Write about learning how to . . . Ride a bicycle or a unicycle Ride a skateboard Roller skate Drive a car Who helped you? Or, did you figure it out yourself? How old were you? Where did these wheels take you? #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting
The Clicking of Heat
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. The Clicking of Heat By Robin Mills Lying in bed in the early hours of the day, I hear a clicking sound. I know what it is, but what it does is to throw me back to a previous home where the thermostat nudged the heat to come on, making a click clicking as it did. That for years served as my alarm clock. That nudging started the huge monster of a gravity fed heating system that lived in the basement of my 1926 craftsman bungalow. A furnace so large that two grown adults on either side, outstretched arms trying to hug it like a big tree, could not join hands around its massive body. Maybe braise fingertips at best. I had never encountered gravity fed air before. No moving parts. Just rising heat tumbling into…
Magical . . . Prompt #784
A writing prompt can be a word, a phrase, a book title, a line from a poem, or a line from a song. Today’s writing prompt is a word: Magical Write whatever comes to mind when you think “magical.” Blog posts that capture magical and creativity musings. Writing is Magical Creativity as Magic #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter #creativity
Bittersweet
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Bittersweet by Lynn Levy Better If The Time Elapses Rapidly Stopping Weary Ennui’s Endless Tyranny Lynn Levy lives in Northern California with her husband, an overly familiar wild scrub jay called “Bubba,” and an enormous wisteria. She and the wisteria are in negotiations regarding ownership of the patio trellis.
The Big Windows Review
The Big Windows Review is the literary magazine of the Writing Center at Washtenaw Community College (WCC), in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “We post a new poem or piece of short prose on the site every Tuesday and Friday. Then, four times a year, we’ll bundle up those poems and prose pieces to make a free digital issue of The Big Windows Review.” Thanks to Dave Seter for letting me know about this. Dave’s writing, “Weightless Hitchhiker” was published in the April 5, 2024 issue of The Big Windows Review.
Trouble . . . Prompt #783
Today’s writing prompt, Trouble, is brought to us by Marcia Aldrich’s post on Brevity, “Too Vast for Words: Writing prompts for Large Subjects.” In this Brevity post, Marcia asks: Do you have a history with this word, trouble? How long has it been important to you? Why this word and not near synonyms? Is it part of a song or movie or book that matters to you? Does your sense of the word differ from what other people might think of it? If so, how? Writing Prompt: Trouble Just Write! #amwriting #justwrite #iamawriter
Sentence Starts . . . Prompt #782
Sentence starts to inspire ideas to write about: Sentence starts If my family had a motto, it would be . . . The kitchen table . . . The worst, or best, thing about my mother / father / sibling / grandparent . . . I will never forget . . . I will always remember . . . My favorite thing to do when I was 8 years old . . . 12 years old . . .14 years old . . . On Saturdays, I liked to . . . I want you to know . . . Just Write! #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter
Beyond Words: A Different Literary Magazine
Beyond Words Magazine features literary works with beautiful visual art from creatives around the globe. “We offer a warm and welcoming stage for emerging writers and visual artists. We encourage diverse voices from different cultures and backgrounds. Share your works with us!” Beyond Words accepts submissions of short stories (up to 1000 words), poems and visual art. Thanks to Rebecca Evans for letting me know about Beyond Words. Her writing will appear in the May 2024 issue.
Then and Now . . . Prompt #781
As we go through life, interacting with people, we learn ways of being in the world. We learn coping strategies. Sometimes we find that what used to work, no longer works. Writing Prompt Write about you then and you now. “Then” is whenever you want it to be. Write about how you used to react to people and certain situations. Write about how you now react in the same situations. Cover of “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections” features Marlene’s mother ~1945 and letters from her to her mother. Connections is a collection of writing from mothers and their adult children, using story-telling as a technique to ignite imagination and to inspire writing. Connections is available from your local bookseller and as an ebook (and print) at Amazon.
Why Follow Submission Guidelines?
Guest Blogger Tish Davidson writes: Don’t Sabotage Your Submissions What is the first thing you do when you cook a new recipe? Read the directions to determine if you have the necessary ingredients. What is the first thing you do when you assemble a piece of Ikea furniture? Read the directions. So why do so many writers seem unable to read and follow the directions when submitting to a journal or contest? I’ve judged a lot of writing from independently published books to high school writing contests. I was an editor of the 2019 CWC Literary Review with responsibility submission intake as well as judging. What I’ve learned is how few supposedly literate people read and follow the submission directions. Maybe because they are called “guidelines” people consider them optional. Or perhaps the requirements seem overly picky or silly. Take fonts. Why use Courier as requested when your work will…