I’m proud to announce that I won first place at the Sierra College Flash Fiction contest! The prize was an “outdoor” basket, with a gift certificate to an outdoor store, a bag of trail mix, and a canteen. This was my very first time getting “paid” for a piece of creative writing…and it was literally sweet (because of the chocolate in the trail mix. Get it?)
Watch me read the story!
The piece is called “Blood Red” and will be published shortly in the Sierra College Literary Journal. Happy day! If you’d like to watch me read the piece, here you go:
What I’ve been doing, writing-wise
This is a good time to let you all know what I’ve been doing with my life, creative-writing wise, since last we met. It’s been a while since I posted—graphic design school has become an all-encompassing “black hole” of sorts—but I am still here, writing in this lovely, fecund obscurity. Here’s a short list of my doings:
Writing and Producing Theater
Last April and May, 2015, I adapted the first chapter of one of my novels to A One-Woman-Theater piece at Synthetic Unlimited Opera House! It was a life changing experience.
Solo Show Challenge Flyer!
Suffice to say I got to wear awesome costumes and, without a doubt, learned how to LITERALLY put myself into my characters. As you can see here:
I’m so thankful to this experience, I learned so much about writing and how to really, REALLY put yourself into your story. Also, I learned that it’s fun to be blonde…with a sword:)
After producing the play, I went on to finish the rough draft of the novel that the play was based on. I hope to polish it up this summer.
Creative Writing Class
I took the most excellent Creative Writing class at Sierra College, where I workshopped old and new material, brushed up on basic techniques, and plugged in to a wonderful group of writers.
I also attended the Sierra Writer’s Conference on January 23rd, 2016, which was hosted at the college. I was inspired by a host of fabulous authors:
- Louis B. Jones read a wonderful piece about writing in and gathering strength from obscurity. To quote him loosely, “Obscurity is the writer’s dark pool of replenishment.” I love that.
- Kim Culbertson also had a GREAT panel about Young Adult Literature. Culbertson is a local author and awesome woman, who is a HUGE inspiration to me. I love her books so much! I also learned that 70% of YA readers are ADULTS! #Mindblown
- Wendy Hornsby clued me into the art of the mystery novel. She quoted Somerset Maugham: “There are three rules fro writing a great novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” Love that.
- And Professor Iven Lourie spoke on a publishing panel, and inspired me to start local with publishing and open readings. My favorite quote Lourie shared: “There is something in poetry for the lack of which people are dying.”
Writing, Writing, Writing!
I’ve been writing up a storm!
Novels
I recently finished a romantic comedy that I have been working on for three years! It’s a very silly, light-hearted piece that I turn to in times of stress (like, say, my final semester of school!). I’ve completed the rough draft by hand in a notebook by writing at least one paragraph before bed, and another paragraph when I wake up. It’s a good way to start and end the day. Now I just need to type it all up!
Story a Day
I’m participating in the Story a Day challenge this May, and aim to write one short story a day. So far, I’m going strong and have only missed one day!
If you are participating in the challenge, come and find my profile!
Getting into the habit of writing every day has done wonders for my craft. Even if you can only manage tiny bits of stories, I highly recommend giving it a try.
Writing every day
In fact, since 2016 started, I’ve been writing every day, or nearly every day, usually for at least 30 minutes. I’m beginning to realize that writing is a great form of cheap therapy. As Kim Culbertson often likes to quote, there’s this amazing saying about Robert Frost:
I remember reading that someone thrust his work into Robert Frost’s hands, and said, “Mr. Frost, should I go on writing?” and he said, “Well, see if you can stop.”
Well, I don’t seem to be able to stop and I don’t want to! I’m hoping that when I’m finished with school, I’ll be able to publish a few pieces and work on my novels.
Until then, I’ll be scribbling furiously into a notebook by the fitful light of a flashlight under the covers while my husband mutters for me to quit writing and go to sleep already.
Thanks for reading:)
Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below. What writing adventures have you been up to?
