read, read, read
grass roots
started magazine when wife was sick
developed a community of poets bagel bards
newspaper column
poetry series
cable tv
published books
NEPC
Friends of Longfellow
How to submit
find out something about magazine
start to small lit zines
as you get practiced better
go to open mics
campus lit magazine
start your own TV show
PLACES TO LOOK FOR IDEAS:
Powerful personal experiences [“No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader”]:
o Love relationships with parents, siblings, girlfriends/boyfriends
o Significant conflicts the people above of others you’ve encountered
[My essay, “In My Father’s Tears,” based on an argument with my Dad]
o Loss of a loved one
o Betrayal by a friend
o People who had/have a poweful influence on you
o Colorful people you’ve encountered
o Significant disappointments
What if scenarios, personal or societal:
o What if that man/woman I was attracted to had returned my call?
[What if Paulette had really meant it when she suggested we get married?]
o What if I grown up with a very different family or in a very different place or in a very
different time in history?
o What if I had been at significant historical events: the Twin Towers on 9/11, the attack
on the capital on January 6, the invasion of Europe at Normandy in World War II, etc.?
o What if someone I was close to had died when I was young?
The experiences of others you know, where you put yourself in their place and tell the story of
what happened, imagining what the experience was like
[My play about acquaintance whose kitchen burned up and had to live in a tiny apartment with
his wife and daughter for months] [Kinsella writing about Canadian Indians]
The experiences of historical characters in dramatic situations
[My novella about Rilke and Rodin]
In "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," Nick Flynn grapples with several internal and external conflicts:
Internal Conflicts:
External Conflicts:
Through these internal and external conflicts, "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City" explores themes of family, identity, addiction, and the complexities of human relationships in the face of adversity.
