Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page Rock Climbing by Su Shafer Not looking down is easier when you’re struggling up. The focus is ALL up the next up finger hold – up foot hold – up carabiner solid – secure up. The hands know how to find the hammer without looking. Down is not in the picture. Up is in careful, methodical inches step by step hold by hold the goal is ahead edging closer and closer. It’s only when you get to the top that you realize how far down is to get home. The dizzy certainty is that INSTANT DOWN is imminent and permanent. CHOREOGRAPHED DOWN Is trying to control the Law of Gravity with sweaty hands and and a heart mde of lead,…
Just Walk!
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray suggests walking to inspire creativity. WALKING HELPS YOUR CREATIVITY When you are engaged in a project and feel the creative inspiration has dried up, take a break. Anything that occupies the consciousness mind in a physical way can open you to the flow of fresh ideas and insights. Doing the dishes or taking a shower are good ways. One of my favorites is taking a walk. You could simply stroll around the block or walk deep into nature. I have not been alone in my awareness that walking opens creative channels. There is a long list of well known creatives who walked to allow ideas and connections to flow. Charles Darwin, Virginia Woolf, William Wordsworth, Nikola Tesla, Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Thomas Jefferson, Ernest Hemingway, Charles Dickens, Beethoven to name but a few. Scientific studies have now found that creative problems can indeed be solved by walking,…
I am curious about . . . Prompt #731
Today’s Prompt: I am curious about . . . #just write #iamawriter #iamwriting
Has your comfort zone changed? Prompt #730
Has your comfort zone changed? Are you more, or less, tolerant than you used to be? Are you more, or less, comfortable in crowds? What did you used to do that you don’t do now? What do you do now that you didn’t used to do? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
I would never . . . Prompt #729
Write from your personal experience, or as your fictional character would answer. Prompt #1 Write a list of things you, or your fictional character, would never do. Prompt #2 Choose one item from the list. Imagine you have accomplished that item. Write about it as if you have done it. What happened? Did that accomplishment lead to something interesting? Did you win an award? How did you feel writing as if you accomplished it? #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
1000 Words A Day Summer Project
“A two-week intensive writing push with an accountability partner.” “Craft Talk” by Jami Attenberg is the home of the #1000wordsofsummer project, a community of writers of all levels who are all supporting each other to write 1,000 words a day for two weeks. This project has been in existence since 2018. The next round starts June 17, 2023 and ends June 30, 2023. When you sign up, during the project, you will receive an email from Jami Attenberg encouraging you to write. Sometimes another published author will contribute their thoughts on creativity, productivity, and inspiration. Your mission, should you decide to accept: Write 1000 words a day for two weeks. “Craft Talk” is a community of writers who are accountability partners: that is the magic of this project. At the end of this challenge, you will have a big pile of words and a sense of accomplishment and hopefully the…
Acceptance . . . Prompt #728
A writer and writing teacher I admire, Rebecca Evans, talked about an Entry Point as an opener when writing. Rebecca asked us to think of comfortable things. Things you’re wearing and you don’t even know you’re wearing, like eyeglasses. I thought that was interesting because I don’t like wearing my glasses. I usually take them off as soon as I get home from going out. About a week after Rebecca’s workshop, as I drove to my first errand, things looked blurry. I couldn’t read signs clearly. I thought, “I need to get my eyes checked.” I accomplished my errands. Got home. And did my usual, took my glasses off first thing. That’s when I noticed . . . I was not wearing my distance glasses. I was wearing my computer glasses. I guess the moral is things can be comfortable without our even noticing it. Or, maybe the moral is…
To Bee or Not Too Bee
To Bee or Not Too Bee By Caryl Sherman Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. What brings me comfort are the moments I sit outside, in my private little apartment garden, reading a book whose words intrigue and delight me. The big black shiny honey bees are flitting about my blooming flowers, sipping their nectar and laughing with joy. Yes, I can hear them. Maybe you can’t, but I have cultivated a special and long lasting relationship with them. They are my neighbors, and my friends. They fly to see me everyday. They are loyal and perpetually consistent with their love. I rise with anticipatory excitement as I hustle outside! Which one will I see today as I gleefully read to them aloud? Does it bring us comfort? Are we the same, even though we appear so different? We are living things. We matter!…
Comfort Food and more . . . Prompt #727
Excerpted from the May 2023 issue of the Sonoma County Gazette: Research over the past 20 years shows the same result time and time again: when we’re stressed, we want what researchers call high energy and nutrient-dense foods—those snacks, treats and meals that are high in fat and sugar. Comfort foods improve mood, reduce loneliness and connect us to cherished memories, often linked to childhood. A craving for comfort food typically stems from an extreme emotion, including happiness, meaning we reach for comfort foods even to celebrate. Comfort foods often trigger our reward system by releasing dopamine, a hormone and neurotransmitter. When we take a bite of that comfort food, whether it’s a hot fudge sundae, peanut butter and apples, tikka masala or a double bacon cheeseburger, dopamine floods the brain and gives us a huge boost of pleasure feelings. Any negative feelings we may have been experiencing before—stress, anger,…
Fractured Lit
Fractured Lit publishes flash fiction with emotional resonance, with characters who come to life through their actions and responses to the world around them. “We’re searching for flash that investigates the mysteries of being human; the sorrow and the joy of connecting to the diverse population.” Fractured Lit is open year-round and is available to all writers. We currently publish microfiction (up to 400 words) and flash fiction (401-1,000 words), with new writing featured on Mondays and Thursdays. We also offer contests throughout the year. We’re excited to launch a new contest for our flash writers. From May 15 to July 16, 2023, we welcome writers to submit to the Fractured Lit Flash Fiction OPEN. Fractured Lit publishes flash fiction with emotional resonance, with characters who come to life through their actions and responses to the world around them. We’re searching for flash that investigates the mysteries of being human, the sorrow and the joy of…