(This was a hard question to answer. I pray my reflections lead you to your own.) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 213. “What Does it Mean to Be ‘a Real Man?’” My dear friend Brittany Reeber, film […]
(An essay on free will; Happy Independence Day 2017; “One small step for man…”) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 200. “How Much Control Do You Think You Have Over Your Fate?” The question assumes fate exists. So […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 184. “What Ethical Dilemmas Have You Faced?” … Money is a big issue, and I’ve been offered bribes before. Once, I was offered by a drummer I managed to split the band’s […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 178. “What Are You Grateful For?” Read as, What are you waiting for? I want to feel gratitude. It’s hard sometimes. But let us. Tony Robbins says, “You can’t feel fear or […]
(Blurry like nostalgia now and then; what was your favorite character?) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing.” 170. “What Are Your Best Sleepover Memories?” Here’s another quaint one to jump into. This one is dedicated to the […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 147. “Do You Plan on Saving Any of Your Belongings for the Future?” A timely question, considering I moved into a new bedroom this week. Minus a 20”x22”x30” Elfa drawer, a hundred […]
(Art by Cosimo Miorelli, for Bloomsday 2015) Ok, so, this is the third and final Charles Johnson exercise (I must confess, the last three exercises have all been from page 37 of The Way of the Writer, which I finished yesterday). (3) Write a monologue of at least […]
(Original can be found on the blog Atrapadas en Azul.) My first impression upon entering the poem was of immediate sadness. There are many casual rhymes, natural with Spanish, and a freedom of verse that gives the poem a sense of sincerity, while an intriguing use of punctuation adds […]
marioLEVRERO_8august2342_ivanBRAVE Have you been keeping track of the date and time? This tread to write multiple entries per day will become rare as the diary unfolds. It would seem Levrero awoke to much entusiasm, as he says, and gradually slowed down his production–thankfully, not at the cost of his […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 135. “What Are the Sounds That Make Up the Background Noise in Your Life?” Brooklyn’s symphony plays night and day. Now that it is summer, and I keep the window open, I hear […]
(Art by George Fredric Watts, Hope, 1886) Click here for PDF of Asesino. Asesino is a story inspired by the dream a friend, Diego Sebastian Figueredo, told at a milonga about a year ago. It begins with an epigraph borrowed from Thomas De Quincey’s On Murder as Considered […]
(Art by Dana Cooper) Today’s exercise again comes from Charles Johnson‘s book, The Way of the Writer, where he credits much of his early development to his late mentor John Gardner: Describe a character in a brief passage (one or two pages) using mostly long vowels and soft consonants […]
marioLEVRERO_8august1654_ivanBRAVE As one reads these entries, its easy to forget that they were first written by hand. What we read, then, is highly edited by Levrero as he transcribe his words into Word processor. So, when he introduces a character, and interweaves continuations of other characters, there is a […]
In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 110. “Do Your Parents Try Too Hard to Be Cool?” No. They are cool. I remember once attending an important, late-night exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston in the early […]
Today’s writing exercise comes from Charles Johnson, a National Book Award winner, and author of the novel Middle Passage, the short story collection The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and the graphic novel Shall I Rise–just to name a few publications from his almost fifty years of writing and scholarship. He was the […]
marioLEVRERO_7august1658_ivanBRAVE Some history on Rosa Chacel…this obit-s makes me want to read her work: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-rosa-chacel-1416940.html
(Photograph by Greg Stout) In response to The New York Times article “650 Prompts for Narrative and Personal Writing” 99. “What Family Traditions Do You Want to Carry On When You Get Older?” Traveling alone, you know, teaches you a lot about yourself. Likewise, traveling with your family teaches […]
ivanBRAVE_La Albiceleste6_700 El final The final Who will you chant for next summer?
There are as many methods of producing great literature as there are pens. Nevertheless, one way of sabotaging our output as writers is to criticize before we’ve concluded our daily production of words. When you are writing, write. When you are editing, edit. Both are as essential to great work […]
marioLEVRERO_7august0231_ivanBRAVE Funny how the therapist asked for five sentences. Could you answer that questionnaire?