When I started piano lessons, my teacher insisted I do daily exercises to improve speed, dexterity, and precision. I dreaded tedious repetition of drills designed to fine-tune my playing or, as my teacher put it, “to do your best work.”
Requiem for Chopin
Elaine was lucky for two reasons. She had flood insurance and she had somewhere to go.
Her new life, far away from the dire-faced officials on the Public Access channel was finally coming into focus after the two-hour layover in Chicago.
Poem: Among the Most Primitive of Mammals
B.J. Wilson is from Louisville, Kentucky. He holds an MFA from the Bluegrass Writers Studio at Eastern Kentucky University, a writing fellowship from The Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences, and a Pushcart Prize Nomination for poetry. His poems appear in Exit 7, Gravel, New Madrid, Tar River Poetry, Valley Voices and elsewhere. His first chapbook of poems, Tuckasee,
5 Writer’s Blogs You Should Be Reading
I tried to make this easy. I started with 10 blogs, and then I realized that, that’s a lot to follow. Here are the top 5 author sites you should be following. They are fun and entertaining, so this shouldn’t be difficult.
Mark Twain is a Slob by Willa Cather
If there is anything which should make an American sick and disgusted at the literary taste of his country, and almost swerve his allegiance to his flag it is that controversy between Mark Twain
Best YouTube Channels and Podcasts by Authors
If you spend any time on Twitter as a writer, you might be lucky enough to find the #writingcommunity. This community is filled with an extraordinary amount of creative, intelligent and kind authors. Most have expertise in writing, publishing, agents, #pitmad pitches, and a great deal of other subjects that are must for survival as…
Afterlife
I never thought much about the afterlife. Until now. I can’t move, breathe, speak or hear and it is so dark all the time. If I knew it would be this lonely, I would have been cremated instead. Chuckling softly at the irony of it all, I pick at the maggots wriggling on my forehead….
Poem: Dreams of Aberdeen
Anita Markoff is in her final months of an MA in English Literature -Film and Visual Culture at the University of Aberdeen. She has been published in ‘Spilt Milk’ magazine, with work forthcoming in ‘Meanwhile’ and ‘Reanalogue’. Femme but not fatale, she spends her time tending to her plants and daydreaming about women’s fiction.
Magician
A thief came out of the shadows, dressed in all black and wearing a balaclava and held a pistol at Darren Tanian. “Money!” He shouted. “Ain’t a thang.” Darren sang. He took a drag from his black quellazaire and exhaled a thin, grayish vapor. “Money!” The thief repeated. “Where?” Darren asked. The thief cocked the…
Help Me Name My Character
I see the questions on Twitter about once a week: Can you please help me name my characters? What is a good Swedish name for a character?
10 Days to Write Better: A Writing Challenge
10 Days to Write Better: A Writing Challenge Writers are always looking for the ways to hone creative skills and work on certain trouble areas. The writing challenge is a great way to exercise your writing,
Tomato Pulp Makes the Wound Look Worse
I never owned a bow and arrow as a kid but learned archery from my friend, Stanley Llewellyn. Using mud, we painted a target on an old tree in Llewellyn’s backyard
Shakespeare Sucks! by Leo Tolstoy
Discover Leo Tolstoy’s scathing critique of William Shakespeare’s works. In this remarkable 1906 essay, one literary giant dismantles another
Interview with Between Two Minds Series Author D. C. Wright-Hammer
D. C. Wright-Hammer is the innovative, independent author behind the Between Two Mind series. Born and raised in Northwest Indiana, his family, friends, and experiences from “The Region” were paramount in shaping
Story: After He Cheated
At first she felt free, after her husband cheated. Oddly, Vivian found herself walking through a local park in the July heat without a bra on. She simply didn’t give a damn about attire now with her stringy hair and puffy eyes