Hi Friends,
Because writer’s block is fear of success in disguise, this issue includes:
A sip…
Maybe hoodoo won’t do for your muse, but an Old Haitian might.
If all else fails there is that doll…
A shout out…
Author, anthropologist/ethnographer, and dramatist/filmmaker, Zora Neale Hurston, dedicated her life to examining, preserving, and promoting black culture, folklore, and identity. Her formal education included earning an associate degree from Howard University, where she co-founded, The Hilltop, the college newspaper; earning a bachelor’s from Barnard College, where she was the first and sole Black student; and graduate work at Columbia University.
Her artistic portfolio included essays, short stories, plays, and novels. She penned, Their Eyes Were Watching God, as a Guggenheim Fellow; established a school of dramatic arts at HBCU Bethune-Cookman College; taught drama at North Carolina College for Negroes @ Durham; befriended Contee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Ethel Waters; and was an active member of Alain Locke’s literary club.
Despite being a central figure during the Harlem Renaissance, she was highly criticized because she wrote using rural African American dialect, and the literary world relatively ignored her works. As a result, she was often underpaid, lived in poverty, died financially destitute, and was interned unmarked at a segregated cemetery until 1973.
A sentence…
Prompts gleaned from Their Eyes Were Watching God:
“She didn't read books so she didn't know that she was the world and the heavens boiled down to a drop.”
“Her old thoughts were going to come in handy now, but new words would have to be made and said to fit them.”
“There is a basin in the mind where words float around on thought and thought on sound and sight. Then there is a depth of thought untouched by words, and deeper still a gulf of formless feelings untouched by thought.”
“Now, women forget all those things they don't want to remember and remember everything they don't want to forget. The dream is the truth. Then they act and do things accordingly.”
“All gods who receive homage are cruel. All gods dispense suffering without reason. Otherwise, they would not be worshipped. Through indiscriminate suffering, men know fear and fear is the most divine emotion. It is the stones for altars and the beginning of wisdom. Half gods are worshipped in wine and flowers. Real gods require blood.”
A few grant and scholarship opportunities…
National League of American Pen Women, Inc. offers multiple grants in art, letters, and music.
Speculative Literature Foundation is offering grants intended to foster the creation of speculative fiction work rich in diversity.
Writers Bootcamp is offering several full scholarships for its Action/Adventure genre cycle.
A few submission opportunities…
Beer & Weed Magazine is seeking all pitches in various formats on craft beer and/or cannabis.
Brainfacts.org is seeking pitches on stories around the brain and nervous system.
Bustle is seeking lifestyle and wellness pitches.
Certified Forgotten is seeking pitches that cover underseen horror films.
SFGate is seeking pitches from writers who will be at Burning Man.
South Arts is seeking submissions of high-quality literary work created in the Southern United States.
A few useful tips…
The benefits of conferences and workshops include:
Feedback. You obtain insight into what's working and what's not.
Coaching. You obtain guidance on how to navigate challenges and improve your skills.
Community. You obtain access to like-minded individuals who can help you remain motivated, share ideas, and learn with/from others.
Knowledge. You obtain tips on techniques, principles, processes, and literary devices, and gain an understanding of the craft of writing.
A few sessions & workshops…
August 5th
Speculative Literature Foundation Co-Writing Saturday
August 7th
Words of the Wellspring Christian Writers Workshop
August 8th
August 9th
How to Write a Literature Review
The Mindful Creative – Wellness for Writers
August 10th
A Writers Hour – Summertime Thursday
August 11th
A Sip, A Shout Out & A Sentence, a Writers Mixer
August 12th
Chalk Scribbler’s Writers Critique Group
Write the Story Only You Can Write
And a final thought…
This substack exists because Zora Neale Hurston said, “I have the nerve to walk my own way however hard, in my search for reality, rather than climb upon the rattling wagon of wishful illusion.”
It also contains an affiliate link and if you purchase books using that link, I will earn a commission.
Thanks for reading,
Zora Neele Hurston was one of the first African American writers I read. Love her. Must try an Old Haitian.
Thank you. I read Their Eyes Were Watching God last year and thought it was gorgeous and progressive. I didn't know about the backlash or criticisms it originally faced. That, to me, makes it an even more fascinating and valuable work.