For most writers, writing is a strong inner calling. It feels like a passion that they can’t ignore, a destiny they must fulfill. And for writers who feel blocked, or are cut off from the act of writing for some other reason, the lack of writing in their life results in a state of low-grade misery. A writer who isn’t writing feels unfulfilled, listless, and can easily fall into creative despair. Writer’s block is extremely common among writers. Most people assume that the most typical form of writer’s block stems from a lack of ideas, … Continue reading The Best Piece of Writing Advice Most Writers Don’t Listen To by Lauren Sapala→
I first met Aaron Hamburger at a cocktail party during grad school. I was a writing student focusing on nonfiction and poetry and Hamburger was part of the fiction faculty (I don’t mean he was fictitious . . . he existed, but taught that kind of prose where one makes stuff up.) Hamburger had already published two books and had won awards for them. I knew when I saw him that I had to introduce myself for one extremely important and pressing reason: his shoes. Hamburger sported these amazing purple suede Adidas Gazelles, and my … Continue reading Interview by J Brooke of Hotel Cuba’s author Aaron Hamburger→
Recently I was able to convince my husband to let go of a small part of his hoard/collectibles (vocab depending on who you ask). This was accomplished with the promise of selling the things, which was both a great triumph and a self-imposed curse. As the more computer literate of the two of us, it fell on my shoulders to post on eBay. In theory eBay is great. Someone a few miles away or across the world could want what you’ve got. Unfortunately if I haven’t done it in a while, I forget that the … Continue reading The Thrill of the Sale by Emily Littlewood→
My dog sits right next to me. He’s a fourteen-almost-fifteen year old soft-coated wheaton terrier. He’s recovering from another bout of pneumonia, only two months since the last. Insanely cozy and sweet, mellow and always ready for a nap, he’s night-and-day different from his puppy days, when my husband and I thought we’d made a mistake for the entire first year of his life. When Animal (named because of his similarity to the drum-rocking muppet) was a puppy he was batshit insane. He’s always been so lovable, and so loved, but those first years he … Continue reading Afterglow by Emily Littlewood→
I was working with a new client who had come to me because she said she hated her writing life. As I sat with her on Zoom and asked her questions about her writing, I watched her face change as she described how she used to feel about writing when she was much younger, and how she felt about it now. She looked troubled, and sad. And also confused. Why was writing so hard for her now? she asked. She didn’t understand why it felt like pulling teeth to sit down and crank out five … Continue reading When Writing Isn’t Fun Anymore by Lauren Sapala→
Collateral Damage: 48 Stories, the title of Nancy Ludmerer’s debut collection of captivating short stories, invites threat and suspense, but her sterling craft and literary sensibilities upend all expectations. The collateral part is clear, if often subtle; the damage comes from uncommon revelations, each convincing, each a wonderment. I held my breath (and laughed) for the celebrant in the propulsive and detailed single-sentence flash fiction, Bar Mitzvah, when he choked on his piece of celery “stuffed with scallion cream cheese”; delighted in the guileless turnaround in the page-long Tiffy; and admired the imaginative conceit in … Continue reading Review by Denise B. Dailey of Collateral Damage: 48 Stories by Nancy Ludmerer→
Every year, hundreds of new books on productivity are published on Amazon. Out of all these books, a significant slice is dedicated to productivity for writers. Many of the titles promise to teach us how to write faster, how to schedule our time more efficiently, or how to publish our books more rapidly. But no matter what they promise, they all contain a common theme: The way you are working now is not good enough. You are too slow, and if you are too slow as a writer, you will get left behind. I shudder … Continue reading Why Reading Books on Productivity Is the Worst Thing a Writer Could Do by Lauren Sapala→
STREETLIGHT’S 2022 SUMMER FLASH FICTION CONTEST Send us your shorts by July 11! 1st Prize — $125 2nd — $75 3rd — $50 Entry Fee: $10 CONTEST GUIDELINES: Up to 500 of your best, previously unpublished words. Any subject. Multiple submissions are fine — one work per entry. This is a blind contest. Please remove all personal information from the story pages. We encourage simultaneous submissions but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, inform us at fiction@streetlightmag.com, right away. Contest deadline is Monday, July 11, 2022 midnight EST. Competition winners will be announced July 25, … Continue reading 2022 Essay/Memoir Contest→
STREETLIGHT’S 2022 SUMMER FLASH FICTION CONTEST Send us your shorts by July 11! 1st Prize — $125 2nd — $75 3rd — $50 Entry Fee: $10 CONTEST GUIDELINES: Up to 500 of your best, previously unpublished words. Any subject. Multiple submissions are fine — one work per entry. This is a blind contest. Please remove all personal information from the story pages. We encourage simultaneous submissions but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, inform us at fiction@streetlightmag.com, right away. Contest deadline is Monday, July 11, 2022 midnight EST. Competition winners will be announced July 25, … Continue reading 2022 Flash Fiction Contest→
STREETLIGHT’S 2022 POETRY CONTEST August 15 to October 31 1st Prize — $125 2nd — $75 3rd — $50 Entry Fee: $10 FOR UP TO 3 POEMS CONTEST GUIDELINES: Up to three of your best, previously unpublished poems. Any subject. Multiple submissions are fine. This is a blind contest. Please remove all personal information from the story pages. We encourage simultaneous submissions but if your piece is accepted elsewhere, inform us at poetry1@streetlightmag.com or poetry2@streetlightmag.com, right away. Contest deadline is Monday, October 31, 2022 midnight EST. Competition winners will be announced November 14, 2022. Only … Continue reading 2022 Poetry Contest→
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