Today’s writing prompt is inspired from the September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine. “A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.” Set your time and write for 20 minutes. Set it aside for twenty minutes. Then read. Tweak, make a few changes, but not too many. The energy from that first and fast writing is usually spot-on. Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on this prompt and enter Writer’s Digest Contest #60. Send your story using the online form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or send via email to yourstorycontest@fmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened). DEADLINE: August 25, 2014
Month: August 2014
What do these writers have in common?
Bella Andre, David Corbett and Jordan Rosenfeld have all been Writers Forum of Petaluma presenters. Scroll down for details. The September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine is filled with practical, helpful and inspirational articles. Bella Andre is on the cover. Her story, “Romancing Big Publishers With E-book Success” might encourage you to go the indie route for publishing or try traditional. She also talks about why she uses a pen name. Do you wonder about “pacing and tension?” Jessica Page Morrell has written an article that explains it in easy-to-understand format. Donald Maass writes about “Building Microtension Into Every Scene” and makes it seem like an easy thing to do. Writer’s Digest Contest #60 is one you can enter. “Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on the prompt: A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.” “You can…
Guest Blogger Karin Gillespie: 5 Pieces of Advice That Changed the Way I Write
Guest Blogger Karin Gillespie writes: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Long ago, when I first read the statement above, I imagined an encounter with a big-bellied, toga-wearing monk who would whisper the secrets of the universe into my ear. Over the years I’ve learned you don’t necessarily need a monk to show you the way. If you’re open to it, wisdom comes in many guises, such as advice from a friend, a passage in a book, an overheard conversation or even a sudden insight. What follows are the valuable writing gifts I have received over the years. Depending on where you are in this journey, they may or may not resonate with you, but each one was precious to me and changed my way of thinking about my craft. Morning Pages Since I was a little girl I always dreamed of being a writer but it wasn’t…
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Khalil Gibran
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. —Khalil Gibran Note from Marlene: It seems to me this is what writers do . . . we give of ourselves every time we share our writing. We put ourselves out there . . . our emotions, our vulnerability, and our hope that our writing is understood. Kudos, Writers, for being willing to put yourselves out there. . . what would we do without you and your stories?
What do you do if . . . Prompt #95
You are in a bookstore in another city: ~ You see something you can’t live without, but you don’t have enough money to pay for it. What do you do? ~ You see a neighbor, alone, weeping. What do you do? ~ You see an acquaintance shoplift. What do you do? ~ You see two married acquaintances, without their spouses, heads and bodies close together, in a suggestive position. What do you do? ~ You are a young child and smile up at the grown-up whose hand you are holding but you don’t recognize the grown-up. What do you do? Pick one and write for 20 minutes. Note from Marlene: You can tweak prompts however you want. For example, with this prompt, the setting could be a deserted walkway near water, in a park, at a crowded Saturday market. You choose the setting and Just Write! Photo by Sasha Oaks …
Lower Your Expectations and Just Write
My dear friend, Karen Batchelor, was an inspiring and wonderful writing teacher. She passed away too soon, December 2013. I was looking through material to post here and came across this gem by Karen. I hope you enjoy it and hope it inspires you to Just Write. Lower Your Expectations, by Karen Batchelor When 2012 arrived, I dismissed the thought of making any new year’s resolutions. After all, those aspirations often died just days or hours after their birth. However, on January 1, a tiny little idea began to germinate. A few minutes later when the concept was fully formed, I started in on my new project. My goal: Write a minimum of five minutes a day. I can hear some of you chuckling. What kind of a goal is that? In fact for some time, neither grandiose nor modest intentions have worked. Although I could create a lot of…
Something you are wearing right now. Prompt #94
Write about an article of clothing, shoes, or jewelry. . . something you are wearing right now. Photo by Breana Marie
Unsolicited submissions = fossil fuel for Barrelhouse
“Thanks for thinking of us as a home for your work! Unsolicited submissions are the fossil fuel that keeps the Barrelhouse moped puttering along on the side of the literary highway.” — Barrelhouse BarrelHouse: an independent non-profit literary organization. bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture. a biannual print journal featuring fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays about music, art, and the detritus of popular culture. a web site that regularly posts new short fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and random stuff. produced by writers for readers who are looking for quality writing with an edge and a sense of humor. offers 8-week online workshops where writers get the straight dope on their work. wants to be your weird Internet friend. You can also follow Barrelhouse on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest jibber jabber from Barrelhouse, our contributors, and the indie lit scene. BarrelHouse accepts submissions through a…
Guest Blogger Maria Murnane reveals her secret to getting past the sticky parts.
I recently read a blog post by Maria Murnane at She Writes and asked Maria if I could share it with you. She graciously said yes. Maria writes: I’m currently working on my seventh novel, and one of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned about the writing process is when to hit pause on a particular scene/sentence/description and move on. If you’re a perfectionist or Type-A personality, that can be hard to do, but it’s extremely important. Trust me. I use all caps to keep me focused on progressing the story. When I was writing my first novel, if I wasn’t sure where to take the story next, I would spend countless hours tweaking, editing, refining, and tinkering the words I already had written. Where did that get me? Nowhere! The problem with spending too much time on a particular area of the book is that you aren’t moving the…