A content creator
(Written for Day 1 of the Writing Rules Mini Project. Song: “Sea of Stars” by Michael Logozar)
The night they said goodbye, the sky was clear. But dread hung over them like clouds, so that although the pavement glistened with starlight, the air was too still for comfort.
Continue reading “Happy Ending”Little one, see her walking,
See that she is strong.
Strong enough for heels or flats or boots, to stabilize
Dress or tights or pants, any size,
Eyes on the prize,
Little one, memorize
Continue reading “Strong”A handful of children, twice their size with coats and scarves and hats that hide their little ears, romp into the snow. It reaches their knees and pours into their boots. But they don’t mind. They welcome the flakes. They scoop billions of them off the ground and onto their tongues.
Continue reading “A Vignette”Each inhale, a slice of chill to the lungs.
Each exhale, a cloud.
Another inhale, we live on a cloud
made of exhales, with wind sneaking up the sleeves of our coats.
Continue reading “Breathe”This story was originally published under the title “Snowball of Lies” as part of my senior writing portfolio for the 2018 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. My portfolio was awarded the Gold Key, and was subsequently included in The Best Teen Writing of North Dakota 2018. Enjoy!
I have read eight thousand, three hundred and ninety-two books.
I mean, what else are you supposed to do when you live in a library? We read. My brother Jude has read eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-five books. Our library has eight thousand, four hundred and twenty-six books. So, doing some simple math, we can conclude that I have exactly thirty-four books left to read. And, doing some even simpler math, we can conclude that Jude has exactly one book left to read. And then he’ll be free.
Continue reading “Forty-One Skies”(As we near the midpoint of National Novel Writing Month, I thought it would be fun to share an edited excerpt from my 50k words written four years ago.
My experience with the novel-writing challenge was a little crazy. I procrastinated so terribly that I ended up writing the last half (25k words) in the last 5 days of the month, over the Thanksgiving weekend. Talk about intense!
To give a little background: this story took place on an island inhabited by dragons and other mythical creatures, as well as two neighboring cities — the City and the Valley — locked in a devastating centuries-long war. I had plotted the original story several years before and essentially rewrote it in first person for NaNo in 2015. The scene I’d like to share is part of the epilogue, in which I moved back into third person and used a secondary character’s point of view. Enjoy!)
Continue reading ““Rebel” – An excerpt from my NaNoWriMo 2015″(Prompt from The First Line. Check them out, they’re sharing some great work!)
I started collecting secrets
when I was just
six
years
old.
Continue reading “Secrets”Sometimes I feel as if the words have been
Dragged out of me, that they have pulled my hair
And boxed my ears and left me to scrape my face
On the pavement while they tower over
And count them one by one by one by one.
Continue reading “Words”The subway car hasn’t moved in a long time, and things are starting to get awkward.
Maybe the announcement system isn’t working or something. The lights are still on, so the power can’t be down completely. There are five people in the car. Six, if you count The Baby. It’s late. Everyone’s tired. Nobody feels like breaking the silence that has stretched into an eternity.
But somebody has to.
The Baby decides it’s up to him.
Continue reading “Strangers”