Neighbors

When Zoie took me out for a walk the other day, I stopped at the curb in shock.  There, in our neighbor’s front lawn, hung a FOR SALE sign. 

No. 

It couldn’t be. 

How could they do this to our perfect little cul-de-sac?

Another neighbor and my friend, Hilde, joined us outside with her dog.  We all stared sadly at the sign.  It was as though our canine friends understood our grief.  Admittedly it wasn’t so much about losing this particular couple – after all, we hardly knew them.

But.

We’ve had a past.

Before these people lived here, a family whose kids’ police record rivaled Al Capone’s dwelled in our hood.  Okay.  So maybe I’ve exaggerated slightly.  But one kid burglarized neighbors’ homes and his parents were so belligerent and inebriated their fights were legendary – as were the holes they punched in their walls.

No, we stared at this calm, quiet house and we worried. 

Who will move here? 

“Maybe if we see motorcycles and teenagers we could all stage a noisy fight,” I said.

By this time another neighbor, Tom, had joined our worry club. 

“But they might be happy to think they’ll fit right in,” said Tom.

He’s got a point. 

“I’ll pray,” I said.

“I’ll hope,” said Tom.

“I’ll move,” muttered Hilde. 

Writing Prompts

1. Write about a neighbor you had, good or bad.  What made this neighbor memorable? 
2. In the writing project you are working on now, who are your character’s neighbors?  How well does your character know them?  Write a scene where they are forced to face a conflict together. 
3. Write a scene where they are in conflict with one another. 
4. Write a poem about neighbors. 

This Dog Shows Character!

Who did this?  The answer is obvious by the reaction of the characters involved.  

 

http://www.maniacworld.com/which-is-the-guilty-dog.html

 

Writing Prompt:

1.  Using a character’s facial expression, action, thoughts and/or dialogue, show guilt or innocence in a story or poem.

2.  Choose a character you know in your life.  Show this person or animal’s character through action, details, and/or dialogue in a personal narrative. 

3.  Write a poem showing character.  Author Jane Yolen defines poetry as “compressed emotion.”  Take out any words that aren’t absolutely necessary.

New Literary Journal Publishes Poetry, Fiction and Creative Nonfiction

Catamaran Literary Reader is a new quarterly literary and visual arts magazine. Inaugural issue was published on October 17th 2012. Catamaran features fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and art. Based in the new Tannery Arts and Digital Media Center Studios, in Santa Cruz, CA., their mission is to capture the vibrant creative spirit of California in writing and art from around the world. Themes include environmentalism, personal freedom, innovation, and artistic spirit. Seek to present diverse national voices around themes such as these that have a special resonance with their region.

Catamaran Literary Reader (ISSN 2168-7226) is published in October, January,April, and July by Catamaran Literary Reader Inc., a California Nonprofit Corporation with 501C-3 fiscal sponsorship from Chicago Quarterly Review.

 Submissions

Catamaran Literary Reader accepts fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and art. Themes  especially interested in include diversity, environmentalism, artistic spirit, personal freedom, and innovation. Any setting is fine, but the California is of particular interest.  

Catamaran Literary Reader

1050 River St., Studio 113
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

http://catamaranliteraryreader.com/contact/

Anthology Call for Submissions

Are you the mother of a child with special needs?

 Deadline:  April 22, 2013

Nonfiction. Up to 6,000 words or 6 poems.

Submissions must address one of the themes listed below:

• Challenges: Sometimes it sucks.
• Purpose: I learned my own power; I get “it.”
• Providence: Why was I chosen?
• Pure Joy: Their joy is my joy!
• Joy?: It’s the simple things.

For more information, visit:

http://www.literarymama.com/blog/archives/2012/11/call-for-submissions-anthology-2.html

The Sun Magazine

The Sun

I picked up a copy of this magazine and didn’t put it down until I had finished the entire copy.  Have you read it?  Short stories, essays, interviews, poetry and letters all written with depth, humor, and insight.  They don’t want opinion pieces or academia.  The best thing is they purchase one-time rights, which means you can sell them something you may have sold before. 

One section is devoted to Readers Write, which asks “readers to address subjects on which they’re the only authorities.  Topics are intentionally broad in order to give room for expression.” 

 Upcoming Topics

Breaking the Rules       January 1      Deadline             

Bullies                                    February 1            

In The Dark                        March 1                                        

Honesty                                April 1                                              

Trying Again                     May 1                                                 

Writing Prompts: 

1. Choose one of the topics above and write a personal experience piece on this theme. 
2. Choose one of the topics above and write a short story.
3. Choose one of the topics and write a poem. 

www.thesunmagazine.org

 

 

This morning was a sleep-in day.  Hallelujah!  While dozing past our usual bounce-out-of-bed time, we heard a clunk from above. 

“What was that?” asked my husband.

Later, when we stood outside our car ready to run errands, a Pacific Gas and Electric worker approached us from his truck parked in front of our house. 

“A problem?” I asked.

“You had a meter leak.  I fixed it,” he said. 

I thanked him.  He nodded. 

“It was small,” he added, before hopping into his truck and driving away through the neighborhood. 

My husband said, “Wow.  I worked over there in the yard just yesterday and I never smelled a gas leak at all.”

“Bob,” I reminded him.  “You couldn’t smell a fire if it raged next door.  How could you smell gas?” 

“Maybe,” he admitted. 

“Face it,” I said.  “Your sniffer is off.”

“Humph,” he said in mock dismay.

As we pulled out of our driveway, we noticed the PG&E worker stopping at another house. 

“I think they’re being very careful after the accident,” said Bob, referring to the horrendous gas explosion in San Bruno last fall, which caused many deaths  and destroyed a complete neighborhood. 

“They SHOULD be,” I said.

Unfortunately, it took a high cost to become preventive now. 

Writing Prompts:

1.  Rewrite your history. What if . . . is a game we all play in life and in writing.  What if a turn of events DIDN’T happen?  What if a turn of events DID?  In world history, there is always a WHAT IF.  Which WHAT IF do you WISH had occurred?  What WHAT IF do you wish hadn’t?  Write scenes as though they had and hadn’t occurred. 

2.  Show a preventive scene in your writing project that foreshadows an upcoming disaster.  It doesn’t have to be a physical disaster – - it can be an emotional one.  (Example: a break-up could be foreshadowed by a small rude or annoying behavior, or a tell-tale sign of infidelity)

3.  Write the climatic scene of the break-up or the disaster in your book or story. 

4.  Write a poem of an image or scene in your life you would have liked to have had preventive knowledge. 

 *****

Poets and Writers Contest

http://www.pw.org/about-us/california_writers_exchange_award

You in the Universe

Clink on the link below.  Move the scroll bar to the right, and the universe gets larger.  Move it left; the universe gets smaller.   Not only is this cool, it’s mind-boggling!   

http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white

 

Writing Prompts:

1.  How does this site help you see your world differently?

Use the expansive universe to motivate a poem.   After you write your poem, use the poetry tip page at right to help you in your revision. 

 

2.  Choose one object from this site and write about it.  You may choose any genre you like.  Poetry, essay, short story, rap . . .

 

3.  Write an essay from your prospective in the universe.  How we relate to each other, how size matters, or how change has evolved over time are some possible themes.

Great Writing Advice on Plot, Tone, and How to Begin

Jessica Barksdale Inclan led a fabulous workshop this past Saturday at the Mt. Diablo Branch’s California Writers Club. Here are a few great ideas she shared: 

 If your work is too dark throughout?   Toni Morrison had this problem in her acclaimed novel, Beloved. The author said she “engineered moments of lightness.”

Don’t know where to start?   “Write little pieces and they’ll start talking to each other.”

Why would anyone want to write in second person? It’s good for hiding pain. Read the poem “House of Horrors” by Tom Sayars.

Her best words on plot?  Plot is tension. It’s developed by presenting a promise and then dropping bits and pieces in along the way. Your writing should be like a mystery. Don’t show everything at once.

Current trend: Editors hate prologues.  Call it chapter one!  They hate introductions.  Call it chapter one!

 Writing Prompt:

1.  Read your current project or a piece you have written.  Does the tone provide different feelings/emotions?   There should be a balance of light and dark, highs and lows.  Use Toni Morrison’s advice if there isn’t.

2.  Try writing a poem, essay or short story in second person.  Or take one of the pieces you have written or a character you have developed and try this point of view here.

3.  Read a work you have written and check to see you haven’t told too much too soon.  Is there enough suspense and tension in your writing?  You may have to take away or drop in more hints of mystery to create a better plot.

Freshman and Sophmore Poetry Contest Deadline: Nov. 15, 2011

What is the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest?

Now in its forty-eighth year, the contest is sponsored by Hollins University and awards prizes for the best poems submitted by girls who are sophomores or juniors in high school or preparatory school.

What are the prizes?

First place (one winner)

• $200 cash prize
• Free registration, transportation to, and housing for the Lex Allen Literary Festival at Hollins University on March 10, 2012.
• Publication in Cargoes, Hollins’ student literary magazine
• Ten copies of Cargoes

Second place (six winners)

• $25 cash prize
• Publication in Cargoes
• Two copies of Cargoes

What are the requirements?

• Must be a sophomore or junior in high school or preparatory school
• Students must submit their poem(s) online. Students must have a faculty sponsor.
• No more than two poems by any one student may be submitted (Microsoft Word or text document only)
• Please label additional pages with the author’s name, title of poem, and page number
• Each entry must include the following information on the poem(s):
  • Author’s name
  • Author’s mailing address
  • Author’s phone number and/or e-mail address
  • Year of author’s high school graduation
  • Faculty sponsor’s name and e-mail address
  • Author’s school
  • Address of author’s school
  • Phone number of author’s school

What is the deadline for entries?

November 15.

Who chooses the winning poems?

Winners are chosen by students and faculty members in the creative writing program at Hollins.

When are winners notified?

Mid-February 2012.

Who was Nancy Thorp?

Nancy Thorp, Hollins class of 1960, was a young poet who showed great promise when she was a student. Following her death in 1962, her family established the Nancy Thorp Contest to encourage the work of young poets.

For more information:

http://www.hollins.edu/academics/english/thorp.shtml

Poetry Workshops for Kids

Celebrate Poetry at the Storyteller Bookstore with our April Wordplay Creative Writing Workshops!   April 9:    Smiling Cats: Playing with Personification April 16:    Waterfall of Words:  Using Sound in Poems April 30:    Picture Pieces:  Art and Imagery   Just a few spots left!    To fill out a registration form (or if you have any questions), email storyteller_voices@hotmail.com or come down to the Storyteller.

Sessions are $25 each– or sign-up for all three and pay $65Sessions include:   notebook, light snack, multiple writing activities and a chance to publish in our literary journal, Word Waves Writers ages 8-10 meet from 4-5 p.m.   Writers 11 and up meet from 5:15-6:15 p.m.