Guest Blogger Arletta Dawdy’s reflections on Susan Bono’s talk, “Illuminating The Essay.” Remember the bogs of Ireland or those on the moors of England in old romance novels? The one where the heroine comes to the lonesome manor to be a governess, nurse, or maid only to fall for the moody master, his neighbor or maybe the groundsman. She’s lost in the mire of boggish emotions until HE comes to her rescue. Well, I don’t see HIM rescuing this writer from her blogger’s mind-bog. If you noticed, I’ve been absent for, low, these many months and then I thought there might be hope showing on my horizon. Marlene Cullen, producer of Writers Forum, invited local heroine/publisher//teacher Susan Bono to inspire an October gathering by “Illuminating The Essay.” Susan has published personal narratives in her famed journal, Tiny Lights, for nearly twenty years. She is an expert in the form and…
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.
What fascinates you? Prompt #661
Write about what fascinates you, or what you are obsessed with. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter #freewrites
Meeting My Father
“Whether you have a fractured relationship with your dad or family, or you have untold stories of your own, now is the time to bring them out of the darkness and let them shine and be a beacon to inspire and move others. You never know who you can possibly help until you share pieces of your own heart through writing or by showing up, fully present, with a heart full of love.” — Shawn Langwell “Father’s Day has ALWAYS been hard for me BUT I decided to write a short poem forgiving my father, finally, fully. Thank you to The Good Men Project for publishing the poem. It is called, simply, MY FATHER.” — Kevin Powell Note from Marlene: Thank you, Shawn and Kevin, for giving me the courage to post My Father story. “Meeting My Father,” by Marlene Cullen. When I was seven years old, I was embarrassed…
Waterwheel Review
Waterwheel Review publishes three pieces of writing each month, September through May, with accompanying companion pieces selected or solicited by the editors. “We hope authors will take advantage of our refusal to define what we publish, and send us un-name-able bits and pieces. A fiction that has no shape but feels complete and leaves a hole in your stomach; a nonfiction layered in obvious lies; a recipe that works like a poem. If you’re looking for a home for a sonnet or a realist short story, or any piece that happens to wear a traditional outfit, we want to see it. If the writing is fresh, artful, and engaging, if we’re moved (to cry, to clench a fist, to laugh), we want it.” Guidelines
I’m not sure . . . Prompt #660
Use any of these sentence starts to inspire writing: I’m not sure if . . . I’m not sure about . . . I’m not sure when . . . I’m not sure why . . . I’m not sure how . . . I’m just not sure. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
The Joy of Creativity
By Suzanne Murray Years ago I heard Nobel Prize winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney give a lecture at the University of Washington. In the middle of this very academic speech, he paused, threw up both his hands and said, “Oh, just write for the joy of it” and then dipped back into the lecture. I don’t remember anything else from the talk, but Heaney’s sudden burst of inspiration stayed with me because it really captured an essential element in being creative. Whether you are cooking a great meal, growing a beautiful garden, writing a poem or singing in the community choir, you likely feel a deep sense of satisfaction and a joyfulness that comes with being creative. Creativity draws on the best of human nature: perception, imagination, intellect, inspiration, courage, intuition, and empathy. The urge to create asks us to bask in the experience of the world, to see, feel, taste,…
Never would I ever . . . Prompt #659
Writing Prompt: Never would I ever . . . #iamwriting #iamawriter #justwrite
Never Should You Ever
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Never Should You Ever By Ken Delpit Whether it’s “Never would I ever,”Or “Never will I ever,”Or “Never could I ever,”Or “Never can I ever,”Or “Never should I ever,”Or “Never have I ever,” You cannot help but marvelAt what an eternity “Never” is.At what a commitment “Never” is.At what a delusion “Never” is. Few such utterances can hold true,When a single exception renders them moot. Most such utterances harbor doubts.We just cannot help ourselves in our passions. Who among us say these things?Why, everyone, of course. Who among us mean these things?Well, everyone, of course. But who among us are truthful about “Nevers”?Well, some of us are…Or, intend to be, at least,At the time, that is,For the most part, anyway. So, take heed at the notion of “Never.”Its purpose is rigid,But its use is fluid. Lest…
Writer Wounds and Scar Tissue
By Rebecca Evans We tell stories. But before we tell them, we hold them, think them, sometimes, we thank them. We recall and carry and live with them in our bodies. We embody them. Sometimes, they embody us. Some of our stories are built from sandbox and rhyme-singing childhoods. Others, built from bullies beneath the monkey bars. Many are the stories told to us, about us, some true, though most are not. And still others, the most difficult ones, are born from experiences. Someone one asked how long it took to write my memoir. 55 years. Yes. All of my years, because I lived through the experiences first. The truth is that we don’t just live through our experiences. We also don’t “get through” or “get over” the tough stuff—grief, loss, trauma. They live in us. If we’re lucky and wield pens, we push them out and onto the page….
Perspective . . . Prompt #658
I like the idea of looking at familair things with a new perspective. This writing idea is from Kathryn Petruccelli: Look at something in your environment, perhaps something you’ve seen many times before, that you think you know well. It could be a piece of art hanging in your house, or a plant on your windowsill. Get close and look again. Re-see it. After you’ve spent some time with it, create a list of metaphors—things it looks like, or reminds you of. Don’t be too attached to logic, be free with your associations. Maybe the comparisons will get wild as you go along. At some point, break the pattern of the list and slow things down by going deeper into description for one metaphor (extend it and explain it in more detail), or by making a statement—a simple subject-verb sentence—that reflects on or summarizes what you’ve said so far. Note…