The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Tag: Colby Drake

  • Hippocampus Magazine wants your story about All Kinds of Weather

    Hippocampus Magazine enthusiastically accepts unsolicited submissions in the following categories:

    • memoir excerpt – a self-contained portion (chapter or selection) of a larger, book-length work
    • personal essay – a short narrative reflecting on a particular life experience or observation
    • flash creative nonfiction or a work of creative nonfiction in an experimental format

    Here is an article that discusses the difference between memoir and essay. And here is another.

    2014 Theme: Weather & Acts of Nature

    From storms and sprinkles to earthquakes and extreme heat, Mother Nature can pack a punch or paint a pretty picture. Weather can be wacky and wild. And weather can be calm.

    Weather often plays a character in our everyday—and not so everyday—lives. We’re seeking tales in which the weather or even a natural disaster played a significant or supporting role.

    To be clear, we’re not specifically looking for stories just about bad weather or destruction; instead, we seek any personal essay or memoir excerpt related to the weather in some way. Maybe you dated a meteorologist? Perhaps you were stuck at an airport for a day and made an unlikely friend… Maybe the sun came out at JUST the right time… Perhaps there’s a story behind your umbrella…

    Also of note: we’re not looking for essays/articles/opinion pieces solely about why climate change does or does not exist—Hippo is not the venue for that.

    We’re open to submissions for this issue now through April 30; submissions should adhere to our usual guidelines.

    We like quirky, we like edgy, we like witty, we like smart, we like to be moved, we like pieces that stick with us.

    Have fun! We look forward to your weather stories.

    Colby.Evening Sky

    Photo by Colby Drake. Colby Drake Design.  Check out Colby’s Facebook Page.

  • Photo prompt — Prompt #27

    With a photo prompt, write whatever comes up for you.

    Colby.Field

    Photo prompt by Colby Drake. One of the things that Colby enjoys about photography is the adventure of going out to scenic areas and trying to capture those places to share with others. He believes that there is no better feeling than sharing his experiences with others when they weren’t able to be there in person. Now living in northwest Oregon, Colby has the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places in the world (at least in his opinion). He hopes that he is able to share these places and experiences with many people that are not able to enjoy them for themselves. Enjoy!

  • Location, or place as a character – Prompt #8

    C.Drake.McMenamins

    Photo by Colby Drake, fine arts photographer who enjoys the adventure of going to scenic areas and trying to capture those places to share with others.

    Prompt:  Write about a city . . . where you live now, or used to live, or have visited, or from your imagination.  Here are examples from the NaNoWriMo Blog. 

    It is Sunday in Hamburg. Six o’clock in the morning and everything is quiet. Most people are sleeping peacefully in their beds, but not me. I’ve been awake all night. Waiting for this special moment. I feel tired but push on: there is nothing better than the beauty of a new dawn and the breeze of freedom it holds. Soon, I will go to the one place where people who lived through the night can meet those who are first to welcome the morning.

    Entering downtown Montreal is like stepping through a time machine. The old port brings you straight to the 1600s: where architectural elegance usurped function, and everything was made of stone. And these stones have stories to tell—showing the stains of floodwaters from as far back as 1642.

    New York: The City That Never Sleeps. It’s a common phrase, but it means a lot more than last calls at 4 a.m. and a 24-hour subway system. This town doesn’t run on one schedule, it runs on over 8 million.

    Bodegas, hot dog carts and $1 pizza places line the streets of Midtown Manhattan and the Village, catering to this continual flux of pedestrian traffic. Trains full of 9-to-5ers pour out of Grand Central Station, giving way to tourists, then pre-curtain-call diners, then club-goers and night shift workers, on to the late-night partiers and night owls, until, as dawn breaks, early-shift workers and audition-goers pass through, re-starting the cycle all over again.

    Your Turn: Write about a city.