Hi Friends:
Because writer’s block is the refusal to honor the creative you swore you would become when you grew up, this issue includes:
A sip…
The muse will stand in as Fairy Godmother, not an evil stepsister…
A shout out…
Children are impressionable and being parented by a single mother who successfully challenged India’s historical inheritance laws must have provided actress, author, essayist, environmental/human rights/political activist, and screenwriter, Suzanna Arundathi Roy, with the mettle to claim acrimonious advocation as a birthright.
A trained architect with little interest in design, and a recipient of a National Film Award (Best Screenplay, 1988), she is, notably, the biggest-selling nonexpatriate Indian author, as a result of penning, The God of Small Things, one of the New York Times Notable Books of the Year (1997).
Often labeled outspoken, she is a crusader active in causes that often lend to legal problems, and is likely the only prominent member of several human rights communities to have been awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction (1997), sold a title in eighteen countries within its first thirty days of sales, and to receive Lannan Cultural Freedom Award (2002), Sydney Peace Prize (2004), and the Indian Academy of Letters (2006).
A sentence…
Prompts inspired by The God of Small Things:
If he touched her, he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win."
"Who was he? Who could he have been? The God of Loss. The God of Small Things. The God of Goose Bumps and Sudden Smiles. He could do only one thing at a time.
"Vellya Paapen feared for his younger son. He couldn't say what it was that frightened him. It was nothing that he had said. Or done. It was not what he said, but the way he said it. Not what he did, but the way he did it."
"In that brief moment, Velutha looked up and saw things that he hadn't seen before. Things that had been out of bounds so far, obscured by history's blinkers. Simple things. For instance, he saw that Rahel's mother was a woman."
"Even later, on the thirteen nights that followed this one, instinctively they stuck to the Small Things. The Big Things ever lurked inside. They knew there was nowhere for them to go. They had nothing. No future. So they stuck to the small things."
A few useful tips…
On writing the blemishes…
Portray the truth, truthfully.
Make sure there is catharsis in addressing the blemish.
Include physical descriptions when and where necessary.
Make certain the emotion aligns with the blemish being conveyed.
If the blemish is thematic, cast light on the blemish to make it easier to digest.
A few contest opportunities…
Singapore Unbound Poetry Contest
Waterston Desert Writing Prize
A grant/fellowship/scholarship opportunity…
The Ireland Arts Council and Disability Connect
A few freelance opportunities…
CONE is seeking freelance journalists who want to cover the indie film space.
Men’s Journal seeks Features pitches.
Shelfy Editorial is seeking engaging, thought-provoking culture writing.
Unpacked seeks to expand its team of freelance writers.
A few sessions & workshops…
May 1st
May 2nd
May 3rd
May 4th
May 5th
May 6th
Ongoing
A few virtual book clubs…
And a final thought…
This installment is a collaborative effort; the featured author and prompts were suggested by hysterically funny,
-who is the host of Mirth as Medicine, get your weekly dose of merriment by subscribing here:It also contains an affiliate link; I earn commissions when you purchase books using that link, or you may please buy me a coffee.
Thanks for reading,
I plan to make this cocktail once I get my hands on the hard booze needed, just because, even if I am not a hard liquor woman, the description on the webpage is delicious. "So why not raise a glass to the gods and all of your partners in crime, and indulge in the exquisite taste of the God en Partners cocktail."
A shout-out to C. Elyse, for bringing essential authors and books to mind, and into the conversation.