Welcome to the Writer Spark Writing Academy blog! If you’re here, chances are you have the dream of writing and possibly publishing a novel. 

Eighteen years ago, I had that very same dream. I’d just had my youngest child. A good friend, Elena, was also and aspiring writer. She also had a new baby. We began meeting on Monday evenings  at a coffee shop in between our two homes, leaving the babies and other kids at home with the dads.

We used a writing prompt book to guide us as we challenged ourselves to practice our craft. We were both teachers, me in English/Language Arts and her in elementary education. We both had a pretty good handle on showing verses telling, but understanding it in theory is a lot different than putting it into practice.

For the first five or six meetings, our goal was to hone in on really descriptive writing. Elena often wrote about events or moments from her childhood. Honestly, I felt as if my writing was rather pedestrian compared to hers. She is a very poetic writer. She’s one of those people who not only paints a picture, but evokes subtle emotion at the same time. I remember one piece in particular. She described her childhood home. One line, in particular, has always stuck with me. She recounted the photos of her and her siblings on the staircase wall, elbowing against each other, fighting for their space and the attention of anyone who passed.

She personified those photos so beautifully. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that description.

As I sat down to plan this blog and think about how to make it most useful for aspiring writers, as well as writers who just want a little inspiration and craft practice, I realized that more than anything, writers need to write.

It’s important to understand craft. There will be craft topics and studies. But every week, there will be a writing prompt in some form or fashion.

There will always be a craft expectation set to go along with the prompt.

I hope you visit here weekly to see the latest prompts and to refine your craft. 

Happy writing

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