July 20: Denver Fbomb with Host Nancy Stohlman and Featuring Rob Geisen in “Things That Are 50”

On July 16, 2021 By nancystohlmanIn Reading, Uncategorized, writingLeave a comment

Our July Fbomb is a Throwback to the Very First Fbomb ever in 2013 with original host Nancy Stohlman and original featured reader Rob Geisen!

As always, expect readings from host/feature/open mic guests that are hilarious, irreverent, profound, thought-provoking, satirical, and just about everything else.

You have never been to a reading quite like Fbomb! Discretion advised (don’t bring your grandma!)

Join us on July 20 at 7:30 pm MDT on Zoom!

YOUR PROMPT

Travel back in time to the year 1971: a year that first saw the birth of Walt Disney World, the Apollo 14 Mission, the First Email, and the first McDonald’s Quarter Pounder.

What else is 50? Mark Wahlberg aka Marky Mark (raise your hand if you remember Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch). Mary J. Blige! Shannen Doherty! Ewan McGregor! Malibu Barbie!

So is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and A Clockwork Orange: 2 of the best book to film adaptations!

Both Dirty Harry and Shaft were born in 1971!

Did you know: $50 in 1971 is equivalent to about $332.34 today?

OR take another approach to the 50 number prompt: Maybe a 50 word story, a 50 sentence story, or a list of 50 Things…

There will be a limited number of open mic spots–sign up at the event!

Have fun and happy writing!

Zoom link

Nancy Stohlman’s latest book, Going Short: An Invitation to Flash Fiction, was a 2021 Reader Views Gold Award winner, a Next Generation Indie Book Award finalist, and an International Book Awards finalist. Her fiction has been anthologized widely, appearing in the W.W. Norton anthology New Micro: Exceptionally Short Fiction, Macmillan’s The Practice of Fiction, and The Best Small Fictions 2019, as well adapted for both the stage and screen. She teaches at the University of Colorado Boulder and around the world. Find out more at www.nancystohlman.com

Rob Geisen. Author of Beautiful Graveyards, Paper Thin, Avenge Me, The Aftermatch etc, I See You Lewis. Guitarist, Casio Keyboardist and broken romantic for the band Girls Just Wanna Have Us. Currently focused on writing sci-fi novels and learning everything there is to learn about The Outer LImits, the history of paperback science fiction, Theodore Sturgeon, and the works of Jake E. Lee. He used to host open mics with Olatundji Akposani. He used to be Get in the car, Helen. He used to not almost be 50 years old.

Sick Of This Cold and Stir-Crazy? A Friday prompt from Going Short:

On February 19, 2021February 18, 2021 By nancystohlmanIn Craft Essays, flash fiction, flash fiction challenge, Reading, Uncategorized, writing

Are you stir crazy and sick of being cold?

Are you losing it a little bit? (me!)

Going Short is ready to snuggle and do some writing.

“I can’t get enough of your love, babe.”

Prompt: Bribing the Muse: On Your Mark, Get Set…

A great trick to create urgency in a flash fiction story is by using another constraint: Time.

For almost a decade now, all my college classes have begun with a 10-minute timed writing. Timed writing is nothing new. We know that it helps us transition us into the writing space, like stretching before a workout. We know that it forces us to stay present and dig deeper—writing past where we might have naturally given up. And we know that keeping the pen moving quickly, without crossing things out or rereading, is a great way to evade the internal critic and uncover fresh ideas.

But I discovered something else through years of this practice: 10 minutes of writing without stopping is also the perfect amount of time to draft a flash fiction story idea from start to finish.

It makes sense: Flash fiction is defined by a word constraint, so why not create under a time constraint? Having that clock ticking while you furiously try to reach the end of an idea gives the piece a natural sense of urgency. And writing from the beginning to the end in one sitting also creates a sense of continuity—we see the end coming as we embark on the journey.

You can use timed writing in many ways. For instance, you can:

Set the timer while writing to a prompt.
Set the timer when you’re feeling stuck and don’t know what to write about.
Set the timer and rewrite a “flat” story from scratch while the clock chases you to the finish line (my favorite)

And as a daily practice it’s even better. Besides, you can do anything for 10 mins, right?

Because only you can write your stories.

Happy flashing and stay warm, friends!

Love, Nancy