Hi
Does it feel like change is in the air?
Transitioning from summer to autumn might feel like we’re in a liminal space.
Hybrid Forms
“There’s a weird little place where poems go when they get too talky, and where stories wander off when they forget to have plots. Welcome to the genre blur.
Writing in the in-between is a lot like standing in a doorway wondering if you’re coming or going.
Hybrid forms—prose poems, flash essays, autofiction, lyric vignettes that sound suspiciously like your therapy journal—don’t follow the neat rules of beginning, middle, end.
They’re the literary equivalent of someone showing up at a formal dinner wearing pajama pants and a sequined cape. Technically inappropriate. Utterly magnetic. Welcome to genre purgatory—we have snacks.”
Excerpted from The Beautiful Blur: Writing in the Liminal Space Between Genres by Sabyasachi Roy, July 31, 2025, on Authors Publish
Thank you, Karen Ely, for letting me know about the liminal space between genres.
Memoir As Story Telling
“There are any number of reasons we get stuck while writing a memoir, not the least of which is that looking inward is exhausting. Trying to remember, trying to process, trying to distinguish between false memory and reliable recollection. Hard, hard, hard.
And of course, so much of what we as memoirists explore is tied to past trauma or disappointments, and revisiting those moments can be draining as well.
So, if you find yourself stuck, if you find yourself discouraged, find yourself pushing a stubborn rock of unfinished sentences up an exasperating hill ... well ... we've all been there.
But we don't have to stay there. Whether you are writing a book or a shorter
work based on your life experiences, there are ways to break free, to revive your own interest and fascination. Even better, these common strategies can widen the audience for our writing, making our work more attractive to agents, editors, and most importantly, readers.
So, what's the key?”
For answers, please go to The Fine Art of Flexible Storytelling, by Dinty W. Moore, August 29, 2025 Brevity Blog.
Writing Workshops
Hybrid Memoir
Want to defy categories and let flexible storytelling revitalize your works-in-progress?
Join Brevity editor Dinty W. Moore for an upcoming webinar, Hybrid Memoir: The Fine Art of Flexible Storytelling. With prompts and friendly nudges, this webinar will spark fresh ideas for memoirists starting something new and those feeling stuck on a current project.
September 10, from 12 noon to 1:30 pm – PST, $25 (Early Bird $15).
Webinar Details
The Book and Beyond
A One-Day Creative & Marketing Workshop for Authors
Facilitators: Shawn Langwell and Audrey Kalman
Saturday, Nov. 1 from 8 am to 4pm
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Metro Hotel, 508 Petaluma Blvd South, Petaluma, CA
“Are you ready to take your writing to a deeper level that resonates with readers and makes them want more? How would you like to turn your storytelling prowess into writing the hook before the book?
Here’s your chance to learn from two inspiring and passionate author teachers with decades of earned wisdom and practical experience who have one goal in mind: to help you become even better storytellers and more confident marketers!”
$129 before September 30. $149 October 1
Contact Shawn Langwell for more information.
Whether you're ready for autumn or want summer to hang around a bit longer . . . Just Write!
Marlene |
