Some Qs and As

Viga over at Vianvi asked some writers about their habits and opinions on the writing process. I was happy to oblige.

Check the "Let's Talk Writing" section of her site.

You can find my responses here.

Cheers.

These Things Happen

Taking the train to work every day, I get to see the same scenery, but different moments every day. The same tree changes depending on mood, memory, and circumstance. A woman's face is one day forgettable, the next - haunting. Sometimes there comes a moment - I won't call it a satori or even an epiphany - where the right image strikes me at the right time in the right way and something is born.

Wrote this on that train at the intersection of nostalgia, literature, and life...and along the Blue Line at Cedar-Riverside.

Marco Crestani was kind enough to publish it on his blog, Priamo.

You can read my piece here.

Cheers. Be well.

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Eye Flick

Some moves are big. You got yr haymakers and Superman punches. Some are middlin' with yr right cross and roundhouses.

This isn't any of those.

The End (Choose July 5).

m.

Round 'Em Up!

So, like, I once wrote this prose poem, see...and, well, I called it "Latitude." I don't know why. But I did. I really did. I submitted it to like this literary journal called "Round Up Zine." And, well, they liked it and published it. Cool.

"Latitude"

(p. 16)

Re-reading it now, I realize that it is actually a homage to the poetry of Alex Stolis.

A Rat's Ass

My poem, "Guardian Angel" was published over at Rat's Ass Review in April of last year. Damn, I'm behind updating this blog.

"Guardian Angel"

Cold Front in June

Happy to report that my very personal piece, "Cold Front," was the winner of Purple Pumpking Publishing's monthly short story contest for June of 2015. The piece focuses on my very real struggle with depression in the winter and the time my son pulled me through.

"Cold Front"

Cheers,
Michael

Making of a Memoir

A while back I was fortunate enough to have a short piece of creative nonfiction, "Goodbye, Batman," published in 2015 in an issue of Memoirabilia, a magazine dedicated to, yes, the memoir. The piece was an extension of some nostalgic writing I had been doing, and it felt good to firm it up into a standalone piece. Since then the magazine has gone virtual and opened to include articles on the craft.

I submitted a piece on my approach to writing my first memoir. It was well received, and I was asked to record it for a new podcast on the site. Part 1 discusses my thoughts on memoir, while part 2 talks more about my systematic approach to my mss.

Part one can be found here.