Hot Flash Friday: The Daily Flash

Sometimes we have to write in a flash--because it's Friday, because there isn't always a lot of time, because the kettle on the stove will soon blow and you have to clean up and get the kids off to school.

Sometimes there is only enough time to flash. The Daily Dash to Flash.

Last week (Fridays is my submit day)(which you would learn about if you purchased my eBook 365 Affirmations for the Writer that carries with it tips, prompts, and other handy ways to be encouraged, get organized, and WRITE). Anyway, I was submitting last week and saw a call for The Daily Flash and sent in two 50-word flashes I'd composed for another journal but which weren't taken. 

And, in a flash! these were accepted. 

All this to say: today is the day to flash. Ready, set, go.

And, if you haven't ordered 365 Affirmations for the Writer--here is a snippet to tease you.

May 1

A Lonely Business

On the other hand, I mean, that is what writers have always been supposed to do, was to rely on their own devices and to—I mean, writing is a lonely business.

― Donna Tartt, her third novel, The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize

Find a mentor. There are those who view mentors as saviors who will rescue them, make the right calls and find you a publisher. Others take a cannibalistic approach and view a mentor as someone they can harvest recommendations and letters of introduction. It is a two-way street; it is about building a relationship. Attend the reading of local writers working in your genre or whose work you respect. Like or follow an author at Facebook. Eventually opportunities will arise where you maybe able to join a conversation or comment or see that they’ll be in town or at a conference you plan to attend. Never rush to hand them your manuscript to read, but let them know you appreciate their work by telling them how it impacted or influenced your own writing. Stay open for ways to connect!

May 2

A Lonely Business

Writers, particularly poets, always feel exiled in some way—people who don’t exactly feel at home, so they try to find a home in language.

― Natasha Trethewey, U.S. Poet Laureate

May 3

Write From Experience

I was such a sullen, angry, sad kid. I’m sure there are writers who have had happy childhoods, but what are you going to write about? No ghosts, no fear. I’m very happy that I had an unhappy and uncomfortable childhood.

― Isabel Allende, whose own childhood included exile and having to flee repressive regimes. When her grandfather was dying, Allende sat down to write him a letter which later evolved into The House of the Spirits (1982)

May 4

Write From Experience

Writers do draw inspiration from their own lives, which, quite frankly, might be more interesting than fiction.

― Monica Johnson, American screenwriter known for writing strong woman characters

Start with a moment, spread out from there, from that one true thing. Feel free to conflate events and make composite characters of your family. Or try writing about your family from an outsider’s point of view.