During this month's meeting we had a lively discussion about Kevin Canty's short story "The Whore of Manzanita," and decided it would be a perfect "jump off" point for a piece of writing of our own.
Do not be intimidated by Canty's incredible story. The point here is to write something that somehow is influenced by his story. Ideas are listed here, but you are certainly not limited to them.
1. Write your own short story about people in a town from the perspective of the town consciousness.
2. Write an internal monologue for any of the people mentioned in the story. What motivated their behaviors? What were they thinking as various events occurred?
3. Choose any of Canty's words or phrases to begin or experiment with your own poetry or prose. Examine the dynamics of opposites he includes so beautifully.
4. Write the story from the perspective of another character -- say, Katie at the Salty Dog. What is she seeing and hearing?
5. Analyze the mood and atmosphere inspired by the references to the seasons and the ocean. Try it in your own piece of writing.
6. Research Manzanita, Oregon. From the perspective of what you find in your research, write about what you think a visit to Manzanita would be like. Maybe find a structure to bring the information to light, such as using a format like "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."
7. Does this story bring to mind anything from your own life? What "small town" environments have you been in? How did they affect you?
Here is the link to the story again.
http://newworldwriting.net/kevin-canty/
Happy Writing! See you in August.
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