Unfinished business
here's a prompt to help make this weekend a creative success
this week’s prompt:
It's time to go back into the archives. Is there anything unfinished in that folder marked 'creative' on your desktop? Maybe a notebook in a drawer containing a story sans ending. Take some time this weekend to dig back in, edit, or finish something you started.
And so you know you're not alone, I'm letting you know that I'm going back to revise the opening of my novel. I moved a middling chapter to the beginning, and now I have to figure out how to make it work.
Happy writing!
musings
I'm exhausted by folks saying about AI, "We need to stay relevant, not ignore technology."
I'm even more exhausted by the tech bros (using this term, but I think this misguided attitude applies across the gender spectrum) who think asking a robot to write a story or make a movie makes them creative geniuses.
I wish they would ask themselves why they are so desperate for the world to see them that way. Maybe they should touch grass more often.
Recent conversations I've had or seen about AI and writing have made me realize that many writers are unsure of how to feel about the whole thing. If that sounds like you, here are a few reads to consider:
things that caught my eye
Recent read: Nothing because I DNF’d the book I was reading. But today I get to pick a new one, which is always exciting.
Recent listen: This batshit true crime podcast from the CBC about a woman who took advantage of doula services and faked a bunch of pregnancies.
Does Listening to a Book Count as Reading It? Debate Roils Literary World — via WSJ. 🔊 Seriously? We’re still doing this? Anyone arguing against counting audiobooks as real reading is, IMHO, a pedantic loser who should spend more time reading actually.
💬 Why Simon & Schuster’s Flagship Imprint Won’t Require Blurbs Anymore — via Publisher’s Weekly.
📖 I discovered this really cool monthly book subscription called Used Books Monthly. Unforch they don’t ship to Canada, but I thought US folks might be interested!
What’s your most hated trope? I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers!
🧑🏫 Free virtual event alert: “We Can’t Teach a Book With That Word In It” Reflections on the Role of Literature in Society with Lawrence Hill and Debra Thompson. Wednesday February 5th at 7PM EST. Zoom link. More info here.
▶️ Yes, You Should Be Afraid to Write “Diverse” Characters by Mo Black — an oldie, but we talked about it in TWS this week and it generated a lot of great discussion.
💛 Comfort Animals by Pascha Sotolongo — via CRAFT.
🚩 Very niche and I think the Quebec language debates don’t always generate useful discourse. But this incident about an author not being allowed to hold an event at a library in the Montreal public library network because it would violate Bill 96 language laws made my blood boil —> Drimonis: Library Language Saga Is No Blip — via the Montreal Gazette.
deadlined stuff from last week
✏️ The NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge starts February 21st.
✏️ fractured lit has opened submissions for its anthology prize ($250 + publication) awarded to 20 flash/micro writers. Deadline to submit is February 2, 2025.
✏️ The CBC Non-Fiction Prize is now open for submissions. Deadline to submit is March 1, 2025.
✏️ Lost Balloon submissions open from February 1st until February 7th (genres: flash fiction and nonfiction, and prose poetry).
📚 Live in Ohio? Bexley Public Library in Central Ohio is looking for a writer-in-residence. Here’s the application with info.
pitches and submissions
I’m accepting pitches and submissions for Prompted! Read more here. (but TL;DR: email me with pitches and fill out the form for creative submissions inspired by prompts from the newsletter. Rates start at 25 cents per word for up to ~500 words).
Are you feeling nervous or excited about digging into the archives?
artwork by Angela Miklos Creative