Julie Duffy's Blog, page 99
February 6, 2019
[Write On Wednesday] Good From Bad
Yesterday, I reviewed “Useless Things” by Ariel Berry, and it gave me the writing prompt for today’s Flash Fiction focused prompt
The Prompt
Write a story of fewer than 1000 words, that features a twist on a topic/event that might be seen as a disaster. Show us how your character pulls another meaning from it
Tips
Check out my review of Ariel Berry’s storyRemember, in flash fiction, you’ll have to limit your characters and settings and the amount of threads you try to introduce into your story. 1-2 characters is best.Flash fiction hinges around a point, a moment in time, that reflects a change for the character and/or the reader.Create an image that makes your story flash in the reader’s mind. See my review of Berry’s story to see how that image can be an action as well as a visual image.
Here’s an archive of some useful Flash Fiction resources on StoryADay.org
Leave a comment to let us know what you wrote about today, and how it went
Feb 19 Critique Week
Three times a year I offer an opportunity to have a story reviewed by me and a group of your peers. Find out more here
While you’re here, why not subscribe to the podcast? It’s 20 minutes of free audio inspiration every other Saturday.
February 5, 2019
[Reading Room] Useless Things by Ariel Berry
Since we’re all about Flash Fiction here at StoryADay during February, I’m going to be highlighting some flash stories here in the Reading Room. This story comes from 100WordStory.com, a project from NaNoWriMo’s Grant Faulker, and partners.
Useless Things by Ariel Berry caught my eye because of its mix of big ideas and mundane moments in life. It does what short fiction is supposed to do: make us stop, figure out what’s happening, and think about how we might deal with a similar situation in our life.
Without giving too much away, this story touches on one of the issues of aging (or other medical complications), but does so in a surprisingly upbeat way. It manages to be bittersweet and though provoking without being depressing.
It also does something that I’m always advocating in short fiction: it uses the specific to illustrate the universal.
And it paints vivid images of a moment that represents a turning point, an acceptance or a rejection of a change.
Make It Flash
“Flash Fiction” is more than just short. It must ‘flash’ in the reader’s brain too. The best flash fiction contains, at its heart, a vivid image that stays with the reader, like an emblem or an icon for the story in their memory.
When I talk about creating a vivid image in flash fiction, it’s easy to assume I mean ‘use metaphors’, ‘write flowery descriptions’. But that’s not the case at all. In this story Berry describes an action that flashed in my mind, and became the ‘image’ that I remembered.
…when her grandmother’s teacups shattered on the tile floor….She wiped up the mess, then tied the wet washrag in her hair.
Ariel Berry, Useless Things
There’s more to the story, of course, but that’s the image that anchors it in my memory.
Read this story at 100WordStory.com or buy the book
February 4, 2019
Welcome To The Feb Critique Group
Thanks for signing up for the critique group!
Watch your inbox for the next steps (I’m adding people manually at the moment, so please bear with me).
Soon, you’ll receive your invitation to the critique group’s home page with all the instructions.
February 3, 2019
123 – When The Writing Stalls
What do you do when it’s difficult to write? Here’s what I did this week.
You can find all the links and discussion I talked about, here: https://storyaday.org/when-writing-stalls
And here’s the Serious Writers’ Accountability Group (SWAGr) for Feb 2019: https://storyaday.org/swagr-feb-2019/
It’s another new episode of the StoryADay Podcast
January 31, 2019
SWAGr for Feb 2019
Post your goals for this month and let us know how you got on with last month’s goals.
Leave a comment below telling us how you got on last month, and what you plan to do next month, then check back in on the first of each month, to see how everyone’s doing.
(It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Did you live up to your commitment from last month? Don’t remember what you promised to do? Check out the comments from last month.
And don’t forget to celebrate with/encourage your fellow SWAGr-ers on their progress!
Download your SWAGr Tracking Sheet now, to keep track of your commitments this month
****
Examples of Goals Set By SWAGr-ers in previous months
Write a story a day in May – everyone!Revise at least 10 short stories – IraideWrite two short stories. – JamiAttend one writers’ conference – JulieWrite fable for WordFactory competition – SonyaRe-read the backstory pieces I wrote in May and see if I can use them within my novel – MoniqueResearch the market – JamiFocus on my serial – Maureen
So, what will you accomplish this month? Leave your comment below (use the drop-down option to subscribe to the comments and receive lovely, encouraging notifications from fellow StADa SWAGr-ers!)
(Next check-in, 1st of the month. Tell your friends!)
What I Do When The Writing Stalls
Interested in joining a free writing sprint & hangout next week?
Keep reading or click here
I’ve been stalling on writing this blog post for about two weeks.
Don’t worry, it’s not bad news or anything. I just couldn’t write it.
You know the feeling, right? You want to work on a project, but every time you sit down, something is wrong. You can’t find your way into the story, or you are seized with a sudden urge to research the perfect lamp for your desk…
Productivity Hack #1
To get this post going, I used one of my favorite, sure-fire tricks:
Writing sprints.
If you’ve never “sprinted” here’s how it works: you hook up with some other writers and someone sets a timer. Everyone works on whatever they’re trying to write, for 15 minutes (or another time you agree upon). The rule is: focused work. No distractions.
Then you take a break and chit-chat, before sprinting again.
Usually this results in everyone getting tons of work done, getting into that elusive flow state, making progress.
Only it wasn’t working for this post.
What Did I Do Next?
I whined.
In our five minute, between-sprint breaks, I confessed to my writing buddies that this beautifully-outlined blog post I had intended to write just wasn’t coming.
And because they were writers, they thought. And they asked me questions. Question like:
What are you trying to say?Why do you think it’s not coming? Is now not the right time, or is it something else?What does your heart tell you?
Answering their questions helped me formulate my thoughts, my objections to my outline, and the root problem with the post (which was, in case you’re interested, that I was trying to be clever, instead of simply Telling You A Thing)
The Point Of This Post
I have been experimenting with leaning on other writers for support, over the past year, and it has been transformative.
I formed the StoryADay Superstars group to try to help YOU write more, and be more fulfilled by your writing.
In the process, I had my own eyes opened to the power of a posse.
Ironic, huh? A writing group helped me figure out why I was having problems writing a post about writing groups!
We Don’t Have To Do This Alone
Yes, we need solitude at some point in the creative process.Yes, we have to make ourselves do the work.But it is good to connect with other people.
Writing Is All About Connection.
Every story we tell is influenced by every story we’ve heard, every person we’ve met.
So shouldn’t the act of writing allow some room for connection too?
If you’ve been struggling to write, all alone, I’m here to give you permission to reach out.
If you think that you can’t have a posse because you’re an introvert, let me assure you that some of the best parties I’ve been to have been the ones where everyone slunk in reluctantly, nursing their inner introvert. But because we were all writers, somehow it was all ok.
Ways To Find Your Posse
You can start by lurking around writing blogs like StoryADay, commenting on other people’s comments, asking open-ended questions, asking for favors (fun fact: when someone does you one favor, they are more likely to help you out in future too. By helping out once, people feel personally invested in your success!)
You can search online for “#writingsprints” and join in with real-time writing sprints.
Go to a local writing group that meets in person (gasp! I know, really I do!). Remember that everyone there feels a little awkward, but that the best groups are full of people who are looking to raise each other up.
Seek out groups online.
In fact, why not come and experience a StoryADay Superstars video hangout and writing sprint this coming Monday, Feb 4?
(This is part of the Superstars program. We sign in to Zoom, a video chat platform, chat for a few minutes, then do a few 15 minute writing sprints broken up by 5 minute chatting-and-stretching breaks, for about 90 minutes in total.)
I’ll be opening up the Superstars program for 2019 in late March, which gets you 12 months of access to Superstars Deep Content during the challenges, monthly video hangouts, a private Slack group, and discounts on other programs like the critique groups and workshops.
But I wanted to invite everyone to experience a hangout, no strings attached, right now to keep those New Year’s resolutions on track.
Pick a project you want to get some traction on, and register for the hangout (so I can send you a reminder when we’re about to start).
Register Now
It’s free!
Where Do You Get Your Writing Support?
I’m really interested in hearing your experience with writing: alone or with groups. Have you ever been part of a writers’ group? What did you love/hate about it?
Drop me a line here below and join the conversation.
January 30, 2019
[Write on Wednesday] Weather Or Not
Since everyone in my orbit is talking about it anyway, let’s write about the weather!
The Prompt
Write a story in an environment where the weather is so extreme that it shapes everything: actions, metaphors, hopes & dreams…
Tips
As with every story, you should probably start with a character who wants something, but can’t have it…yet. The obstacle to their dreams doesn’t have to be weather-related, but everything else about the environment should be soaked in it.You could write about an alpine community, snowed in for the winter. Or you could write about a bush community in high summer in Australia, coping with the kind of heat that has weather reporters searching the Pantone index for new colors.Think about how language reflects reality, especially in static communities. If you’re from a seaside town, your metaphors tend to include fish and gales, and you use onomatopoeic words like ‘blustery’. What will your local residents sound like?Consider having an outsider come in to the community either as your protagonist or their foil, to act as the reader’s avatar as we meet this new community.This is a short story, and if you’re going to Write On Wednesday, its probably going to be a short-short story, so limit your cast. One or two people, one or two settings. What important moment will act as the fulcrum in your story, the thing everything turns on?What will change? Or not change?
Leave a comment to let us know what you wrote about today. If you’re brave enough, post your story or leave a link (remembering not to publish online a story you might want to submit to a publication)
January 22, 2019
[Write On Wednesday] Rescue Me
If you’re writing for publication, it’s important to be aware of lead-times, (i.e. the time between when an editor says ‘yes’ to your story and the date the publication goes live). They can be long, so if you’re writing a seasonal story, you need to be submitting months in advance. That’s why today’s prompt is for October’s National Adopt A Shelter Dog month. Write your doggie story today and start pitching it now!
January 16, 2019
[Write On Wednesday] The Writing Group
