Challenge
The Maddening Reality of Being Poor and Exceptionally Talented
As I sit here, my heart overflowing with a bittersweet symphony of emotions, I find myself grappling with the stark contrast between the pinnacle of professional success and the harsh realities of my personal life. Within the span of a mere two hours, I experienced the zenith of artistic validation and the profound depths of personal despair.
By Sai Marie Johnson2 years ago in Writers
The First Cowboy
Way back in the West before cowboys were famous. They used to call them cow hand. They would call the black helpers cowboys. In those days, everything was divided. There was no integration or sharing of help. The cowboys who weren't boys at all but grown men but because of their color they were called boys. They went through a lot in the West. They almost would not survive but they knew how to survive. They come too far just to give up and turn around. They were valiant men. They were loyal men. They loved their country. And they were willing to die for their cause. And the baddest of them was Jared. Jared was an orphan and adopted by a military captain. Jared was the roughest and meanest. And he was not afraid to fight with some cow hand. He knew how to outsmart them and the law if need be. He was the leader of the cowboys. And they were proud of him. And they knew that they could depend upon him. They swore that they will never leave anyone behind and that when they had to fight that they will fight with honor.
By Distinguished Honorary Alumni Dr. Matthew Primous2 years ago in Writers
A Twist of Fate
I come from a proud historic past. My family lived here since the 1800's. We've been proud of our roots and where we came from. We come from the island. The island where there is always a celebration. We love to dance. We love to sing. We love. We love everything about our culture. My first love was the food that my mother cooked. She would make everything you could think in the Cuban cuisine. And my family would love to gather around the table and enjoy a good meal. That's what inspired me to cook. I wanted to cook since age 12. And I finally got my chance in school, there was a baking contest in Home Economics. I was dying to show how good of a cook I was especially for Papi. Oohh Papi was fine. He was smart. He was strong. And he was every woman dream. Papi blowed my mind the time he sat next to me in the classroom. And he was sweet, he had the nicest attitude. Even when I was acting clumsy, Papi would gently smile. And so I wanted to bake my mother's special Cuban cuisine. And she showed me how many times but I got kinda of nervous. And she stopped the last time and asked me what was a matter. I said Papi is gonna eat some and I don't know what he is gonna think. And my mother stopped and hugged me and kiss me on the forehead. She said Maime' everything is gonna be okay. But I said Mommie that mean girl Pristine is gonna be there. She and her gang of friends. They are always picking on me. And she wants Papi. And she is the meanest girl in the whole school. Plus she rich and gets anything she wants. My mother said Maime' don't worry girl. You got this. You are pretty. You are smart. You are beautiful. I said Okay okay Mommie.
By Distinguished Honorary Alumni Dr. Matthew Primous2 years ago in Writers
NaNoWriMo 2023 Update. Top Story - November 2023.
Hey friends! Just hopping on here to leave a little update. I am still in my self-imposed Vocal time-out for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). If you aren't familiar with that, basically you commit to trying to write 50,000 words of a first draft of a novel in the month of November. Whew! This is my first time trying it and I'm having so much fun!
By Donna Renee2 years ago in Writers
The Uneven Sisters
I always got to work. I always got to clean. Belinda doesn't have to do anything. And she always getting into trouble. But that is my duty as the housekeeper. My family could barely afford to live. My family grew up poor. They couldn't afford much food and they could not afford much clothes. Momma said that we nearly starve just to make it. This is what encourage me to work for the Lenfords. The Lenfords are good folks that never done anything wrong. They care about their workers. They care about the people that protect their home and keep it safe. My name is Flower. Momma gave me a simple name to remind her of what father would do for her on Valentine's Day. Dad would give flowers to Momma. Mr. Lenfords always gave me an extra tip whenever I would work for them. The reason Momma passed her job down to me so the family can live within their means. I loved working because I would just make sure Belinda was taken care of. She was young and wild and free. I would read to her and make sure she was well taken of.
By Distinguished Honorary Alumni Dr. Matthew Primous2 years ago in Writers
Witchy winners all
Without further ado, I am delighted to announce the award winners in the write-a-witch challenge. Each of the following six finalists has won a cash prize and an accolade for their brilliant efforts at creating an original new witch character and writing a story or poem around them. That's all there was to it.
By Raymond G. Taylor2 years ago in Writers
The WINNERS of The Unreliable Narrator Literary Challenge
The Unreliable Narrator Challenge was a big success!!! We had 15 entries. Each story was a work of art and special in its own way. Each writer showed their unique abilities to connect with their readers and create scenarios and plot twists that intrigue and thrill.
By Rick Henry Christopher 2 years ago in Writers
Paul Stewart's "Unnerve, Unsettle, and Scare Me" Challenge Winners Announcement!. Content Warning.
Despite Stephen A. Roddewig's intention to have this little unofficial challenge end early, I stuck to my original plan. Come for me, Roddewig (lol, that sounded very threatening in my head, but actually looks rather tame on the screen. Loved that post and will provide a link, It Is First of the Month, in which he makes some good points and is very authoritative about it.)
By Paul Stewart2 years ago in Writers
Why Writing Helps Me. Top Story - November 2023.
All my life nothing really made sense to me my mind always wandered my only way to make sense of anything is writing my feelings, or making stories up in my head as a way to cope. I have been having such a rough few years adjusting to one place only to go back another. I'm used to running into the arms of my husband.
By Emily Radford(Rising Phoenix)2 years ago in Writers
