What makes up a good life? What are the ingredients for a good life? If you could combine essential ingredients to produce a good life, what would those ingredients be? Is there a secret ingredient? If there was a recipe for a good life, would people embrace it? Would they conform or rebel or ??? If you were going to stitch qualities for a good life into a quilt, what bits and pieces would you need? What would the final piece look like? Is this even a fair or answerable question? Are there too many variables to consider? If you could create, cajole, conjure, form, shape a good life, would you? What would it look like. . . that good life many people strive for. Today’s writing prompt: What do you think a good life is all about?
Let’s discuss and write!
Hello and welcome. Do you have a writing question or a topic you would like to see discussed on The Write Spot Blog? Perhaps I can research and discover answers. Also, you are welcome to contribute as a guest blogger. ~600 words something inspirational or informational for writers. Have you read a book that you love and want to tell others about? Send an email to me. Let’s talk. ~Marlene
Flight of Destiny by Francis H. Powell
Reviewed by Anthony Jones Flight of Destiny is a great collection of quick reads that will linger with you after you’ve read them. Powell has mastered his craft and, more importantly, clearly acquires his material from an authentic place. I’m a huge fan of surreal/disturbing/magical realist stories and am always on the lookout for authors who work in that genre. I find it frustrating, however, that the majority of them usually “fake it.” It’s usually pretty obvious that they’re engaged in a race to the bottom in a mad scramble for the oddest or most disturbing ideas they can come up with. The ethic of weird = interesting ironically results in nothing weird at all. Instead, it usually amounts to little more than sophomoric stories with no arc and no emotional engagement. Not so with Powell. His stories are genuinely unnerving and very original. He doesn’t just throw weird random…
Analog: Science Fiction and Fact
“When the weather outside is frightful, the perfect thing to do is curl up inside with some science fiction and let it transport you to warm alien lands.” — Analog: Science Fiction and Fact Analog: Science Fiction and Fact (ASF) is “considered the magazine where science fiction grew up.” When editor John W. Campbell took over in 1938, he brought to Astounding [original name] an unprecedented insistence on placing equal emphasis on both words of ‘science fiction.’ No longer satisfied with gadgetry and action per se, Campbell demanded that his writers try to think out how science and technology might really develop in the future, and, most importantly, how those changes would affect the lives of human beings.” Campbell chose the name “Analog” in part because he thought of each story as an “analog simulation” of a possible future, and in part because of the close analogy he saw between the imagined…
Spooktacular or . . . ??? Prompt #199
Join the festivities. Click on Halloween Blog Hop. Scroll down, click on a blogger’s name and you will be transported into a new dimension. WRITING PROMPT: Spooktacular or Spectacular or Meh . . . What was Halloween like for you as a child? Did you go trick-or-treating? Costumes: Homemade or store bought? Bag to hold goodies: Pillowcase, plastic bag, plastic pumpkin, or ??? You can also write from your fictional character’s point of view. Writing Prompt: Describe your childhood Halloween. OR: Describe a perfect All Hallow’s Eve.
The perfect evil character by Francis H. Powell
In this guest blog post, Powell discusses the perfect evil character. Readers love an evil character, literature is strewn with them. I would say an interesting evil character is often multi-faceted, never straight forward, they themselves are often in a way, victims. Who can forget the Stephen King character Jack Torrance, who has slipped into insanity, a danger to his wife and child as well as other people who cross his path. He is interesting in that he himself has been victim, having watched his father, who he adored, abuse his mother. There is this baggage, along with the fact that the hotel where he and his family reside over a bleak winter is slowly taking control of him. Evil characters are full of character flaws, Jack Torrance, for example, has a major problem with alcohol. There are a whole range of character flaws a writer can imagine. Many evil…
Scary movie . . . Prompt #198
Today’s Write Spot Blog prompt: Write about a movie that scared the bejeebers out of you. If you are writing fiction, what movie frightened your fictional character? There are lots of writing prompts on The Write Spot Blog, 198 to be exact. Choose one and just write!
Toxic Mom Toolkit by Rayne Wolfe
Rayne Wolfe’s voice is strong, courageous and honest throughout her book, Toxic Mom Toolkit. She writes about her birth mother and adoptive mother — both toxic. Rayne writes about her childhood with clarity and writes about her toxic moms with compassion. Toxic Mom Toolkit travels Rayne’s journey from abusive childhood to learning the necessity of distancing herself from these toxic women. Rayne tells her story without whining, without self-pity, without a poor-me attitude. Toxic Mom Toolkit clearly illustrates what a toxic mother is. Thankfully, she had a wonderful step-mother who showed Rayne unconditional love and kindness, illustrating good mothering. If you don’t have a toxic person in your life: Hooray. You might want to read Rayne’s book for both entertainment and education, in case someone toxic comes along. It could happen, you never know. If you think you have a toxic person in your life, read this book. It will help…
Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction
The editors of Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction invite you to “submit writing that is lyrical, self-interrogative, meditative, and reflective, as well as expository, analytical, exploratory, or whimsical. They encourage submissions across the full spectrum of the genre. The journal encourages a writer-to-reader conversation, one that explores the markers and boundaries of literary/creative nonfiction.” Personal essay subjects can be about nature, environmental, travel, memoir, and more. General submission dates: August 15 – November 30. Fourth Genre Steinberg Essay Prize submission dates:: January 1-March 31 Click here for guidelines.
An apology. . . Prompt #197
Who do you want — or need — to apologize to? Or maybe it’s a “thing” you need — or want — to apologize about. Write an apology note, something you never need to send nor give to anyone. Write it for yourself, to cleanse your palate, to lift the burden from your shoulders, to start from a new beginning. Prompt: Write a note of apology.