B. Lynn Goodwin

November 13, 2015

Here’s the wise advice:

“Remember that writing things down makes them real; that it is nearly impossible to hate anyone whose story you know; and, most of all, that even in our post-postmodern era, writing has a moral purpose.”
— Andrew Solomon, at the Whiting Awards

Do you agree?

Nicole: Definitely.

Sandee: Pretty much. I guess I need to get a few more people’s stories. Maybe I don’t know everyone as well as I thought I did.

Rob: Is there such a thing as a post-postmodern era, or is somebody making that up?

Diego: I wish I could say that to Bowen. She’s my math teacher, and she’s always telling me I’m wrong, even though my answers are written down. Or am I missing the point?

Tessa: Mostly it’s true, unless you blurt out things you don’t really mean when you’re writing a rant or something.

Mr. Mason: Sometimes it makes things real, but if I wrote that Bri never got injured it would be a lie. Are you sure this is supposed to apply to all writing?

B. Lynn Goodwin: It’s more likely to be true in memoir than in fiction. If you write something that you think is true that turns out to be fiction, that means writing helped you process more deeply. Generally it is true. Like every rule, it can be challenged.

What do you think? Click on “Leave a comment” or “lgood67334” at the top of this post and tell us when this applies in your life, or when it doesn’t, or both. 

I decided to ask my characters a question, the way the Question Man in the newspaper used to. I went to San Ramos High, and found all of these people on the campus or in the parking lot, and I asked each of them, “What are you waiting for?”

Sandee: A role. Any role. And for mom and dad to realize that I’m still here.

Diego: A paying job as a drummer, okay?

Rob: Graduation.

Jenn: Opening night. I can’t wait. I actually have some lines in this show, and I’m the only girl in the 10^th grade who does.

Nicole: College—Even if I can only go to Pine Mountain. College and more singing gigs.

Mrs. G: I’m waiting for something different from each of my students. I’m waiting to see a professional performance from each of my student actors. I’m waiting for our production of Oklahoma to come together, and before too long I’ll be waiting to meet the new freshmen.

Mr. Mason: I’m waiting for Brian to come home.

Mrs. Mason: I’m waiting for Brian to come home so we can be the family we always were. I’m waiting to feel whole again. Six months ago I would have said I was waiting for Sandee to grow up, but now I think she’s maturing a little too fast.

Dr. Henderson: A school day with no problems.

B. Lynn Goodwin: I’m waiting for TALENT to appear on Amazon. Until that happens, you can still get a copy at http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-lynn-goodwin/talent/paperback/product-22424256.html#ratingsReview. Lulu is the distributor for Eternal Press.

I hope you enjoy TALENT. Feel free to like it on Facebook and Twitter. Click on the Contact button to tell me what you think of it, okay?

For some time I’ve been eager to share TALENT with the world. Apparently, sadly but not surprisingly, life is what happens while you’re making other plans.

TALENT was scheduled for release on November 1. I thought it would be posted on Amazon that day, but it’s been “rerouted.” That’s the best way I can  explain it at the moment. The good news is that you can purchase a print copy of TALENT at http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-lynn-goodwin/talent/paperback/product-22424256.html#ratingsReview. Feel free to cut and paste that URL.

You can share a review on the page, if you like, and repost it on Amazon when the book is available there. Send your e-mail address to Lgood67334 AT comcast DOT net if you’d like to be added to the list of people receiving updates. I’ll keep the e-mails to a minimum.

If you read the description below the cover at Lulu, you’ll see that TALENT is still published by Eternal Press, an imprint of Caliburn Press. They are sub-contracting for distribution, as I understand it, and Lulu will distribute to Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, Kobo, and elsewhere. Everything takes time, and e-books as well as paperbacks will be available on Amazon in 2-4 weeks, I’m told. I was as surprised as you may have been when it did not appear yesterday, but some things are not within my control.

Write to me if you have questions and I’ll do my best to answer them, okay? I’m doing all that I can do to make the book available to you.

October 31

Jenn’s hosting a Halloween party tonight. She gets to use the stage at her parent’s theatre. She’s invited everyone in the cast of Oklahoma! to be there. Of course we have to go in costume. She’s going to be a prairie chick. Mrs. G won’t let anybody take their show costumes off campus, but lots of the kids can do a sort of an imitation of them.

So where does that leave me? A headset is not a costume. What’s a techie supposed to do?

Diego came up with this amazing idea. He said we could go as two telephone poles and asked if I had a brown turtleneck to wear with dark pants . I said, “Sure, but what’s the point of being two telephone poles?”

“We’ll sew strings to our sleeves and when we hold up our arms, they’ll look like wires running between two telephone poles. Like the poles that run alongside the tracks in the valley. It’s historical and everything.”

“I know what a telephone pole is,” I said as a  trembling little flurry tickled my stomach. He really wants to do this. He wants to be tied to me. I can’t wait to see what the party brings. Maybe he’s growing up more than I realize. And if he wants strings running between our shirts, he won’t get to spend any time alone with Jenn. This is going to be a night to remember.

Source: An Excerpt from TALENT

October, 2015

My mom sometimes plays an old song by Carole somebody. It might be Carole King. She sings, “I feel the earth move under my feet…” Well I experienced that first hand this week. The earth has been moving under my feet and bumping my chair and rolling underneath our house and our school and the rehearsal room. It rolled right through our scene.

The earth moved right in the middle of a scene I was doing from Our Town, which is about a hundred years old, but Mrs. G says it’s a classic, and we were doing classic American scenes. So this guy named Chaz and I were onstage doing the soda fountain scene where we first find out we’re in love, and believe me that took some acting with Chaz for a partner. I probably shouldn’t say that with this going on line, but I don’t think he’ll ever see this.

Anyway, the curtain opens and we’re about a minute into the scene when there’s a terrible shaking and I thought the floor was going to open up and swallow us. Everybody in the audience was screaming, and Mrs. G said, “It’s just an earthquake,” but her face went all pale and she had these wide, terrified eyes, and nobody was listening to her.

Dr. Henderson came over the loudspeaker and he told us we needed to move to the parking lot in an orderly fashion, but kids were already racing through the door, and it felt like the end of the world until the shaking stopped.

We get to do the scene again, and that’s a good thing, because Chaz couldn’t remember his lines once the shaking started. Neither could I.

Dad made me watch the news tonight. We’re having earthquake swarms in San Ramos. He says that means that the faults are releasing pressure. He says it puts off the big one. I hope he’s right, but I also hope they stop soon.

If you’ve ever been in an earthquake, write back and tell me what it felt like to you, okay? Thanks!

Sandee Mason– 10/15

Source: Publications

I’m waiting for Diego to walk home with me. He has detention again. No math homework,again.

While I’m here, I’m trying to pick out a monologue that would be a good audition piece. Our teacher, Ms. G, says we don’t have to have an audition piece, but I figure if I’m going to do this I should do it right. That’s what Dad always says. Mom too, though lately she doesn’t say much of anything.

It was what Bri told me in 7th grade when I was trying out for cheerleading. “If you’re going to do it, do it right.” He was in tenth grade back then. He thought he was a big shot because he was in high school and his home room had elected him to student council.

Was that only 3 years ago?

Who will I be 3 years from now? Just wondering.

Maybe you can tell me who you think I’ll be once you’ve read TALENT. We’ll put up links to the book as soon as they’re available. It won’t be released until November 1, but you can click on Reply and ask questions in the meantime, okay?

My name is Sandee Mason. I’m 15 and a half and I’m about to share my story with the world. I want to find my talent, so I tried out for my high school’s production of Oklahoma! But things didn’t work out the way I hoped they would. I wound up being the ASM. That’s an assistant stage manager. And that was pretty boring, so I asked for another job and wound up doing props too. You know what props are, right?

So anyway, B. Lynn Goodwin, who wrote my story down, wanted to set up this website, and it sounded like a good idea to me. She said I could be the first one to post something. Here’s what I’d like to say to the world:

1. Life is what happens while you’re making other plans. A lot of people have said that but when I looked it up, the Internet said that John Lennon said it first. He was one of the Beatles. I love their music, and I’m sorry John Lennon died.
2. My story is called Talent.
3. It’s going to be available all over the Internet starting November 1. You’ll be able to order it in advance if you want to.
4. I also want to remind you that real life doesn’t have a script. That’s sort of  like what John Lennon said.
5. Sometimes you don’t realize how much you can miss someone until it’s too late. You’ll find out more about that in my book. Actually B. Lynn Goodwin’s book, but it’s my story. Just read the book. It will make everything clearer, okay?