Thoughts on Writing

All posts in the Thoughts on Writing category

UNREAL event at Antigone: Thanks for Support

Published October 21, 2019 by Philip Ivory

Thanks to our students and friends who came out to support our special event last Friday, Oct. 18!

Lela Scott MacNeil

Our teachers at The Writers Studio Tucson had a chance to read from their creative work at a public reading held at Antigone Books on Fourth Avenue here in Tucson.

Richard Leis

It was called UNREAL, and gave our teachers, Lela Scott MacNeil, Richard Leis, Donna Aversa, Reneé Bibby and myself a chance to read selections of poetry and prose that focus on the unusual, the dark, and the unreal.

 

Donna Aversa

This was the program:

Lela Scott MacNeil / reading novel excerpt, Long Night’s Journey Into Day
Phil Ivory / reading flash fiction, Probably Last Meeting of Bluebell Ridge II Homeowners Association
Richard Leis / reading poems, [Aliens are here], Phantom Taste of Apricot on My Tongue, Cities Through Telescopes, City as Fairy Tale, and Burning Baby
Donna Aversa / reading flash fiction, A Little Bit Of Sausage
Reneé Bibby / reading short story excerpt, That Boy

Reneé Bibby

We had a great turnout who came to hear our work and browse at Tucson’s most celebrated independent bookstore.

Phil Ivory

Many thanks to Antigone Books for being such a gracious and enthusiastic host, and making us and our guests feel at home. We’re looking forward to more events like it.

 

 

The Yellow Man at Bewildering Stories

Published October 15, 2019 by Philip Ivory

“There’s a part of the brain tells us you can’t

be dead and alive at the same time,” said

the Yellow Man. “It doesn’t work in you.“

 

 

October’s here, time for tales that send shivers along the spine, that whisper “What if?” to the part of you that thrills to the dread and unspeakable.

If you want a cerebral, eerie but ultimately humanistic read, check out my novelette, “The Yellow Man,” winner of the 2016 Mariner Awards, available at Bewildering Stories.

It’s an unsettling tale about Allan, who’s 11 and sits alone in a basement, fitting puzzle pieces together as visitors come and go, people from the town who sit quietly with Allan, saying nothing before fading again into nothingness.

One of his visitors is his best friend, Sheri. But something has gone wrong in their friendship. And she is only a shadow of what he remembers.

Allan knows his visitor have something to do with what is on the other side of the basement wall.

He knows they are not alive.

And then there is the one who is something worse than that, and the key to all of Allan’s problems and why he has been in the basement so long …

The Yellow Man.

 

 

UNREAL: Writers Studio Teachers Read Their Work

Published October 4, 2019 by Philip Ivory

Join us on Oct. 18 for a public reading event, cohosted by Antigone Books and The Writers Studio. Teachers from the Tucson branch of The Writers Studio — Lela Scott MacNeil, Richard Leis, Donna Aversa, Reneé Bibby and myself — will read selections of poetry and prose that focus on the unusual, the dark, and the unreal.

WHERE: Antigone Books, 411 N 4th Ave, Tucson, Arizona 85705

WHEN: October 18, 2019 at 6:00 PM

No RSVP or admission fee is required.

At The Writers Studio Tucson, we pride ourselves on being active participants in Tucson’s thriving literary community. Please join us, and patronize Antigone Books, one of the finest independent bookstores in the country. Visit their web site and sign up for their newsletter.

The Writers Studio, founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Philip Schultz in 1987, offers writing workshops designed to help students discover and nurture their own voices. The Writers Studio Tucson offers four levels of classes to help students achieve their writing goals.

For more information on The Writers Studio, click here. 

When Reality Doesn’t Cut It, UNREAL Is Our Best Friend!

See you on Oct. 18!

 

During October: 31 Days of Classic Horror

Published September 30, 2019 by Philip Ivory

From my earliest years, horror films have had a profound influence on my creativity and my writing, and it’s time I paid them proper tribute for their artistry and lingering cultural impact.

Starting tomorrow and continuing each day for the entire month of October, I’ll highlight a favorite horror film, one that’s particularly influential in the field, or that impacted me in a profound way. The choices are subjective and entirely mine. The list will proceed chronologically from the dawn of sound films to the present day. 

 

 

Please check in and help me celebrate the cinema of the macabre all this month. Like Dr. Septimus Pretorius in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), let’s hoist our glasses and toast the infernal, unholy, misbegotten and malign:

“To a new world of gods and monsters!”

 

 

 

Fall Writing Classes Available Now at Writers Studio

Published September 11, 2019 by Philip Ivory

“Dynamic, Inspiring, invigorating, supportive. The Writers Studio seemed to me to have all the qualities one could possibly wish for in a writing school.”

JAMES LASDUN, poetry and fiction professor at Princeton University, New York University and Columbia University

 

Greetings Tucson writer friends! As a teacher and assistant director for the Tucson branch of The Writers Studio, I’m excited that our roster of fall classes is posted and students are already beginning to sign up for our fall session.

Check out our web site for a full listing of Tucson classes. Discover new voices and craft techniques to bring your personal material to life. Sharpen your feedback skills. Learn to identify and build upon your strengths as a writer

SPECIAL DISCOUNT CODE: Use Coupon Code: shine to get $15 off one of our 8-week classes. (Discount must be taken at time of registration online or by phone (212) 255-7075 and may not be combined with any other offer. Expires 9/19/19.)

BEGINNER’S LEVEL WORKSHOPS
Wednesday Evenings with Lela Scott MacNeil
Starts October 16 at 6:30 PM
Saturday Mornings with Richard Leis
Starting October 5 at 10 AM

INTERMEDIATE
Thursday Evenings with Philip Ivory
Starting October 17 at 6:30 PM

ADVANCED
Monday Evenings with Lela Scott MacNeil
Starting October 14 at 6:30 PM

MASTER CLASS
Tuesday Evenings with Reneé Bibby
Starting October 15 at 6:30 PM

If you’re too far away to take an in-person class, consider taking one online. 

Not sure what level you should be on? Contact Reneé Bibby at renee@writerstudio.com

 

“The Writers Studio has grown into one of the best creative writing programs I know, at once serving excellence and inspiring the individual. The ambiance is warm and invigorating, making it joyful to be there.”

GRACE SCHULMAN, author of Days of Wonder: New and Selected Poems