On Tuesday, my post was about quick writing exercises. I taught writing workshops for years and our ‘go to’ exercise was something I called ‘circle writing’ (creative, no?). Everyone sits in a circle. Five minutes. No revision. Share. Usually, I provided a prompt. Sometimes it was something very vague like ‘sky’. Sometimes it was more complex: ‘You are an 80 year old blind man.’ The prompt quickly becomes unimportant because it is merely a jumping off point. So, that was Tuesday.
Author: JD Mader
JD Mader is an award winning short story writer and novelist. 'Joe Café' and 'The Biker' are out now, as well as 'Please, no eyes'. and the collaborative 'Bad Book'. Mader has been writing for half his life and has no plans on stopping any time soon. Learn more about JD Mader at his blog and his Amazon author page.
Wind Sprints
Well, my post is due in less than an hour (forgot; it was 100 degrees today…I forgot to breathe for a little while, too). Let’s see if I can play this off. This is something I do a lot, something that I recommend for all fiction writers. Flash fiction is fun, and challenging yourself keeps you sharp. So, I will give myself five minutes. Go. Continue reading “Wind Sprints”
Slow and steady?
For the last four or five days, I have been sick. Really sick. Barely able to breathe sick. The kind of sick where coughing can result in vomiting, passing out, or a mental state very, very close to doing a whippet. I’m quite sure I killed a few brain cells. No matter. They weren’t doing me much good anyway. What I want to share with you is an ongoing epiphany I had last night when I was awake and spinning off too much ephedrine. It is this: ‘don’t quit while you’re ahead’. Not very profound. Bear with me.
Best of Mader: Jealousy
[Our man JD Mader is either sick or avoiding his bookie. I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Anyway, to keep folks from going into Mader withdrawal, here is one of his early articles for Indies Unlimited. If you haven’t read it, it’s new to you. If you have read it, go ahead and brush up. There may be a test later. – Hise]
Jealousy is a terrible thing. And I was guilty of it for a long, long time. Of course, I still have my moments, but not like before. I have never been jealous with women. I have never wanted someone else’s car, motorcycle, or fishing rod. My problem was being jealous of other people’s successes. I’m not proud to admit it. I’ve had friends get raises, and I really wanted to be happy for them. I’ve watched bands I played with become international superstars…I really, really wanted to just feel glad. Too often, I didn’t. I could care less if someone drives a better car than I do, but when someone succeeds in a professional/creative field I take pride in…man, that ugly green-eyed bastard just shows up. I used to open my New Yorker with trepidation because I knew if anyone I knew got published, I would have to kill myself. The green bastard was in control. Or he used to be. I changed things up on him.