Mina Witteman – author | editor | teacher of creative writing

Posts from the “Books” Category

Gone Writing – Day 37

Posted on February 7, 2016

green-eyed monsters visit me smack me left and right warp my vision fry my brain in cold-fusioned passion i try to communicate through the wicked tubes that connect you and me i shut my eyes for the devils that are out on the bay today no sailing for me no water no wind no people my muse calls in and whips me into writing forces me to finish this wretched piece of fiction then slips away like a pipe dream i end a story that consumes my heart that sears the rims of my darkened soul my mind tries to protect procrastinates scours the net for snippets of sweetness and love finds none i cry for characters that die my hands slick with blood dripping from their broken skins i crave the muse’s resurrection hunger for his twists to bring them back to life and i wonder…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 36

Posted on February 6, 2016

Signs. Incarnations. You believe in them or you don’t. I do. The other day, I told a friend some news that had me set back and she responded not only with an encouraging note but told me she’d seen a hawk that day while thinking of me – vision, power, rebirth, teamwork – and a lone goose – bravery, confidence, communication, determination. That lifted my spirits. Another friend had some powerful stuff happening at the exact same time I had the same powerful stuff happening. It forged a close bond between us.   It happens too when I write my books. While working on my debut Deedee’s Revenge (De wraak van Deedee), a crow with an important role cropped up in the story. The next morning a crow settled on a branch in the tree outside…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 35

Posted on February 5, 2016

Sometimes all you need is the wind to blow your mind free and the sound of the surf to drown out your inner critic.   But sometimes you need trusted friends – a.k.a. critique partners – who are there when you need a sounding board and who will just let you ramble on about your project so your brain can recalibrate and your story becomes clear again. Friends who can relate to the woes and joys of being a writer and who will not judge you when you’re weepy or euphoric, who can shed some light on your musings when they turn dark or block out the sun when the light’s too bright. Trusted friends who can gently guide you and bring some perspective so you can open portals and let…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 34

Posted on February 4, 2016

Do you ever have that feeling that you are really close to something, that you can almost touch it, that you almost have it in your hand and then it slips through your fingers and it’s gone? Like snapping a picture of a turtle in the water.   It happens with plot twists and turns. When you’re brooding over your story to find a twist that will bring you the change your protagonist needs to move forward, a turn that you need to move the story forward and keep the reader engaged.   They’re fickle things, stories, and they can keep you tossing and turning at night, surrounded by the dark like you are snorkeling in murky waters without even a sliver of light piercing through. It can make it impossible…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 33

Posted on February 3, 2016

A visual post, because day 33 seemed like the perfect day for a break. No writing. Lots of thinking. And a re-energizing walk to clear my head after yesterday’s inspirational overload. I told my muse to sit back and relax and I set out for Kailua Beach.   What did I see? What did it spark?   A ghost crab (Ocypode ceratophthalma): like my skin ghost crabs are the color of sand and you can hardly spot them scurrying around. They also dart away at the tiniest disturbance and I was happy I spotted this one. Took a long wait and the skin on my shoulders is now the color of the setting sun.   Juvenile cone snail: we studied this one for a long time. Might…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 32

Posted on February 2, 2016

i have nothing left to give said the muse disconcerting news that forces my writer’s imagination to find release in solitary thinking in fantasies dreams words that propel me into ian’s blue hawaiian spiral wings send me soaring over red hot molten rock that burns the trees winding through lush green valleys forests that climb up steep cliffs where ropes of sugar sweet white fizz cascade down until my brain whirls like an airfoil pours out novel words new lines to paint a story like the goddess of fire gushes passion from her pit and coats the earth’s crust in black and silver mahalo pele  

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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Gone Writing – Day 31

Posted on February 1, 2016

Totally unrelated to the writing. Or maybe not so unrelated.   In 2013, Tesla’s Elon Musk released the Hyperloop (Alpha) white-paper. In order to accelerate the development of a functional prototype and to encourage innovation amongst students, his company SpaceX organized the Hyperloop competition. A couple of students of Delft University of Technology decided to accept the challenge and formed the Delft Hyperloop Team to design the best Hyperloop pod possible. They invited other students to apply for a spot on the team and I was super proud when my son Olivier, who studies aerospace engineering at Delft University, was accepted and put in charge of the pod’s batteries. Since, the team has worked crazy hard to design their pod and to realize their dream: winning the competition and changing…

Categories: A Bit of Everything, Books, YA books

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