Writing Group of Very Short Stories

I recently started attending a Saturday morning writing group.  I wasn’t sure what I would run into when I first started, but I was looking to meet more people and have new experiences, so I showed up.

The format is pretty simple.  The person leading the round asks for a time (between one and ten minutes).  They select a topic, usually a sentence or phrase, from a reserve of topics brought by the host.  And for the given amount of time, you write.  You don’t have to write about the topic if you don’t want to.  Finally, once the round is up, a microphone gets passed around the circle, each person having the choice to read their blurb out loud.  The box gets passed to the next leader, and we continue.

I’ve found these to be great fun. Not only am I meeting new people, but I’m having to stretch my creative muscles by planning a very short story based around an idea I didn’t come up with.  To further exercise my mind, I’ve largely avoided doing the Science Fiction or Fantasy writing I normally do.  I usually go for funny or thought provoking, though sometimes it is just words.

A few people who are there tell a story through all of the rounds, using the phrases chosen to direct the plot, but keeping the same characters and flow from beginning to end.  I might end up trying that sometime.

Until next blog! 🙂

 

Happy New Year!

With the New Year comes a reevaluation of goals.

2014 was a fine year for me as a writer.  I started this website and blog, made headway into a second book, and learned a lot about self-publishing. But I did not actually get to publishing a book.

I want to make more strides towards being an author in 2015, so I am setting myself some goals.

-I will determine if my first book is too long to be published and how to fix it if it is.

-I will finish my second book.

-I will continue blogging.

-I will, by the end of this year, have a concrete plan for self-publishing.

And as always, I will just keep writing.

Hope 2015 is a Writing Wonderful Year for all of you as well.

-Michael