Hi Writers,
Do you have an essay, story, or poem about being inspired? The current subscriber writing call is out for them. What has compelled you or your character to act because something was inspiring? A person’s words or actions? A pet’s? A newspaper or magazine article? A speech? Someone else’s writing? An object you own or came across? A play, music, or visual art? A poem? What was your response to the moment of inspiration? How do you carry that inspiration with you, and how has that altered your life? Send your essay or poem or flash piece to me! Check out the essays posted so far on the Writing It Real Substack. David Horowitz’s essay, Angels Are in the Details, Too is the latest one posted. Scroll down for more good reading.
And I hope you’ll find some time to watch Philip Kenney and me in conversation about his many books in many genres and his secret to writing a lot.
Enroll here for one, two, or all three of the next series of two-hour sessions of Prompt(s) & Response on Friday, October 16; Friday, November 20; and Friday, December 18 from 10 AM to 12 AM Pacific Time. The class is designed to help you find surprising topics and keep on writing. The new dates will be up soon on the Il Chiostro website for information and to enroll shortly.
I’ll be teaching in person in Tucson, AZ, January 15-17 at Lodge on the Desert. Contact Meg Files at megfiles@earthlink.net for a full description (and to enroll) for the event I am doing with her and our colleague Jack Heffron. Not only will our workshop get you going and continuing to write well, the Lodge is amazing: an historic hacienda-style boutique hotel in Midtown Tucson set on five lush acres against the Santa Catalina Mountains, featuring southwest decor, an outdoor heated pool, and the on-site Cielos Restaurant.
Also, there are a couple of spots left for the Lake Garda workshop from September 26 to October 3. It is hot in Europe right now, but luckily, September will bring cooler temperatures and beautiful cold water in the lake.
If you are considering joining us (and maybe going on to visit other European sites when the weather is cooler), now is the time to register for a last-minute spot. I am happy to talk with you about the workshop, although this website does a good job of presenting it.
Articles you will be interested in:
Behind the Scenes of Small Press Publishing
Diane Goettel of Black Lawrence Press, Abigail Beckel of Rose Metal Press, EJ Colen of Tupelo Press, and Maya Marshall of Haymarket Books discuss the mission, logistics, and enduring appeal of the small press.
Maria Hummel investigates what makes a three-dimensional villain.
Want to Improve Your Writing? Try Pictures!
Emil Wilson shows—through a graphic essay!—how visuals can aid writers and readers alike.
The Boundary Between Self and Page
Cultivating Voice in Kidlit and Beyond
Meg Eden Kuyatt examines what goes into an authentic, memorable voice.
Douglas Bauer explains how to breathe life into historical fiction and avoid what he calls literary taxidermy.
Returning to the Overlook with an Assist from Stephen King
Caroline Bicks reveals what she learned from unprecedented access to Stephen King’s personal archives and the author himself.
America Has a Stereotype Problem, and It’s Not What You Think It Is
Willie Edward Taylor Carver Jr. confronts harmful depictions of Appalachia and why the truth of the region is rarely straightforward.
Essaying Toward Friendship
Sean Ironman shares strategies for writing nonfiction with curiosity, not judgment.
35 magazines accepting book reviews
From Writers’ Hour Magazine, 5 prompts for August
Strange Pilgrims Free Writing Challenge: Micro of the Month
The Time is Now, From Poets & Writers, lots of prompts: for poetry, fiction, and nonfiction
Nancy Levinson’s poem “How to Embrace an Aura of Charm” appears in Silver Birch Press. “Dreams of Yesteryears,” appears in The Hemlock Journal’s Issue Ten. Print and digital versions are available. “Dog Meets Drag Queen” is forthcoming in Rat’s Ass Review,
Sandra Hurtes’ essay “Woman’s Best Friend?” is up on True Stories Well Told.
Mona Anderson’s poem, “We Don’t Say What We Mean,” appears in Touchstone,” Vol. 68.1, and her poem “After” has been published in the New Hampshire ACLU’s Poetry Protest Project.
Marlene Samuels’ “I Remember the Wallet” is up now on True Stories Well Told.
Carol Blatter’s essay, “My Right Thumb,” will be on True Stories Well Told at the end of July. Link coming soon.
Rose Ann Woolpert’s novel, Mrs. R. Pacheco, the story of Mary McIntire, a Kentucky girl who wanted to become a playwright and ended up achieving her dreams and also becoming First Lady of California, is out from Historium Press.
Beckie Miller’s book about her son’s murder, Losing Brian - Finding A New Me (Surviving a Child’s Murder), will be available starting July 21st on Amazon, at Barnes and Noble Book Stores, on the Atmosphere Press Website, and other venues in both hardcover and paperback versions.
David D. Horowitz’s poem, “Strings Attached,” recently appeared online in The Asses of Parnassus.
Barbara Simmons’ poem, “Diffusing Peace,” has been accepted for publication in SweetSmell Journal Issue Five. She also heard from Scotia Road Books about another poem, “Hopefully Before Our Expiration Date,” to be published in their anthology, When We Gather to Eat: An Anthology of Hunger, Heritage, & Healing.
Linda Petrucelli’s memoir Mother Tongue was reviewed in the June 1st Kirkus Reviews Magazine (page 151).
Mona Anderson’s poems, “Look Up” and “Ablaze in Red,” are now published in the Northern New England Review, Volume 46.
Gloria Sinibaldi’s memoir, The Cottage and the Chicken Coop: Reflections on Memory, Meaning, and the Quiet Miracles That Shaped Me. Told in lyrical fragments rather than a linear path, The Cottage and the Chicken Coop reveals how meaning often lives in what we overlook. It invites readers to pause, reflect, and recognize the quiet miracles that shape who we become.
Danna Walker’s “The Drive to Natchitoches” appears in Wildgreens (scroll down a bit to see it).
Sue Pace has learned that Raven’s Chronicles will soon publish her very short prose piece about transitions. We’ll have the link soon and put it in the newsletter.
Sandra Hurtes published a two-part essay, “On Writing Prompts,” about how they helped her find a story she wanted to write. You’ll find them both on True Stories Well Told.
Lynda Monk’s new book, The Adoptee’s Guide to Healing, Wholeness & Growth, has just been released by Books that Save Lives.
John Delaney’s collection, Morocco: Poems and Photographs, is out now from Finishing Line Press.
“And then a man of forty or so, with a French accent, asked, "How do you achieve the presence of mind to initiate the writing of a poem?" And something cracked open in me, and I finally stopped hoarding and told them my most useful secret. The only secret that has helped me consistently over all the years that I've written. I said, "Well, I'll tell you how. I ask a simple question. I ask myself: What was the very best moment of your day??" The wonder of it was, I told them that this one question could lift out from my life exactly what I will want to write a poem about. Something I hadn't known was important will leap out and hover there in front of me, saying I am— I am the best moment of the day. I noticed two people were writing down what I was saying. Often, I went on, it's a moment when you're waiting for someone, or you're driving somewhere, or maybe you're just walking across a parking lot and admiring the oil stains and the dribbled tar patterns. One time it was when I was driving past a certain house that was screaming with sunlitness on its white clapboards, and then I plunged through tree shadows that splashed and splayed across the windshield. I thought, Ah, of course— I'd forgotten. You, windshield shadows, you are the best moment of the day. "And that's my secret, such as it is," I said.”
― Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist
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