The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Tag: The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections

  • I wish I had known . . . Prompt #726

    I wish I had known . . .

    Response by Muriel Ellis:

    I don’t think I would really want to have known what my life would bring. Of course, I wish I’d done some things differently, made more time for the family I loved. I wish I hadn’t abandoned writing for so many years, over and over again.

    I certainly wish I’d known when I heard the grim news “malignant,” when it applied to lungs that it did not mean horrendous surgery with scant hope of recovery.

    And I wish that, before I knew all would be well, that I had actually written all those letters of accumulated love and wisdom that I planned to leave for my family—maybe even a page or two for assorted nieces and nephews and their offspring. Well, I didn’t. And, yes, I know it’s not too late, but that’s another story.

    Life is full of “what ifs?”

    It’s a delightful waste of time to ponder. Never mind the personal—the turmoil of the past few months reminds me of the heady days when my daughter’s generation took to the streets with protest marches They brought change just as the freedom Riders changed the face of the South.

    What if they’d all stayed home muttering their discontent?

    It’s turmoil time again. I stayed placidly on the sidelines in the sixties and seventies for the sake of peace in my own house. I sympathized, but . . .

    Not this time.

    A wheelchair handed down to me when my sister-in-law died served as a walker and a much needed place to sit through a lot of singing and speeches when I joined that merry creative crowd in small town Ukiah to protest on a Saturday in January, 2018.

    I just know that I needed for once in my life to be a part of something I believed in.

    “What I wish I had known” by Muriel Ellis in “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections.”

    Writing Prompts:

    What I wish I had known.

    Or: Not this time.

    The anthology, “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections” is not for writers only.

    The short vignettes are entertaining and some are thought-full. Like this one, by Muriel.

    “Connections” could be a “just because” gift that might inspire writing.

    “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections” is available from your local bookseller and from Amazon (both ereader and print).

  • If . . . Prompt #725

    Writing Prompts inspired from “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections.”

    If I had my life to do over  . . .

    What I Know Now . . .

    Note To Self . . .

    Notes To My Younger Self . . .

    Choose one or more and Just Write!

  • Poem from character sketch . . . Prompt #628

    Prompt #1

    Think about someone important in your life.

    Someone who made an impact on you.

    Write a list or a few paragraphs of events in this person’s life.

    It could be milestones or simple everyday things.

    Prompt #2

    Turn what you just wrote into a poem with these suggestions:

    Make this a numbered poem. Each stanza gets a number.

    Each stanza is four lines.

    Each stanza represents a chunk of time in the person’s life, perhaps by decade.

    Example:

    1.

    Love child

    Tossed around

    Whose arms held her?

    Who comforted her?

    2.

    Showing off

    Late for work

    Three times

    Not a charm

    Thank you to Susan Furness who suggested this prompt at Recovery Writing of Idaho, organized by Norma Jaeger.

    Image from “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections.”

    #justwrite #iamawriter #freewrites

  • Who do you miss? Prompt #462

    I’ve been thinking about my mom, who passed away in July 2017. Every so often, like today, I want to phone her.

    I just want to talk with her.

    Prompt: Who do you miss?

    That’s my mom on the cover of The Write Spot: Connections. She was a dancer in her teens, performing at convalescent hospitals in the 1940’s.

    Connections is a collection of writing from mothers and their adult children. Some are funny, some poignant, some surprising. All are entertaining. Here’s an excerpt:

    Dime Sightings by Pamela Swanson

    Although my mother, Ione, could not afford them, she loved diamonds. Eventually she did save up enough money to buy herself a diamond ring. She was so proud of that ring. One year, early in November, Ione died without warning at the age of 54. Suddenly I was traveling the 2,100 miles from California where I lived to the small town in Minnesota where she had died. Completely unprepared, I found myself faced with finalizing my mother’s existence on this earth.
    Grand Marais, a small fishing village located on Lake Superior, is where I was born. It is where my Mom grew up, met my dad, and was married. My roots are firmly planted there so when I arrived it was to the open arms of my aunts and uncles. Soon after, family members from other distances began to arrive. I was cocooned in love and support.

    All of the pieces in Connections end with a prompt that readers can use to inspire writing. The prompt for “Dime Sightings” was “Sometimes Magic Happens.”

    My mom and me at her 75th birthday party.

  • About Anthologies

    What do you think when you hear a book is an anthology?

    Some people may be delighted with thoughts of reading from a variety of authors. Others may groan, remembering antiquated stories in outdated books.

    Me? I’m excited to produce anthologies so that a diverse group of writers can be introduced into the writing scene.

    My third anthology, The Write Spot: Reflections was recently published with the help of two authors who didn’t even know they were cheering me on.

    Eleanor Henderson and Anna Solomon, co-editors of Labor Day: True Birth Stories by Today’s Best Women Writers, wrote an article, “Labor of Love,” printed in Poets & Writers magazine, May June 2014.

    “Labor of Love” was my steadfast companion on my journey from “What am I doing?” and “Will this work?” to the completion of three anthologies.

    Excerpt from “Labor of Love”

    “We’ve always loved anthologies. As new writers, we buried ourselves in them, finding stories, poems, and essays that shaped and inspired our own work. Now we return to them when we need a good laugh, or comfort — when we need the sort of perspective that only multiple voices can provide. The best anthologies are like the best mix tapes: individual pieces playing with and against one another, resulting in an eclectic, vibrant chorus.”

    Beautiful, gorgeous writing by Eleanor and Anna.

    “Labor of Love” describes their journey from conception of their idea for an anthology to the birth of their successful book.

    “When we checked in with our agents, they were tepid about the idea.”

    Eleanor and Anna persisted. They had faith in their project, gathered birth stories, found a publishing house and their book was published.

    Their final words, and these are the words that kept me going when I had doubts about producing anthologies:

    “Don’t lose faith. So the word anthology might turn some people off at first. But if you develop a unique idea and stay true to your vision, eventually it will pull readers in.”

    One of the challenges for The Write Spot series of books was what title to use. I wanted a title that indicated these are books to inspire writing and also books that are entertaining. With the third book, I simply shortened the title.

    The Write Spot anthologies are available for $12 at Amazon.

    The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries

    The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections

    The Write Spot: Reflections