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March 8, 2021: Why the Bright Lights Book Project?

It was with a bit of regret that I decided on January 1, 2021 to forgo working on “my own stuff” for a year and instead put my heart and soul into this project. I did this because I knew that if I attempted to both, that I would do neither well.

An interesting thing is happening – it’s (again) that cartoon, the one of the fellow sitting on his porch, in front of his typewriter, the woman in the doorway behind him says “write about dogs” (Dispatch 42).

In this case, the analogy is this – the Bright Light Books Project is akin to the dogs. I suppose if I were to draw the cartoon that there would be a stack of


Alys reading

books on both sides of me, and one behind. I would be standing in front of this computer. Pete, behind me, looking haggard would say, “Write about books!”

And so, the stories are in abundance – I just need to get in the right mindset and see them.

Today, Pete and I met with Bea Adler who for many years taught grant writing and wrote grants for the borough. We gave her a tour of the meeting house and then had her give us a critique of the Mat-Su Health Foundation grant – one (alas) that we submitted to the Mat-Su Health Foundation. As she talked, I found myself wishing that we’d had her take a look at the grant before we submitted it to the powers that be. Oh oh.

While it was, in a manner of speaking, water under the bridge, I learned a great deal. It was much like being in college and having professors critique my work. I always came away thinking that I had a great deal to learn before I become a good writer. If I were to go back to school, I’m sure that I’d again come out of teacher’s offices feeling the same way.

Bea went over every paragraph, and made suggestions as she was going along. I learned that grant narratives (for example) need to be short, concise, and to the point. You have to immediately grab and keep the reader’s attention. Additionally, you have to paint a picture, one that provides your audience with a reason for funding your project. For instance, you can’t just ask for money for a little library – you need to offer a rationalization, in this case, the book in the little library, in the hands of a child, could be life-changing.

Bea is going to continue to give a grant-related assist. I’m going to keep the momentum going, by keeping her in the loop. One grant at a time – am thinking that we need funding for shipping books to villages. So I need contact information, on tribal corporations, since they may have money for such things.

There is a certain mindset to creative writing and to grant writing. The two do intersect, and that is the subset. I just need to learn more about the grant writing end of things. So, really, I am still writing and learning about writing, the scope is just different than what it has been in the past.

Next: 68. 3/9/21: Passing of my good Friend and Horse Mentor, Susan Harris

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