Guest Blogger Kathy Myers writes: Computers are great and all— without them, this blog wouldn’t exist and then what would I do? But when I was younger, my image of a writing life was less technical and more romantic: Jo in Little Women, writing her books in a drafty attic wearing fingerless gloves against the winter chill, or Jane Austen dipping her nib and contemplating her next chapter, while her parents plan a ball where she can meet eligible bachelors. Ah, the good old days. At a Jumpstart Writing Workshop in May, I wrote a fictional scene on the prompt “It happened because . . . ” Marlene Cullen, always benevolent and encouraging to writers said, “That would be a good beginning for a romance novel.” Jumpstart was on hiatus for the month of June, and this coincided with a flirtation I’d been having about trying the fabled “sit-your-ass-in-a-chair-and-write-a–thousand-words-a-day” method…
Fourth of July . . . Prompt #84
July 4th is coming up. . . . what does this mean to you? Do you consider yourself patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you? Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite “brain teasers.” Do they have fourth of July in England? Yes. . .and third of July and fifth of July. Writing Prompt: What does July Fourth mean to you?
Terrain is an online journal . . . writing plus multimedia.
Terrain is an online journal of fiction, poetry, essays, photos and multimedia, currently looking for more fiction. June 2014 issue of The Writer magazine: “Readers are welcome to comment below Terrain’s pieces, and the online format allows them to share favorite writing through various social media outlet.” Terrain accepts general submissions from September 1 to May 30, and contest submissions year-round (with a September 1 deadline for mid-October publication). We do not accept regular submissions in June, July, and August. With the exception of accompanying artwork and queries, all work must be submitted online via Terrain.org’s Submission Manager, requiring the creation of a user account. Note: From Marlene. . . flag these contest and submissions dates. Start writing now and be ready to send during submission dates.
Establishing a practice can help you move forward in magical ways.
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray writes about: The Power of Establishing a Practice. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!” – W.H. Murray The Scottish Himalayan Expedition Whether it’s for writing, meditation, or exercise,…
Feeling your way in the dark . . .
“The way I write, it’s like feeling your way in the dark. You don’t know if it’s going to catch fire — not just your imagination, but your emotions.” — Dan Coshnear Northern California writer Dan Coshnear is the author of two collections of stories, Jobs & Other Preoccupations (Helicon Nine 2001) and Occupy & Other Love Stories (Kelly’s Cove Press 2012). Born in Baltimore in 1961, he has traveled in Europe, Canada, Mexico, Haiti, and all over the U.S., often by thumb, and once for a few thousand miles by freight train. After living on Cape Cod and in New York and San Francisco, he finally settled with his wife, Susan, in a house under some very tall trees along the Russian River in Sonoma County, California. His stories have been published in Fourteen Hills, juked, The Missouri Review, Third Coast and Zyzzyva. About Dan’s latest publication . ….
Right now . . . Prompt #83
Set your timer for 12-15 minutes and write. No judging. Shoo your inner critic away. Just write. Today’s Prompt: Right now . . . Photo taken in Ireland by Jim C. March
Listen to your body as a way to creativity.
In this Just Write post, we’ll take a look at the idea of listening to your body as a way to get past blocks toward your creativity. First, turn off your cell phone or put to vibrate. Unplug from Facebook and emails. Eliminate as many distractions as you can. If you are experiencing extreme grief or pain, please get professional help. This post, of course, cannot replace the need for professional assistance. Ready? Here we go. We all experience grief, trauma, sadness. And we have our own ways of handling those stresses. There is no one right or wrong way to handle these difficulties. What is right for one person, may be wrong for someone else. What works for me, might not work for you, so take what works for you from this post, ignore the rest. Let’s take a moment now to breathe, relax and get settled. Take a…
Things you no longer do. Prompt #82
Write about things you no longer do.
Sweatpants & Coffee wants your stories.
The Story of Sweatpants & Coffee The idea for Sweatpants & Coffee was born, as many great ideas are born, during a time of personal reflection and solitude. That is to say, while its founder was taking a hot shower. The concept of a site that would celebrate all things comfort-related, one that would help people to feel good about themselves, was immensely appealing to Nanea Hoffman. With dripping hair, she bought a domain name and sketched out a plan. Nanea spends a lot of time in sweatpants, drinking coffee, so this was inevitable. Sweatpants & Coffee is a place where you can kick back, enjoy yourself, and be comfortable. Because when you are your most comfortable self, you can do anything. Note from Marlene: Sweatpants & Coffee is an amazing website. . . poetry corner, flash fiction, inspiration, interviews, all kinds of good stuff. So grab a cuppa and…
Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt reveals her secrets for tight control.
Guest Blogger Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt shares her secrets for keeping track of plots, characters and their shenanigans. Hi! Marlene asked me to write about the weird way I write – and I will, with one caveat: don’t try this at home. In fact, don’t try any of this at all unless you already know you’re an extreme plotter (as opposed to a pantser), and need to 1) have tight control over what happens in your novel, and 2) have a method that you are comfortable with to keep track of all that plot stuff. If you are a true pantser – following your instincts alone – I think the following will strike you as insane. I do this because my CFS-addled brain makes it very difficult for me to keep everything in my head – more about that in a minute. I gave up Word for managing a writing project because…