Dazzle ’em with your best poem, 15 lines or fewer. One grand-prize winner will receive $500 and will be published in the June 2015 issue of Reader’s Digest magazine. Additional winners will receive $100. Contest ends January 30, 2015. Click here to go to the Reader’s Digest submission page. Warning: There will be some pop-up ads. . . click the “x” in the upper right-hand corner to get out of that screen and back to the Reader’s Digest submission page.
Month: December 2014
Write a telegram . . . Prompt #121
Compose a telegram — a brief note that could be sent over the wires. Oh, I guess this sounds like an email, or a text message. But doesn’t “telegram” sound dramatic and perhaps romantic? Nostalgic for some people, a curiosity for others. So . . . write a telegram to someone who has touched your life in a significant way. Have your message tell him or her something you wish you could say in person. Or, if the person is no longer in your life, what do you wish you could have said? You could also write a telegram to or from your fictional character. Idea inspired from From Family Tales, Family Wisdom — How to gather the stories of a lifetime and share them with your family, by Dr. Robert U. Akeret with Daniel Klein
Write about something that happened . . . Prompt #120
Write about something that happened to you this week. It can be something big, or something small. Maybe something you saw or observed. Perhaps something or someone touched you in a meaningful way. Write, using great detail. Or write sparse. Just write! Prompt: Write about something that happened to you this week. Photo by Breana Marie
Sweet memories are woven from the good times
Sweet memories are woven from the good times. Author unknown. From Marlene: Your writing comes from memory, imagination, good times and bad. Share your memories through your writing. Create good times for readers. Weave your words, like threads on a loom, into a pattern that others can enjoy. Share your story.
“. . the best prize that life offers . . .
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” — Theodore Roosevelt, from a speech given in Syracuse, New York (September 7, 1903) From Real Simple magazine, September 2014 Note from Marlene: Your writing, your work matters. Just write!
Broken Laces by Rodney Walther
Broken Laces by Rodney Walther is writing from the heart, written with a sensitivity that invites reflection. An honest look at loss and how it affects loved ones, not sugar-coated nor rosy glasses, but a straight forward look at how a woman’s death affects her husband and son. Here’s an excerpt: “My wife was a smart woman — I absolutely adored her — but she didn’t understand the first thing about sports. Baseball wasn’t about fun. She couldn’t appreciate that hard work and overcoming disappointment built character, that coddling a boy didn’t grown him into a man.” Broken Laces is about how a father and son build a relationship and learn to show love and support for one another. I recommend this book as a thoughtful reflection about life and what’s important.
Broad Street hopes to create engaging platforms. . .
Broad Street is a nonprofit magazine featuring great true stories told in many different ways. At Broad Street, we hope to create an engaging platform where writing, poetry, and artwork can come together in one space to be enjoyed both by longtime fans of creative nonfiction and by those who are new to this exciting form. We are always looking for more talent to feature in the magazine, so if you have an interesting piece of writing or art please feel free to submit through Tell it Slant.
Write about a gift. . . Prompt #119
Part 1: Write about a gift someone gave you that you didn’t like, didn’t know what to do with or had no use for. Part 2: What does this gift say about the person who gave it to you? Whenever there is a prompt like this, you can also write about the opposite. Part 1A: Write about a gift you loved, a gift that was a surprise in a good way, a gift that worked really well. Part 1B: What does this gift say about the person who gave it to you?
Guest Blogger Ted A. Moreno . . . and the jewels deep within.
Today’s Guest Blogger, hypnotherapist Ted A. Moreno, writes about reflection and the passage of time . . . We’re still enjoying 80 degree temps here in Southern California. But it’s obvious that fall has arrived and that summer is on its way south. Can you feel it? The morning chill, the early darkness, the long shadows of late afternoon. Leaves releasing themselves for the slow descent to the ground. Autumn has always been my favorite time of year. Something about the shorter days and chillier nights make me pensive, perhaps because I was a winter baby. For me, this is a time of introspection, of going within. It’s as if the fading fall light casts a different perspective that makes me take a step back to examine my life. I’m getting more present to the fading away of a younger me. Remembrances of younger days seem to be visiting me lately. Not only…
Challenging situation. . . Prompt #118
Sometimes you don’t know how you will act when faced with a difficult or a life threatening situation . . . until you are in the throes of it. Write about a time you were in a challenging situation. Use sensory detail. OR: Write about one of your fears. . . from a fictional character’s point of view. . . write about “the worst thing that can happen” . . . then, have your hero or heroine conquer the problem. Ready? Set? Okay. . . think about one of your fears that just won’t go away. Bring your character to life with those fearful thoughts and emotions. Now write. Just write! This is similar to Prompt #47. . . only this time, have your character kick butt.