Write about smells of summer . . . Pink lemonade Cut watermelon Gazpacho Caprese salad Juicy plums Jam simmering on the stove Fruit tarts River water Sand Ocean Hot sun on asphalt, on a canvas chair, on your arm Sunscreen Write about summer smells.
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.
Mycorrhiza
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Mycorrhiza* by Patricia Morris I live under the canopy of a grandmother valley oak. It grows in what is now called “my neighbor’s yard,” due to the way we white settlers swept through this what-is-now-called a nation over the past 300 years and took over everything. Massacred people who were living here, infected them with deadly diseases, tried to re-make them in our image. Declared that we “owned” the land, bought and sold it; built structures to live in, structures that got bigger and more permanent as time passed; built fences to delineate MINE. But before all this, there was the valley oak. Like all oaks, it began as an acorn, scrunched into the dirt next to a small seasonal creek. Its roots sank deeper each year, reaching for the water. Its mycorrhizal fungi spread wide,…
An Exercise in Barbecuing
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. This Sparks page on my website, The Write Spot, is, hopefully, a place for entertaining, fun, and enlightening reading. “An Exercise in Barbecuing” by DS Briggs is one of the funnier stories in Discoveries. The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing Discoveries is for sale for a limited time for $6.99 An Exercise in Barbecuing DS Briggs Very recently I leapt into the world of backyard barbecuing. For years I have secretly wanted to learn to barbecue. In my family it was always my Dad’s domain. However, I love grilled foods and got tired of waiting for Mr. WeberRight to BBQ for me. I proudly acquired a very big, shiny new Weber BBQ. It came with a grown-up sized grill width of twenty-two and a half inches. I dubbed my new friend “Big Boy.” Unfortunately, for me,…
Crab Creek Review
Crab Creek Review was founded by Linda Clifton in 1983. The publication is a perfect-bound print literary journal featuring poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Reading period: September 15 through November 15. The editors seek original, unpublished poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Only original, previously unpublished work will be considered. Submission Guidelines Poetry Send up to four poems, no more than eight pages total. FictionSend one piece up to 5,000 words or up to three pieces of flash fiction/lyric prose fiction. We are interested in all types of stories, though sometimes suspicious of those in which genre conventions overshadow literary concerns. Still: please surprise us. Creative NonfictionSend one piece up to 3,000 words or up to three micro-essays (750 words max) per submission period. We’re looking to publish fresh perspectives from diverse voices. We want to read exceptional narratives that illuminate the range of bitter and sweet that is human existence….
Qi Gong To Calm The Mind and . . .
. . . might help with your writing. Note from Marlene: I have wondered why we humans seem to easily focus on the negative and sometimes have difficulty seeing the positive. The following from Qi Gong teacher Lee Holden explains why we tend to think about things that cause stress and anxiety: The nature of the mind is to dream and wander. Even when the present moment is completely perfect, it’s normal for thoughts to run off into the past or future. Sometimes, daydreaming can provide valuable insights that lead to joy. However, most of the time, the mind isn’t quite so generous. More often than not, the mind’s natural tendency is to ruminate on thoughts that produce stress or anxiety. Luckily, Qi Gong provides powerful tools for calming the mind and returning to peace. In this article, we’ll discuss the nature of human thinking, as well as share three…
The good thing is . . . Prompt #597
Writing Prompt: The good thing is . . .
The Bachelors
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. The Bachelors By Nicole R. Zimmerman My father migrated from Cleveland to San Francisco in the mid-1960s with several boyhood friends. A decade later, my parents played occasional weekend tennis with my “uncle” Vic and his wife at Mountain Lake Park. Uncle Vic would bring us piroshki in thin paper bags, purchased from Russian bakers in the foggy avenues where they lived with their son in an Edwardian walk-up. The smell of the ground beef and onions wafting through the steam always made my mouth water, and the doughy pocket left a greasy stain. While our parents remained on the courts, we climbed rooftops and ran—just my older brother, our young friend, and me. There was a rope swing that swept over the lake from a muddy bank, but nobody jumped in or swam; it wasn’t…
Roanoke Review
Roanoke Review was co-founded in 1967 by Roanoke College student Edward A. Tedeschi and teacher Henry Taylor, who went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for The Flying Change in 1986. In its half-century of existence, Roanoke Review has established itself as an accessible read, intent on publishing down-to-earth writers with a sense of place, a sense of language, and—perhaps most importantly—a sense of humor. The Review is also known for its fine cover art. Roanoke Review accepts poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, photographic essay, and visual poetry. Submissions September 1 through December 1. Fiction and non-fiction submissions up to 5,000 words and poetry submissions up to 100 lines. Roanoke Review is part of the creative writing community at Roanoke College in Virginia.
I am struggling with . . . Prompt #596
Writing Prompt: I am struggling with . . .
All Summer Long
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. All Summer Long By Deb Fenwick All summer long, busy house sparrows flit in the eaves of our house. Each morning, they collect tiny twigs and things I rarely notice from the ground and end up making a life with them. Seedlings sprout and reach toward a warm, welcoming sky. Children ride bikes and screech with delight. No hands! Look at me! Watch! When the sun sets at nine o’clock, those same children, liberated from the rigidity of school night routines, line up for ice cream with wide, wild eyes as fireflies send signals across the garden. The crickets just keep chirping. All summer long, there’s lake swimming in midwestern waters that have been warmed by the sun. And better still, there’s night swimming where a body, unfettered by the weight of gravity, gets its chance…