Camp NaNoWriMo is a virtual writer’s retreat, designed for maximum flexibility and creativity. Whatever you’re writing, you’ll do it better at camp—all from the comfort of your home. Of course, Pasadena-area campers can certainly get together.
Start or finish your writing project in July. Enroll in camp now.
First snowflake,
Chaim come quick,
Let’s trim the Hanukkah bush!
Is Hanukkah the Jewish Christmas? Not even close! Ask any Jewish kid living in a Christian neighborhood. Or any Christian kid living in a Jewish neighborhood. Or any rabbi, priest, or minister, for that matter.
Growing up Jewish and poor in my Brooklyn neighborhood meant you had two strikes against you every Christmas. Even if your parents could afford to buy you presents, they weren’t supposed to.
We lived just off Avenue U in a predominately Italian neighborhood. Most of the food stores sold pork and other tref (Yiddish for not kosher). Which was OK, because there were plenty of kosher alternatives. In short, none of us were starving.
But Christmastime, it was an entirely different story. Walking around the neighborhood in the evening, we could peek into the windows of many homes and see beautiful Christmas trees all lit up. These families seemed to be having a good time, while we were standing out in the cold. Continue Reading
There is a story inside you just itching to be published online. Write it. Submit it!
Athchomar chomakea!
In an effort to appeal to a wider audience, RoseCitySisters.com will now accept both micro fiction and flash fiction in Dothraki.
No need to feature nomadic horse warriors in every submission—feel free to create engaging characters and interesting plots as you always have. Just remember the 100-word limit for micro fiction and the 1,000-word limit for flash fiction. We look forward to your submissions!
Dothras chek.
The Rose City Sisters welcomes guest contributor John Sandel. He and Tara Samuel are the co-founders of the Script Kitchen, a small class devoted to helping writers develop stories.
John wrote features for a living, starting in 1996, for clients like the producers of Revenge of the Nerds, Tom & Viv and Arlington Road. Since the writers’ strike of 2007, he’s produced and directed small projects, including his own. He serves on the board of We Make Movies as Director of New Business. Now, on to the guest post! Continue Reading
The Rose City Sisters would love to say we discovered writer Margaret Finnegan, but that would be a major-league lie. She was a wonderful writer when she submitted the first of several flash fiction stories—one of which won our “story of the year” honors. In fact, she’s the one who suggested the languishing RoseCitySisters.com domain should be used for as a flash fiction blog.
Now we’re thrilled to announce the publication of her first novel. The Goddess Lounge is a story that will resonate with any woman who has to juggle personal goals, work, family, relationships, and…oh, wait. That’s means every female on earth will enjoy this novel!
Learn more about Margaret on her website and bookmark her highly entertaining blog. But first? Point your peepers at her book trailer.
I just finished “Dear Money” by Martha McPhee, a wonderful novel about a novelist who becomes bond trader in pre-mortgage loan meltdown Manhattan. I loved the plot, cared about the characters, and sort of binged on the luxury of the author’s well-crafted sentences. Do hunt down this book!
I like writers as characters. I’m going to share more books and films that feature a writer as a main character. If you can recommend any titles, share them in the comments.
Flash fiction is great, but if you want or need to tell a longer story, check out Randy Ingermanson’s “Snowflake Method.”
It’s an organized, logical way to build a story from a one-sentence logline to a finished manuscript.
