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January 2004

"Remember that there is meaning beyond absurdity. Know that every deed counts, that every word is power....Above all, remember that you must build your life as it were a work of art."
--- Abraham Joshua Heschel 

IN THIS ISSUE: * What is Up? * Article: The Business of Writing
* The Pivotal Potato

WHAT IS UP?

I will be on the airwaves this Sunday at 6 PM talking with Mike Cleary on his Food and Travel Radio Show on KABL 960 AM.

***

The Wild Writing Women will be on T.V. sometime this month on the CNBC show Squawk Box featuring Maureen Wheeler of Lonely Planet fame. It was a fluke that we ended up in this show because the cameras were following Maureen around when she toured the States.  She just happened to be one of our guest speakers along with Don George at the Literary Salon which I hosted in December. 

***

The next free monthly Wild Writing Women Literary Salon will be on Wednesday January 7 at the Monticello Inn in San Francisco at 5:30 PM. Our guest speaker will be John Flinn, travel editor at the San Francisco Chronicle.  To find out more, go to http://www.wildwritingwomen.com/

***

If you are in need of solitude and support for your writing projects in this New Year, consider renting my Writers Retreat in Fairfax.  For photos and details, go http://www.lisaalpine.com/Studio/studio.html
 

THE BUSINESS OF WRITING: Deconstructing the Starving Artist Myth
by Lisa Alpine
 
How DO you make a living as a writer? It is not an impossible dream. Let me share with you many tips that will facilitate living the writer’s life. These include: marketing your writing effectively, multiple ways to make money with your writing skills, time management, financial planning, lifestyle choices. Let’s re-wire your life to make it work for you in a creative way.
 

BE THE TURTLE, NOT THE HARE
Make a long-term commitment to your passion. Don’t think your writing should support you immediately – it is a child and won’t be an adult for quite a while. Experts say it takes upward of five years to grow a successful business. Be committed but realistic about your writing. Yes, you can write, but you aren’t Ernest Hemingway or Barbara Kingsolver. Editors will not be licking your boots and begging you to write another novel. Your writer’s ego is fragile and will have a lot better chance of surviving the turbulent waters of rejection and acceptance if you are patient yet persistent, confidant yet humble.
 

PREPPING YOUR MIND AND BODY FOR SUCCESS
When you work for yourself, you are the janitor, bookkeeper, innovator and CEO. That takes a tremendous amount of focus and energy. The learning curve is extremely high and challenging, but when you work for yourself, you reap the benefits of your efforts. In order to achieve this success, you need to have good energy and health.Energy maintenance: Notice where your energy goes. It fuels your life. Are you using it to enhance and create, or do you worry and spin your wheels? This may be the most difficult change to make in your life--getting control of you and learning to deconstruct the internal stress patterns. The mind uses a tremendous amount of energy to think and weave its stories. It is usually out of control --rather like an undisciplined child. I don’t think the Western mind understands its true function. We are not our brain; it’s just an organ with a job to do. Give it assignments and when it completes them, let your brain take a well-deserved rest. Learn to not think by creating down time for your mind, a time that is quiet and there is no mental activity. Perhaps going for a hike in nature or getting a massage. Many creative ideas and solutions come out of the "no mind" state that is induced through relaxation and letting go of mental focus.

 
Dietary maintenance. The brain needs calories to function properly and I get very hungry when I write. In the past I would skip breakfast and exist on coffee when I was on deadline. I thought "who needs calories when you are just sitting in a chair typing?" But what I discovered was that my brain would shut off rather suddenly and I would go blank. Welcome to low blood sugar! The brain needs protein and fluids to function. I suggest creating a "brain food" meal you eat before you sit down to write. High in protein, low in carbohydrates and sugars. Think omelets and keep a glass of water at your desk—or even better—a water bottle with a secure top.
 

Sleep maintenance. Fatigue causes "foggy mind" and you can’t write a sentence worth the reading in that state. The deepest rest happens before midnight so if you have a creative writing project or deadline slated for the next day, get to bed before 11 PM if possible. Don’t watch violent or depressing movies before you go to sleep. Create a peaceful state of rest. Be a mental Olympic athlete and train yourself to succeed with the energy you need.
 

Relationship maintenance. I personally believe stable relationships are a great boon to creativity but your partner, family and friends need to really understand and appreciate your artistic efforts. If you feel undercurrents of competition or belittling that you are a writer, stand up for yourself and ask for their support. Surround yourself with other writers and artists, people who understand the ups and downs of creativity. If you aren’t in a writer’s group already, join one or start one. The editing meetings keep you on track and give you deadlines, plus the feedback is a constant source of learning for improving your writing skills.
 

Time maintenance. How much time is spent during your workday talking to friends on the phone about their latest breakup or an epiphany you had in the hot tub last night? I wasted a lot of deadline time in this manner. Time management is like dieting, you need to cut out the fat (unless you are on the Atkins Diet). Figure out a writing schedule that you can stick to. In order for this to work, you need to eliminate all distractions—unplug the phone, turn off the stereo, stay away from the refrigerator and don’t suddenly decide it’s time to clean the house (my house is always the cleanest when I have a writing deadline.)
 

CAN YOU AFFORD TO BE AN ARTIST?
One of the main areas of stress in people’s lives is money or lack of it. If you get smart about your resources, you can overcome the roadblock of debt and money worries. This does not mean you will become a millionaire, it means you shall use common sense in financial matters and take control of the wheel so that you can open up space in your life to write and be creative.
 
How can you tailor your life to meet your income? I do not own a cell phone or have cable modem. I drive a Saturn. I don’t shop unless I really need something. I get airline tickets through my Mileage Plus program. I avoid credit card debt and bank charges. I still clean my own home. I have no goals to be a multimillionaire but my goal is for my art to support me.
 
Educate yourself about financial management and budgeting. Take a course, read Suzy Orman’s books, ask friends how they manage their money. Be frugal but not a tightwad—that in itself is a sign of stress and if you aren’t enjoying yourself—what’s the point?
To read this article in its 3,000 word entirety and learn many tips on how you can afford to be a writer, e mail me and I will send it to you.

The Pivotal Potato

Jane at the Writing Salon sent this writing exercise out to her writing teachers and wanted us to read our "potato" stories at her next Salon. She asked us to write a short piece about a potato. It is a fun exercise that got me to write out of the box and had unexpected results as I found out when I discovered that, by George!, I did have a potato story to tell... Do you?"The Pivotal Potato"
by Lisa AlpineI was traveling over the altiplano on a road that circles around Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The Indians there are very poor and the environment harsh (16,000 feet elevation and freezing). There are no tourist facilities so I spent the night in an Aymara Indian family's hut. I was hungry. They invited me to dine with them.
 
They were eating what they ate every day of the year--small freeze-dried potatoes in weird mottled colors -- purple, green, and red. The potato originated in South America and there are more varieties in Bolivia and Peru than any other part of the world. The ones we were eating had been reconstituted with boiling water. No salt. No flavor. My hosts savored them. Obviously, these puny potatoes were a main part of their existence. When they weren't eating them, they were cultivating them. "How were they grown?", I asked to spark conversation among this very reticent and superstitious family with whom I was renting dirt floor space for the night and sharing a meal.
The mother, whose mahogany face was cracked and polished from exposure to extreme weather, told me, "We dig them up when they are ready and leave them on the hard ground to freeze. Then we go through the field in our bare feet and roll each one under our feet to remove the skin. Then we store them in baskets and they last a year."
 
"Oh," was my only comment. I looked down at her feet. They were blackened and cracked and had calluses as thick as history books.
 
Maybe I did detect some flavor in my meal after all…

Journey Into Writing Newsletter
November 2003

We ask the poet to teach us a way of seeing,
lest one spend a lifetime on this planet
without noticing how green light sometimes
flares up as the setting sun rolls under.
-Diane Ackerman

IN THIS ISSUE: * What’s Up? * Interview on the writing process * Shakespearean Hokey Pokey

WHAT’S UP?

The Writer’s Retreat in Marin:
I decided to create a space for writers that is quiet and will encourage them to listen deeply to their muse. It is a birthing room of sorts for books, short stories and poetry that wants to see the printed page.
 
This spacious, elegantly decorated studio is light and airy, very private, quiet (separate from the house), and is located on a charming tree-lined street in Fairfax, Marin County, CA. It has recently been completely remodeled with a bathroom (shower), kitchen and large living area. (See the photos)
 
Amenities include:
VCR & video library
Fully equipped kitchen
Telephone for local calls and 800#s

Location:
The studio is on the border of Fairfax and San Anselmo, within walking distance of good restaurants (Thai, Italian, Raw, Mexican, Mediterranean, Brew Pub, etc.…), libraries, cafes, boutiques, night life (lots of live music in Fairfax), health food stores, gourmet ice cream shop, yoga studios and more. There are many great hiking and mountain biking trails right above the studio that take you into the hills and forests on the side of Mount Tamalpais. There are also four lakes within a 10-minute drive and Point Reyes National Sea Shore is 45 minutes away, as is Stinson Beach and Bolinas. The Napa Valley Wine Country is less than an hour away. San Francisco is 45 minutes by car and there is also direct bus and ferry service.
 
Rental Terms:
Daily: $60
Rates are for 1 person and there is a 2 night minimum stay. A $100 refundable cleaning deposit is required. No smoking or pets.

Click here for photos. For more details, email or call Lisa Alpine.

I'm one of the writers featured in this desk calendar that will make a great gift for writers in your life...

Bylines 2004 Writer's Desk Calendar is a welcome companion for writers at any stage of their career. Each week an author tells you why and how and when they write. Share 2004 with 52 freelance magazine writers, poets, playwrights, essayists, screenwriters and book authors. They've come out of the trenches to reaffirm their craft and share their experiences with insight, humor and unfailing optimism. This weekly desk calendar has commentary, profiles and photos of writers. Spiral bound, 6x9 inches, with ample weekly planning space, current and next month at a glance and writers resources. $13.95 + shipping. To order: https://www.bylines2004.com/index.php

I have a story --The Monster Dildo of Mexico -- in this hot-off-the-press Travelers' Tale anthology and I'll be participating in a reading from Hyenas at Get Lost Books in Berkeley (see Classes and Events)

Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why: The Best of Travel Humor and Misadventure, edited by Sean O'Reilly, Larry Habegger, and James O'Reilly, Introduction by Tim Cahill, shipping from the printer Oct. 15, in bookstores Nov. 1. Have you ever had the feeling the world was laughing at you—or at least smirking—as you stumbled and bumbled your way through a foreign land? Did time slow down, your face turn red, and sweat leap from every pore as you wished fervently you could just say "Beam me up, Scotty"? Laugh at these authors in their shame and be glad that you were not there with them…  $14.95 + shipping. To order: http://www.travelerstales.com/catalog/hyena/

INTERVIEW ABOUT THE WRITING PROCESS

Recently a writing student for a college in the Central Valley contacted me for an interview on being a professional writer.  

What do you do to get ideas, to get ready to write, and to do the writing?

L.A.: My writing takes many different directions. I'm the travel columnist for the Pacific Sun in Marin County. When I write my column, I write about places I've traveled to that the readers would like to know about for their future travels. This style of writing I do in the first person and I like to focus on the character of the place and people I'm visiting. I also love to write short stories with a twist, usually they arise from an experience I've had while traveling that awoke something inside me. This "something", this lesson wants to be explored more through my writing so the ideas come from a kernel or seed inside the experience that wants to be told.

I usually write very early in the morning when there is no noise or phone calls coming in. I try and eliminate all distractions so that I can go deep into the story and really explore it with language. I enjoy this investigation very much. This is the beginning of where my stories and columns come from. I blurt and spew and sift with words through my experience and then once that is all out, I have something to craft and work with. It is rather like sculpting clay. You know there is a shape in the lump of clay but you need to touch it and carve it and mold it to find out what the sculpture is that wants to be created.

What special strategies or rituals do you use to get from idea to ideas on paper?

L.A.: The above --- turn off the phone and start to dig with words and know that I enjoy this process. I don't tell myself how hard it is, I tell myself, "Oh boy, I get to play with words."

What techniques do you use when you have writer's block? What have you done to get through this block?

L.A.: Because I'm under deadline for my columns and other freelance articles or book projects, I can't afford to have writer's block. I have also learned through 20 years as a professional writer that I can't waste time and energy being stressed out about writing so my policy is to enjoy the process and not treat it like a stone around my neck. I feel very fortunate to have a career that depends on my creativity.

When I do have a block of words that won't flow through, I do what I call "spewing" where I type as fast as I can about the subject I'm writing about and get it out of me with no judgment about the quality or content. This seems to move me out of being stuck and gives me lots of material to then sculpt into a story.

SHAKESPEAREAN HOKEY POKEY

The Washington Post Style Invitational contest asked readers to submit "instructions" for something (anything), written in the style of a famous person. The winning entry was

The Hokey Pokey as written by W. Shakespeare:

O proud left foot, that ventures quick within
Then soon upon a backward journey lithe.
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command sinistral pedestal to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid Hokey-Poke,
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wilde release from Heavens yoke.
Blessed dervish! Surely canst go, girl.
The Hoke, the poke -- banish now thy doubt
Verily, I say, 'tis what it's all about.

Check out past issues of Journey Into Writing here.

photo taken by L. Alpine  when she and her son, Galen, got off the bus in Limone and were swarmed by happy school kids wanting to play with Galen.

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
September 2003

Writing Tip: The query attack! * Excerpt from Dried Fish & Impulsive Love

 WRITING TIP: The attack of the query letter!
The 5-A-Day Query Plan
By Christina Spence-Maharajh

Maybe I'm paranoid, or maybe it's good old common sense. Regardless of the reasoning, the other day I decided it was time to start taking a daily multi-vitamin. The one thing I noticed was that each box stressed the importance of taking one of these pills each and every day. Maybe the manufacturer just wanted to sell more products. But being an optimist, I believed it really did make sense to take one of these pills on a daily basis to keep physically healthy. It reminded me of how important - no, vital - it is for writers to keep their 'writing health' in check. The only way to do so is with daily queries.

We all eat junk food. And, we generally realize that it isn't the best food for us, but we tend to keep eating it anyway. Similarly, we all too often get into a 'junk food' mentality when it comes to our writing. Instead of boosting our writing health with good habits, we may get lazy and stick to the tried and true methods we've used for far too long. What we may need is a daily boost to shake things up.

The 5-A-Day Query plan just might change your writing career forever. At first, it'll be an adjustment. It requires a great deal of dedication and determination to fit these queries into your daily schedule. And, just as you occasionally miss a multivitamin, you may have days when you just can't send out any queries. But, get into the habit of sending 5 queries most days, and your writing vitality will be greatly improved. Here are the steps I've used ever since I began my freelance writing career, to improve my chances of making the sale.

The 5 Steps to the 5-A-Day Plan

1. Markets. Find as many markets as humanly possible. This means searching online, buying books about writing markets, networking with other writers for new ideas, joining newsletters, and more. Don't limit yourself. Try a wide range of different types of markets such as ezines, newsletters and websites, along with traditional markets like magazines and newspapers.

2. Get Organized. Doing this before you get started will make the process much easier. Maybe you prefer an electronic organizer. Or, maybe you like a good old notebook and pen. Whatever works for you will help you get work. Include an always-updated listing of markets, a daily tally sheet of queries sent, a brainstorming section for new ideas and whatever else YOU need to keep and stay organized.

3. Finding the Time. I don't have to tell you that you're busy. You know that quite well yourself. But, to utilize the 5-A-Day plan, you'll need to find some time to send these queries. So, when can you spare an hour or two every day- It might mean giving up a couple of your favorite television shows - but that's what VCR's are for anyway. Do you work best first thing in the morning? Or, are you a night owl who stays up until the wee hours typing away like a maniac? Allot a time every day for your queries, and stick to it.

4. Develop an EXCELLENT Query Letter. Sending out queries everyday won't do much good if your letter doesn't excite the editors. Look at it from their perspective - if you can't write a decent query letter, they won't have much hope for the quality of your writing. We can all use help in polishing up our query letters, and I've found a couple of excellent sources online to help you do so:

http://www.eclectics.com/articles/query.html
http://www.poewar.com/articles/query_letter.htm
http://www.writing-world.com/basics/query.shtml

Your query letter is your 'handshake' to the editor - it's the best way you have of introducing yourself to them. If your handshake is wimpy - a poorly written query letter - their first impression will be a negative one. But, if your handshake is firm and professional - a concise, well-written piece of work - they'll be far more interested in working with you. Take the time to develop a good query letter.

5. Walk the Walk. My husband has a saying that I just love - "Don't talk the talk, if you can't walk the walk." Meaning that it's far easier to plan, prepare and talk about all of your plans of becoming a hugely successful freelance writer, than it is to sit down and really accomplish it.

Every day make it your goal to send five queries. Some days that might mean five queries to the same editor. Other days, of course, it'll mean five separate queries to five different editors.

Get started this week, and have a new assignment before the week ends! The 5-A-Day Query Plan will help your writing career - and your bank account - soar to new and impressive heights.  
 

 
SHORT STORY EXCERPT: DRIED FISH & IMPULSIVE LOVE

I would like to share with you another work-in-progress of mine for the next Wild Writing Women book:

I smell like dried fish. As I sit in a coffeehouse in Bogota, the sharp pieces of dried fish still clinging to my cotton trousers are scratchy and annoying. The hard plastic chair – a neon shade of Orange Julius orange – press the bits deeper into my flesh. I squirm with discomfort but then I look at Bob and suddenly feel ecstatic.

Warm coffee. Cool mountain air. Such pleasantness on my skin after weeks in the steamy, prickly, bug-scratching jungle.

Usually I go alone on my import/export buying journeys for my retail stores in California. Puddle-jumping on prop planes from Bogota into the heart –the artery—of the Amazon Basin to Leticia is not for those that like the comforts of first class travel. No one likes mosquitoes. But I don’t mind them or the staph-infected bites and the scars they leave on my arms and legs after every trip South. They are merit badges. Evidence of survival and adventure! Malaria, piranha, drug lords, lecherous men. I always come back to California in one piece –-well almost--after the mosquitoes have taken their mordida.

What am I doing bringing a boyfriend with me on this trip? Bob is dreadful, too. Hates the jungle, hates the Indians I trade with. Can’t even paddle a canoe or take a photograph. He is in a constant state of hysteria no matter how glorious the gigantic Victoria Reina lillypads—each one a Universe inhabited by jade-green frogs and giant-legged bugs-- or how strange and mythical appeared the pink river dolphins – quietly rising up and sinking back into the inky waters as our canoe wove through the tangle of vines and roots. I'm so grateful to see this through our Indian guide’s eyes. Bob is a miserable asshole.

Ironic because I’m Scandinavian-blond and delicate in appearance and he, Bob Duncan, (an odd name for a Chinese guy from San Francisco) looks swarthy and indigenous even though he's a strikingly handsome mutt mix of Chinese and Scotch.

So this nasty, whiny, jet-black–haired boyfriend and I escape back up to Bogota. Cool, refreshing, Bogota--in a cargo plane loaded with dried fish. We perch atop planks of stinky fish in an unpressurized cabin. They are our seats. He quacks so loud I can hear his complaints over the propeller’s incessant bronchial roar.

The pilot forces us to get out on the runway when we land. We jump out as the plane is still taxiing. He isn't supposed to have passengers – just fish. We scramble across the tarmac, hop a chain link fence and flag down a bus to town. We are so stinky, no problem getting a seat as the passengers give us lots of room.

So here we sit, together, over a cup of Colombian coffee in a modern plastic cafeteria. . He looks delicious –taunting eyes smiling toward me, rich umber silken skin under my fingers, a song in his eyes as he feels my light touch. His slightly torn plaid shirt hanging off his shoulders. Black black black straight hair.

Suddenly, I want to marry this man. This Bob Duncan man. This horse trainer from home who I met at dude ranch and didn’t even like when I met him. My chest hums with love as I look at him. I’ve never felt like marrying anyone in all of my 24 years on this planet. Before. Ever. It has never occurred to me to get married.

***

Writer's note: I'm playing with writing it in the present tense or the past tense. It is a good practice to go through a story and change it all to present or past and see which tense style reads better.
 
For the full story, e mail me and I will send you a copy when I finish it. P.S.: The tale is true!

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
August 2003

WRONG MIND: "I don't deserve to call myself a writer."
RIGHT MIND: "I can call myself a writer or a mongoose, for all that matters. The only important thing is that I write."
-- Eric Maisel, author of "Write Mind"

Self-editing advice * Excerpt from The Coptic Priest
* Wild Writing Women news

 
HOW TO EDIT YOUR OWN WRITING (SELF EDITING)

If your original creative writing looks bumbling or unpolished, it could benefit from a good edit. As hiring an editor isn't always a readily available option, most of the time you get the "opportunity" to perform that job yourself. When you wrestle with ideas, phrasing, and adjectives to place your intended picture into the reader's mind, you appreciate that writing is hard work. Editing is just as backbreaking -- a good job of editing usually takes nearly as long as the initial creative writing. Still though, it is worth the effort.

Editing is a multiple-pass project that takes considerable patience. Listed in the html link article below are some reasonable ideas for each edit cycle. The sequence that you execute these steps may impact the style you produce; experiment a bit to see what order works best for your writing. You will know you are done editing when you are positively sick and tired of reading your work again.
For the complete article with 11 very useful editing tips, click here.

SHORT STORY EXCERPT: THE COPTIC PRIEST

I would like to share with you a work-in-progress--a story about an experience I had while traveling in the ancient Palestinian town of Jericho.

"When I awoke, a dark skinned man sat directly in front of me, staring. He wore the traditional scarf, white and black like Arafat's, on his head and his eyes were blood shot. He was squatting, arms crossed over his knees. He just stared. I was startled but felt calm. He was calm. He spoke in soft, guttural Arabic, lit up a big newspaper-wrapped spliff and offered it to me. I didn't smoke weed and shook my head. He puffed away and conversed. I have no idea what he said but understood he was the orchard guardian. He left me there and I daydreamed as the hills wavered in the heat. It was a timeless, peaceful place.

This became my daily pattern. I wandered the dirt roads leading out of town to the encircling orchard walls of times gone by. I could smell the ancientness, sense the spirits of long dead residents' robes brushing by me, feel the splendor of great cities bordering the Jordan River. I was a captive of my imagination and I couldn't get enough of that orange-blossom smell.

One day, as I peeked through a gate keyhole in wonder at a particularly fragrant orchard, a man peeked back. The gate opened and there stood the tallest man in Jericho with the biggest ears! He smiled at me and spoke French. Finally, someone I could talk to.

With a grand, sweeping arm gesture, he invited me into his garden. The black robe he wore was frayed and dusty around the edges as it dragged on the ground after him. His orange grove had a unique feature in the center was an ornate white-washed church. I had been befriended by a Coptic priest and this was his residence. "

For the full story, email me and I will send you a copy.


NEWS:
Adair Lara is writing an article on writing groups in which we are featured. Check out her column in the August San Francisco Chronicle (each Saturday) or online.

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
July 2003

If you want to tell the untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got to find a language.
--Salman Rushdie

* WRITING STYLE TIPS: Just Ask George * NOTES FROM THE KEYBOARD OF LIFE * MOVIES: About War Correspondents
* TRAVEL TIPS: Smart Move While on the Road * JET LAG: Banishing the Traveler's Foe

WRITING STYLE TIPS--Just Ask George:

I read the Economist for a fuller view of what is happening around the globe. On the first page of their style book, they request that writers follow the six rules set out in George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language". Here they are:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word, always cut it out.

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Well, I for one have abused all these "nevers" but over time I will learn.

NOTES FROM THE KEYBOARD OF LIFE:

Lately, I am entranced with reading from "works in progress" instead of from the already written and published story. It is so much more vulnerable for me--not just a repeat of the last book reading, but fresh and raw. I am exposing my creative process. It can be rather like watching an artist put the final vibrant touches on his painting and not just have him talk about it as it hangs, dusty, in the gallery. I like to get the audience involved and intrigued by the writing process.

You might want to try this ---Have a party and have your writer friends read from stories they are in the process of writing. They do have to be well-edited even if they aren't completed. And when you read, what if you ask their opinion on two different endings? It's a theatrical way of getting feedback. But can you handle it? Or do you want to be perfect all the time and not reveal that many times the artist stands at a crossroads of decision?

Try it. I call it a " raw reading" and it still scares me. In fact I did it last night at our Wild Writing Women Literary Salon in San Francisco. Six of us read from works-in-progress-fiction and non-fiction. The audience loved the behind-the-story stories we told on how (and why) these yarns were being birthed. I read from The Coptic Priest- a tale of my time in Palestine. I began writing it last week and from the audience's response, I will finish it.

***

I will be speaking about my creative process through dance at Casa Dia in Sausalito in August. It is open to the public by reservation. Here's the scoop:

The Creativity Series Movement
Special Guest Lisa Alpine
Dancer, Teacher, Choreographer, and co-author of Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel
Sunday, August 3, 2003
1:00 - 4:00PM
Dancer, choreographer, and author Lisa Alpine leads us through an exciting presentation that illuminates her theory about Movement in The Creative Process. Lisa believes that dancing is an expressive art form created from the dancer's core. She teaches her students how to use the body to paint feelings, the muscles to sculpt movement, and the senses to translate music. Lisa's high energy approach recognizes and validates that we are all dancers in our core-in motion throughout our entire lives. Bring your love of dance and your curiosity about the Creative Process. A light lunch will be served.

***

To further your own writing skills and career, consider one of the many new writing look courses embedded in my writing workshop calendar at the bottom on this newsletter.

MOVIES: About War Correspondents

Speaking of embedded - a word forever grilled into our brain from the Iraq war -what war? Was there a war? -- Here are some movies out in video that are about journalists covering war-torn countries. These flicks are not light-hearted and certainly don't make me want to switch my venue from travel to the front-line but I admire the guts and motivation it takes to report from dangerous places.

"Harrison's Flowers" Director Elie Chouraqui's graphic look at war-torn Yugoslavia adroitly mixes a gripping love story with unrelentingly violent scenes of the brutality of war. Serving up a realistic depiction of the dangerous work undergone by photojournalists and reporters deep inside hostile territory, "Harrison's Flowers" strikes a chilling chord - especially with the recent killing of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl still so fresh in our minds. Andie MacDowell does a fine job as the main character however Adrien Brody steals the film as Kyle Morris, a photojournalist who gets talked into helping Sarah travel into the most hazardous areas in search of Harrison. This film is dedicated to the 48 journalists that were killed in Yugoslavia between 1991- 1995.

"Welcome to Saravejo" abjures the modern jargon of "the conflict" or "the peace process" and instead measures degrees of involvement and responsibility -- individual choice, personal morality. "Big guns, little children, evil men, great television," says one character. But with a simmering intelligence, a discerning eye, restless focus and an unerring sense of how to place the camera as an eavesdropper, director Winterbottom's work is never less than compelling. Shot in Sarajevo in early 1996 as the Bosnian cease-fire began, "Welcome to Sarajevo" has a rare bravura, a work of passion that is also scrupulously thought out, both as fiction and as filmmaking.

"Killing Fields" Dith Pran is an aid, translator and friend of two journalists who are covering the war in Cambodia. He saves them from execution but they in turn cannot save him. He is eventually exiled to the labor camps in Cambodia's countryside, where he endures four years of starvation, torture and war before escaping to Thailand. Based on the novel "The Death and Life of Dith Pran" by Sydney Schanberg.

"Salvador" Richard Boyle and director Oliver Stone wrote the screenplay based on Boyle's experiences. James Woods plays Boyle, an out-of-work journalist who heads to El Salavador with his friend Dr. Rock (James Belushi) after his wife takes his son and leaves him. He convinces Rock that they can cover the "little guerrilla war" while enjoying drink, drugs and women. But once in the country, they realize the danger. Boyle and a photojournalist witness hundreds of bodies left to rot in the sun by right-wing death squads. Catholic Archbishop Romero is assassinated and three American nuns and another woman are raped and murdered. (like I said, not lighthearted but it is the truth of what happened.)

"Under Fire" Nick Nolte is Russell Price, an American photojournalist covering the Nicaraguan revolution. Price meets Claire (Joanna Cassidy), a reporter for National Public Radio. They find themselves involved with revolutionaries and actually photograph a slain leader to make it appear that he is still alive. Network news anchor Alex Grazier (Gene Hackman) sees the photo and flies to the country to cover the story.

"The Year of Living Dangerously" Directed by Peter Weir. Featuring Mel Gibson, Sigourney Weaver, Michael Murphy, Linda Hunt. Guy Hamilton, an ambitious Australian reporter on his first overseas assignment, is befriended by a short Eurasian cameraman who has connections in high places. Hamilton soon gains an entree to Indonesian Communist Party leaders, as well as insight into Jakarta's grim realities on the eve of a major political upheaval.

"Foreign Correspondent" Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Featuring Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, George Sanders. A naive reporter is dispatched to Europe on the eve of World War II to cover a pacifist conference in London, where a secret treaty between two European countries is supposedly being negotiated. Producer Walter Wanger brought the movie adaptation of war correspondent Vincent Sheehan's Personal History to the screen with Foreign Correspondent. Wanger stayed abreast of breaking news events all through the filming to keep the picture "hot": the final scene, with the reporter broadcasting to America from London during a Nazi bombing attack, was filmed a short time after the actual London blitz.

TRAVEL TIPS: Smart Move While on the Road

How long have I been traveling? Over 30 years consistently all around the globe? Well, for the first time I did this very smart thang to assist myself if I lost my valuables or ID on the road. I emailed the following information to myself and made sure it stayed on the e mail web host program (Earthlink) I use while traveling so that if I lost my money, credit cards, phone book or other pertinent details, I could go to any computer and retrieve it instantly:

passport #.

driver's license #.

health and auto insurance #s.

bank check #s you have in your wallet (leave your register at home but know your balance).

bank account #.

credit card #s.

ATM card #.

important phone #s of family & friends.

all phone #s for reporting lost credit cards in the U.S. and abroad.

banking information including the bank manager's name & phone # of where you bank.

Include the international 800 #s for the credit card companies.

In an emergency where you realize your money or documents are missing, you can ask the hotel management to use their computer or dash to an Internet Café and get this info immediately so that you can alert your bank and credit card companies, etc. And it is all in one place so that in your dazed and confused state, you don't have to think about who to call -it is all in the email.

JET LAG: BANISHING THE TRAVELER'S FOE

"I don't believe in jet lag. So I don't get it." - Carla King, travel writer

Well, Carla, that ain't so for me. I find it sneaks up on me a few days after I have arrived - suddenly I can't think straight. Is it the onset of early menopause, I wonder? Nope, just my body catching up with my location. It always feels like lost luggage to me. You check yourself onto the plane, but when you get to your destination, some part of you gets left behind and has to find you later at the hotel in order for your brain to function again. That's my experience.

So wanting to have a Carla-type experience, I queried other world travelers and researched tips on preventing jet lag.
Marybeth Bond, travel author of A Woman's World and Gutsy Women offered this suggestion, "On numerous international trips homeopathic "flower pills" have helped minimize jet lag for me, as well as for my children. I take the chewable plant-based "No-Jet- Lag" tablets before and during the flight. They contain Lepoard's Bane,Daisy, and Wild Chamomile as active ingredients. They are available at local health food stores, travel stores, Trader Joe's and Book Passage."

"I have a special meditation I do that puts me in what I call my "humming bird at rest mode" -- in which all my systems slow way down." This is contributed by Jacqueline Butler, a romance writer who travels to Europe frequently in search of romance.

Cathy Miller, another travel writer says, "For me, avoiding jet lag requires that most grave of all sacrifices: not drinking alcohol on the plane. If I do load up on those little bottles of gin, when I get off the plane, my feet and ankles are swollen. Then I'm hobbling around like an arthritic gnome trying to see the sights. Drinking lots of water also helps avoid the dehydration that happens during jet travel."

I don't follow Cathy's rule as I like to celebrate the beginning of a trip with a glass of champagne. Only one. Then, on my bubbly high, I gloat at the fact that I am flying into an adventure.

"Jet lag is nature's way of making you look like your passport photo." - Linda Perret

So what causes this inconvenience and discomfort called jet lag? Jet lag occurs when our body's natural daily (circadian) rhythm becomes disoriented. We have many internal biological "clocks". The ones that pertain to a 24 hour period are referred as circadian cycles. The most familiar of these cycles is the sleep/awake cycle. Light and darkness (our diurnal cycle) trigger the sleep/awake cycle. Our bodies are accustomed to night descending at a certain time each day. In fact, the hormone Melatonin is produced in the dark while we sleep and fades at daylight; bright light turns off the hormone. This hormone is secreted from the Pineal gland. This gland is called the timekeeper of the brain, and helps govern the sleep-wake cycle.

Any shift from our regular cycle (i.e. traveling quickly across time zones) requires a resetting of your biological clock, much like turning your watch forward or backward.

It can take as long as one day to adjust for each time zone you cross. It is not the length of your flight that will determine how much jet lag you might experience but how many time zones you have gone through. Jet lag seems to be worse flying eastward. Traveling north to south within the same time zone, on the other hand, produces none.

Useful Travel Tips:

* Drink quality water before, during and after your flight. Bring your own water bottle and keep filling it up. It is important to drink at least 8-12 ounces of water every hour. An added bonus of keeping your body well-hydrated is that it helps you stay well. Dry membranes are more susceptible to infection.

* Add Emergen-C powder to your water. This boosts your immune system and adds electrolytes.

* To minimize dehydration of the skin, apply lotion to as much of your body as possible. I cleanse and moisturize my face at least once during long flights. I also use Burt's Chamomile Complexion Mist every hour. The flowery smell also helps me recover from the pervasive stale food smell of in-flight food.

* Use earphones to listen to your choice of music or earplugs to reduce fatigue from cabin noise.

* Use an inflatable neck pillow.

* It is a mandatory to walk and/or perform isometric exercises to increase circulation. I find a place to stand and stretch. At first, I am very self-conscious but it feels so good I do it anyway. I met an 86-year-old woman recently on a flight going to Turkey, who spends a good portion of the flight doing laps around the cabin. At that age, she doesn't care what the other passengers think about her using the aisles for a track!

* When you're at the airport, forget those moving sidewalks. Instead, walk to your plane, walk during layovers, walk when your plane is delayed. In addition to helping you adjust to flying stagnation, it also helps time fly. I have discovered many interesting areas in the airport by walking all over the place exploring until my flight leaves. The Dallas airport has a massage business; most airports have a "meditation" or "spiritual" quiet room.

* At your destination, walk barefoot on the ground, if possible, and/or swim in the ocean or soak in an Epsom salt bath. This will help ground your electromagnetic system. Also, as soon as possible, stand in direct sunlight for 10-20 minutes without glasses.

* Massaging your head, neck and ears will relieve tension from the changes in cabin pressure.

* If you are flying from the West coast to the East coast, adjust your sleep time before you leave on your trip. For example, if your normal bedtime is midnight, then three nights before you travel go to sleep at 11 P.M. Two days before you travel, retire at 10 P.M. And the night before your trip, go to sleep at 9 P.M. (which is midnight on the East coast).

* On international travel, seasoned passengers either book overnight flights when heading east, so they can sleep most of the flight, or flights that arrive at night, so they can go to bed at their destination. (Take an eye mask to enhance sleep on the plane and at your destination.)

* Researchers have found that certain vitamins are depleted in a plane's unnatural atmosphere which could be another contributor to jet lag. To counteract this, one book recommends taking vitamin B12 two weeks before and one week after a flight. Still another source suggests doses of time-released vitamin C (1,000 milligrams) starting the day before departure and stopping a day after the return home. In addition, potassium can be drained from the body by lack of activity. Counteract this deficiency by drinking orange juice or eating a banana.

* Protein rich meals stimulate wakefulness and high carbohydrate meals promote sleep. Once you arrive at your destination, drink caffeine beverages to help you stay awake until bedtime and/or to help you wake up in the morning. And, eat high-fiber foods to fight constipation and avoid fatty foods which contribute to your sluggishness.

* I don't eat anything on a flight. I figure the body is already stressed by a plane's hostile atmosphere and eating just adds one more thing for it to deal with. Plus, I do not consider what they serve on planes to be food, unless cardboard is considered a new food group.

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
June 2003

Creativity is really the structuring of magic. -- Anne Kent Rush


WRITING STYLE TIPS (the secret of That, Which and Who.)* BREATHING FOR WRITERS (letting go of stress and writer's block.) * ALL THINGS FRENCH (music recommendations.) * TRAVEL TALES * TRAVEL GETAWAY: I Love Paris Anytime!

WRITING STYLE TIPS:

Francine Modderno from WorkForWriters has this advice for on the correct use of Which, That and Who:

Each of us, including myself, use some incorrect grammar patterns and make some grammar mistakes. But every editor/writer has a pet peeve or two. One of mine is the common misuse of "which" and "that." Most people do not use these words correctly, but we writers -- and especially editors -- must.

My fellow writers, please, please remember that "which" is used when trying to explain something about a word or words -- it should always be preceded by a coma.
Example: The house, which is empty, is for sale.

"That" is used when the word/words following "that" is/are an integral part of meaning of the word/words before "that." It is not preceded by a comma.
Example: The house that Jack built is for sale. (Never, never, never say "The house which Jack built...") (Sometimes it is allowable to substitute "which" for "that" in this usage, but it is never done by careful writers and should never be done by professional writers.)

Here's an online quiz to help you remember how and when to use "which," "that" and "who." http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/quizzes/which_quiz.htm

Thank you, Francine, for setting us straight!

LEARNING TO BREATHE: How Writing & Dance Can Benefit Each Other

I love the combination of my passions. Writing stimulates my mind and dance exercises my body. Many of my students take workshops from me in both modalities. Here is tip from Karen Llagas who takes my writing and dance classes:

I am able to use your "breathing into tense muscles" exercise into writing - whenever I tense up and get blocked because the writing is getting too deep and intimate - instead of panicking I just try to stay with it and imagine myself breathing into the page. It's so cool it works - I was able to extend my groove for a good 40 minutes (writing that story).

ALL THINGS FRENCH: Music Recommendations

I also have a passion for world beat music which I collect in my travels and play in my dance classes. (You can check out my dancing path at www.dancweaver.com .) Here are some recordings I've purchased while traveling in France that you can also buy in the States:

Les Chanson De Paris: compilation of classics by Brisa Entertainment.
Happy Feet by 81/2 Souvenirs: Fun up beat jazzy quirky tunes.
Purple Passage by Uman: A brother and sister team who do unusual New Age music.
Sabsylma by Zap Mama: Really creative African style women's singing group who rocks!
Sourir by Les Nubiens: A lovely, sexy CD by 2 Nubian sisters who reside in Paris.
Prose Combat by MC Solaar: Rap music actually sounds good in French! MC's voice is super soft delivered with a nice beat.
Any CD by the French group St. Germaine - very hip dance beats that get everyone moving.

TRAVEL TALES:

31 years ago, at the naïve and tender age of 18, I moved to Paris. I wanted to leave the boring suburbs of Sunnyvale, CA and drop myself into a bohemian late night world of artists and writers. Hence, Paris.

I got there speaking not a word of French and was but a tadpole among the elite and snobbish Parisians. I loved it. I found a small and rundown, (hence cheap!) hotel run by gypsies on the Left Bank. The Hotel de Nesle was riddled with eccentrics who stayed up till dawn and were in extremely bad moods every morning. They growling and complained and stunk of Gallois cigarettes. I loved them.

This was the antithesis of my clean American upbringing. These bohemes had definitely not been influenced by Ozzie & Harriet. A fortuneteller, a depressed French singer in the attic, a bald man dressed in a Ghandi-like diaper. These were my hotel mates.

Well, 31 years later I have convinced the Wild Writing Women that we should stay there on our upcoming trip next week to France. I am nervous. The same crazy gypsy woman runs the hotel only now she weighs five times more and can't get out from behind her desk. She yells commands from her post. The rose garden in the back is over grown and I have promised her I will prune it while there. This is a bit of a bribe to make sure she doesn't give our room away to some walk-in person if we are late from the airport. My fingers are crossed. She is very unpredictable.

So next week, six of the Wild Writing Women are off to France for two weeks. It's all Maureen Wheelers fault. She is the founder of Lonely Planet Guides and has invited us for a week in a villa on the Mediterranean. You can find out more about our trip and other Paris travel tips on our website and most hot ezine: http://www.wildwritingwomen.com/zine/ We shall also be doing live reporting from the trip on our zine.

Oh, and if you are in Paris next Wednesday the 4th, come to our Stories of World Travel book reading at Shakespeare and Company (http://www.shakespeareco.org ) at 7 PM. Another one of my haunts when I was 18 years old. I went there to rub shoulders with the ghosts of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound. Now I AM an author and writer and doing a signing there. Full circle. Life is so amazing!

TRAVEL GETAWAY: I Love Paris - Anytime

"Paris, Paris. There is something silken and elegant about that word, something carefree, something made for a dance, something brilliant and festive like champagne." - Nina Berberova.

I felt so French on my recent trip to Paris - shopping for designer clothes (albeit, unknown designers); sitting at cafés on quiet chestnut lined squares; dancing at late night clubs filled with haughty model-types displaying prominent cheek bones; savoring wine and meals stretched over hours; learning to look pouty and say bouff alors (the French way of saying "whatever!")

Why, I almost started smoking Gaulois (cheap, unfiltered cigarettes), but stopped myself just as the handsome French man at the next table leaned languidly over and offered me one. Hey, I am a healthy California girl! But it was a nice fantasy.

And I could afford Paris. I can hear you clicking your tongue in disbelief! Paris is expensive, you say. Well, I beg to prove you wrong. I go every year and I am on a writer's budget! No Internet stock options have come my way. I just teach dance classes and write travel columns. Bottom of the feed chain salary-wise. You know, an artist. For the last several years, I could not only afford Paris, I could revel in excess. Facials were $20; my hotel room in the Latin Quarter, $60; designer clothes for under $50; three course meals WITH wine for $10 - $15. Hedonistic pleasures were mine and my friend's on our trip this September.

How would we spend our time, not just our money, in my favorite city? We'd wander in the morning light along the Seine and cross Pont Neuf to the Ile de la Cite. Pick a table in the sun at a café on the quiet, chestnut tree-lined Place Dauphine and savor a black coffee and flaky croissant. Then walk a few blocks over to visit the magnificent Gothic chapel at Ste. Chapelle which has the most ethereal stained glass windows. We planned to get there before noon so that the sunlight slanting through the colored glass splashed rainbow light over the floors and colonnades. We then crossed the Seine over to the Right Bank and wandered toward the Marais district for lunch, shopping and maybe a museum or two.

I have gravitated to the Marais ever since I lived in Paris in 1972. Back then it was a mixture of the Hasidic Jewish section and rundown aristocratic mansions. I was fascinated by the Hasidic men's long curls, felt hats and somber attitudes. I would buy pickles and rugulach (traditional poppyseed pastry) from dark, barrel-lined, hole-in-the-wall delis and then take steam saunas in the public bathhouse on women's day (two days a week were for women-only.) I was the only skinny blond in the place. Large Jewish women lounged on pillows in-between steam room forays. They would ply me with dates and pastries, convinced I was malnourished.
I still love to wander through the Marais and enjoy the eye feast of fashion and liveliness set in one of the oldest sections of Paris. Marais means swamp and it was a swamp until it was cleared in the 13C. The Marais, still filled with ancient lanes and buildings, is more characteristic than touristy (unlike the Latin Quarter). It is Paris at its medieval best. This is how much of the city looked until, in the mid-1800s, Napoleon III had Baron Haussmann blast through the boulevards (open and wide enough for the guns and marching ranks of the army, too wide for revolutionary barricades), creating modern Paris.

Over the last decade, the Marais has been transformed into a hip area for small shops and chef-owned bistros. The boutique trend has led to affordable fun fashion by young designers who have worked for the big fashion houses but want their own store. The district exudes vitality and there are few tourists crowding the narrow, pre-Revolutionary sidewalks.

After a full day exploring the magic of Paris's back streets, my traveling companion and I would wander back to the Latin Quarter and our hotel. But Paris was not through mesmerizing us as the apricot-hued sunset caught our eye. So, we would indulge in a bottle of fine French wine, some unusual cheeses and bread and saunter down the steps to the river bank on the lIle Saint-Louis as dusk turned the Seine into a flowing copper ribbon. Beauty and light, that is Paris. I always leave Paris satiated. Instead of chasing Paris around trying to see everything ? I let the City of Light guide me gently toward her ageless grace and beauty.

FLIGHT INFORMATION: Book a direct flight to Paris so you don't face the dilemma of missing your international connection or getting bumped off the flight if your connecting flight does not make the 2 hour required connection period. (This happened to me twice this summer flying to Europe.) I have found Air France to have the most reliable and comfortable direct service to Paris. There seems to be more legroom on their flights and the champagne is good, even in Economy Class. Air France, 800-237-2747 and also special fares are listed on their website at www.airfrance.com

TRAVEL TIPS: The most important part of your wardrobe? Good walking shoes, an umbrella and a nice purse backpack that is secure. And a smile. You are a guest in their country.

For the best food and prices try eating in small bistros crowded with Parisians, with no English translations on the menu. Consider the menu prix fixe offering as it is usually a great deal and offers 2-4 courses with wine. Have your big meal at lunchtime which is cheaper and better than many dinner menus. Take your time and savor, not only the food, but the fact you are dining in Paris!

Check for union strikes in France before going so that you are prepared for the inconvenience it can cause to your travel plans. When I was there last year, the baggage handlers at the airport were on strike. WE had to unload our luggage from the plane. Think about only bringing carry-on and check to see what the limitations are for the airline you fly. This year, there was a train strike which caused total chaos when we tried to round-up a taxi to go the airport as the Metro trains were not running and EVERYONE was taking taxis. So, have your hotel concierge call the taxi the night before.

EXCHANGE RATE: I usually get the best exchange rate at either the airport of departure in the States, or at ATM machines in France. Use your bank debit card, NOT your credit card to withdraw cash. That way you don't pay interest, just a minuscule service fee. Call your bank before leaving to find out what that fee is for transactions abroad.

PARIS HOTELS FROM CHEAP TO CHARMING:
Hotel Residence Des Arts, PH: 33 0- 55-42-71-11; FAX: 33-0-1-55-42-71-00; e mail: RDarts@aol.com; www.residence-des-arts.com This is my first bet! A small and elegant hotel on the Latin Quarter with great staff on a quiet side street.

Hotel de Nesle, PH: 01-43-54-62-41 Another small artsy Left Bank back-street hotel filled with students and international travelers.

Hotel Henri IV, PH: 01-43-54-44-53. Funky, charming and cheap in the Ile de La Cite near Notre Dame.

Hotel Saint Paul le Marais, PH: 01-48-04-97-27; e-mail: spaulmarais@hotellerie.net In the heart of the Marais, more modern than others but nice.

Hotel Rivoli-Notre-Dame, PH: 01-42-78-47-39; www.hotelrivolinotredame.com Classy hotel in Marais.

Hotel Practic, PH: 01-48-87-80-47. In the Marais, this one is extra cheap if you don't mind stained carpets and many stairs, but in a great location.

Hotel du Levant, PH: 01-46-34-11-00; e-mail: hlevant@club-internet.fr; www.perso.club-internet.fr/hlevant In the Latin Quarter, a quiet family-run hotel for 4 generations. Modern with air-conditioning. Rates include breakfast and private bath.

Hotel lIle Saint-Louis PH: 33-01-46-34-04-80, www.hotel-saint-louis.com. Charming hotel on lIle Saint-Louis between the Left Bank and the Marais.

Hotel Des Deux-Iles & Hotel Lutece, PH: 01-43-26-23-52 or 01-43-26-13-35. Two more charming hotels on the Ile St. Louis owned by the same family.

BEAUTY SALON FOR WOMEN AND MEN: What was my latest find on my yearly pilgrimage to Paris? Microdermabrasion. For one seventh of the price here in the States, I got a treatment for $20 at this fabulous salon in the Marais. It is a way of sand blasting and vacuuming the face which is a very effective skin renewal process that usually costs $150 and up Stateside. Jean-Claude Biguine hair and facial salon in the Marais. PH: 01-42-77-29-50.

RESTAURANT: Le Quotidien, abundant salads and breads in the Marais with outdoor dining. 1-44-54-03-07

FAVORITE MUSEUMS: You can find out about all the museums in Paris by logging onto: www.paris.org/musees/
Here are my favorites:
Quai D'Orsay on the Left Bank of the Seine, for the fabulous architecture and Impressionist collection.

Musee Auguste Rodin is in an ornate mansion set in a park near the Left Bank. The sculptor, Auguste Rodin, lived here and the museum holds his best work.

Musee Picasso in the Marais which not only houses a plethora of his paintings but also gives an insight into this eccentric artist.

Musee Carnavalet, also in the Marias, is devoted to the history of Paris, elaborate Louis XV and XVl furniture, scale models of period rooms, and decorative art.

AFFORDABLE DESIGNER DUDS: Trazita. Fabulous designer Chikako Inoue's boutique in the Marais. 01-40-27-88-05. www.trazita.fr.st

DANCE CLUBS and LIVE MUSIC: Pick up a Pariscope magazine for weekly nightlife information.
Le Pasha Club (discotheque) & Samba (Brazilian) on the Champs Ellysse; Long Faire (techno) in Montparnasse; Le Queen (disco) near L'Opera Metro stop.

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
May 2003

“Movement is only as good as the stillness that underlies it.” – author Pico Iyer

EVENTS: BIG NEWS ON CAMPUS! * SURVIVAL VIDEOS *
TRAVEL GETAWAYS: Where to Cool Off & Chill Out in the Napa Valley

EVENTS: Big News On Campus!

4 of your W5 teachers at the 2002 Book Expo of America in NYC (the middle guy is not teaching!):
Great news for those interested in our W5 Wild Writing Women spring workshop:
Register for the Potpourri writing conference on May 3, and be entered in the drawing for a free night in a deluxe suite at the Carter House in Eureka.

Darkness crept through the trees and a chill blanketed us so we headed to our destination—the Carter House in Eureka, which is one of my favorite hotels on Earth. We were welcomed with glasses of crisp Spanish wine served by an Italian waiter as we, damp and lichen-covered from our various hikes, entered the fire-lit lobby. Within 15 minutes we were paddling about in the giant Jacuzzi tub in the center of our suite. Wine and wild mushroom appetizers were perched on the tub rim as we splashed about like happy otters on holiday.
– from Lisa Alpine’s Pacific Sun Getaway column.

Not only will you have a day of five wonderful and diverse writing classes, a delicious lunch in a country setting, but the opportunity to win a night at a 4 star hotel! Since enrollment at Potpourri is limited to 20 students, your chances of making May a great month are looking better than ever. To find out more about this magnificent hotel in the coastal redwood zone of California, see http://www.carterhouse.com/

On Thursday May 24, I have invited Southern California author Lynette Brasfield (Nature Lessons, St. Martin's Press, May 2003) to do a private reading from her book and give a writing class for my students. She is in the Bay Area for a book reading at Book Passage but on Thursday night at my studio in Marin County you will have to opportunity to not only meet her but learn from her.
“In Nature Lessons, Kate Jensen—a Chagrin Falls, Ohio advertising copywriter who has just broken up with her third fiancé—returns to her native land, South Africa, in search of her missing, mentally ill mother. More than the story of a relationship between a mother and a daughter through turbulent political and personal times, the novel is also a reflection on love and loss and guilt, and the unique perspective each of us brings to the universe--as one of Nature Lessons’ Zulu characters, Prudence Tshabalala, tells the young Kate, “what we see depends on who we are.” To read more about Lynn’s book and writing career, go to: http://www.literati.net/Brasfield/

This special event is free if you sign up for the SCULPTING YOUR SHORT STORY workshop on 5/24. You can find out about this event and other classes in the calendar page.

SURVIVAL VIDEOS FOR WHEN YOU WANNA FEEL LUCKY:

I have recently watched 3 videos that appeal to the get-lost-in-the-jungle-and-learn-to-survive element inside of me. I actually much rather have these experiences on film than to go through them myself.

The King is Alive: a slightly depressing but Shakespearean-esque drama of a busload of Danish tourists who take a wrong turn in the Sahara.

Keep the River on Your Right: A documentary about a gay man who lived among a tribe of Papua New Guinea cannibals and lived to tell.

Rabbit Proof Fence: The best of the lot and a must-see true story about aboriginal children who escape a state-run boarding school and walk across the length of Australia to reach their family, trackers on the tail. Twice!

TRAVEL GETAWAYS:
Where To Cool Off and Chill Out In the Napa Valley

by
Lisa Alpine

How to cope with the shimmering summer heat that ripens the grapes and cooks the tourists in the wine country? It took some investigation to figure out where to cool off and chill out in the Napa and Sonoma Valleys when temperatures frequently soar beyond 90 degrees. On my latest exploration of the wine country, my traveling companion and I found respite from the baking sun in aqua blue swimming pools, sheltering redwood groves and dimly lit wine caves. We savored cooling refreshment in stone-walled bars and arbored dining terraces.

Driving into the town of Sonoma we discovered a shaded outdoor patio for lunch at Saddles Steakhouse & Martini Bar in the McArthur Place Inn complex. Colorful flowers arranged in festive pots graced our table. The chopped Cobb salad, chilled artichoke appetizer and oysters on the half shell plus the yummiest cornmeal haystack onion rings satisfied completely.

We were maniacs to even think about hiking in this heat but we wanted to walk off the meal. We replenished our icy drink supply at the Glen Ellen Market and headed to Jack London State Park for a 30-minute hike up through vineyards and redwood groves to a tranquil lake. This body of water is not for swimming as it is hemmed in with water lilies and cattails but offers a cool respite with plenty of picnic tables. The mature redwood trees each draw water up from their roots, releasing 500 gallons of water into the atmosphere daily, creating a soothing oasis.

Ready for a swim, we drove over to Morton’s Sonoma Springs Resort outside Glen Ellen but the amount of noisy, splashing children in the pools encouraged us to keep driving. The scenic Trinity Rd.-Oakville Grade over to the Napa Valley dropped us right into St. Helena and Martini House which has the coolest bar – I mean hip AND cool.

It is downstairs in a dark, stone-walled room. Pat Kuleto, renowned for his restaurants Boulevard, Farallon, and Jardinière and Todd Humphries, former Executive Chef of San Francisco's Campton Place and more recently of the Wine Spectator's Greystone, have partnered to create this very happening restaurant with one of the best wine bars in the Valley. The casually dressed clientele all looked slightly famous as they breezed in the door. The restaurant is named after Walter Martini, an opera singer and bootlegger who once owned the 1923 vintage craftsman bungalow.

Our appetites returned in the soothing chill of the cave-like bar where there are seven dining tables open for walk-in traffic. For tables in the restaurant upstairs or in the garden, reservations should be made weeks in advance. Big plates, big flavors. That is how I would describe our meal. Butter poached Maine lobster in a caviar crème was most sweet and tender. My mahi mahi in an almond crust with a ragout of morels was scrumptious and my partner’s beef tenderloin with roasted artichokes was succulent. The crisp tossed exotic green salad was perfectly dressed and it was followed by a cheese selection.

We stayed overnight at Meadowwood Napa Valley, with time to spare for an evening swim. The pools are open 24 hours. Stars were luminous above the resort that sits in its own private 250 acre valley. It is also a private club and gathering place for the local wine growing community and has all the accouterments of a country club: tennis courts, spa, swimming pools, golf course, two championship croquet lawns. The next morning we were back in the water to enjoy sunrise in the outdoor Jacuzzi with a New York Times and birds heralding the commencement of a perfectly scorching Napa Valley day.

By 10 a.m. the thermometer hit 95. Time to retreat underground to the cool recesses of dark caverns. Clos Pegase, near Calistoga, has man-made caves tunneling 21,000 sq. feet into the hillside. The air in the caves is around 63 – 65 degrees. The chill on my skin felt delicious. The cave smell took me right back to the champagne cellars in Reims, France. Damp, musty, oaky, grapy. Greek statues illuminated in wall niches added a theatrical air. Tour guides are all Shakespearean actors and add a lot of zest to the tours. Albert Morales was our guide. He came to work here because of his passion for modern art and wine. Owners, Jan & Mitsuko Shrem, have been gracing the winery with an impressive collection of 20th century art by some of the world’s most important contemporary artists including a Henry Moore sculpture in the entrance portico and a Francis Bacon painting in the tasting room.

During the wine tasting, Albert suggested we try the 1999 Hommage Artist Series Chardonnay “reminiscent of blossoms” and then the Vin Gris of Merlot, a light dry wine with a “long finish of rose petals.” Summer is not the time to savor heavy reds. He also took us on an outdoor tour and said it is important to experience what he calls “ Napa time” which he defines as “wandering in the vineyard with a glass of wine, listening to the bees.”

By noon it was 102 degrees. Melting tarmac. Time for ice tea and a breeze on a terrace shaded by wisteria with a hawk’s eye view of the valley simmering below. The best outdoor dining award goes to Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford. Toy box tomatoes? Who can resist the name? And chilled oysters. Far Neinte chardonnay by the glass. Here we experienced luxury for the price of lunch. The caramelized scallops with cauliflower almonds and capers appetizer colorful on its bed of cauliflower of peppers is a signature dish. Roasted organic chicken with a baby spinach and artichoke salad was memorable. Strawberry rhubarb cobbler with honey lavender ice cream was the penultimate summer dessert.

When we painfully settled into the baking black interior of the car, it felt more like a convection oven at this point, we knew there was only one option – it was time to get wet. And quick! We drove a winding country road that led to White Sulphur Springs – the oldest hot spring resort in California. Established in 1852, the resort is three miles west of St. Helena on a 330-acre estate in a quiet valley and offers rustic lodging, a spa, an outdoor sulphur pool, a Jacuzzi and swimming pool set in a grassy park setting with hammocks in the shade. The mineral bath was body temperature so first we cooled off in the swimming pool, lounged in a hammock and then soaked in the mineral bath before getting a super massage with Daniel. My skin was soft from the sulphur, my mind washed clean from all the swimming and my spirit saturated with the golden glow of the radiating sun.
Napa and Sonoma Valleys can offer up a delicious summer experience but you gotta know where to keep your cool.

SIDEBAR
SHADED PATIO DINING WITH GREAT FOOD:

Saddles Steakhouse & Martini Bar in the town of Sonoma serves a full lunch menu Monday – Saturday; brunch on Sunday; dinner served daily.707-933-3191.
Martini House in St. Helena serves lunch and dinner daily and offers a special menu served in the cool bar from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. 707-963-2233.
Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 800-348-5406.

LODGING WITH IRRESISTABLE POOLS:
Meadowood Napa Valley in St. Helena is like a country club with a gorgeous pool and spa area, golf course, etc. Rates range from $515 to astronomical. 800-458-8080.

MacArthur Place in the town of Sonoma has a pool and spa area surrounded with gardens. Rooms are pretty, quiet and spacious and run $275 and up. They offer full spa treatments and a wine and cheese hour. Call the reception desk directly for last minute deals. 800-722-1866.

White Sulphur Springs Inn & Spa in St. Helena has the lowest rates in the valley, from $85 to $205 for rooms and cottages (some with kitchenette). The price reflects the funkier style. 800-593-8873.
Gaige House in Glen Ellen is the quintessential B&B with a large swimming pool in the backyard on the edge of a creek. Rates start at $250. 800-935-0237.

Auberge du Soleil in Rutherford books up months in advance. Accommodations start at $657 and go up up up. 800-348-5406.

WINERIES WITH COOL CAVES:
Clos Pegase, near Calistoga, offers free 40 minutes tours. 707-942-4981.
Jarvis Winery located east of Napa on the road to Lake Berryessa, is built completely underground and only produces premium wines. They offer two types of tours: the 1-hour Classic Tasting Tour costs $15; The Bacchus Tasting Tour costs $25 and takes 1.5 hours. Their popular tours book up quickly so call early for reservations. 707-255-5280.

Schramsberg Vineyards near Calistoga has extensive champagne caves. They offer a really interesting tour. Daily tour & tasting costs $20. By reservations only. 707-942-4558.

Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena also gives a wonderful tour of its caves excavated by Chinese laborers a century ago. Daily tours take 45 minutes and cost $5 which includes a tasting. 707-963-4812.

PUBLIC POOLS & PICNIC PARKS & LAKES:
White Sulphur Springs allows day use of the facilities for $30. If you get a spa treatment this fee is waived. Treatments start at $55 for a half-hour facial so you might as well treat yourself to a full day soaking in the springs and lounging by the pool. 800-593-8873.

Morton’s Sonoma Springs is located on a country road four miles outside Glen Ellen. It has three swimming pools heated by natural mineral springs, a barbecue and picnic area. Good for families. Open daily. 8$ general, 7$ children and seniors. 707-833-5511.

Calistoga Spa Hot Springs has four outdoor mineral pools including a wading pool. Also very family oriented. Day use is $5 with spa treatments or $15 - $20 per person. Open 8:30 am - 9 pm. 866-822-5772.

Bothe-Napa Valley State Park is a 1,800 acre park has 100 picnic sites, all with tables and barbecues, situated under huge maple and Douglas fir trees. After lunch, swim in the park’s pool. The pool is open daily June – October. There is a $4 per vehicle park fee. Located at 3802 St. Helena Hwy, St Helena. 707-942-4575.

Jack London State Historic Park is in Glen Ellen. Admission cost is $3 per car. 707-938-5216.

Lake Hennessey Picnic Grounds is located on a reservoir for local drinking water; so no swimming is allowed; however, you can take a dip in the creek that runs alongside the picnic grounds. Located on
Sage Canyon Rd. at the east end of the Silverado Trail. 707-257-9529.

Napa River Ecological Reserve offers shady picnic spots under a grove of oak and sycamore trees beside the Napa River. Located off Yountville Cross Rd in Yountville.

Stonebridge Park is a small park on the banks of the Napa River. It is a good place to sit and enjoy a picnic lunch. On Pope St. between Silverado Trail and Paseo Grande Dr. in Napa.

JOURNEY INTO WRITING
April 2003

 * TRAVEL TIPS * TRAVEL BOOKS & VIDEOS * INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE NORTHAM

Q. What is your travel philosophy?
A. More hugging, less mugging- People are people; the rest is politics. In
my travels I observed the number of times that people - conversing in parks,
on street corners, and over restaurant meals around the world - touched each
other per hour.
-Bruce Northam, author of Globe Trotter Dogma
(for more Bruce insights on travel, read the interview at end of newsletter.)
 
TRAVEL TIPS:

Going on a loooooooong trip on an airplane? Don't want to get stuck in that seat next to the kitchen that doesn't recline? Seat Guru http://www.seatguru.com shows you which seats are the best (green), the worst (red), and the dubious (yellow). Find general info about the plane and comments about individual seats and blocks of seats. For example, "Seats 31 K,L are bulkhead coach seats with pretty poor leg room. More downsides, the LCD panel is mounted on the wall, making it non-adjustable. You may have to give these seats up for the elderly or disabled. You're very close to the lavatory, and the tray table is in the armrest making them immovable and slightly reducing the seat width."[Carla King]

BOOKS & VIDEOS:

I use Dan Eldon's book, The Journey Is the Destination, in my writing workshops as an example of remarkably artistic and original journaling. Dan was stoned to death in Somalia when he was there as an API photographer. He was 21-years-old and kept a series of detailed journals about his travels which his family published after his death. There is also now a video and another book out about him that I recommend:
Dan's sister Amy and mother, Kathy, made a deliberate choice to build something positive from Dan's death. While Kathy oversaw the publication of the journals, she and Amy made a documentary "Dying to Tell the Story" (distributed by Warner Bros.) on foreign correspondents who put their lives at risk to bring us the news from war zones. Two of the journalists featured have since died in the field. The Eldon's have formed a company, Creative Visions, and are currently taping a TV series for PBS called Global Tribe and developing a feature film based on Dan's life. Dan Eldon's work and life continue to resonate. "Dan Eldon: the Art of Life," a biography by Jennifer New, was published last year by Chronicle Books.

Interview with author Bruce Northam:

After circling the globe five times-freestyle-in the last twenty years, my friend and fellow intrepid travel writer Bruce Northam has gathered hard-won nuggets of travel wisdom into 100 enlightening canons for leaving the rat race and making the most of seeing the world. His book Globetrotter Dogma, is a fun read. Here is an interview with Bruce that helps you understand why I like the guy so much. It includes good travel advice for the current state of the world, too. Oh, his book is published by New World Library and can be ordered through bookstores or www.Amazon.com .

Q. Is it safe to travel again? Will it ever be safe to travel again?

A. Yes, keep traveling, it reconfirms that good outshines bad- every time. I
wrote Globetrotter Dogma because every now and then we all need a lift. The
world is a much safer place than it appears in the media. Like a Disney
movie, there is always one evil character messing with the plot, but that's
not reality. Action is the antidote to despair.

We need to take "media sabbaticals". If your hesitant about traveling the
world you might need to detach the umbilical cord from your TV convincing you
that the world is an unfriendly place. It's not. Much of the "news" is
hyped, manipulated ghoul. You CAN do it.

While exploring the planet it becomes obvious that, for the most part, we
live in a self-policing world. People take care of each other. Good
neutralizes bad. It's embedded in human nature. The sour apples can't
compete with the sweet ones.

Q. How has traveling changed in the past 10 or 20 years?

A. People are having difficulty truly leave home these days. A decade
of international travel without email made me. "Unwired", it's easier to
discover who you are and what you stand for. When you detach, absolutely
leaving home at its geographical point, the task at hand becomes living in
the present. When email stormed into our everyday 1990s existence and
cybercafés sprouted worldwide, many en-route travelers gradually segued from
gone to still connected. This took the necessity out of starting over
socially.

Q. What are your "must pack" items for the road?

A. The first thing you pack is yourself- and that should be an open,
positive-thinking, compassionate person. Pack to give away: clothes,
footwear, bungee cords, safety pins, and other convenience items we take for
granted. Someone you meet may need them more than you do. Airline give-away
paraphernalia (slippers, eye shades, toothbrushes) make great gifts,
especially in undeveloped countries. Business-class travelers always leave
these gifts behind, so collect them as you deplane.

Protect your ears. Along with safeguarding snore-stressed marriages,
earplugs are protection against blaring buses, trains, and obnoxious human
beings.

Choose guidebooks that will support your mission - whatever it may be.
Experiment by comparing what several different guidebooks say about a locale
with which you are already familiar.

Q. How do you stay safe in dangerous places?

A. Cops and bartenders know their terrain better than the local chamber of
commerce - and they work nights. Cordially interview them when you roll into
town. Inquire about the best meal deals, zones of peril, inviting
accommodations, safe strolling, camping, worthwhile attractions, and colorful
hangouts. Go where the locals go.

Q. Where do you draw the line on introducing aboriginal (innocent) cultures
to Western ideas?

A. When I realize that I've crossed that line. While trekking high in Nepal's
Himalayas, ten days walk from electricity and political sex scandals, I
happened on a medicine-chest-sized mirror hanging on a teahouse wall. In an
action reminiscent of my juvenile epoch, I removed the mirror from the wall,
walked outside, and used it to transmit the immensely powerful sun reflection
around the village. Fifty Nepalese villagers, led by a curious elderly woman,
soon gathered to witness the miracle of this invention that had started to
transmit the almighty solar laser beam to villages across the valley.

For the remainder of the day, as I gradually hiked up and away from the
village, the elderly woman sun-beamed me every twenty minutes. Though they'd
always had the means to flash, things may never be the same there. Weeks
later, back in Kathmandu, miscellaneous trekkers provided consistent reports
about a small, arcane mountain village that emitted a mysterious twinkling
that seemed to be directed at incoming hikers. -Think before you give -
everything you do has an impact.

Q. What is the key to traveling with family, friends or lovers?

A. My dad and I walked 225-mile, coast-to-coast stroll across Northern
England from St. Bees on the Irish Sea to Robin Hood's Bay on the North Sea -
One benefit of undertaking an exhausting itinerary is that it left us no
energy to recycle any family debates- like my tenth-grade car-crashing spree.
Bypass neurotic travel partners - there is only room for one delusional
person per relationship! Sometimes it's a good idea to rove solo, since
spending all of your time with anyone breeds dementia. Nine-to-fivers don't
fully comprehend "twenty-four/seven" until they've crossed India on a bus
with a travel partner.

Q. What about traveling with your mother?

A. In 1922, my grandfather, James O'Sullivan, a captain in the fight for
Ireland's independence, emigrated from Ireland to the United States via
Canada. He traveled west, laying Canadian rails, cowboy ranched in Montana,
then hitchhiked to Manhattan's Upper West Side, where he opened a popular
bar. With that in mind, Mom and I visited Eire in tribute to her parents -
and to see if the Irish would reciprocate the hitchhiking hospitality my
grandfather enjoyed in 1925 America. THEY DID! (ps, we stayed in top-notch
18th century country homes).

Q. What is your travel philosophy?

A. More hugging, less mugging- People are people; the rest is politics. In
my travels I observed the number of times that people - conversing in parks,
on street corners, and over restaurant meals around the world - touched each
other per hour.

Here's the deduction:
São Paulo, Brazil: 165
Paris, France: 80
Betong, Thailand: 19
Budapest, Hungary: 6
Tampa, Florida: 3
Reykavik, Iceland: 1
London, England: 0
Hmmm.

Give something back to the people through whose lives you pass. Day after
day, villagers see travelers tramp through their space, pay them for food,
ogle their lives, then move on. Enrich the lives you pass through with a
song, painting, sport lesson, donation to a local school or hospital, recipe,
poem, grin, flowers, or an embrace. The possibilities are endless.

Q. How do you stay in touch?

A. By "posting art" - A stamp on the back of one of your best photos are as
original as they come (or go). Aspiring travel writers might dare sending
editors nifty postcards from the road. Write theirs only after you've
practiced penning about the panorama to your pals.

Q. What about money, many people have difficulty simply paying their bills?

A. The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all
your money. Individuals plugged into good fortune glow in any light, whether
it be from a ballroom chandelier or the bulb illuminating the janitor's
closet. Money is sometimes the way that people without talent or imagination
keep score. One benefit of being broke is discovering who your real friends
are. Plus, money is not edible. I don't know why it is that the people who
peek over the hill each month at their unpayable bills are invariably more
entertaining than the folks juggling fat investments. Poverty can be genteel,
perhaps.

Q. How do you keep traveling fresh/new?

A. I always concoct a mission. The best way to comprehend a culture and to
harmonize with the locals is to devise a hobby-inspired crusade: birding,
riding animal-powered vehicles, attending religious services, going festival
hopping, tracking literary landmarks, learning a massage technique from the
local healer, or watching musical instrument makers at work. Invent a quest,
and find out where the local guru hangs out. This strategy moves you past
the bumbling tourists on deck to be fleeced by the bevy of con artists that
plague many destinations. You'll save money by discovering the heart of the
region's honest people.

Q. What are the best souvenirs?

A. Buying locally helps you blend in and promotes compassionate capitalism.
Honor your gift-purchase impulse on the road. An eight-dollar Balinese
woodcarving makes a bigger impression than another T-shirt. With considerate
tact and a keen eye, you can unearth and purchase marvelous souvenirs that
are not officially "for sale" - at a fair price. The story behind procuring
travel souvenirs often outshines the actual artifact. And the odyssey of
hauling it home usually inspires yet another tale.

The best places to locate interesting gifts are usually workplaces:
factories, fish markets, and home-based craft workshops. Look for handmade
tools, hunting paraphernalia, and whatever you deem art.

Be sensitive to "cultural rape." Make sure economically stressed people,
especially aboriginals, are parting with possessions they can replace easily
with your payment. Don't be swayed by politeness regarding an item they will
really miss. Acquiring gems necessitates culture-sensitive compromise;
bargain with the correct individual.

Q. How do you journal on the road?

A. I jot down phrases whenever I notice ANYTHING interesting. A sturdy,
pocket-sized, inconspicuous journal can be your best friend (not just on the
road). I use the dual-lobe format: Front to middle is the chronological
journey (left brain accounting), back to middle registers miscellaneous
inspiration, addresses, to-do lists, and other nontrip-related deliberation
(right brain musing). When they meet midway, it's time for a new ledger.

Journals larger than passports are easily lost and alert others of your
reporting.

PS, How does one avoid the Unsavory Tourist Syndrome?

A. The six Americana impulses that shout tourist! as you bumble abroad are:
1. high-fiving everyone.
2. wearing high-top sneakers and a baseball cap backward.
3. talking incessantly, volume set on loud. Observation: There are two Nort