Sunday, February 28, 2010

Letter. Sat. pm exercise 2

Letters can be a really powerful tool for expression, especially if they wont be sent. Write a letter.....

-To yourself ten years from now.
-To yourself before you joined the military.
-To your family as if you were still in or deployed.
-To an Iraqi or Afghan
-To anyone you want.

Post your letter or something that came from it.

Post post post.

How / Why I joined the Military Sat. pm exercise 1

Think back to when you joined the Military. What kind of person were you? What did you care about? How have you changed? Write a story about joining the service.

Free-write for five minutes.

Post your free-write or something that came from it.

Write and post!

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Me and my Weapon. Friday am exercise 2

Everyone has a little different take on their relationship to their weapon. Nate Lewis talks about being troubled by his excitement about his weapon ("Me and My Rifle" in "re-making sense or warriorwriters.org).

What was your relationship to your weapon? Did you love it, hate it, feel safer with it? feel scary with it? Did you use it as a hatrack, as a weapon, as a security blanket. Was it an M-16, SAW, 9-mil? or what?

Tell us about you and your weapon. What kind of weapons do you use now?

The most rediculous thing I had to do. Firday am exercise 1

Nate Lewis wrote a funny piece about shit burning detail. (check it out in "Re-Making Sense") We talked about that and all the other "shitty" things soldiers have to do. This is the real everyday bs that we all went through. It's not glamourous and it really goes against the hero image of the soldier. Write your own experience with the shitty, rediculous, or the every day mundane. Use the words, It would have been funny if it weren't so sad, or, the most rediculous thing I had to do was...

Enjoy, write, post.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Lost or Stolen friday pm exersize 2

We all have lost things or had things taken from us as a result of our time in the military. What did you lose or have taken from you? How has it changed your life? How are you going to get it back or fill that space with something new?

Free-write for five minutes, don't stop, don't get caught up.

Post your free-write or something that came out of it. What surprised you? What struck a chord?

Write and share.

Sensual Discription friday pm session exercise 1

Discribe a person, object, or experience from your time in the military. Free write for five minutes concentrating on the sight, sound, snd smell of whatever you write about. Be descriptive and concentrate on the concrete. Try to show us what you saw.

Check out Garett Rapenhagen's "Dirt" in Re-making sense or on warriorwriters.org

Post your free writing, thoughts, or finished work. Let other people know what you like about theirs.

Write Write Write. Post Post Post.

Warrior Writers, Participate in Philly Retreat No Matter Where You are.

Warrior Writers are gathering in Philly for writing workshops, healing, and community but no matter where you are, you can come too. Look on for us to post the same writing exercises that we use here. Participate in the workshop with us by sharing your post. If you have problems posting I may need to add you to the list of contributors. Call or text 912-596-8484 to get added. Keep your eyes peeled, more to follow-

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Saying Hello...

Good day! I am Sara Beining,24 years old, I am from Indiana, and I have a lovely 18 month old daughter. I am currently an English and Anthropology Major at Indiana-Purdue University with a concentration in Writing. I got involved in IVAW back in 2007 at a protest at Kennebunkport, Maine and have enjoyed all my interaction with IVAW since.I was deployed to Iraq for all of 2006 and after Iraq got married, had a child, and am getting divorced currently. It has been a bumpy road but I am excited to keep moving on and see what life has in store for me and those around me.

Friday, February 5, 2010

In the spirit of "let's get acquainted"...

Hello, I’m Mary Ann Schallert, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, Ft. Lewis Chapter in Washington State. I am a US Navy veteran, a retired telecommunications professional and an almost lifelong author of short stories and poetry. I was an English major at college “way back when”… although my writing expertise and inspiration come mostly from real life. I am a regular contributor to Members Speak at ivaw.org, as well as GotPoetry.com where I post under the pen-name “maryanns”. If you visit GotPoetry, you will find many of my topical works showcased there. I also have a recently published book available at Amazon.com… “Poet on the Edge of the Back of Beyond”. The book contains poetry, short stories and photographs of life on the west coast. I very much look forward to working with Warrior Writers and I’m excited to become personally acquainted with many more members when the Warrior Writers workshop comes to Seattle. Very best wishes to all, Mary Ann