How to Write Short-Short Stories: A Simple Guide — “Flash’s appeal for me is how closely it can resemble prose poetry. How well it lends itself to experimentation and innovation. The challenge of telling an emotionally powerful story in a small space.” –Kathy Fish What is Micro Fiction and Flash Fiction? Flash fiction is a unique genre in that it is defined not by its form…

Everything You Need for a Perfect November to Smash Your Word Count Goals — November is National Novel Writing Month, or #NaNoWriMo, if you follow along on Twitter. After having participated in NaNoWriMo for many years, I’ve learned that half the battle is preparation. …

And How I’m Planning on Overcoming Them — “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.” — Benjamin Franklin I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but this year has not been great for my writing. I started out strong. In the first month or so of 2022, I wrote pretty regularly. …

The Poem as Diary — I need my poems to hold the feelings for me, to hold the memory. I hand it all to the poem so it can do the work of remembering for me. Ansel Adams said, “You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” …

With a Free Prompt to Get You Started in April! — “I think a lot of poetry starts at the bar or the reading or when you are just shooting-the-you-know-what. Ideas and opinions that arise from those interactions end up in my poems, my reading, and my thinking.” — Maureen Thorson, creator of NaPoWriMo, interview with Delphi Quarterly NaPoWriMo or National…

How To Write a Science Poem — “Poems can quietly change thought’s architecture, adding windows to shift the available light and view. They can also, more simply, support. A poem tells you that whatever you feel, someone else has felt it, and lived to write it down.” — Jane Hirshfield What is science poetry? Science poetry is…

A Longform Essay on the New Year and Writing — How Can We Write When the World is on Fire? I don’t think I’m alone in saying that writing right now is complicated. Well, it’s always been complicated, but in the midst of a global pandemic, it feels deeply different. Like apples and oranges. Or maybe a dumpster fire and a serene lake. I remember a few years ago I…

No Matter What You Do, Writing a Book can Help You Succeed…And Make Money! — I probably don’t have to extoll the virtues of publishing a book as far as tie-ins to business goes. Thousands of business owners have dived into publishing as a way to reach more customers and engage their clientele. Whether it’s Standard Baking (my favorite little bakery in Portland, Maine), who…

Creating a Safe Space for Your Writing in a Notebook — Right now, I think we’re all struggling to get by as writers. When I poll my writer friends on their current writing life, everyone says that it’s a struggle to get words on paper. So keeping a journal ABOUT your writing might feel counter-intuitive. …