Today’s prompt: Life is just a . . . Set your timer for 15 minutes and finish the thought. . . Life is just a . . .
Rejection . . . experience it, write about it, submit to Tin House
Tin House Magazine: We accept submissions September 1 through May 31, and, as always, our summer and winter issues are not themed. We consider each submission for all upcoming issues regardless of theme. If you wish to be considered for a particular theme, please make a note in your cover letter. We have provided suggested deadlines for each theme issue, but please be aware that these fill up fast, so get your theme-issue submissions in as soon as possible. Tin House has announced the Spring 2015 theme of Rejection. We are looking for fiction, essays, memoir, poems, and interviews about rejecting or being rejected. Rejection of, or rejection by people, animals, organizations, institutions, belief systems, physical locations, a calling—the theme is open to interpretation. Deadline is September 15. Click here for Submission Guidelines
Guest Blogger Jennifer Lynn Alvarez talks about the importance of daily writing
The Importance of Daily Writing, by Guest Blogger Jennifer Lynn Alvarez Writing is an exercise that requires practice and training to build the muscle required to become a “finisher.” When I set out to write a novel after a fifteen-year break, I struggled to trap my imagination on paper. I wrote a few days a week, and it was mentally agonizing, similar to how I feel when I begin a new exercise routine for my body. However, I was happy to be writing again, and so I kept at it, but my writing routine was sporadic. I finished a middle-grade book, THE PET WASHER, in about a year, and it’s only 33,000 words. In January of 2012, I made a decision to write something—anything—every day. I announced this on my blog, and like any new routine, it was difficult to keep up at first. I didn’t have a book contract…
Something that seemed wrong but turned out right. Prompt #97
Write about something that seemed so wrong but turned out right. Photo by Breana Marie
Why do you write?
“Life often has a way of making people feel small and unimportant. But if you find a way to express yourself through writing, to put your ideas and stories on paper, you’ll feel more consequential. No one should pass through time without writing their thoughts and experiences down for others to learn from. Even if only one person, a family member, reads something you wrote long after you’re gone, you live on. So writing gives you power. Writing gives you immortality.” — Antwone Fisher, Screenwriter and author Note from Marlene: I write to get out of my head and onto paper. Writing, with a pen or pencil, is an extension of my arm. When I picture my arm, it’s elongated by the pen, which in my mind, is always there. Computer typing — same thing — the keyboard is an extension of me. Writing is as natural and as much…
A man opens his mail box and finds. . . Prompt #96
Today’s writing prompt is inspired from the September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine. “A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.” Set your time and write for 20 minutes. Set it aside for twenty minutes. Then read. Tweak, make a few changes, but not too many. The energy from that first and fast writing is usually spot-on. Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on this prompt and enter Writer’s Digest Contest #60. Send your story using the online form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or send via email to yourstorycontest@fmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened). DEADLINE: August 25, 2014
What do these writers have in common?
Bella Andre, David Corbett and Jordan Rosenfeld have all been Writers Forum of Petaluma presenters. Scroll down for details. The September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine is filled with practical, helpful and inspirational articles. Bella Andre is on the cover. Her story, “Romancing Big Publishers With E-book Success” might encourage you to go the indie route for publishing or try traditional. She also talks about why she uses a pen name. Do you wonder about “pacing and tension?” Jessica Page Morrell has written an article that explains it in easy-to-understand format. Donald Maass writes about “Building Microtension Into Every Scene” and makes it seem like an easy thing to do. Writer’s Digest Contest #60 is one you can enter. “Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on the prompt: A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.” “You can…
Guest Blogger Karin Gillespie: 5 Pieces of Advice That Changed the Way I Write
Guest Blogger Karin Gillespie writes: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” Long ago, when I first read the statement above, I imagined an encounter with a big-bellied, toga-wearing monk who would whisper the secrets of the universe into my ear. Over the years I’ve learned you don’t necessarily need a monk to show you the way. If you’re open to it, wisdom comes in many guises, such as advice from a friend, a passage in a book, an overheard conversation or even a sudden insight. What follows are the valuable writing gifts I have received over the years. Depending on where you are in this journey, they may or may not resonate with you, but each one was precious to me and changed my way of thinking about my craft. Morning Pages Since I was a little girl I always dreamed of being a writer but it wasn’t…
It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Khalil Gibran
You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. —Khalil Gibran Note from Marlene: It seems to me this is what writers do . . . we give of ourselves every time we share our writing. We put ourselves out there . . . our emotions, our vulnerability, and our hope that our writing is understood. Kudos, Writers, for being willing to put yourselves out there. . . what would we do without you and your stories?
What do you do if . . . Prompt #95
You are in a bookstore in another city: ~ You see something you can’t live without, but you don’t have enough money to pay for it. What do you do? ~ You see a neighbor, alone, weeping. What do you do? ~ You see an acquaintance shoplift. What do you do? ~ You see two married acquaintances, without their spouses, heads and bodies close together, in a suggestive position. What do you do? ~ You are a young child and smile up at the grown-up whose hand you are holding but you don’t recognize the grown-up. What do you do? Pick one and write for 20 minutes. Note from Marlene: You can tweak prompts however you want. For example, with this prompt, the setting could be a deserted walkway near water, in a park, at a crowded Saturday market. You choose the setting and Just Write! Photo by Sasha Oaks …