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Who watched the Super Bowl last night? Millions of us, including me. I’m not exactly a sports fan, but there is something about this final football game of the season that pulls me in. I used to think I was pulled in by the fun commercials that accompany the game, the spectacular half-time shows (Lady Gaga gets […]
There are still tomatoes ripening in the garden, flowers blooming, crows calling across the back yard. Windows open, I feel that pull to be outside, camera in hand (or garden shears if there are fruits and vegetables to be harvested). But there is a whole cadre of poems waiting for my co-editor Constance and me […]
I have all kinds of things in my office that serve as creative nudges. Trouble is, when you have an office full of stuff that sticks around day after day, it blends into the background. So, every so often, I dig around in my accumulation of writerly objects and reacquaint myself with their vibes. It […]
This week, I’m doing something slightly different. I’m offering two lists of five things. One list contains poetry prompts; the other, flash fiction prompts. Why separate the two? Because as an editor who readily agrees that a prompt can be used for either kind of writing, I’m also keenly aware of the differences between poetry […]
Your weekly offering of writing prompts. I have to admit to being completely in love with: 1. holiday lights 2. holiday music 3. holiday stories 4. holiday food 5. wrapping paper I love feeding people and giving them presents, feel happy to see people trying to be nicer because that’s what we do at this […]
Your weekly offering of writing prompts. Last week, I asked for readers to share their favorite prompts, hoping we would get some really specific ones, to share in this week’s Fragments. Here they are: 1. Morning tea 2. Memories 3. Write a poem of supplication (from Diane Lockward’s Poetry newsletter) 4. Scent Thank you to […]
Your weekly offering of writing/art prompts.November in Minnesota. We begin with the left-over Halloween candy then move to elections, frosty mornings, deer-hunting season, rotting jack-o-lanterns tossed in the garden, and Thanksgiving menus. Holiday decorations appear first in the retail outlets, and then creep closer and closer to our own front doors. We debate whether shopping […]
Your weekly offering of writing/art prompts. Halloween will never stop being one of my favorite days of the year. Never! And so, of course, this week’s prompts are really an indulgence in all things witchy. I give you five fun witches, all of whom hang out at my house. Happy Halloween, everybody! Fun Fact for […]
Your weekly offering of writing/art prompts. So often during autumn, I get nostalgic as I tromp through fallen leaves, breathe in that crisp cold air, and crave Halloween candy. It’s a happy sort of nostalgia. And, so, this week’s prompts are flashes of my past life. Really old flashes from a simple, happy time. from […]
Your weekly offering of writing/art prompts. Earlier this week, I wrote about my unwavering focus on Little Trees car fresheners, which I saw dangling from the rearview mirror of the car in front of me at a stoplight. It’s attention to those little details that sometimes turns into a story, a work of art, a […]
