Yesterday, I received some interesting writing contest prompts from Reedsy in my inbox, all dealing with form, and I decided to give one a shot. As the prompt creator, author Erik Harper Klass, describes, considering form is a different way to attack fiction writing. I’ve always been intrigued with the form and structure of stories—as…
Last month, my friend Heather Kindt and I sold books at Albuquerque Comic Con, our fifth event where we shared table space, learned and relayed each other’s pitches, and vied for the attention of new readers. This being our fifth time selling together, in addition to each of us attending writing- and book-related conferences individually,…
*creeps up to dusty, neglected blog* *blows dust off neglected blog* *coughs* Much better. It’s strange to discuss the past year, isn’t it? For me, it was divided into two parts. The first part was filled with remote teaching and online tutoring, which, given the circumstances requiring those things, made me loathe my computer. Not…
Last November, I entered a 250-word flash fiction contest hosted by NYC Midnight. Thousands of writers entered, and we were placed into groups of 50-or-so and assigned an action, a word, and a genre. Our story had to include all three parts, and the top ten in each group would advance to the second round.…
This happened on Twitter last night, which was New Year’s Eve: My Gen-X heart may or may not have skipped a beat. The year 2020, which I can now happily say was last year, will be famously remembered for being largely horrible for general reasons I don’t need to expand on here. Personally, it presented…
Last month, I entered a flash fiction contest hosted by NYC Midnight. Many thousands of writers were sorted into subgroups and challenged to produce a 100-word story featuring an assigned genre, activity, and word in 24 hours. Last night, the results for the first round were released, and because my story placed in the top…
Alternate title: Oh God a Post on Commas Whyyyyyyy Well, no. We don’t have to. But a couple of things happened recently that brought us here. The first was a response I left on Twitter. It was more a subtle jab at my grammar-nerdy self than an actual question (hence the lack of question mark).…
This week’s flash fiction piece comes courtesy of the prompt over at Carrot Ranch: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that declares, shield your face. It can be a knight of old, a doctor, or a senior citizen. What is the circumstance? Who makes the declaration? I hope you enjoy the…
Tap Tap With my gradebook in hand, I meander between the short desks, checking on my grid as students show me that they brought their homework. I finish and proceed to my desk, bending over to input my class’s attendance on my computer. I feel a tap tap on my arm. “One second,” I say. Tap…
Coming in just under the wire is my submission for this week’s flash fiction challenge over at Carrot Ranch, inspired by this prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less), write a story that includes the open road. Enjoy! The Road I pass under the last green light, sighing. Behind me is the city, the…
Allison Maruska 