Interview: Neema Avashia Lives in Another Appalachia by Kristen Paulson-Nguyen Neema Avashia is the author of Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place, which was released from West Virginia University Press in March 2022. Much…
Flame Nebula, Bright Nova by Sherre Vernon Author’s Note I did not know that Flame Nebula would shine so brightly until it was nearly finished. I could only tell you that I had lived much of my life under…
Matthew Sharpe VISUAL PROMPT I like to use visual images as prompts as I think writing about a visual stimulus creates a conversation between different parts of the brain. There are four people in this…
Keisha-Gaye Anderson WHAT SHAPE DOES YOUR INTELLIGENCE WANT TO BE? If you’re a storyteller, you probably can’t keep track of all the inspiration you experience on a daily basis. But before you get overwhelmed at the thought of writing a…
J.P. Howard DISTURB THE PEACE “Now, it is true that the nature of society is to create, among its citizens, an illusion of safety; but it is also absolutely true that the safety is always necessarily an illusion. Artists…
Cindy Veach FLASH FICTION PROMPT Select a photo. Write about what has changed in your life or life in general since that photo was taken and what you would change if you could. Include a reference to a…
Tim Tomlinson WRITING PROMPT Kate Zambreno’s “Susan Sontag” occurs in the narrator’s mind. It begins, I like to think about what other people do when they’re alone. … Some people try never to be alone. I once read…
Julia Strayer WRITING PROMPT I love writing to photos. They open new worlds and new possibilities. Google “Street Photography” and select the images tab. Choose the first photo that grabs your attention. Write the story. Don’t overthink; don’t think…
Ana C.H. Silva WRITING PROMPT What’s the first thing you remember eating as a child? Food name = Title Use as many of the 7 senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, smell, thoughts, and emotions) as possible to describe that moment. Example:…
Joan Silber WRITING PROMPT Ask three different people what’s the most dramatic thing that’s ever happened to them. Pick one to use as the basis of a story. This gets us to think about what “drama” is. We…
Nancy Stohlman WRITING TIP Bribing the Muse: On Your Mark, Get Set… Sometimes our stories fall flat, without that “pop” of tension. One great way to create urgency in a flash fiction story is by using another constraint: Time. For…
Dawn Raffel FLASH PROMPT Select an object in your home that has a personal history. It could be anything—a souvenir coffee mug, an old piece of furniture. Then use the object and the emotions it evokes to create a…