I wish I had known . . . Response by Muriel Ellis: I don’t think I would really want to have known what my life would bring. Of course, I wish I’d done some things differently, made more time for the family I loved. I wish I hadn’t abandoned writing for so many years, over and over again. I certainly wish I’d known when I heard the grim news “malignant,” when it applied to lungs that it did not mean horrendous surgery with scant hope of recovery. And I wish that, before I knew all would be well, that I had actually written all those letters of accumulated love and wisdom that I planned to leave for my family—maybe even a page or two for assorted nieces and nephews and their offspring. Well, I didn’t. And, yes, I know it’s not too late, but that’s another story. Life is full…
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.
Sweet Lit
Sweet Lit, A Literary Confection “The purpose of Sweet Lit, from its inception in a small apartment in Columbus, Ohio, was to: 1) recognize the ever-changing nature of the written word in an evolving literary landscape; 2) create a simple and readable digital platform for dialogic exchanges between poetry, short creative nonfiction, and graphic pieces; 3) publish diverse voices from all over the country and world; 4) foster and support emerging writers of any age from various social and economic backgrounds; 5) maintain lasting relationships with the writers Sweet Lit has published.” Sweet seeks poetry and creative nonfiction and anything in between. Sorry, no fiction. General submissions are open May 1st through June 30th for Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry. Graphic Essays are open year-round. Guidelines
Holding Water
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Holding Water By M.A. Dooley I remember the first winery I designed in the middle of a level vineyard. Construction began after the vines were removed and the earth was excavated for the foundation. A big storm hit the northern Sonoma County and lasted for days. At the jobsite meeting, the crew had erected a sign at the edge of a large body of captured rainwater where the future building would go. The sign read Lake Dooley, named after me, the architect. It was funny and I laughed. I had great capacity for everything, hard work, men and their jokes, life. My lake would evaporate, percolate, and be drained and no one would ever know of Lake Dooley. The spring of 2023 was too full to process. The snow and rain kept falling, the rivers were…
If . . . Prompt #725
Writing Prompts inspired from “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections.” If I had my life to do over . . . What I Know Now . . . Note To Self . . . Notes To My Younger Self . . . Choose one or more and Just Write!
April . . . Prompt #724
April 1, 2023. April Fool’s Day. April: In like a whimper? Or, in like a bang? How was your April? Amusing? Charming? Frustrating? Anything new or unusual happen? What did you like about this month of April? What didn’t you like? #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter
Someone Who Helped You . . . Prompt #723
Write about someone who has helped you. Or maybe it was Some Thing that has helped you. Write about someone or something that has helped you. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Sunsets
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Sunsets By Joop Delahaye Sunsets . . . always beautiful, no matter where or when. Blindingly bright in the beginning, can’t look at it, then softening, slipping into the distant ocean . . . the water extinguishing the brightness and the heat and allowing the usual yellows and reds to persist, until they faded to purple and gone. Sitting on a bluff at the Sea Ranch, or on Mount Tam’s west slopes, or the southern Oregon coast at Gold Beach, or on the Croatian coast at Sibenik . . . all notable, all full. The late rays seemed to have an enhanced power of penetration into the soul, the heart. Replenishing spent fuel rods, battery cells, warming the humors. The energy, the short-lasting blast easily pushes open the portals and shines into the nooks and crannies…
A Walk . . . Prompt #722
Write about a walk you took. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
A Visit to a Museum . . . Prompt #721
Write about a visit to a museum. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Memoir: Writing For Clarity
“I think most memoir writers write first of all for ourselves, not for any specific audience. We write for our own clarity. The painful admissions, the ways in which we are upset by ourselves, our actions, things we did, things we failed to do, all of that has to be honestly faced. No point in skirting the truth. Who would we be fooling? Ourselves?” — Abigail Thomas Excerpt from “Memoir is Exploration, So Keep Yourself Open: An Interview with Abigail Thomas” By Dinty W. Moore, Brevity magazine Abigail Thomas is the author of many acclaimed memoirs, including A Three Dog Life, Safekeeping, and What Comes Next and How to Like It. She lives in Woodstock, New York, with her dogs. Dinty W. Moore is the founder and editor of Brevity magazine and is likely out in his garden at this very moment.