Puget Sound Writers! Spring is on the horizon and it’s a season for fresh ideas and invigorating revisions—a time for trying your hand at new forms. Challenge yourself in exciting master classes with David Wagoner, Ryan Boudinot, or Peter Mountford. Explore the craft of writing with one-day sessions or improve your skills with six-week sessions in prose and poetry. As flowers bloom and the weather gets warmer, take a class to reenergize your writing. Member registration began TODAY at noon. General registration begins February 19 at noon.

Puget Sound Writers!

Spring is on the horizon and it’s a season for fresh ideas and invigorating revisions—a time for trying your hand at new forms. Challenge yourself in exciting master classes with David Wagoner, Ryan Boudinot, or Peter Mountford. Explore the craft of writing with one-day sessions or improve your skills with six-week sessions in prose and poetry. As flowers bloom and the weather gets warmer, take a class to reenergize your writing.

  • Member registration began TODAY at noon.
  • General registration begins February 19 at noon.

friday-fiction:

Today is #FridayFiction!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

This week is our 52nd week of #FridayFiction, one whole year of writing prompts and social media flash fiction. If you’d like a list of the last 52 prompts, see this post here.

Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was “Deceit”. Click on the photos above to read the stories in full.

This week’s prompt is “Rejection”. 

Write a story about rejection. Is your character the one rejected or the one doing the rejecting?

Why is the rejection occurring?

If your character is the one rejected, how does he or she handle that?

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

theparisreview: “The most interesting thing about writing is the way that it obliterates time. Three hours seem like three minutes. Then there is the business of surprise. I never know what is coming next. The phrase that sounds in the head changes when it appears on the page. Then I start probing it with a pen, finding new meanings. Sometimes I burst out laughing at what is happening as I twist and turn sentences. Strange business, all in all. One never gets to the end of it. That’s why I go on, I suppose. To see what the next sentences I write will be.” —R.I.P. Gore Vidal. You will be missed.

theparisreview:

“The most interesting thing about writing is the way that it obliterates time. Three hours seem like three minutes. Then there is the business of surprise. I never know what is coming next. The phrase that sounds in the head changes when it appears on the page. Then I start probing it with a pen, finding new meanings. Sometimes I burst out laughing at what is happening as I twist and turn sentences. Strange business, all in all. One never gets to the end of it. That’s why I go on, I suppose. To see what the next sentences I write will be.”

—R.I.P. Gore Vidal. You will be missed.

friday-fiction:

Today is #FridayFiction and we are back with a new prompt!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was “Fear”. Click on the photos above to read the stories in full.

This week’s prompt is “Deceit”.  Richard Bach, author of Jonathon Livingston Seagull, said, “The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. We live in denial of what we do, even what we think. We do this because we’re afraid. We fear we will not find love, and when we find it we fear we’ll lose it.”

Write a story about deceit. These lies can be the lies we tell others, or the lies we tell ourselves.

How do these lies hurt the characters who tell/believe them?

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

“Rule No. 9: Have adventures. The Hemingway mode was in ascendancy for decades before it was eclipsed by trendy fabulist “exercises.” The pendulum is swinging back, though, and it’s going to knock these effete eggheads right out of their Aeron chairs. Keep ahead of the curve. Get out and see the world. It’s not going to kill you to butch it up a tad. Book passage on a tramp steamer. Rustle up some dysentery; it’s worth it for the fever dreams alone. Lose a kidney in a knife fight. You’ll be glad you did.”

Colson Whitehead’s Rules for Writing - NYTimes.com

Couldn’t resist this one.

(via housingworksbookstore)

(via housingworksbookstore)

friday-fiction: Today is #FridayFiction and we are back with a new prompt! #FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets. Why do we do this? Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media. For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website. Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was a free prompt. The stories people submitted were very touching, most of them inspired by the tragedy in Aurora. Click on the photo above to enlarge the stories. This week’s prompt is “Fear”. I can’t believe this. Fifty weeks of #FridayFiction and I haven’t chosen the most basic and pervasive human emotion as a prompt yet. Write a story about fear. Fear is not always the shadow that stalks or the nightmare under the bed. Sometimes it is self-doubt, other times it’s the evolutionary response we all feel protecting ourselves from harm.  How does fear hold us back, protect us, or threaten us? As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have. Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative. If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online. Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon! A reminder to our followers:  We run a flashfiction workshop on Twitter. Prompts are doled out each week via the Friday Fiction tumblr. If you’re interested in participating, or just reading along, follow the above Tumblr for the prompts and follow the tag for the results later this afternoon! Happy writing!

friday-fiction:

Today is #FridayFiction and we are back with a new prompt!

#FridayFiction is a flash fiction workshop that runs every week on Twitter from 3 - 6 p.m. PST, facilitated by Richard Hugo House. Each week, we pick a theme and create a story based off of that theme. We share it with the community of #fridayfiction writers by using the tag in our tweets. You can contribute more than one story. You can use the same character in every story, or multiple characters. The important thing is that your story, with the tag #FridayFiction, not exceed the 140 character limit that Twitter sets.

Why do we do this?

Flash fiction gives us a chance to re-examine our language in a way that we normally wouldn’t be able to do. The confines of the tweet force us to think of different ways of saying something, finding the word that communicates the biggest idea in the shortest way, and using Twitter allows us to find other writers on social media.

For more on why we write flash fiction and use Twitter to do it, read “Exercises in Brevity” on our website.

Last week’s #FridayFiction prompt was a free prompt. The stories people submitted were very touching, most of them inspired by the tragedy in Aurora. Click on the photo above to enlarge the stories.

This week’s prompt is “Fear”. I can’t believe this. Fifty weeks of #FridayFiction and I haven’t chosen the most basic and pervasive human emotion as a prompt yet.

Write a story about fear.

Fear is not always the shadow that stalks or the nightmare under the bed. Sometimes it is self-doubt, other times it’s the evolutionary response we all feel protecting ourselves from harm. 

How does fear hold us back, protect us, or threaten us?

As you write, try and experiment with POV, different characters, and feel free to write more than one story! Writing within the confines of a tweet is difficult, but it gets you into an incredible mindset. Find the right words to create the mood, the plot and convey character in the tiny space that you have.

Also, interact with the community! Every week, a lot of amazing writers gather together and share their stories. These people don’t just offer up great stories, they are great people to follow throughout the rest of the week as well. Being on Twitter is all about curating the conversation you want to be apart of and this is a great way to meet people who love being creative.

If you’ve been reading for a long time, please continue to enjoy our great stories, but also, feel free to offer up your own! You wouldn’t think, as vast a social network as Twitter is, that it’d be a safe space to offer up your fiction, but it is, and it’s a wonderful way to network with other creatives online.

Hope to see you and your flash fiction this afternoon!

A reminder to our followers: 

We run a flashfiction workshop on Twitter. Prompts are doled out each week via the Friday Fiction tumblr. If you’re interested in participating, or just reading along, follow the above Tumblr for the prompts and follow the tag for the results later this afternoon!

Happy writing!