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 …
Tag: on writing
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 …
Flash Contest Detour: No Microcosms, No Problem!
Each session of my 5000 Words class, we devote one week to flash fiction. The assignment is to enter a piece in Microcosms, which experiences a rather dramatic spike in entrants. 🙂 This morning when I opened my email, I found Microcosms is having technical difficulties this week, the week my students are to enter …
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Coffee Confession
If we were having coffee, I'd ask if you'd like to expand your caffeine horizons with some dark roast & coconut oil whirled at high speed. That's what produced this cup of foamy, bitter love. I often put powdered collagen in as well, although only in my first cup of the day. How many cups …
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 …
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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 …
KL Griffiths 