Places to submit

Lily Poetry Review

Lily Poetry Review is a print journal set to publish in the winter and summer of each year. “Our porch light is always on.” We must charge a nominal fee ($3)  to cover the cost of submissions. The Lily Poetry Review is interested in promoting contemporary poets, poetry, flash fiction and literary citizenship. Please don’t send previously published material. Send no more than five pieces per submission. All must be contained in one document. Submission Guidelines

Prompts

Just Write! Prompt #395

Want to write? Having trouble getting started? Stuck in a rut? Using prompts, or ideas, are a great way to free your mind and unstick your blocked mind. Set a timer for fifteen minutes. Choose one of the prompts below and Just Write! I remember . . . A childhood memory Something bad that turned out good Something you would like to see again Someone from your childhood How I really spent my summer vacation Or, write whatever is on your mind. Just write! It’s healthy. It can be fun. And it’s free!

Guest Bloggers

The Courage to Write

My new writing friend, Nancy Julien Kopp, writes beautiful and inspiring posts on her blog, Writer Granny’s World by Nancy Julien Kopp. New Writers Need To Believe—Memoirs and Family Stories, by Nancy Julien Kopp Ever hear naysayers in the world of those who want to write a memoir or family stories who utter things like: I’m not a professional writer. I can’t write like some people do. I want to write the story but I wouldn’t know where to start. My grammar is not good enough to write. My writing is boring. All of the above can be overcome. But the first thing you must do is believe that you can write a memoir or a book of family stories. Sounds easy? Maybe. Possible? Yes. It takes some courage to do something new. Look at the people who zipline. Looks like fun but maybe a bit scary, too. Those who…

Prompts

Do Dreams Come True? Prompt #394

Do dreams come true? I think they can. I’ve had a dream since 2005, an item I can now cross off my bucket list: Produce a series of books to inspire writing. The recently published, The Write Spot: Reflections is the third book in The Write Spot Series. Today’s Prompt: Write your bucket list . . . things you want to do. Your dream wish list. Take a few minutes for this. Next: Choose an item from this list and write as if it were five years from now and you have completed your dream. A sort of cheerleading note to yourself. Go on . . . Dare to dream! For more inspirational writing on this topic: Prompt #212: What is on your bucket list? Prompt #216: Portals, Dreams and Promises The Write Spot: Reflections is available for $12 at Amazon, Copperfield’s Petaluma, and JavAmore Café .  

Just Write

About Anthologies

What do you think when you hear a book is an anthology? Some people may be delighted with thoughts of reading from a variety of authors. Others may groan, remembering antiquated stories in outdated books. Me? I’m excited to produce anthologies so that a diverse group of writers can be introduced into the writing scene. My third anthology, The Write Spot: Reflections was recently published with the help of two authors who didn’t even know they were cheering me on. Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon, co-editors of Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today’s Best Women Writers, wrote an article, “Labor of Love,” printed in Poets & Writers magazine, May June 2014. “Labor of Love” was my steadfast companion on my journey from “What am I doing?” and “Will this work?” to the completion of three anthologies. Excerpt from “Labor of Love” “We’ve always loved anthologies. As new writers, we…

Guest Bloggers

Ignite Your Creativity

Today’s post is inspired by Creativity Coach Suzanne Murray.               Photo by John Pierce. Suzanne writes: CREATIVITY COMES FROM BEYOND THE MIND All the things that truly matter – beauty, love , creativity, joy, inner peace – arise from beyond the mind. – Eckhart Tolle Once years ago when someone asked me what we did in my writing workshop I laughingly responded, “I’ll teach you to lose your mind.” I was delighted when they signed up on the spot. One of the reasons most people don’t think they are creative is that the mind doesn’t understand how creativity works. I remember early in my writing life when one of my personal essays won a significant award, including a grant to support my work, I went into a bit of a panic because I wasn’t completely sure how I had written the piece. I was…

Prompts

Mental Snapshot . . . Prompt #390

Our minds register events like snapshots, especially stressful or shocking events. Our minds take a snapshot as if we need to remember that point in time. For example, you probably remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard about John F. Kennedy being shot or September 11th or the October Northern California fires. For this prompt, I’d like to make it more personal. Yes, you can write about a global event. Or, you can use this prompt as an opportunity to take a deeper look at something that is personally meaningful to you. Something that was a type of surprise or shock so you took a mental snapshot. It could be good or surprising news. It could be something that was upsetting or disturbing. I invite you to go inward and write about a mental snapshot you carry with you. When writing about difficult experiences, take…