TOPIC: TABLOIDS

1st of the month=new topic. ok here's something we did in one of my creative writing classes. next time you're in the store take a galnce at the tabloids. DO NOT READ ANY OF THE ARTICLES. pick a headline that strikes your imagination and write something with it. AGAIN DO NOT READ THE ARTICLE. it can be as true or imaginary as you like. it can even be a poem if you prefer, but it has to fit the headline.

by all means publish the stories you've got. just because there's a new topic doesn't mean you can't publish the old stuff. excerpts from longer stories are ok to post too.

i also encourage everyone to leave comments on the stories of others. that is very important. even if you only have time to read one one other story, leave a comment. these comments are important. they are one of the keys to helping us improve our writing.

i also encourage writing every day. even if it's on a napkin. just like a sport or art or any other skill, writing needs frequent practice. if you can't because outside forces don't allow it, i.e. children (they can make a hurricane look like a light mist), that's ok, but at least try

if the word limit is a pain to the majority, it can be changed. leave comments on that on QUERY. so far the majority has voted to leave it the same. if your story is a little long, look for unnecessary extra words (qualifiers, adverbs, etc). if it's still too long (this depends on how much too long, anything over 1500 would be too long) post it anyway. i warn you, i'm more likely to read the short ones first and put off the long ones.

he said/she said is your best friend in dialogue. don't get creative. if a person is yelling, ! will do, don't change the said. said is an invisible word. it disappears into the background and the brain continues on without all the mucking about of 'exclaimed in a loud voice' <-very not invisible.

ok sorry about all the extra stuff this time around. someone else is posting the next topic on the 15th. in case you were not aware new topics are posted the 1st and 15th of every month. you don't have to post every time. i understand many of you are really busy. but try to read and comment on at least one other person's story during the course of the month. Ken and i are doing so much ping pong we're wondering where the other players are.