A Newsletter from Flint & Steel

Sparks №41: How Was Your Summer?

A roundup of Flint & Steel articles and August writing prompts across Medium-land

And here we are, towards the end of summer. Technically, we have a month left but once my kids are back to school (which is in two weeks), I think of summer as over.

The summer break didn’t go quite as I envisioned, but that is life, and something I’ll write more about later.

In June, I asked you about your summer focus. Thank you to those who answered that prompt.

So let’s go full circle. I’m asking you this week, how was your summer? The good, the bad, and the ugly. Was it a good summer? How so? What were the challenges? How did you get over the challenges or how you are managing them? You could write a photo essay or not. A poem or a long-form article. Whatever works for you.

Speaking of Full Circle

Last week, I announced our next writing challenge. A Full-Circle Writing Challenge, where one winner will receive $50.

I’m loving the submissions I’ve already received. Remember, you can enter more than once. Please take some time to read, clap and comment on these submissions.

Courtney Capone wrote,

“Trust and light are reflected in the soft warmth of their fur and slobbered kisses on my cheek. They gave me permission to heal. Because they did. I can’t say that I’ve truly come full circle yet… but I’m getting there.”

Nicholas Tarleton wrote,

“It appears to me that every time I form a sort of plan for my future that life in return doesn’t just give me plain lemons; it delivers explosive ones! I have been, not too long ago, in the place of feeling depressively sorry for myself and wallowing in dark places, but this time around, something is different.”

Nancy Blackman wrote,

“Yes, you crushed my spirit for a quick minute. But it was only a minute.”

Terry Barr wrote,

“In that regard, I want my students, and myself, to confront a textual theme: of women being abused and overpowered and cowed by rich white men. I want us to focus on the power that has always been held in elite patriarchal white hands. I’m assigning two texts for this purpose and “On Purpose”: Susanna Rowson’s Charlotte Temple, an 18th century novel and John Wood Sweet’s The Sewing Girl’s Tale: A Story of Crime and Consequences in Revolutionary America.”

Jennifer McDougall wrote,

“‘Oh my clean, clean car,” I whispered towards the shiny dash, in the creepiest of creepy voices. ‘I love you.’”

I hope everyone has an inspiring week and weekend ahead!

✨ Ellie, editor Flint & Steel

🎉 Featured Writer Alert🎉

Meet Courtney Capone

“I need total silence to write and my husband knows he’s not allowed in the room when I’m writing. I like to be alone with my thoughts and my laptop. My dogs are often with me, sleeping at the end of my bed but no cats are allowed as they tend to walk across the keyboard.”

Check out more about Courtney and find out what her guilty pleasures are (I must admit, I like the same, from time to time).

Will you be the next featured writer?

Read over the guidelines to find out more about being featured.

Another interview opportunity!

E. Katherine Kottaras is looking to interview creatives!

“With that, I am launching a series called The Creative Contemplative, and I would love to interview you!

I want to learn more about your life as both a creative and as a contemplative.”

Katherine’s Corner

“we are driven, and we are also the drivers.

push and pull; forward and backward; uphill and downhill and uphill again.

we can steer and direct and plan and brake, as needed — what a gift!”

✨Your Articles ✨

As always, take time to support your F & S writers!

Stop by their articles and share your thoughts, claps and highlights.

End of Summer Prompt

from Sparks newsletter #40

Courtney Capone wrote,

“With the one exception of the pumpkin spice takeover of literally everything (stop it. Just stop it!), I love everything about the Fall. It’s usually warm but not too hot during the day only to get cooler at night, the leaves change color in a majestic fashion, layered clothing makes me happy, I get to dress up my pets for Halloween… what’s not to love?”

Totally agree! Hate the pumpkin spice takeover but love having the windows open, watching the leaves change color. Such a cozy time of the year!

Book Stack Prompt

Penny Grubb wrote,

“That’s me in books from my current bookshelves (give or take a Y). Overall, 4 highly recommended, 2 autobiographies, 1 biography, 4 crime thrillers, just one dud, and a Billy Bunter.”

David Acaster wrote,

“I sometimes have to move a pile of them off the settee in the lounge to enable me to sit down. I actually knew a family who lived near me in the 1960s called the Clutterbuck’s — well that’s our house, Clutter-books.”

Independence Freewriting Prompt

Anne Bonfert wrote,

“I was just there to transmit a message. This was before cellphones existed and before a landline was installed in our new home. I was the only one able to bring a message from my mom in the old apartment to my dad, in the new flat.”

Camping Prompt

Anne Bonfert wrote,

“All of it is part of camping in the wild. It’s the challenge of finding a combination of all the needs and that is what makes it so interesting. For me.

I do know camping isn’t for everyone and even more so wild camping but I hope you could enjoy traveling with me through my words and photographs.”

Your Fiction

Shanice Lawton wrote,

“I wish I could call the parents and ask if they knew about any of this,” I finally spoke and wiped my face with the back of my hand.

“That’s the next truth, Crystal. Those people don’t exist,” Connelly said.”

Looking forward to the next installment Shanice!

Single Sentence Prompt

Amanda Laughtland wrote,

“The day after the appearance of the super-sized spider, Marisa said, “This fly swatter is the best dollar we’ve ever spent. You should write a story about it and share on Medium,” so of course I did.”

Make sure to read Amanda’s single, 100-word, sentence!

Book Reviews

Ellie Jacobson wrote,

“I have the great privilege of working with Keely at Flash Fiction Magazine. When I first heard that her flash fiction collection, Baby is a Thing Best Whispered, was going to be published, I couldn’t wait to read it. And I didn’t have to wait too long, as Keely was kind enough to provide an ARC copy so I could jump right in.”

Wynth wrote,

“However, such a book series would be incredibly difficult to write in a quality way, so I can’t say I blame Yancey for falling short of this near-perfect ideal. I also feel like Yancey, having already tackled young adult novel series before with great success, could have done much more with the idea than he did with The 5th Wave.”

Anne Bonfert wrote,

“To have a day of doing nothing but reading and writing. In bed. Because my husband is occupying the only table in the trailer. But we’re good with it. Small spaces. Making compromises. Only sometimes do we get into an argument. But that’s human and part of every relationship.”

Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages wrote,

“Arriving on Medium was a breath of fresh air. Here I found a community of people that seemed to support and uplift each other. I was aghast that a platform like this existed when I had been banging my head against the wall, fighting off the negative trolls, for so long on Facebook.”

The Collection of Flint & Steel Articles

✨ Welcome To Our Newest Writers ✨

Patrick OConnell, Beth Peterson, Wynth, Annie Trevaskis, Judy Walker

Calls for Submission

I welcome writers to share their own freewriting exercises, writing prompts, and writing contest alerts here at Flint and Steel. You can write short-form or long-form posts.

You can find submission guidelines on our Be a Writer page.

✍ Freewriting Friday

In the latest Freewriting Friday post, the focus is connecting the dots, tied in with our full-circle writing challenge.

📣 Around Medium: Calls for Submissions, Writing Prompts, and Challenges 📣

Check out the previous newsletter for more writing prompts and challenges.

And all our newsletters for even more writing inspiration

Tips

As always, review each publication’s guidelines for their prompts. Many prompts do not have a set deadline.

Make sure when you are responding to a prompt, you credit where your inspiration came from, like a link to the prompt article.

Many of these prompts could fall under nonfiction, poetry, and fiction so don’t limit yourself. There is no right or wrong. Use these prompts as a springboard to your writing.

⌚ = time-sensitive writing prompt!

Ellie Jacobson wants to see your creative book stack over at Six Word Photo Story (no deadline!)

Jason Edmunds posted guidelines for The Engagement Club (great idea!). “The aim is to read or listen to stories participants shared with the community. We engage with the story by highlighting, clapping, and leaving a meaningful comment.”

Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), with The Brain is a Noodle, shared their latest #WritingPrompt: saying goodbye.

Nicole Dake, with The Orange Journal, posted their August prompts.

Marilyn Flower, with Middle-Pause, posted their latest prompt: How do you keep yourself, and I mean your whole self — body, mind, and spirit–cool, and not lose your cool in the extreme or any kind of heat?

Christine Graves, with Enticing the Muse, posted their latest writing prompts.

Janice Harayda posted a fun prompt; I need to think about this one and post!

Dr. Tracy Davis posted a 30-day journaling challenge which looks interesting (may have to do this one too!).

Subscribe to the Sparks Newsletter

If you would like to subscribe to the Sparks newsletter, visit the newsletter page. You can also find past newsletters for more writing inspiration.

— Ellie Jacobson, editor

📣 Attention Medium publication editors 📣

Have a writing prompt, challenge, or a call for submission you want included in an upcoming Sparks Newsletter? Feel free to leave a comment in the latest newsletter, email me at [email protected], or tag me in your prompt article and I’ll include the info in the next newsletter. Newsletters go out weekly on Monday.

Please include a link to the article that summarizes the prompt/challenge/call for submission and if there is a deadline. I will link to the article and to your publication in the newsletter. I also tweet the newsletter throughout the week for added exposure.

💖 Thank you to all the Flint & Steel writers 💖

Sahil Patel, Shirley Jones Luke, Samantha Jensen, MA, MAEd, Trista Signe Ainsworth, MIGHTY MISCELLANY, L Burton, Heathere CW, Kaori Mitsui, Penelope Mayfield, Pierce McIntyre, Pene Hodge, Yean Foong (M.Ed.), Elin Melaas, Sarah Minnis, Mindy Morgan Avitia, JM Heatherly, Nikki, Andria Kennedy, pockett dessert, Dennett, Diana Lotti, Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle, Mulan, Amanda Laughtland, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Penny Grubb, Sorina Raluca Babau, Prashansa Chandekar, Will Hull, Ravyne Hawke, Jane Grows Garden Rooms (Jane Frost), Mimi Bordeaux, Adrienne Beaumont, Karen Schwartz, Divina Grey, Sangeetha Shankar, Ellen Andaya, Barb Dalton, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Beverly Annette Little, Aabye-Gayle F., AliciaMarie Belchak | Master Life, Build Dreams, Danielle Hestand, Rick Allen, Jennifer Pierce, Tamil, Amy Rosie, Jennifer McDougall, Susan Poole, Adrienne Parkhurst, Chelsea Marie — Charlie Cole — Katie Michaelson — Sandra B — Buse ermen — E. Katherine Kottaras — Bingz Huang — Winston — Stephanie Stephenson — Marilyn Flower — Kris Bedenian — Kathy K — Nick Stockton — VerityAlways — Makena Darya — Umme Salma — Călina Mureșan — Anne Bonfert — Jennifer Dunne, K-kun Writes!, M Cher, CARMEN F MICSA, Annette Liron, Sam Finlayson, Ian Hanson, LM, Elizabeth Kasujja, Sandi Parsons, Veronica Haunani Fitzhugh, BichoDoMato, Jules Starley, Jordan Richardson, Angie Mangino, Obinna Uruakpa, Shanice Lawton, Barbara Radisavljevic, Gaurav Jain, Terry Barr, Christine Graves, Randy Runtsch, Susan Alison, Indra Raj Pathak, Ash Moonlight, Jesse M Hawthorne, Denise Darby, Laura Jevtich, Eira Braun-Labossiere 🌻, Donna J. Allen, Sarah-Jane W., Ginger Bangs, Rebecca Frailich, James Jordan, David L. Davis, Nicholas Tarleton, Courtney Capone, Agnes, Kunal Mehra, Gauri Sirur, Nancy Blackman, Dr. Preeti Singh, Rosy Gee, Lisa M. Gott, Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages, Mridul Vijay

. . . and our 238 followers! 💖

About the Writer

Ellie is a freelance writer and editor from Minnesota. She is writing her first novel, a psychological suspense novel, while finishing her MFA at SNHU.

Need writing inspiration? Check out Sparks, Ellie’s newsletter filled with Medium writing prompts to spark your creativity.

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✍ Written by Ellie Jacobson, @2022 all rights reserved.