Writing Prompt: Two Robbers

When I teach creative writing I always use this exercise. It helps teach students a very basic lesson about plot: That it is not what happens that matters, but how you portray it. It is a lot of fun to do with a larger group of people because when they read their work out loud…

Author’s Inspiration: Remember This Moment

As an author it is good to keep in mind that what you are creating is something special, something unique. A book can  takes something that you feel is important and make it clear to others.  A short story that can entertain someone during their darkest hour. A poem can show the importance of a…

Spark: Literary Journal Review

Spark is a quarterly creative anthology that has a print and e-book edition. Spark was founded by Brian Lewis with the idea of creating a high quality publication that featured established professionals and fledgling authors side by side. As part of this mission, Spark pays all of their contributors. Spark’s print edition is beautifully illustrated…

Writing Prompt: Someone That You Used To Know

Sometimes it is hard to create characters from scratch, sometimes you just need a starting point. That is why a lot of authors include fictionalized versions of their family members in novels. However sometimes it hard to write honestly and with perspective about someone you know. This exercise is an easy way to create a…

Graduate Degrees in Creative Writing: A Must Have?

I have a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from a respected liberal arts school. I loved the program I was in. The Professors truly helped me improve and explore as a writer. I used my degree to start down a career path I find fulfilling: Teaching writing at the college level. I…

Punchnel’s: A Review

Punchnel’s describes itself as a “general-interest web magazine written for a smart, discerning audience of adults around the world.” They publish articles about all kinds of things, from music to the news, but they also publish poetry, fiction, and memoir. They have an easy to use, aesthetically pleasing website that receives a fair amount of…

Quote of the Week

Writing Prompt: Avoidance

A lot of writers come back to the same themes again and again, from father issues to aliens, most writers seem to have their private preoccupation. The problem with this is that you want to have work that sounds different, that explores new themes and interesting topics. For a long time every piece of writing…

How to Find A Writing Group

Many famous writers from Virgina Woolf  to C.S. Lewis to Ernest Hemingway were part of a writing group. Such groups are often cited by  famous authors  as one of the most important things a writer can have. Writing groups are largely informal gatherings that involve reading each other’s work and providing feedback. If you want…

The Threepenny Review: Closing Soon

The Threepenny Review is one of the most well renowned and respected literary journals in America. They publish authors from all over the world, and many famous writers, both poets and fiction writers have been published in The Threepenny Review. The Threepenny review also pays very well. They pay $400 per short story and $200…

Postcard Shorts: Open for Submissions

Postcard Shorts is an online journal with an interesting premise. Whatever piece of fiction you send them should be able to fit on a postcard. In other words it must be around 250 words in length. Postcard Shorts publishes all genres of flash fiction on their website. The website is easy to read and navigate,…

Just Opened for Publication: A-Minor Magazine

A-Minor Magazine has just re-opened to submissions this week. They are an online journal that has developed a good reputation. They publish poetry and fiction as well as art. A-Minor Magazine has been around for three years. A-Minor Magazine publishes quarterly and is associated with A-Minor Press which publishes full length work. It is good…

Accepting Submissions: Word Riot

Word Riot is one of the most respected online journals of all time. They are also well established, they were first founded in 2002. Word Riot is known to publish edgy work by emerging poets and writers. They publish flash fiction up to 1,000 words in length, and narrative fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, and…

Writing Prompt: Tell it Slant

“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant–” is a famous quote by Emily Dickinson. It is a principle many writers have adopted both in fiction and non fiction. In this exercise the point is to tell a story you know well. It does not have to be your story though, it can be the…

Writing Prompt: Erasure

This writing prompt is a little different. Instead of requiring you to write words with a pen, this writing exercise is all about crossing things out with a sharpie. This week the writing exercise is to create an erasure. An erasure is a poem that starts out with a piece of existing text, but instead…