32 Comments
User's avatar
Romana Shaikh's avatar

I feel like microfilming these tips and having them in an ampule ... all the time

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Aw, thanks for reading, Romana. I'm glad you found them useful!

Expand full comment
Brenda's avatar

Thank you! This list is very helpful. I love the one about first person and taking out the I. No pun intended.🤣

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks so much for stopping by, Brenda! Glad you enjoyed the post. :-)

Expand full comment
Angela Watt's avatar

Marvellous ideas. Thanks for sharing.

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks for reading, Angela!

Expand full comment
Sentence Center's avatar

All our students LOVE MadLibs - what a wonderful suggestion! Thank you.

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

It's a fun exercise and it has helped me more than once to just keep moving forward! Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

Expand full comment
Andrei Atanasov's avatar

Very informative, Kathy. I really want to try the ones about taking apart and squeezing together paragraphs. They sound fun!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Yes, do! It's hugely effective to look at a draft from various angles. Something opens up for me every time I do this. I instantly "see" another, deeper way into the story. Thanks for reading and commenting, Andrei!

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

❤️❤️

Expand full comment
Nicholas Rixon's avatar

I’m going to try these. Thanks, Kathy!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Oh great! Let me know how it goes, Nicholas. Thanks for stopping by!

Expand full comment
Justin Deming's avatar

I love these ideas! I’m going to save this article and come back to it when I find myself in this predicament. Thank you so much!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Appreciate the read, Justin! Thanks so much!

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

🫰🫰

Expand full comment
Marlena Maduro Baraf's avatar

Kathy, I was about to give up on a dried up blog post (with bits of gold). You've inspired me to give it a go again with these playful exercises.

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Oh yay, I'm so glad to hear it, Marlena! Thanks for reading!

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

❤️

Expand full comment
Angie McCullagh's avatar

I love this so very much. Thank you, Kathy!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thank you, Angie!

Expand full comment
mary g.'s avatar

What a great list, Kathy! Thank you!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks for reading, Mary!

Expand full comment
Beverly Jackson's avatar

these hints are delicious. Send me that story with the peacock!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks for reading, Bev! Some famous writer did the peacock thing, I think. ;-)

Expand full comment
jennifer woodworth's avatar

Wonderful article!

Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks for reading, Jennifer!

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

LOVE #4 especially. Yea! I think this about almost all my writing. I guess that’s why I’m writing on Substack 😂. My rule of thumb, as a ‘serious’ published writer, is: If it’s safe, politically correct or within traditional boundaries it’s probably boring and I don’t want it! I want transgressive writing. I want danger. I want vulnerability and risk on the page. Safety? That’s for MFA students. Gimme literature.

Just published an essay about this on my stack a la George Orwell and the regression of language in contemporary times.

###

Michael Mohr

‘Sincere American Writing’

https://michaelmohr.substack.com/

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jan 21, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Thanks so much for reading and commenting, Garrett! I'm pretty much on board with anything Joy Williams has to say, but yes, especially re: animals.

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

❤️🙌

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Jan 17, 2023
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Kathy Fish's avatar

Ha, I appreciate your stopping by, DuVay! Thanks to Midwest Magpie for the recommendation, too!

Expand full comment
Michael Mohr's avatar

❤️❤️

Expand full comment