6 Apr 2012 by Rob Diaz

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

I am a dreamer. I don’t mean to say that I sit, elbow on knee, chin nestled in palm, staring off into space.  I mean I actually dream a lot when I sleep.  My dreams have always been vivid. Sometimes they are surreal.  Often they are action-packed. They involve real people and real situations, but can also be wildly-unrealistic—and sometimes they are wildly-unrealistic while being about real... read more

6 Apr 2012 by Dale Challener Roe

A Solid C

A couple of months ago I set forward writing goals for this year. You can read the post, if you like, but here’s the redux: Organize all the notes, snippets, scenes, ideas and half-stories that are floating around. Write 10 stories. Admittedly, not the loftiest set of goals. But for once, I decided to go realistic vs. lofty. So… how’s it going? I give myself a solid C. Or, for those of... read more

5 Apr 2012 by Paul Servini

I’m On My Way

You’re going to build are house. The foundations have been laid, the materials bought, the workers hired. You’re ready to start building. The first brick is laid. In your mind’s eye you can see the finished product rising up out of the ground. But you’re not there yet. The work still has to be done. Yet, it’s reason enough to celebrate. You’re under way. This month... read more

4 Apr 2012 by Adam Byatt

Reading as Meditation

Go and get yourself a cup of your choice of beverage (mine happens to be tea). On the way back to your favourite chair or the indent in the lounge you’ve created, grab the book you left on the coffee table or bedside table last night. Make yourself all nice and comfy and find your place via bookmark, phone bill, sticky note, turned down corner of the page or where you turned it face down. Breathe. Allow... read more

4 Apr 2012 by Annie Evett

The Long Road

Earlier this year along with fellow writers for the site, I made the grandiose announcement that I would (finally) self publish an anthology of short stories. So far, I have plunged myself into a new writing project, taking practically every spare moment I have. Within my workplace, I have volunteered my (disappearing) time into projects there and at home, I have taken an abnormal interest in the... read more

3 Apr 2012 by Jessica Bockman

Powerful Description: Or, How Quick Research Adds Authenticity and Texture

KXCI radio broadcasts from a two story house in a historic part of Tucson, Az. Now, houses in Tucson are rarely two stories. Single stories are so common that neighborhoods with two story house come in two types: very new and big, or rather old and small. KXCI nestles in the rather old and small, but the old part is unnoticeable. It gleams. Its wood floors and wooden railings are rare in an area that... read more

3 Apr 2012 by Matt Robb

Tackle Your Writing Project Like You’d Eat an Elephant

For three years now I’ve been in the habit of asking myself a specific question whenever I feel overwhelmed with starting or finishing a large project: “How do you eat an elephant”?  The reply to this question is always, “One bite at a time”. I can’t remember if I heard this question/answer combination from a colleague at work or whether I read it in a business book; the visualization... read more

2 Apr 2012 by Devin Watson

The Anger Engine

Catharsis to many is just a word. Writers know it on a more visceral level because we experience it on a daily basis. It’s something many of us seek out to purge the demons from our minds. Sometimes those demons hang around and make their way back in. I seriously think this is one reason so many writers such as Hemingway drank. I was a very angry and cynical young man in my 20s. It wasn’t a... read more