i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
dear alice dear imaginary readers of this blog, i have won a writing prize called The Brenda Strathern “Late Bloomers” Award. it’s for people over the age of 40 who are looking to publish their first book. that’s me. with the monies i will go forth into the creative vortex known as The Banff … Read more
dear alice, in a previous letter i’ve referred to you as a female jesus. i want you to know that i can’t help it. it’s strange to me that i do this. i mean, i’m not religious. and yet jesus routinely shows up in my writing. it’s a form of rebellion. i was raised in … Read more
dear alice, seeing as i already know you, i have a favour to ask. could you please appeal to The New Yorker on my friend Lee Kvern’s behalf? she’d very much like a story placed in that magazine and you must know somebody there who could help. i’ve enclosed a copy of her story “White” … Read more
dear alice, we’ve never met but i sometimes think that i know you through your stories. not all the time, of course, because some of your stories are distant. take, for instance, “Friend of my Youth”. i know it’s complete and the wall is symbolic but i can’t connect. is it because it’s set in … Read more
one day, i doubt and the next day, i believe. it’s been an unusual week.
i enjoy freefall writing–that’s where you react to a writing prompt and just write, no pause, no edits, no erasing. until someone tells you to stop. it’s fascinating what happens when you free your mind, the skips and jumps that occur. i use it to ease back into a writing schedule. today’s prompt was: a … Read more
an excerpt from Mark Anthony Jarman’s story “Our Stewardess Swims over the Sea” from his collection MY WHITE PLANET: We are jammed in the sky like rodents and I have seen it all, I know everything about you. I know about your doe-eyed 4H calf from another lifetime, the Mars bar you stole from Nancy … Read more
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He said, “What am I going to do about these fucking shoes, man?” “Whatever you stole,” I said, “I guess you already ate it all, right?” “Listen to how they squish,” he said, walking around carefully on his heels. (page 58) from the short story “Emergency” by Dennis Johnson. one of the best short stories … Read more
“run faster, you bastard.”