I’m working on a short piece of writing about a childhood tradition to submit to an anthology. It’s done, except I feel I’m not conveying the heart of it. This afternoon, I asked myself “Why was this so special?” After this blog post, I’m going to look at my story again, and try to dig up the “but why” that made this tradition so meaningful. Writing Prompt: Using something you have written, pull out an excerpt, and answer the question, “But why?” Just write and see where this takes you. But, why?
Scene Checklist
Every scene should be told through a character’s point of view. You can have more than one pov character in a book, (but no more than you need). One reason for this type of focusing is so that we feel the character struggle with a scene goal. The struggle takes place through action and dialogue with little internalization/exposition. A scene is a dramatic unit that includes scene goal, conflict (through action and dialogue) and resolution. What does your protagonist want in the story? This is the external plot. The external plot could be as simple as: Will Jane find the killer?? It is not something like: Will Jane find true happiness? This is internal conflict and may even be a subplot. What does your pov character want in this scene (scene goal)? Without a clear scene goal, you will not have a scene; you will have an event. What’s at…
Clichés
By Camille Sherman What is the scientific process Of transforming a thing Out of reverence and relevance And into cliché Is it a simple question of quantity The stomach ache that follows Empty candy wrappers Fanned out before tiny costumed bodies Is it great expectation A push for originality An inner motor disdained By what’s been done before Perhaps boredom or impatience A haughty bristle at the suggestion That there is something new to gain We’ve seen it all before Said it all before Thought it all before But when no one is looking And we sneak a furtive glance at the stars Or steal the scent of a passing flower Or well at the first notes of a love song Our sweet clichés will rise again Unoffended that we were too cool To remember why they were worthy Of perpetual repetition To begin…
Goodbyes
By Julie Wilder-Sherman Goodbyes can come in so many forms. There’s the long goodbye. The short goodbye. The swollen goodbye and the thin goodbye. The brittle goodbye and the overwrought goodbye. Short goodbyes can be quick for so many reasons. You don’t like someone, so you want to get away. You love someone too much and each moment of your parting makes you feel worse. Short goodbyes can occur because you’re ready to move on. Or you’re afraid. Or you’re late for an appointment. Or you just don’t like situations that drag on and on. Short goodbyes can be a brisk hug, a handshake, or even dropping someone off at the curb at the airport. Long goodbyes can be swollen with tears. They can get wet and messy and sweaty. Long goodbyes can leave puffy eyes and red noses. Long goodbyes can have kids tugging at their parents’ coats, rolling their…
Quarterly West
QW is looking for writing that is: Exciting. Challenging. Risky. Unpredictable. And Different. Send us your work. Seep in. Stomp in. Strike us. Set the familiar voice on fire. QW is open to submissions of new media, translations, and book reviews year round. We are also open for submissions to a special feature of short poetry: 100 Syllables. Quarterly West is open for regular submissions of poetry and prose from February 1 through April 1. Chapbook submissions will open in summer. Poetry and prose contest submissions in the fall. Submission Guidelines
What? . . . Prompt #567
Just some things to think about and explore through writing. What isn’t working in your life? What is working? What are you resisting? What needs to change? What really matters? What do you want?
Shoes
By Caitlin Cunningham What is your obsession with shoes? You have so many, many pairs of shoes! Boxes and boxes of shoes. You have red shoes, blue shoes, teal shoes, pink shoes, silver and gold shoes, yellow shoes and black shoes. So many black shoes! Ones for staying in or going out, for dancing the night away, for long skirts or short skirts, or walking the dog. You have black shoes for every possible occasion! And this isn’t even counting all the boots. High ones, low ones, dressy ones, casual ones, ones for hiking, ones for the snow and ones just for rain. Boots galore! And all your shoes are even separated by seasons! Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. And clear plastic boxes for each pair, neatly stacked in rows according to color and season. Your shoes are more organized than your taxes! Oooh! Can I write off all my shoes?…
Writing Personal Essays
Make a list of issues and experiences, important and trivial, in your life right now. What frustrated you in the past month? What made you laugh or cry? What made you lose your temper? What was the worst thing that happened? The best? The most disturbing and weird? Write: Choose one thing from your list and write about it. Write whatever comes to mind. Write what you would really like to say to the other people involved. Write what happened from your point of view. Prompt inspired from, “On Writing Personal Essays,” by Barbra Abercrombie, The Writer magazine, January 2003 Barbara Abercrombie teaches creative writing in the Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension, and a master class in memoir and personal essays via Zoom and Canvas. “We write the book we need to read and The Language of Loss is the book I needed when my husband died six years ago. It’s an…
Writing Resilient: Why Write?
Guest Blogger Christine Walker: In the house where my husband and I live, there is a room we call the “library.” Books overflow the shelves. Along the walls, five bookcases contain hundreds of volumes stacked top to bottom, back to front, overhanging the edges. One shelf holds books by authors I know—friends, teachers, and teachers who became friends. More books are piled on the floor and in bags, but our local public library stopped taking donations because of the pandemic. The disarray — books, bags, file boxes needing to be sorted — mirrors my emotions. I need to make sense of this room and so much else in my life. I’ve come looking for a paperback recommended for my zoom book group. I joined the group a year ago, on March 25th, 2020, two weeks after our county shut down for Covid on March 13th. That was the day my…
Pausing to See the View from Here
Guest Blogger Rhonda Gerhard writes: Anniversaries are a time of reflection, whether it be for a celebration, like a wedding, or the loss of a loved one. We are now marking the anniversary of shutdown due to COVID. As we reflect back on this year, we can observe where we, both personally and as a people, are now, in this moment. Like many, I have observed myself navigate this past year on automatic pilot, at times not checking in, just marching ahead. Just marching is our need for survival. March is now here and time to reflect upon marching, right? With the availability now of the vaccine, and the possibilities for change ahead, we can pause. Take a deep breath and ask, “What is my deepest heartfelt prayer for myself at this time, right now?” “What do I really need for myself and how might I hold my life with…