Who doesn't love a contest? AND...awesome writerly judges?! We have both. I would like to introduce Kathleen Joyce and Cynthia Hilston, local authors who, between the two of them, have published a whole shelf of books. Cynthia Hilston is a thirty-something-year-old stay-at-home mom of three young kids, happily married. Writing has always been like another …
Category: on writing
Flash Fiction Contest
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is. - John Allen Paulos One must be able to adjust to uncertainty, and since the weekly Microcosms contest is down, I've scrounged up my very favorite story-prompt of all time, the above image. I invite students and fellow bloggers to participate in a little flash contest of our …
Spontaneous 2: Scene in Writing
The gorgeous Cleveland weather got me thinking scene. I've recently learned a couple of scene don'ts. Don'ts are easy. You can take them out if you happen to have them in your manuscript. (Says the queen of strikeouts. I never met a phrase I couldn't pare.) Do's are harder, as is creating new scenes for …
Spontaneous 1: Uncomfortaville
I am a writer. I have grand thoughts while grinding away on my upright bike. Admittedly, that's because I'm listening to Les Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Sylvester Stallone yelling locker room halftime speeches on volume nine, accompanied by epic soundtracks. I close my eyes, peddle faster at the crescendos. I apply football to writing, weightlifting …
Long Day’s Journey
I just saw O'Neill's autobiographical play, so it's on my mind. The way a piano can be on a mind. Or an elephant, digging in its toenails. I don't know if I feel worse for O'Neill or the audience. It was four and a half hours. I walked out with PTSD. To be fair, the …
The Road to Traditional Publishing: A Walk, No. A Serpentine Crawl, on the Pan-American Highway
Radio Silence. I'm learning to live there. In January (yes, January) I had several agents request full manuscripts, two of whom were veterans; one was building his list. I heard back from the list-building agent quickly. He didn't like that a dog died in my story. I've since read other agent bios where they specify: …
Coffee Confession Query Update
I wish the coffee would stay hot, even down to those last few sips. When it's first brewed I put my face in the mug and pull the aroma into my nose. Those gloriously warm first sips are the best. Then it gets mindless. I'm in the world of my manuscript, slugging down the caffeine …
Weekend Coffee Share: Things to Say Yay! About
If we were having coffee I'd be smiling enormously. Two weeks ago today an agent requested my full manuscript. My reaction: eeeeeeeeck! Then another agent requested my manuscript. And...holy-too-good-to-be-true Batman! A THIRD AGENT REQUESTED MY FULL MANUSCRIPT. For my non-writer friends, this is like winning the lottery three times in a row. I've spilled my …
Continue reading Weekend Coffee Share: Things to Say Yay! About
I Resolve, Therefore I Am
...going to get this life under complete control. That's what I tell myself between Christmas and January, the only time I ever think about making a standard work list that includes a time slot specifically devoted to chopping vegetables and organizing the fridge. Here's how resolution delusion plays out: Starting January 2nd, I'm going to …
Flash Fiction Contest! Blind Judge TBA
There's nothing like a contest to draw out great stories. Blogging friends, here's the challenge. You have until Friday, October 12th at the stroke of midnight to craft an amazing piece of flash fiction. My middle & high school students are being forced to enter assigned this contest, so consider it the literary version of …
KL Griffiths 