Real life has taken the forefront for me in recent weeks, as it should, and so my writing and this blog have fallen off the radar of my attention.  However, this week I received the “Creative Writer” award from YA Highway novelist, Michele Schusterman, and I’ve found myself considering how I might, in moderation, begin to revisit this space.

Consider this a first step.

The award: It’s a fun and simple challenge to tell six outrageous lies and one truth about yourself then see who can guess the truth.

Sounds harmless enough, so, here goes . . .

1) I have nine children.

2) Over the years I’ve worked as as babysitter, a library page, a bookstore clerk, a restaurant busboy, a glass installer, a landscaper, a programmer, an administrative assistant, a youth minister, a data processor and a clown.

3) I once stood on a table in my college campus food court at the University Place Hotel in the midst of the lunch crowd to serenade my future wife in apology for not getting her anything one year for Valentine’s Day.

4) I worry about everything, but somehow I’ve never had performance (audience) anxiety.

5) Because I’ve never looked my age I’m often mistaken for Justin Bieber.

6) I am wanted by the police in three states.

Any takers?  What do you think?  Leave your guesses in the comments below.

In the spirit of playing along, I’ve also decided to pass this along to a few other writers to see what they might do with it.

Jennifer Walkup, Megan Powell, Anna Staniszewski, Dawn Metcalf,  Tracy Clark & Heather Petty.

Have fun!  I look forward to reading your lists if you decide to play along.

Another creative writing experiment!

Around or so a year ago I wrote a short story humbly entitled ‘Life’.  It was based on the germ of an idea which I expanded into an 800 word flash fiction piece for a writing contest.  I came across the story last week in my OneNote archives and found with time and distance I wasn’t happy with it after all.  (I’m not sure if that’s part of the process of perspective or if it’s a symptom of my inner critic.)  I still found myself drawn to the theme and so I wasn’t content to simply leave it in its newly recognized, inglorious form and wanted to resurrect it (pun intended).  However, rather than simply rewriting it, I decided to reincarnate it (yes, another pun) in a different form – a poem. . . . Continue Reading

Thanks to @lilithsaintcrow I was recently introduced to six word stories.  The concept of the six word story has been around for some time, but it was new to me.  If you’ve never heard of the six word story click here for an introduction and some wonderful examples!

For today’s Wordly Wednesday I decided to try my hand at writing my own.  It was so much fun I wrote several, six to be exact, which seems somehow fitting.  Don’t you think?  I’m calling it my creative writing 6×6.  . . . Continue Reading