In Conversation: Flash Fiction ✍️

I recently had the joy of meeting fellow fictionist and flash writer Jason Brick for a delightful conversation we shared via messages about this art form we love.

Read on for a few excerpts of our lively conversation about flash fiction—including the coolest place Jason’s newsletter has gone and Jason’s bio. Then, check out his newsletter and submit your flash fiction.

Also, my In a Flash craft book from Vine Leaves Press is the perfect holiday gift for yourself and your writer friends for the upcoming holidays!  Buy In a Flash! Writing & Publishing Dynamic Flash Prose  by Melanie at: Vine Leaves Press website

or at: Amazon

Or, for signed copies, Melanie’s Etsy page

Without further ado, the discussion about flash fiction:

Q: What drew you to flash fiction?

Jason: It’s the variety. For the reader and the writer, you’re not committing to a long narrative, so you get to play with genres, styles, crossovers, characters, languages, tropes you otherwise wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pencil.

Melanie: Flash is super flexible—it combines the narrative and action elements of fiction with attention to poetic language. It’s also compact and helps writers learn compression (which I always need!), integrating language like dynamic verbs and precise imagery, which I find exciting.

Q: What makes flash special or stand out from other literary genres?

Jason: Sort of what I mentioned above. It’s super-short, so there’s more room for variety and creativity than with other lengths of fiction.

Melanie: It combines the best elements of fiction and poetry and yet brings its own special qualities to the table, including a variety of formats and styles.

Q: Tell us about your book in a sentence or two, as if it were a birthday present you were describing.

Jason: Flash in a Flash is just the coolest gift, because I get to open it twice a week! It’s a literary newsletter that puts a super short story - under 1,000 words - in my mailbox every Monday and Thursday! All kinds of genres. All kinds of styles.

And it gets better! I’m a writer, and they’re seeking submissions. So with a little luck I can have my own micro-stories get out into the world. They’re a paying market, too!

Melanie: Very cool. Always great to learn about writing markets, especially those which pay.  My book, In a Flash, sizzles the pen and sparks a thunderstorm of dazzly new ideas that have never crossed your mind before and will continue to deliver awesome exercises and fabulous flash examples that you can return to again and again, at any season of your writing life ahead. You’ll want to keep it handy and gift a friend interested in the genre. 😊

Q: What’s the coolest or wackiest place(s) your book has been read OR where would you like your book to be read? 

Jason: The easy answer is that many people tell me, because of the short time commitment, they keep and read their copy in the bathroom. Besides that, I compiled the first volume in the series while living in Malaysia, so I read several of the submissions while on a boat in a river in Borneo.

Melanie: Wow! Malaysia and a boat in Borneo—so awesome! My favorite place readers have told me my book has traveled is in a gift bag to encourage a friend who has hit writer’s block or who isn’t familiar yet with the joys of flash. Writers are incredibly supportive and kind friends, and I love hearing that my book resonated with a reader so much that they want to gift it to a friend.

Q: Does your book contain exercises for writers? If so, what’s your favorite one that you’d like to share now?

Jason: Not exactly, but anybody can submit…and there is no better writing exercise that finishing a story and submitting it.

Melanie: I love what you say about finishing a story and submitting it. Very encouraging! My book contains a bunch of exercises that writers can use on days when they’re not sure what to write and how to even begin. I love hearing that someone used my exercises to draft a story, submit it for publication, and subsequently received an acceptance letter.

Q: What’s your favorite flash story? Or a flash story that you remember reading and being excited about exploring more in your own writing?

Jason: As of this writing, my favorite remains “The Apocalypse According to Dogs” from my first anthology. It just tickles me.

Melanie: I look forward to checking out that story you mention. The first flash I remember reading and thinking about how amazing it was and wanting to explore more in my own writing was the one often attributed to Hemingway: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  That just hits me in the gut. As a poet as well, the imagery just says it all. That so very much emotions could be contained in six short words is super inspiring and challenging. Every time I read it, I both get the chills AND want to write something that eloquent and that compact.

Bio:
Jason Brick is the skipper at Flash in a Flash, a biweekly newsletter delivering fiction to mailboxes all over the world. When not writing and editing, he travels, cooks, practices martial arts, and spoils his wife and two sons. He lives in Oregon. 

Connect with Jason:

https://www.facebook.com/brickcommajason 

Contact Jason: brickcommajason@gmail.com

Jason’s books and projects

Check out More at The Porch Swing!🍂

Happy weekend, everyone!

Two quick updates: one, I’m delighted that more of my very fun conversation with talented poet and artist @gilliancourtneypoetry about my poetry and writing experiences was featured this week at @theporchswingpoetry on Instagram. Stop by to peruse and like the posts.

Subscribe to read more amazing content by talented authors (and some fresh poems from yours truly) in the near future! 🍂

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Check out my latest poetry book, Does It Look Like Her? Available now at Amazon or for signed copies, check out my Write Path Productions Etsy page.

I also wrote an amazing craft book called Poetry Power with tons of exercises and inspiration to keep your poetry pens moving; available through my awesome publisher, Vine Leaves Press.

#writeeveryday #ThePorchSwing #WomenPoets #PoetryCommunity #WomensVoices #CreativeExpression #SupportWomenWriters #PoetryJournal #Inspiration #WomenInArt #PoetryLove #WriteHer #FemaleVoices #CateAlicePoetry #IndiePoetry #poetryislife #poetryislove❤️❤️❤️ #poetryislove

Home Phone ☎️: An Illustrated CNF Piece

“Home Phone”

You probably remember the first phones in your life, too.

My grandma had a black lacquer rotary telephone on her desk in her living room for the first 23 years of my life. It was a beauty. The sound and the little spin, as one disk moved back and then surged forward before fitting back into place again whenever a number was called, were delights. This phone was short and shiny and, as my parents reminded me when I was nursery-school little, not a toy and not to be used unless an adult said it was okay and gave us a number to use. Otherwise, hands off.

My parents also had a rotary phone at home. It was wall-mounted in the kitchen. It was also tan, which is not nearly as glam as black lacquer. It made the same delightful sounds, though.

When I was in middle school, I got my own white and gray plastic phone for Christmas (heavy as a brick and with push buttons and a little antenna, so you knew it was fancy pants), but it was still on the home landline. Both phones rang when any incoming call arrived. I wouldn’t have my own line and number until college; my first cell phone a few years after that.

Whether you curled the rotary phone’s cord around your arm like a bracelet (its own sense memory that will never vanish) or used the push-button phone, there weren’t special plans or phone cards like today, so we were reminded repeatedly that unless it was a local number (read: free) we weren’t to dillydally. We didn’t spend a ton of time on the phone, anyway, because all a phone did was make voice calls then.

This morning, when my cell-phone rang (unrecognized number, no pick-up), I decided to draw from memory Grandma’s beautiful rotary phone. I surprised myself by forgetting that, unlike a clock dial, there wasn’t an 11 or a 12 (duh; I’m not sure why my brain thought that), but I’d already inked it in that way, so I turned to a fresh page.

Then, while penciling in the numerals a second time, I flashed back to the alphabet above some of the numbers. That’s right! I found some great reference shots online (I should have started there—you live, you learn), and drawing #2 was off and running!

Some surprising things I relearned:

*They literally wrote Operator alongside the O on the dial. No subtlety here.

*There was that little metallic clicky thing (like a game-show wheel spinner) on the bottom-right-hand side of the dial.

*Drawing even circles is unexpectedly, legitimately hard. I pencil drew and redrew the three circles involved in the rotary at least twelve times. Ironically, I almost bought a compass last week.

* There was no Q on the rotary dial. None! I triple checked that on a half-dozen phone photos online. (Yes, I used a phone to find photos of phones. I am just that meta. 😊) Why no Q? The Q gets no love. Sorry, dear Q. You have a buddy, though: Z wasn’t there either. Wild! All of my formative years I used phones without these consonants and never once gave it a thought. While there are plenty of online theories about these omissions, my favorite one says that Q and Z were left behind because they resembled 0 and 2 too much. Hmmm, not so much, but an interesting theory, right?

*Memory put the numerals starting at the top and running right to left, like a clock, but the zero was on the bottom right-hand and the numerals ran down the left-hand side.

Some things, though, you never forget:

*Getting your first calls where someone specifically asked for you. A sibling or parent had to put down the receiver and walk into another room to get you (often hollering down hallways or running outside so that the other person got to hear a banging screen door and more yelling while waiting), sometimes knowing but more often not knowing who was on the other end of the line. Much shuffling and nervous hem-hawing ensued for both parties.

*Everyone overhearing your one-sided conversations, so you kept them a bit circumspect: “No way. When? Where? I’ll ask. No, I can’t. Next week? Maybe. I’ll see. He said what? She did what? Who said?”

*The sound of my grandmother’s warm tone on the other end of the line that I haven’t heard since 2000.

*The pleasing heft of the receiver.

*The satisfying little clunk hanging up. Much as I love my cell phone, especially after upgrading to a smart phone that has an app for everything under the sun, pressing the little red button does not give the same emotional zest as a rotary gave. You could guess a roommate’s, sibling’s, or friend’s mood by the way they either gently or frustratingly returned the receiver to the cradle.

In case you ever wondered: yes, you can still buy a rotary phone. In just about any color you’d prefer, from olive green to lemon yellow to vibrant orange. People sell both authentic ones and brand-new replicas online. While the era of the home phone has gone the way of the dodo, these beautiful objects—whether used for their original purpose or as cool time capsules for a shelf—are fairly affordable. Many that I saw were in the $40-70 range (but some go over $200 for the more-coveted colors, like red and bubblegum pink).

I wonder if my nieces, who are growing up always knowing a cell phone, will want one once they are on their own in a few years. I kind of hope so; I’d probably even gift them one for the fun of it. I’d like to call them and have them hear my voice in the same way I used to hear the voices of my relatives and friends. Through an object that only did one thing, but gave many layers of meaning and feeling.  

One-Year Book Birthday Giveaway!

February marks the one-year book birthday for my book, Writing It Real: Creating an Online Course for Fun and Profit! In celebration, I’m going to run a book giveaway to share this splendid book that’s packed with tips and insights aplenty on everything from brainstorming your class idea to crafting your syllabus to running your class and so much more to keep educators motivated and interactive with their students.

Between now and Wednesday, February 15th, 2023, if you’re interested in winning a free copy, just leave a comment at my Instagram @frompromisingtopublished99 or here at my website in the Comments section of the post, letting me know what type of course you’d love to create and teach.

Examples might include but are not limited to: science fiction, poetry, flash fiction, romance novels, photography, introductory figure study, pottery, creative nonfiction, memoir, journalism, you name it.

Feel free to add a detail or two of why this class idea interests you, if you’d like.

After the 15th, I’ll enter all names from the comments into a hat (‘cause I run old-school that way🥳) and pick some winners. 😊📔Good luck, and teach on!

Blog Tour: Review at Lesliesvoice.com & Many Thanks! 🎉

Such a pleasure to have a review of my book at Lesliesvoice.com!

An excerpt from Leslie’s thoughtful review: “Through anecdotes, metaphor, and humor, this author keeps the reader engaged and laughing throughout the book. Yet the serious part of publishing comes through loud and clear, and a brief exercise is given at the end of each chapter to drive home the content. 

This book, From Promising to Published, came to me at the perfect time, just before I typed “The End” on my manuscript. I’ve made notes and scribbles throughout the book, a good sign that I’ll be coming back to it again and again. I’m in the middle of preparing all those things Melanie talks about: Author Bio, Cover Letters (including elements and examples), building a web and social media presence, and managing, and even planning for, rejection (something every writer needs). One of my goals for 2023 is to take more risks with my writing life. The author uses swimming as a metaphor for risk. I’m not a swimmer and, in fact, I’m terrified of deep water. But in writing, I’ve gone beyond the ‘toe-tip in the pool’ to mastering the ‘swan dive.’ Next up, the ‘butterfly stroke.’ I many never learn the ‘freestyle.’ To learn what each of those strokes represents in writing, take a deeper dive into this book, and enjoy the ripple effect of taking some risk. 

From Promising to Published contains helpful information about identifying a target audience and submitting to literary journals. But beyond that are tips and tricks I haven’t found in other books on publishing; for example, courtesies and networking among authors, protecting my personal space, avoiding burnout through self-care, and my favorite…celebration! A few months ago, I bought a beautiful peace sign paper weight for myself and had it wrapped up as a gift at the store. After typing “The End” following the last chapter (about freedom and peace), I celebrated by opening my gift. It sits on my bookcase as a daily reminder that I was able to achieve a significant milestone in my writing life!”

Read the rest of the review at: clickety-click!

Check out more of Leslie’s wonderful writing and publications here (“Friday Speak Out!: The List-Maker,” here (“My Favorite Chair”), and here (“What I Would Teach My Children”). Also enjoy this great interview with Leslie from Women on Writing when Leslie’s work placed Runner Up in WOW!’s 2020 Creative Nonfiction Contest: clickety-click.

Many thanks to Leslie Cox for this beautiful review and for making the final stop of my blog tour so meaningful! 🎉

My sincere appreciation and thanks to all of the bloggers who hosted my book during the tour and wrote reviews; to Women on Writing for ongoing support, enthusiasm, and kindness; to Nicole Pyles for applying her amazing blog-tour creation skills to my tour and making this such a fun experience that I couldn’t have done on my own; and to each of YOU, dear readers, who have come along on the fun journey of this blog tour and offered marvelous feedback and messages and/or have purchased From Promising to Published.

May your muse continue to shine, and here’s to filling 2023 with wondrous words and publications aplenty! 🎉

Blog Tour: Reviews at Liberate & Lather and Word Magic 🌟

Super excited to have reviews of From Promising to Published at Liberate & Lather and at Word Magic!

From the Liberate & Lather review: “I ended my read feeling built up, and options I never thought of were gifted to me.  My power to forge along as a writer has been renewed.  If you are on the fence about publishing or not publishing, wrestling with imposter syndrome, or needing fresh ideas to get your work in front of many eyeballs, then you want this in your hands.”

Many thanks to Angie Clay. Check out Angie’s awesome Ignite & Write Subscription Boxes, inspiring podcast, and self-care products.

From the Word Magic review: “Melanie’s goal is to demystify the mystifying process of publishing and she succeeds in this by giving a step by step, logical sequence of milestones and how to accomplish each goal. The chapters are coherently arranged for easy navigation. The author also advises that not every tip will apply to every reader, and they should feel free to pick up on the ones that most suit their situation. One piece of advice I liked was this: say you are a writer/author right from the start, not an imposter, and cling to that knowledge.”

Many thanks to Fiona Ingram at Word Magic. Check out Fiona’s amazing books and her wonderful series website: clickety-click!

Blog Tour: Craft Article, "6 Tips To Tame the Taking-on-Too-Much Spiral"🌟

I’m honored to have my craft article featured today at Editor-911 as the next stop in my book tour for From Promising to Published.

An excerpt:

“How can we step back a little to create a gentler schedule?

Tip 1: Refrain from the immediate yes, however tempting. Pause for an hour (or even a day) when a great opportunity lands to think it through, step by step. 

Break down the opportunity’s required components and guesstimate possible time investments. Factor in your current energy level and health (yours and family members) before taking on a promising project. 

Visuals help: physically open your calendar and pinpoint exact hours in your schedule when you will do the work involved.  If you don’t have a lot of successive empty spots in your weeks ahead, you already know the answer. 

Last week, I had a fantastic short-term gig land in my inbox. My first instinct was to leap on it. Yes, yes, yes! Sign me up! 

Then, it occurred to me: a project like the one offered requires 2.5 to 3 hours minimum per day, 5 or 6 days a week…”

Read the rest at: clickety-click!

Many thanks to talented writer, book publisher, and educator Margo L. Dill!

Check out Margo’s awesome online writing classes, including Manuscript Draft Editing Package with Consultation (For Novels, Short Story Collections, and Memoirs), Children’s Novel Draft Editing Package (For Novels for Children Ages 9-12), and Writing a Novel with a Writing Coach: One-on-One Instruction, and Margo’s books and editing packages, sure to inspire and support your writing projects! Sign up for her free newsletter: clickety.

Blog Tour: Craft Article about Beta Readers 🌟

Thrilled to have my craft article, “Bountiful Betas: Benefits of a Beta Reader and Tips for Finding One,” featured today as a guest post as part of my book tour for From Promising to Published at Elle Backenstoe’s blog.

An excerpt: “Beta readers can save authors a lot of time and frustration trying to figure out elements of our own work that can be hard to pinpoint—such as why a certain character feels flat or why a scene that started so well deflated within a few short paragraphs.” 

Read the rest at: Elle Backenstoe’s blog. Learn more about Elle and her forthcoming book here and here. Thanks so much, Elle!

Book Tour: Author Chitchatting with Jill Sheets 🌟

In which our author couldn’t resist posing with these wintry, rectangular beams of sudden sunlight.

One more week of enjoyable stops on my book-blog tour; thanks for all of your messages, positive feedback, and support during this tour.

Kickstarting this week with a fun interview. Stay tuned for some info-packed craft articles/guest posts ahead about beta readers and the art of not taking on too much!

It was a real joy to chat with Jill Sheets recently about the art of pacing, not giving up too soon, photography, forthcoming writing classes, my lack of athletic prowess, and From Promising to Published, among other topics.

Check it out: clickety-click!

Many thanks to Jill Sheets. Check out more of her awesome interviews with writers and blog-tour posts at: clickety-click.

Blog Tour: Article: "GPS: Tips for Finding a Good-Fit Freelance Editor"🌟

Ever wondered how to find an editor to assist on your writing project? Thrilled to have a craft article I wrote featured at Beverley A. Baird’s awesome blog today. Stop by to get advice on finding a best-fit editor for your manuscript.

An excerpt: “It can be invaluable to get an impartial view on our writing with the in-depth, personalized feedback a freelance editor provides. Editors catch inconsistencies, scope for grammar and structural problems, note unintended repetition and filler words, red-flag plot holes, mark underdeveloped dialogue or characterization, and much more. 

Where do you find a freelance editor anyway?

·         Ask a librarian. Many libraries host readings or writing groups as part of their community outreach. Plus, librarians dig a good information search and have a wide network…

·         Check your favorite indie author’s website. A sizable portion of authors take on editing projects.

· Check the Acknowledgments section of your favorite recently published books.”

Read the whole article with oodles more tips at: clickety-click!