higher consciousness will be working that much harder to achieve self awareness. Those who are dedicated to evil will be stepping up their game too, which we see in the terrorist attacks, in the actions of the North Koreans, in the meddling of the Russians and in DT himself, where every day there is an occurrence more bizarre than the last. We are in a volatile tug-of-war, yanked from the dark to the light and back to the dark again. It's not fun, but it's part of the process of growth. The work is to stay with it. Stay present. Stay awake. Do your part by making the little adjustments you can make. Grow inside, and also step back to see the growth outside of yourself. It's painful, it's frightening, but it's what we are presented with at this time.
I remember back to the morning of November 9th, and how I was so despondent, I posted this:
The Road is the Pulitzer Prize winning novel that depicts the world after a nuclear attack. The reader isn't told how the world went up in smoke though, thus my comment on the morning after DT was elected. Goodbye beautiful world, I thought as I stumbled through November 9th, because a sociopath like Trump would surely blow us all to smithereens and laugh while pushing the button down. In the midst of my sorrow, something happened though. As I went through the day, I found the colors of the flowers more intense. The air more sweet. The people I met more lovely and more precious. There was a profound sadness, even fear, in me, but I also noticed a profound awareness too.
Here we are, five plus months later, and a kind of cleansing has taken place, a refinement. I left a relationship that no longer served, let go of several toxic connections, and my bond to my children, and my most precious friends, is now a major priority. It's strange to say my life is better because the world is just as screwed up, perhaps even worse. Personally, I'm likely to lose my health insurance, and as someone in the Pacific Northwest, I'm painfully aware that I'm in the first strike zone for the missiles that North Korea aims at the U.S. Meanwhile my president is off golfing (for the 21st time), after endorsing violent methods for dealing with the media, and savagely attacking (via Tweet) a woman who hosts Morning Joe.
Those of us who have had bad fathers are pretty familiar with the routine of a guy like DT, and those of us ready to grow up and be the good parent we've never had, are being presented with remarkable opportunities to express ourselves. Because DT is so outrageous, so out of line, people who usually do nothing are getting involved. They are talking. Meeting. Writing. Rather than folding under this strange leadership, and falling silent, many, many of are standing up for what we believe in ways that we never have before. For example, Comey keeping his meticulous notes and testifying before the world, the Woman's March, and the We are Still In movement where American businesses grouped together to remain in The Paris Accord.I think of the people in Pompai, or those wiped out by the plague. I revisit the horrors of WWI, and then II, and then I ask myself if our time is more intense than any other? Or is it more intense because it is now? That kind of distance helps me re-think my initial fear. DT is not the end of the human race. He's a former reality TV star, or as Obama said, "a bullshi*#er." Yes, DT is a painful, even frightening presence, it's important to remember he's just a man. The power he has is only in proportion to what we give him, or project on him.
I chose to believe we, as a species, are in state of intense evolution right now and DT is just a part of that process. Those pursing higher consciousness will be working that much harder to achieve self awareness. Those who are dedicated to evil will be stepping up their game too, which we see in the terrorist attacks, in the actions of the North Koreans, in the meddling of the Russians and in DT himself, where every day there is an occurrence more bizarre than the last. We are in a volatile tug-of-war, yanked from the dark to the light and back to the dark again. It's not fun, but it's part of the process of growth. The work is to stay with it. Stay present. Stay awake. Do your part by making the little adjustments you can make. Grow inside, and also step back to see the growth outside of yourself. It's painful, it's frightening, but it's what we are presented with at this time.
March 4, 2017
What's Going On?
If you are used to coming to this page, as a student of The Studio, well...it's true...we've moved. Go to the new site by clicking here. Check out The Blackbird Studio for Writers. Otherwise...stay put, grab a cup of something hot and sit back to talk about the writers life.
That's right. It's a blog. And this is the first post! Welcome.
_____________________________
Here we go!
When I first started my site back in 2005, I was super wordy, as if writing a book. The kids today tell me to keep it short. 500 words. So let's see what I can do.
People often ask me, "Why do you write?"
Rilke, in his fine book Letters to a Young Poet, says it best. If it were denied me to write, I would die!
Once it hit me that I would, in fact, perish without a regular writing practice, I made huge changes in my life. First, I accepted I may never see another dime from my creative efforts. Second, I asked my kids to get onboard and we downsized and simplified our lives. This meant letting go of a 3000 square foot house. Some expensive perks. The flashy car. Third, I went the business of literary teaching as a way to nestle closer to my writing curiosities with a group of like-minded thinkers. Fourth, I set time aside, everyday, to write. And write I did! I've completed a novel, and a memoir (this one now being edited).
But it's not all good news. I have to tell you straight that I slipped from away from my commitment, was actually tempted away by the worst seduction of all: a man, and his promises, and diamonds...but wait. I'll write more about that later. Check in again in a few days and read what it took to make it back to shoreline of my creative life again.
~ Jennifer
That's right. It's a blog. And this is the first post! Welcome.
_____________________________
Here we go!
When I first started my site back in 2005, I was super wordy, as if writing a book. The kids today tell me to keep it short. 500 words. So let's see what I can do.
People often ask me, "Why do you write?"
Rilke, in his fine book Letters to a Young Poet, says it best. If it were denied me to write, I would die! Once it hit me that I would, in fact, perish without a regular writing practice, I made huge changes in my life. First, I accepted I may never see another dime from my creative efforts. Second, I asked my kids to get onboard and we downsized and simplified our lives. This meant letting go of a 3000 square foot house. Some expensive perks. The flashy car. Third, I went the business of literary teaching as a way to nestle closer to my writing curiosities with a group of like-minded thinkers. Fourth, I set time aside, everyday, to write. And write I did! I've completed a novel, and a memoir (this one now being edited).
But it's not all good news. I have to tell you straight that I slipped from away from my commitment, was actually tempted away by the worst seduction of all: a man, and his promises, and diamonds...but wait. I'll write more about that later. Check in again in a few days and read what it took to make it back to shoreline of my creative life again.
~ Jennifer
December 26, 2016
Spring Craft Studio - Mar 1-May 3
"This is such a safe environment to grow and learn, thank you," ~ Cheryl
This page is for students in Tuesday Spring Craft Studio. We begin March 1st at 10 a.m.
Class Detail: You will read aloud several times to get a deep connection to the storyteller's voice within, we will immerse in a terrific novel titled The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, in order to carefully dissect each aspect of craft and structure. You'll leave knowing how to tear a book apart in order to see the inner workings of process, a technique that will serve you for all your writing life. You'll also learn about scene, scene progressions, structure and antagonistic forces. This class is designed to help you make breakthroughs with your writing and help you get closer to your publishing goals. Audio option for long distance students. Write me at [email protected] for info.
Early birds get $75 off!
We will fill fast. Only 12 spots. Sign up now.
Required Text:
The History of Love by Nicole Kruass
Story by Robert McKee
Tell it Slant by Brenda Miller.
Class Schedule:
Wednesday's 10-12 p.m. Mar. 1-May 3
Additional details posted soon.
Reference texts:
Keep it Short by Danny Heitman (Click on link)
Debra Gwartney on Memoir (click on link)
Philip Lopate on Writing Personal Essays (click on link)
Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker
Story Engineering by Larry Brooks
Screenwriters Problem Solver by Syd Fields
Suggested Program:
Scrivner (free download for 30 days).
November 14, 2016
Spring Craft Studio - Mar 15-May 17
"This is such a safe environment to grow and learn, thank you," ~ Cheryl
This page is for students in Tuesday Spring Craft Studio. We begin March 1st at 10 a.m.
Class Detail: You will read aloud several times to get a deep connection to the storyteller's voice within, we will immerse in a terrific novel titled The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, in order to carefully dissect each aspect of craft and structure. You'll leave knowing how to tear a book apart in order to see the inner workings of process, a technique that will serve you for all your writing life. You'll also learn about scene, scene progressions, structure and antagonistic forces. This class is designed to help you make breakthroughs with your writing and help you get closer to your publishing goals. Audio option for long distance students. Write me at [email protected] for info.
Early birds get $75 off!
We will fill fast. Only 12 spots. Sign up now.
Required Text:
The History of Love by Nicole Kruass
Story by Robert McKee
Tell it Slant by Brenda Miller.
Class Schedule:
Wednesday's 10-12 p.m. April 1-May 3
Additional details posted soon.
Reference texts:
Keep it Short by Danny Heitman (Click on link)
Debra Gwartney on Memoir (click on link)
Philip Lopate on Writing Personal Essays (click on link)
Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker
Story Engineering by Larry Brooks
Screenwriters Problem Solver by Syd Fields
Suggested Program:
Scrivner (free download for 30 days).
November 3, 2016
30 Week Studio Classes: 2017/17
Now Taking Applications for the 2017/18 academic year.
WHAT:
The Studio specializes in long term literary studies. We meet each week for three hours and Studio read a selection of books, essays, and short stories, attend literary lectures, listen to podcasts by nationally known writers, and study together. We workshop on the various complexities of the literary arts including scene, structure, character development, arc, antagonistic forces and progressions. We have a mini poetry track, with Jenn Foreman, and this is to help break into deeper emotions within our prose. We also have a guest literary agent talk to us during the year. Last, there are two community readings for Studio writers, where you present your work to the whole school!
The Studio is a committed group who support each other by setting goals, sharing the details of their full length projects, and by being there during the ups and downs of the creative process.
WHEN:
Studio I - First years and beginning/intermediate
Tuesday/11:30-2:30
*Audio class option available. See below.
Studio II - Second year and intermediate writers
Thursday/11:30-2:30
Studio III - Third and fourth year and advanced writers
Thursday/6:00-9:00
NOTE: We may be adding a Studio IV based on applications. Final spots are confirmed May 1, 2017. Classes begin mid-Sept.
HOW:
Email [email protected] and tell me about yourself, your writing strengths and weaknesses, your CV (this means resume! Include your writing studies thus far and any publication credits), and three samples of your writing.
COST:
Once we get your email of interest, we'll provide that information. It's a lot less than therapy! And more
Apply early! Get your spot in this terrific program.
Studio I Audio Options:
Option 1: Each week, from Sept. 13 to May 30th, you receive a three hour audio class and can follow the homework and readings at your own pace, and level of interest. You are basically attending the class at the level of an observer. Cost: $600.00
Option 2: Each week, from Sept. 13 to May 30th, you receive a three hour audio class and can follow the homework and readings at your own pace, and level of interest. And, you can submit pages to me, personally, ten times over the year. I will read those pages, provide written feedback and send them back to you. We can discuss the feedback on the phone, or on Skype, and this is a twenty minute session. Cost: $1250.00
October 11, 2016
Bones of Storytelling - 2017
You are such an amazing teacher. I am experienced and published, but when I came home I immediately started revising my novel. First chapter? Gone. Plot points? There. Heroine taking charge? You bet. You worked your ass off...we writers sure appreciate it. ~ Sue Lick
This class is the result of five years of study on story. I've broken down the parts into simple sections with exercises to help you learn how to understand and apply each part to the whole. Concept, theme, plot, structure, character, antagonistic forces, and setting. You will learn to organize your fiction or creative non-fiction with the reader in mind. You will leave with examples, handouts, and tools to fine two your current draft or create your first!
March 10-12: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Curriculum:
Fri: 6:00-9:00 Concept & Theme
Sat: 10:00-4:00 Plot and Structure
Sun: 10:00-4:00 Character, Antagonistic Forces, SettingBooks and Prep for Class: Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.Story by Robert McKeeThe Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley (for the particularly ambitious!)
Please dig in and read about Concept, Theme and Structure, in Story Engineering. Read about the seven basic plots in Booker. Read Chapter 14 in Robert McKee. If you go as far as getting the Smiley book, read A Novel of your Own PI & II.
If you DO NOT want to invest in these books, please don't worry. I'll have my copies, hand outs, and you can share with others. Also, if you are balking at pre-reading, DO NOT WORRY! This suggestion is for those who want to get a jump on the class.
Write a summary of your project and a bio on yourself. Tell me what you are trying to create, what has thwarted you, and what your writing goals are. Also include some background on yourself. Please do not stress about this exercise. Just do your best!
Sign up now!
This class is the result of five years of study on story. I've broken down the parts into simple sections with exercises to help you learn how to understand and apply each part to the whole. Concept, theme, plot, structure, character, antagonistic forces, and setting. You will learn to organize your fiction or creative non-fiction with the reader in mind. You will leave with examples, handouts, and tools to fine two your current draft or create your first!
March 10-12: Friday, Saturday, Sunday
Curriculum:
Fri: 6:00-9:00 Concept & Theme
Sat: 10:00-4:00 Plot and Structure
Sun: 10:00-4:00 Character, Antagonistic Forces, SettingBooks and Prep for Class: Story Engineering by Larry Brooks.Story by Robert McKeeThe Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley (for the particularly ambitious!)
Please dig in and read about Concept, Theme and Structure, in Story Engineering. Read about the seven basic plots in Booker. Read Chapter 14 in Robert McKee. If you go as far as getting the Smiley book, read A Novel of your Own PI & II.
If you DO NOT want to invest in these books, please don't worry. I'll have my copies, hand outs, and you can share with others. Also, if you are balking at pre-reading, DO NOT WORRY! This suggestion is for those who want to get a jump on the class.
Write a summary of your project and a bio on yourself. Tell me what you are trying to create, what has thwarted you, and what your writing goals are. Also include some background on yourself. Please do not stress about this exercise. Just do your best!
Sign up now!
October 10, 2016
Publishing Workshop - Spring 2017
Holly Lorincz - Visiting InstructorI met Holly a couple years back when she was a young agent and long time editor. I was impressed by her poise and focus. I invited her to teach to a group of students I was working with and found she was generous, open and kind. Honest and ambitious too.
She presented again at The Blackbird Studio on June 4th and talked about preparing manuscripts for agent and editor review. She will return in Sept. for a repeat performance of her class, Preparing Your Work for Submission, and she'll do an advanced course as well, for those who are ready to work their first chapter and query letter.
How to Get Plublished - Spring 2017
Advanced Publishing Workshop - Spring 2017
Holly is a professional editor and owner of Lorincz Literary Services. She works with debut and bestselling authors, publishing houses, and the MacGregor Literary Agency, where she agented for three years. Holly's also an author, ghost writing a range of published books, from memoirs to novels to prison survival handbooks, and is the published author of her own, hilarious novel, Smart Mouth, which is optioned for a TV series.
Publishing Workshop - Nov. 12
Holly Lorincz - Visiting InstructorI met Holly a couple years back when she was a young agent and long time editor. I was impressed by her poise and focus. I invited her to teach to a group of students I was working with and found she was generous, open and kind. Honest and ambitious too.
She presented again at The Blackbird Studio on June 4th and talked about preparing manuscripts for agent and editor review. She will return in Sept. for a repeat performance of her class, Preparing Your Work for Submission, and she'll do an advanced course as well, for those who are ready to work their first chapter and query letter.
Nov. 12 - Advanced Publishing Workshop
Holly is a professional editor and owner of Lorincz Literary Services. She works with debut and bestselling authors, publishing houses, and the MacGregor Literary Agency, where she agented for three years. Holly's also an author, ghost writing a range of published books, from memoirs to novels to prison survival handbooks, and is the published author of her own, hilarious novel, Smart Mouth, which is optioned for a TV series.
September 12, 2016
Welcome New Instructor (Poetry, Prose, Screenwriting)
Matthew Minicucci - InstructorMatthew Minicucci has just moved to Portland and is a pearl of a man! I'm so happy and honored he'll be teaching at The Studio in the fall of 2016.
Matt is the author of two collections of poetry: Translation (Kent State University Press, 2015), chosen by Jane Hirshfield for the 2014 Wick Poetry Prize, and Small Gods, forthcoming from New Issues Press in 2017. He is the recipient of fellowships and awards from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, the Wick Poetry Center, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received his MFA. His work has appeared in or is forthcoming from numerous journals and anthologies, including Best New Poets 2014, Gettysburg Review, Kenyon Review, and The Southern Review, among others.
Flash Forms: Making the Micro Macro
Oct. 12 - Nov. 16
