Newsletter
New Prompt and New-Old Design
Plus some suggested formats for Medium Day
Dear Reader,
As promised, and to celebrate this first day of July with a little boost to encourage you to write, here’s the new writing prompt I’m proposing: You may not know it, but George Sand was born on July 1, 1804. I was writing about our meeting somewhere in Auvergne, about two years ago.
This is the perfect opportunity to give a playful nod to this great writer, by writing a poem, in verse or prose, or non-fiction — the form is totally free — whose central theme must be… sand! You might find inspiration in this poem by Trisha Traughber, or this one by Bradley J Nordell, or perhaps in the writings of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Feel free to write whatever you like, as long as the desert, or a few grains of sand, feature in your piece.
Submit your work (as a draft ready for publication) with this subtitle: Scribe Writing Prompt — Sand. Deadline for entries: July 29, 2023. The results of the prompt and the announcement of the winners will take place in the newsletter of August 5, 2023, just one week before Medium Day! A collection of all the participating pieces will be created for the occasion, as usual. The five most memorable stories or poems will each receive a $20 gift voucher to buy the book of their choice. I hope you enjoy the idea!
If you’ve been paying close attention and browsing the Scribe home page on desktop, which I hope you have, you’ve probably seen a huge change in the publication’s design! It’s a relative change, of course, since I’ve chosen to go back to the old Scribe design and bring it up to date.
Why this choice? A few years ago, I don’t really remember when, Medium launched a beta version for publications, and I decided to give it a try. Today, it turns out that this beta version is still in beta, and after reading this article, I felt like going back to the original design, which leaves much more choice in terms of customization.
You won’t be lost, as the essence of Scribe is still there. I’ve just added the Latest tab to the navigation bar, which gives direct access to the latest stories published in Scribe. This gives me more scope to design the publication and choose which stories I choose to display on the home page. I hope you like this new departure!
Let’s talk about Medium Day. I have received detailed information that will help me organize Scribe’s presence on August 12. The good news is that we can schedule not just one 30-minute session, but several 30-minute sessions! I’d like to offer Medium the three formats below. It’s up to you to tell me what you think!
I’m counting on your feedback because as I told you in another edition of this newsletter, I’d like Scribe’s participation in Medium Day to focus on the writers who make the publication breathe — in other words, you!
Please note that I have until July 14 to send in our application, so don’t delay too long, especially if you’d like to take part live! In that case, please let me know in the replies section or drop me an e-mail by specifying which time and format you are interested in.
As I live in France, I’d ideally like it to be at a time that suits me, as I’ll be supporting the sessions and answering any questions viewers may have in the chat. I’d like you to be the one on stage, while I’m backstage making sure everything runs smoothly, you get the idea.
Format 1 — Panel Interview: One speaker (a writer among you), asks free questions to three writers, related to their stories and their journey with Scribe and our wonderful community. So four live speakers.
Format 2 — 1:1 Interview: One speaker (a writer among you) talks to a writer about his experience of writing on Scribe and his relationship to writing (and poetry, if that’s their favorite topic). The interviewed writer can talk about one or more of his poems, having them read on screen. He can, for example, talk about the process of writing the poem, or his sources of inspiration. So two live speakers.
Format 3 — Keynote Presentation: One speaker (a writer among you), talks about his adventure through writing, Medium and Scribe. 30 minutes all to himself! He can present two of his texts and talk about a writer from the publication he particularly loves. So only one live speakers.
This week on Scribe, a new writer has pushed open the Scribe door. Athena Milios is a writer you may have read before, as she’s no stranger to Medium and has already attracted thousands of readers with her essays, particularly on mental health topics. For her first steps in the publication, she offers us a poem, The Weight of Worry. I hope you give her a warm welcome!
Jenine "Jeni" Baines published the second poem of her wonderful series born on Scribe, Running with the wolf, and it seems that you liked her verses! Of course, I’m not surprised!
Connie Song and Micah Josiah have each written a marvellous piece involving time. I’ll say no more and let you read or reread their two magnificent texts: Peddlers of Time, and The Purpose of Time.
And of course, other gems came my way, some of which are, as always, collected in the weekly digest at the end of this newsletter.
Just one more thing before I let you enjoy your weekend: Some of you have taken to thanking me by quoting me and Scribe at the end of each of your stories or poems. I find this absolutely adorable, and of course it goes straight to my heart. We’re a family of kind souls and brilliant writers, and I know that’s an extraordinary blessing.
On the other hand, it’s important for you to know that as far as the Boost program is concerned, this kind of repeated thank-you, however sincere, can be misunderstood and lead to the stories I nominate not being qualified. I’m telling you this today because I’ve discussed it with the Medium editorial team.
Don’t get me wrong, thank-you notes at the end of your stories or poems are not an eliminatory criterion for the Boost, but if we can avoid over-repetitive praise, it’s preferable. If you’d like to say a few kind words to me (they’ll never be too much), please do so in reply to the weekly newsletter, or on Buy Me a Coffee, these places are more suitable.
That’s all for today. Thank you for reading this far, as it was hearty, and see you soon through our writings! 🍃
Weekly Digest
Farewell, My Lover, by Anastasia S. Manyonga. PTSD, by Jenine "Jeni" Baines. The Sun’s Lilac Crown, by Ozge Gurbuz Durmus. Peddlers of Time, by Connie Song. Without Light, by Bob Metivier. Songs of the Sea, by Lark Morrigan. It’s Too Quiet to Sleep, by Louise Foerster. What If? by Paulette Tomasson. Beauty, Have Pity on Me, by Scott Zosel. Memoir, by Andy Lammers. A Train Crosses the Mind, by Ken Martin. The Cobalt Blues, by Lindsay Soberano Wilson. The Purpose of Time, by Micah Josiah. The Weight of Worry, by Athena Milios. Reminiscence, by Sheenz. I Tried Writing a Happy Poem, by Bradley J Nordell. Lunch Box Love Notes, by Julia Perrodin. Ode to an Unfinished Book, by Somsubhra Banerjee. Tomato Flesh, by Amanda Weir-Gertzog.
Community
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