As some of you may or may not be aware, I have a blog over at WordPress. It has gathered dust and cobwebs for months. Moooonnnths (ridiculously deep voice). My intentions were honorable, I swear. Having heard from many sources that an author should have an online platform I decided to do a blog in addition to my Facebook account.
I knew that I wanted to get my writing out there where people could see it and that I wanted the blog to focus on my writing and not on me. I thought for a while on what I wanted to do – poems, stories, start a book? The movie Out Of Africa starring Meryl Streep came to mind. At one point in the movie, Meryl’s character is visited by friends. After they have dinner the guests ask her to tell them a story, apparently she is well-known for being able to do so. What does she do? She asks them for 3 words. She then proceeds to weave those 3 words into a spell-binding story (we’ll have to assume so, all we hear are the beginning and end) that absolutely captivates her audience. I remember thinking what an incredibly quick and creative mind a person would need to do that and I’ve wanted to be able to do it ever since. This became the idea for my blog.
I would take 3 words and use them in short stories. I figured short, because 1) I hadn’t done short stories before and wanted to try, and 2) readers aren’t likely to read big, long posts. They just aren’t. I did 3 stories a week for quite some time then with some guilt went down to 2 a week. You see, I tend to overdo things. If I write about lichen, I have to research to make sure that whatever part of the globe I set the story in even has lichen and then must look further to see (in this case) if any Chablis-colored lichen might be indigenous to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. I figure if someone from that area reads my story they will know such details. I do this on all of my work. Then the edits began. It took days to write the stories. I experimented with all sorts of writing but in the end I finally burned out.
I’ve recently had some renewed interest in the blog, but still have no drive to do stories. I’ve always wondered about the people who read them, how would they have done it? What would their story have been? I’ve decided to find out! Visit my blog neekswrite where I’ll provide 3-word prompts each Monday. Read the rules (short and sweet, unlike this post, sorry) and enter a story/poem for a chance to win bragging rights and a feature post! I started this week and already have 3 entries. I may even hit some of you up from time to time to anonymously help me judge.
Come one, come all! I want to hear your voice!
Limebird Writers 