Uptown Funky Sharks

Are you familiar with the Mark Ronson/Bruno Mars video, Uptown Funk?

Here is the video if you are not familiar.

 

 

If the “embed” doesn’t work (sometimes on preview it does, and sometimes not), here is the link.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPf0YbXqDm0

Before the Word Sharks Writers’ Conference, I took the lyrics and made them my own. Listen to the video and try these words instead.

I bring you, Uptown Funky Sharks.

*   *   *

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, (Aaaaaow!)

This bites

That cold fin

Hey Roy Scheider

That cold swim

This one, for them hood sharks

Them good sharks

Need a bigger boat

Stylin’, while in

Livin’ it up in the city

Got tail on with the dorsal fins

Gotta kiss my gills, so pretty

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Called a police and a fireman

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Make a great white wanna retire, man

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Fish say my name you know who I am

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Am I bad ‘bout that swimming

Break it down

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to ya

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to ya

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to you

Saturday night and we in the spot

Don’t believe me, just write (come on)

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Stop!

Wait a minute

Fill my cup, put some fishies in it

Take a sip, sign a check

“Liz-beth, get the Stang!

Ride to New York, Mauertown, Boston, Harpursville,

If we show up, we gon’ show out

Smoother than a bunch ole hippies

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Called a police and a fireman

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Make a great white, retire, man

I’m too hot (hot sharks, hot sharks)

Fish say my name you know who I am

I’m too hot (hot sharks)

Am I bad ‘bout that munchin’

Break it down

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

Girls say we gonna bite ya (whoo)

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to ya

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to ya

‘Cause Uptown Sharks gon’ give it to ya

Saturday night and we in the spot

Don’t believe me, just write

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Before we leave

Let me tell y’all a lil something

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

I said uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Come on swim

Swim on it

If you sharky, then flaunt it

If you sharky, then own it

Don’t brag about it, come show me

Come on, swim

Swim on it

If you sharky then flaunt it

Well it’s Saturday night and we in the spot

Don’t believe me, just write (come on)

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Doh

Doh doh doh, doh doh doh, doh doh (Hah!)

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Don’t believe me, just write

Hey, hey, hey, oh!

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up (say whaa?)

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up (say whaa?)

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up (say whaa?)

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up

Uptown shark you up, uptown shark you up (say whaa?)

Uptown shark you up

Biiiiiiiiite!

The writer’s ABC exercise, with Pamela Wight

Pamela Wight, of Rough Wighting, introduced this writing-off-the-cuff exercise at the recent Word Sharks’ Conference in Newark, DE.

And what a great exercise it is! Start with a prompt – Pamela gave us the opening, “A little while ago…” – and just keep writing. Each new sentence must start with the next letter of the alphabet.

From Pamela’s notes handed out at the conference: keep your hand moving, lose control, don’t think, don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, or grammar, and be free to write the worst junk in America.

If you have about ten minutes, I encourage you to try it.

Here are my results from this exercise (I have edited a teensy bit, just to aid in the ease of reading).

*   *   *

A little while ago, I realized that I wanted to sponsor my own writing conference. Because I need attention, or because I wanted to get together with long-time internet friends? Crap, I don’t know. Don’t we all have self-doubts? Especially if we exist online only and never have to stand – in person – before these people. Friends – true friends – would never say, “Boy, was this a mistake.”

Good friends come together. 

Have face-to-face conversation.

Imagine together.

Jump in.

Kangaroos jump in!

Laughing all the way to publication.

Maybe this is the start of something special for this small handful of friends. Never before has this happened, and never again will this first Word Sharks Conference repeat itself.

Oh, we might gather again – in six months or a year – but the original “yay, finally, we are here” will never again be the first time.

Perhaps subsequent emails and handwritten notes can help us reconnect and share and promote.

Quietly, quickly, we become our own little writers’ group.

Realistically, we may never gather in the same room again.

Satisfaction comes from this one conference, this one gathering. Tomorrow might never come, and glorious today, we sit in the small group sharing our feelings, insights, and ideas.

Until tomorrow, friends.

Very sincerely,

Word Shark

XOXO

Your friend…

*   *   *

This is where I finally got hung up – on the Z.

Can you finish the exercise with a good “Z” word?

 

A Legendary North Dakota Conference Experience

 A Legendary North Dakota Conference Experience

I have attended numerous national conferences, and not one of them compared to the intimate (and awesome!) North Dakota Bloggers & Writers Conference I recently attended in Fargo, ND. Not only did I connect with writers from North Dakota, Minnesota, and Canada, but I experienced Fargo for the first time.

Before the conference kick off, my BFF and I visited The Rourke Art Museum.

Wine cellar at the Hotel Donaldson

Sunday Evening Walk About

Attendees gathered Sunday evening at the Radisson and paraded over to the Hotel Donaldson for a tour of a couple of their unique artist-inspired rooms, the wine cellar, and their distinctive work-out room. That was followed by hors d’ouveres at the Donaldson’s HODO Restaurant. Other stops in downtown included Unglued Craft Market, olive oils and balsamics at Pinch and Pour, and brews at Wurst Bier Hall.

Pinch and Pour

Conference Day 

Monday’s conference started with a scrumptious breakfast of fresh fruit, bagels and pastries, coffee, tea, and juices.

Morning Presentations 

Rachel Hutton – Editor, Minnesota Monthly

Freelance Writers Panel

Freelance Writers Panel with Jessie Veeder Scofield, Jennifer Dewey Rohrich, and Amity Moore

Moderator, Beth Schatz Kaylor, blogger at Rhubard and Venison

More Yummies

Lunch was presented with panache…pasta salad, seasoned potatoes, zucchini and squash with peppers and onions, and roast au jus.

Kim Jondahl, North Dakota State Historical Soceity

Afternoon Presentations

Kim Schmidt – North Dakota Tourism

Kim Jondahl – North Dakota State Historical Society

Nicole Moen – Fargo-Moorhead Convention & Visitors Bureau

Roundtables

Afternoon roundtables included Writing Blogs That People Love with Jessie Veeder Scofield, Visit with the Editor with Rachel Hutton, Photography Inspired with Jennifer Dewey Rohrich, and Writing Tips and Tricks with Amity Moore.

Kim Schmidt (center) at the Hotel Donaldson tour

Final Presentation

Passion with a Purpose – Tony, Sarah, and Gio Nasello of Sarello’s Restaurant and Wine Lounge in Moorhead, MN, and of Home with the Lost Italian.

Breaking Up

We broke up. I didn’t want to leave. I felt like I had new friends all over the state!

Display of the reconstruction at the Hotel Donaldson

Other Bloggers

Here are the resulting blog posts about the conference. And many of these blogs have incredible North Dakota photos.

Allison “A. J.” Bauers of The Covert Extravert with A Guide for First-Time Conference Attendees

Sarah and Tony Nasello of Home with the Lost Italian, Staking Our Claim as North Dakotans

Roxane Beauclair Salonen, thePeace Garden Writer, Secret Spaces

Jessie Veeder Scofield of Meanwhile, back at the ranch with A North Dakota Story

Devin Berglund writes The ND Writing & Blogging Workshop, Through My Eyes

Jenny Dewey Rohrich, The Prairie Californian, with Refreshing My Passion for North Dakota

Will you be remembered after the writers’ conference?

I am attending a writer/blogger conference in Fargo, North Dakota, this month.

I looked back on my writers’ conference tips, written last year. I also wrote about “branding” back in 2013 – you can see that link here.

For this conference, I thought…

How do I want to present myself? (The Word Shark, editor extraordinaire)

How do I want to dress? (professionally, in colors to match my website and blog)

What do I need to have? (biz cards, a name tag, give-away pens)

People are going to remember me because…

I dressed like a professional editor – sensible shoes, a blazer, neat hairdo, spare make-up. And everything about me is going to scream, “Shark!”

Personalize

I’m not going to use any entry-table name tag, no way. I made my own. You guessed it – it has a shark on it.

Hand outs

I will have The Word Shark biz cards and give-a-way pens with a shark charm (people will take me home with them).

North Dakota bloggers on FB

I discovered and joined the FB group, North Dakota Bloggers. There has been some chit-chat about the conference, and I have connected with a handful of attendees as well as presenters.

Research the presenters

Before any conference, you get a who’s-presenting email. Do look up these people, connect with them on social networking, follow their blogs ahead of conference time.

Magazine articles

One of the presenters at this conference is the editor of a local, regional magazine. Will I have a couple of articles to hand her? You bet your dorsal fin!

Engage

Don’t just show up at the conference – engage. Talk to people, ask questions about their projects, and participate in discussions. Exchange cards so you can send a follow up email, “Nice to meet and you at the conference…”

When all the conference-goers go home

They will pick up my shark pen and say, “Hey, maybe I do need an editor.”

 

Conference ready!

Got the shark name tag

Got shark-pen give-away swag

Got a flashy shark shirt for downtown Fargo walk-about

Got a quiet shark tee and blazer for the conference crowd

Got the biz cards, ready to hand out

It’s all conference I’m about!

 

How do you prepare for a writers’ conference?

What’s your favorite thing about attending a writers’ conference?

 

Cool shark-charm pens custom made by The English Rose.