Here’s an entertaining idea from Rebecca Lawton’s Cool Writing Tips. Becca’s advisor at Mills College introduced “Modeling,” — an exercise “in which you select an excerpt of masterful writing … and fill in the blanks.” Rebecca Lawton writes, “Modeling is a sort of Mad Lib exercise, where each part of speech is swapped out for a word of your choice.”
Author: mcullen
Marlene Cullen is enthusiastic about encouraging people to write, even those who think they can’t write. Her series of books, The Write Spot anthologies, features writing that entertains as well as inspires writing. Every story, vignette, and poem in The Write Spot books include writing prompts motivating readers to become writers.
Marlene hosts The Write Spot Blog, a treasure chest of inspirational gems for writers.
Fulfilling her passion for writing and sharing with others, Marlene has created unique writing environments such as Jumpstart Writing Workshops, where participants often experience transformational changes. Her workshops provide essential elements for successful writing.
Marlene is the founder of Writers Forum of Petaluma, a monthly literary event featuring presenters talking about the craft and business of writing.
Marlene's awarding winning short stories and essays have been published in literary journals, anthologies, and newspapers, including Tiny Lights, Building Bridges, More Bridges, Redwood Writers anthologies, and The Write Spot anthologies.
She is a member of the California Writer's Club.
Connecting to Nature and Creativity
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray writes about: Connecting to Nature and Creativity as a Gift for Ourselves and the World. Nature and creativity are doorways to the sacred. They can help us connect to the deeper parts of ourselves, the knowing of our hearts and souls. They can assist us in being more present in the moment and give us access to expanded capacities of intuition, inspiration and imagination. Connecting to the natural world, which is inherently creative, opens us to our own creative gifts, which allows us to bring forth new possibilities and solutions for our own lives and our troubled world. The ongoing tragedies in the world combined with instant access to these events through the news and social media can leave us feeling helpless and hopeless. Our psyches and nervous systems overwhelmed. Spending time in nature as well as creative play can be a balm for heart and…
What haunts you? Prompt #284
Sit still for a moment. . . take a few deep breaths. Relax into your chair. For this writing experience, tap into what haunts you. As Rebecca Lawton says in Cool Writing Tips: ” See the detail of the memory with clear eyes and write it down as best you can remember it.” There will be a repeat series of Becca Lawton’s Cool Writing Tips. This will only be available for the month of September, 2016. Sign up now so you don’t miss a single inspirational tip. “Write as if you were dying” features Rebecca Lawton as a guest blogger and highlights one of her Cool Writing Tips. I found her friendly style of writing about writing to be affirming and inspiring. I think you will, too.
Magic Carpet Ride . . . Prompt #283
Guest Blogger Becca Lawton’s post “Write As If You Were Dying” got me to thinking about how we spend our days. Most of our days are filled with things we have to do, accomplishing what needs to get done to pay bills, buy food, do the laundry, chores, clean whatever needs cleaning, and so on. What if, one day next week you could do anything you want. What would it be? This is different from Prompt #164, “Write About A Perfect Day” where money and restrictions are not a factor. For this writing, be realistic, what could you do in a day that would be fun and something you could afford? This might be challenging for you . . . all the more reason to make the effort to sit down and Just Write. Okay, so what if that type of writing sounds like no fun at all and you…
Write as if you were dying
What would you write if you knew you would die soon? Today’s Guest Blogger, Rebecca Lawton, took the plunge and explored what it means for our work to be “so essential that we must complete it before we leave this earth.” Becca’s Cool Writing Tips during the month of August were such a success, she’s repeating the series in September. So, if you missed out in August, you have another chance to be inspired by Becca Lawton’s Cool Writing Tips. Becca opened the second week of Cool Writing Tips with this provocative quote from Annie Dillard: Write as if you were dying. At the same time, assume you write for an audience consisting solely of terminal patients. That is, after all, the case. What would you write if you knew you would die soon? Becca responds as if she were having an intimate conversation with Annie: Ms. Dillard, I’m so…
Detour . . . Prompt #282
Write about a detour you have taken. Or write about a detour someone you know has taken.
Scarlet Tanager: Submit poetry for anthology
Do you want your poetry to be part of an anthology? Submit to Scarlet Tanager to be considered for their anthology about California species, habitats, and geography, as well as historical, emotional, spiritual, political, aesthetic, or philosophical content. Scarlet Tanager is looking for poems that “go beyond simple description of place.” From their Submissions Page: The anthology will include poems on the coast and ocean, redwood forests, deserts, rivers, oak woodlands, grasslands, valley, chaparral, foothills, and mountains. Poems on urban environments welcome too! The aim is to celebrate California’s landscapes and also to document destruction and change. All forms and styles of poetry are welcome, as long as they focus on California. You do not need to live in California to submit. Please click on Scarlet Tanager Submissions for details on how to submit.
Saved . . . Prompt #281
Write about saving a life. Someone’s life you saved, or someone who saved your life. The save could be literal: CPR was performed, pulled from water, put out a fire, rescued from a snarling animal or a threatening situation. The save could be inspirational: Something read in a book, a magazine, a placard, a wall hanging; a mental shift; a realization; an epiphany; something that was said; a behavior change; a belief change. You get the idea . . . Saved. However you interpret this. Just write!
Food For Thought . . . Prompt #280
A friend delivered a gift wrapped in black and white paper with sayings on canning jars. Today’s prompts are inspired from that gift wrapping paper. Choose one to write about. Or choose several: Food for thought. Foodies are the best people. Season everything with Love. Just beet it. Stay hungry – Stay foolish! Eat. Drink. And be amazing. Eat more greens. Farm to table & table to soul.
The Louisville Review
From its founding in 1976, The Louisville Review has “fostered the development of new writers. Each poem and story submitted to TLR is judged entirely on its own merit.” In 1996, to celebrate twenty years of continuous magazine publication, the Fleur-de-Lis Press was launched. To date, eighteen books have been published. Brief Guidelines – please click on Submissions for full guidelines. TLR accepts unsolicited submissions of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama year round. All work must be previously unpublished. Simultaneous submissions are accepted. All submissions are considered based on quality of writing above all else. Fiction and Nonfiction Prose submissions should be double-spaced and page numbered. While we do not have a set word limit, please know that our editors are less likely to choose longer pieces simply because it leaves less room in the journal for other work. Poetry Poetry (up to 5 poems) need not be double-spaced. If submitting online, please be sure all…