A Newsletter From Know Yourself #11
Cue Cards To Propel You
Welcome to the monthly newsletter from Know Yourself. Know Yourself is a publication full of writing prompts, brought to you by Assemblage, that serves as a guide to helping you understand yourself better. It’s here for all writers, all the time.
We now have 70 prompts, cue cards if you will, to choose from when you need a little help getting started. It’s not difficult. Write a story. Write a poem. Write a response. Write a letter. But write something. Clear the cobwebs. Stir the pot. Make it happen.
These newsletters go out once a month on Sunday afternoon or evening and highlight all of the responses we’ve had in the past month. It also previews the new writing prompt for the next month, but feel free to use any prompt, any time.
Responses To Our Writing Prompts Since the Last Newsletter
I Would Love to Tell My Teenage Self the Truth About Work by Cecil Adkins — a response to #34. What career advice would you give to your 16-year-old self? (curated in Work)
“There are probably companies out there who truly care about their employees, but as a general rule, most simply don’t. They may pay some lip service to employee well-being but if there’s ever a choice between profits or shareholder value and employees, they’ll always choose the former.”
I Am Not For Sale by Jonathan Greene — a response to #39. What would selling out look like in your life?
“Selling out would look like me looking back at myself with a look of disappointment that would melt my soul and capsize my future and debilitate all personal confidence in one fell swoop. It would look like me uncovering the real me and being disgusted at who I was.”
Is it Worth Maintaining a Relationship with My Dad? by Jennifer Nelson — a response to #53. What conversation do you need to have today, and with whom?
“I once described my dad to a therapist as a piece of furniture. Yeah, he might have been around, but I didn’t feel emotionally connected to him whatsoever.”
Love Yourself First by Estrella Ramirez — a response to #63. What have you learned about yourself from previous relationships?
“I have learned to love myself first. I’m a loving mother, daughter, sister, and friend, but above all, I love myself. Loving myself allows me to set the standard for how people in my life ought to love me. This doesn’t mean that I am always right, and this doesn’t mean I won’t make mistakes. It does mean that even though I can be wrong, and will make mistakes, that I expect you to respect me and love me because I am worthy regardless.”
Here’s What Selling out As A Writer Would Look Like For Me by Lark Morrigan — a response to #39. What would selling out look like in your life?
“If I were to sell out in writing, I’d stop publishing poetry entirely because guru content marketers claim that nobody reads poetry anymore and people only want to see success pieces and platitudes on following one’s dreams and marketing the crap out of a side hustle.”
This is the Death That Still Affects Me 40 Years Later by Cecil Adkins — a response to #23. Describe your first experience dealing with death
“In a way, I wish I still believed in the Heaven he spent so much time telling me about. It’d be really nice to think I might see him again someday. But the lessons he taught me — about working hard and trying to not regret how you treat your family — live on in me and have made me a better person.
You can’t ask for a better legacy than that.”
Our Monthly Writing Prompt
#13. What are you currently lying to certain people around you about?
All you have to do is write an answer. Anything. No more, no less. Get to know yourself and allow us to get to know you in the process. Let it out of you and leave it on the page.
The Goal
Once the publication starts filling up, the homepage will be segmented by each prompt so that readers can take a deep dive into an important life question but from many different viewpoints. This is where it’s going to get fun.
Request to Write for Know Yourself
We are open to all writers who want to get to know themselves. The only requirements are that you answer the writing prompt, you code the subtitle of your story to fit our guidelines (Know Yourself #), and the first header of your story is the question posed by the writing prompt. This is so readers can easily find consistent pieces on the same prompt. Look at how other stories look to see how yours should.
If you want to write for this publication, please fill out the form here.
