writing challenge

Feed your writing by changing it up

Today I head north to participate in the VLP Short Story contest. During this contest, participants are given a theme (on the spot, no advance prep work) and then have three hours to write a complete story. The only resource we have is the word processing program on the computers provided. I have to say, […]

The Year My Characters Revolted During #NaNoWriMo

“Yes, I’m doing NaNoWriMo.” If you know any author personally, you’ve probably heard (or read) those words. National Novel Writing Month takes place every year, when hundreds of thousands of writers vow to write every day for a month, producing 50,000 words each by month’s end. Why? Because they can. Because writing can be a […]

The places we go when we’re not looking

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog post about not having the energy to write about my roots and being able to accept the fact that I faked the writing that day. I was (and still am) okay with my decision not to push myself that day, but I am amused by the […]

Martinis, morasses, and emotional stability

This week’s flash fiction prompt from Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch is to write a story about a return to home in 99 words. I’ll be honest, I struggled with this prompt for a couple of reasons. I read Charli’s entry and prompt when she first published it a week ago. As I reflected […]

The post in which I talk about grasshoppers and ice cream and love

Last night, while mulling over the challenge Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch issued this week (write a story about love in 99 words), I decided to grab the pup and go for a drive through the country. Okay, okay, so I really decided to go get some ice cream, but take a drive through […]

Take that writer’s block!

I have not updated my blog in five months. What’s worse, I have not written in five months, not for myself. I have thought about writing. I have set aside time for writing. I have made promises to get back to writing. Yet nothing got written. During the last five months I did help a novice […]

Redefining Normalcy: Creating a story of renewal

We all have moments in our lives that feel like no matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, the world seems to be working against us. We can face the battles head on or spend all our efforts side-stepping each new parry. If we’re lucky, those moments are just that: moments. However, sometimes […]

Flaunting the Rules and Taking Control

This story was written in response to a challenge to write a piece of fiction that flaunted “the rules” (as imposed by some other entity). Challenge accepted. Rules flaunted. If reading this makes you uncomfortable, then I have succeeded as a writer. Leave comments if you feel the need. Feedback always appreciated.   Control I stroked the glass […]