Of The Pistol (ofthepistol) is an original fiction challenge community created byslightlymore and beforeskylines to make up for the devastating lack of good prompting communities here on Livejournal. Here, we plan to enliven our pens with challenges in hopes that we can take our creativity to the next level (and have a good time doing so). This community is open to new members and we hope that you will join us and find out what it is like to indulge the voices inside your mind.

To all writers, poets, parents, and people who are over ten years of age:

Nina Pelletier, a friend from G+, and I are starting a new project, and we want your help! Every day, Nina posts a writing prompt for interested people, and today's was particularly evocative.

What would you write if you could write a letter to your ten-year-old self? What encouragements would you give? What would you warn against doing? What nostalgia would you feel?

What are You Doing? Accepting Submissions for a free e-Chapbook

What are You Looking For? 300 word or less letters to your ten year old self. Or stories about people writing a letter to their ten year old self. Or stories in reaction to the letters that others have written to their ten year old selves. Also, we're looking for art that can be used for breaking up pages, or being related to the subject.

When do You Want It? Ideally, as soon as possible. However, we will accept submissions till September 23rd.

How do We Do It? Go here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag53sJnzF2itdGhCUUNfaHZPN21ieHhSVDFhWGY3Z0E&hl=en_US#gid=0 and put in your information. Nina and I will circle you, and update you regularly with information on how, specifically, to submit. Since some people will choose to write stories about other people's letters, we'll be sharing a select group of said letters with the entire group.

What Will You Do With It? When submissions are complete, Nina and I will edit everything. We'll collate everything together into a nice PDF, with a nice cover, and put it up on the internets somewhere for free. People will be encouraged to make a donation, and the money that THEY donate will be donated to a literacy advocacy group. We're taking suggestions on what that group should be.

What if I Have More Questions? Reply to this post, or email us under our profiles! Or email us directly: drewishdrewid AT gmail DOT com and/or ninapowers155 AT gmail DOT com

Let's get started! This could be another really cool collaborative effort!

Looking forward to seeing what you all have to offer:

Nina and Drew

Hello, fellow writers! I'm an editor for the new online literary magazine, Flies in His Eyes and I'm looking for writers in online writing communities to submit their work. 

Flies in His Eyes is seeking flash fiction, poetry and photography for our Fall/Winter issue. We like odd pieces, genre pieces, and any piece that catches our eye and is well-written. 

 Critique_Circle, a Livejournal online writer’s group, is now accepting applications for membership.

What is Critique_Circle? Critique_Circle is a critique and resource sharing group for intermediate and advanced level fiction writers. Membership is by invitation or application only (although anyone can watch the public posts).

Why join? Critique_Circle helps writers by sharing resources and offering critiques. In addition, giving critiques is a great way to learn to become a better writer.

How do I apply? To apply, please PM Mutive with a short sample of your writing (~500-3,000 words) and a few sentences on why you want to join. I will post your application to the community, and should get back to you within a week as to the status of your application.

Why is membership moderated? Two reasons. The first is so that writers can post work under a membership lock without fearing that what they post will be considered “published”. The second is that both mods wanted Critique_Circle to be a small community of writers who have already mastered the fundamentals of fiction writing and are looking to grow beyond a basic level. (To give an example of what we mean by “basic” vs. “intermediate”, about half of our current members have been previously published. If you’re not, that’s fine, but we expect members to be trying to obtain similar levels of proficiency. )

What types of writing are acceptable? All writing is acceptable (including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and fanfiction). Most members are currently writing science fiction, fantasy, or romance, but other genres are welcome and appreciated.

For more information, please check us out at: http://critique-circle.livejournal.com/profile

I'm always curious about the experiences of other people who write. I'm also wondering if others have had a similar thought process as me.

Do you think writers see the world in a different way from other people?

I'm very analytical about everything, and when I see something interesting I often think of how I would write about it. For example, a stroll around my neighborhood: I'm constantly observing everything around me, and I often phrase the images or sensations around me as if I were formally writing about them. Usually, this involves people. It's almost as if, when going throughout my day, I notice people whose stories I want to know more about, so that I can tell those stories. Many of the characters I create are inspired by real people I know or have heard of.

It's as if, by writing about these things, I can fix my transitory, fleeting experiences into a form that I better understand. And most importantly, I want to share these experiences with others, and communicate how I see the world through my writing.

There is a passage in a Neil Gaiman short story that really struck me when I first read it:

And part of me - the writer part of me, the bit that has noted the particular way the light hit the broken glass in the puddle of blood even as I staggered out from a car crash, and has observed in exquisite detail the way that my heart was broken, or did not break, in moments of real, profound, personal tragedy [...] (from "The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch").

Needless to say, I'm an introvert, and the written word is the best way for me to convey my feelings. Are writers just observant by nature? Is that part of the reason we are writers? And do you ever want to write about people you know, or develop characters based on people you know?

Posted with permission :)
Thank you!

Have you ever wanted to write a case story? Now you have a chance!


casestory casestory casestory

I created a new writing community today, inspired by etacanis's comment at promptbingo about how she wanted to learn more about a story I'd written. It was also partially inspired by my recent involvement with Ficly.com, a website designed around writing sequels and prequels to other people's work. I wanted to do something a little different, though:

The basic concept of this community is that members post “root” stories, which inspire derivative “branch” stories that act as spin-offs from the original tale. The community is designed around a 3 to 1 ratio – for every root story you post, you must also write three spinoffs, at least one of which is required to branch from another member’s tale (be it root or branch).

On the fifteenth of every month, the stories from the previous month will be organized into coherent storylines. A newsletter will be distributed as a .pdf at the end of the month to all interested members of the group. At the end of each issue, a list of active spinoff ideas will also be published. Constructive criticism is encouraged in posting and for at least 30 days, authors can edit their works before they appear in the newsletter.

While Root & Branch is first and foremost a fiction community, we also encourage artists to create root images to serve as prompts for authors, and to create branch images inspired by works.

Fan fiction and original fiction are both welcome, so please check it out and join rootfic if you're interested :)

First of all, happy new year, everyone! :)

Now onto the discussion...I have certain characters that I sometimes find very difficult to write...unless I'm listening to the right music. For one character, I need to be listening to Coldplay to be able to write him. This works out badly for me, because I don't like Coldplay, but he's so much easier to write with it on. A friend of mine has to be sitting in a certain chair to be able to write one of her characters. Do you have anything like that? Do you try to overcome it, or just work with it?