The New Verse News covers the news of the day with poems on issues, large and small, international and local. It relies on the submission of poems (especially those of a politically progressive bent) by writers from all over the world. The editors update the website every day or two with the best work received. What’s best? A genuinely poetic take on a very current and specific news story or event. TIPS FROM THE EDITOR See the website for guidelines and for examples of the kinds of poems the New Verse News publishes. Scroll down to read thesubmission guidelines in the sidebar. Paste your submission and a brief bio in the text of an e-mail (no attachments, please) to nvneditor [at] gmail.com Write “Verse News Submission” in the subject line of your e-mail. Unpublished poems only. No payment. No simultaneous submissions. For an example of what is published, please read: “Hope” by Sandra Anfang,…
Month: May 2022
Still struggling . . . Prompt #650
What did adults tell you when you were a child that you still struggle with? #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter
Good Old Writers
Today’s guest blogger, Victoria Zackheim, writes about how to keep up the energy, faith, and courage to write. I recently walked into my newly built kitchen and discovered a large, grayish rectangular stain on the quartz counter. Had I placed a hot pan there? Not likely. Spilled bleach? Definitely not. I wiped, scrubbed, gently scoured… nothing helped. And then I lifted my arm and noticed a change in the shape of the stain. I had been trying to remove a reflection of light coming through the kitchen window. This is the opening paragraph of an essay I wrote about aging. I smiled as I wrote what I expected to be the preface of my new book. However, I’ve been told by literary agents and several editor friends that writing about aging might be cathartic for me, the writer, but it doesn’t stir up much interest among the public. Really? In…
Back in the day . . . Prompt #649
Back in the day, what did you, or your parents, or your grandparents do in the evenings? #imawriter #justwrite #iamwriting
My Secret Cottage
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. My Secret Cottage By Kathy Guthormsen I open the back door to dew sparkling in the morning sun and hints of rainbows shimmering in the lingering mist. They let me catch a fleeting glimpse before their magic fades. Goosebumps raise along my bare arms as I race through the grass and turn to look at my wet footprints. The sun will soon erase this evidence of my footsteps. I won’t be followed as I skip through an imaginary forest to my secret cottage at the far end of an enchanted glade. Rabbit hops along next to me hoping for the reward of a carrot. Cat slinks across the trail, hunting. She’d like to catch Rabbit, but he’s bigger than she is. And wilier. I raise my hand to shade my eyes and turn in a circle….
Six Sentences
Thanks to Guy Biederman for letting me know about Six Sentences. Six Sentences It’s simple. Just write six sentences. Write anything you like. Guidelines Formatting: Six Sentences uses a paragraph format. Six consecutive sentences. No poems, no bullets. Be unconventional if using dialogue. Again, write anything you like, and tell a friend. Peace. Guy is a prolific writer who regularly submits his writing to publications. Join us to learn the inside story to Guy’s many successes: May 19, 6 pm PST, Free on Zoom, Recovery Writing of Idaho.
People are . . . Prompt #648
“Mama Always Said Life Was Like a Box of Chocolates. You Never Know What You’re Gonna Get.”—Forrest Gump People are like that, too. You never know what people are going to do or say. Perhaps that was the inspiration for The 2022 Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest. Choose a category and Just Write! People are . . . Funny Amazing Changers Unreasonable Unpredictable World These are the categories for The 2022 Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest. Write your story and submit your writing.
Delicate as a Hummingbird’s Heart
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Delicate as a Hummingbird’s Heart By Noah Davis This past Saturday, the fire burning on the north side of the river jumped a ridge and lit another hillside of drought-stricken timber, sending a plume so high that the air turned red with the seared skin of Douglas fir and larch. At 5:30 that evening, in the diner booth across from my father and me, a young man and woman, both with shiny, smooth cheeks, sat drinking their waters in small swallows. He wore a collared, white button down with jeans and scrubbed cowboy boots. Her skirt was blue, like glacial streams, and her straight hair was the color of stacked wheat shafts when the sunlight isn’t choked with smoke. His bangs were still wet from the shower, comb marks straight as irrigation ditches. She ran her…
Let me take this off your plate . . . Prompt #647
Someone said this to me recently: “Let me take this off your plate.” Sounds like a good writing prompt . . . so here we are. Just Write! “Let me take this off your plate.” #iamwriting #iamawriter #justwrite
Crafting Short Fiction
“If I had more time, I’d write a shorter story.”— Mark Twain Today’s Guest Blogger, Guy Biederman, talks about crafting short fiction. I’ve always been intrigued by the challenge of creating something small that has big power. Giacometti said he wanted to make a sculpture the size of a matchbox, but so dense no one could lift it. The first micro story I remember reading was “Coup de Grace” by Ambrose Bierce, with a gotcha ending. O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi used” a similar technique. I was astonished by the wallop a short piece could pack. As a young writer, I cut my teeth on Raymond Carver’s work. Carver’s stories weren’t always short, but they were spare and vivid, conveyed feeling, empathy and understanding, and explained very little. I didn’t know what he was doing or how he did it. I only knew that reading his work was like…