🆆 Micro Monday: Write
Micro Monday Newsletter Prompt #133
It’s Micro Monday, where you get a quote and a writing prompt to help you build a portfolio of work. If you're new to micro prose and writing with me, check out this post here.
Quote #133
You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.
Doris Lessing
Prompt #133
Write about what’s in your purse/backpack/pocket right now.
Set the timer for 10 minutes and start writing. When the timer goes off, give the piece a title, count up the words, and share it below.
Three Things: Beth Ann Fennelly and Darien Gee
July 25, 2025 12:00 pm PT
Substack Live
“Three Things” is a conversation with short prose authors to talk about writing and the creative process. Each guest shares three things: some short prose, a prompt, and a writing tip.
Joining me next week:
, author of Heating and Cooling: 52 Micro-Memoirs and the forthcoming The Irish Goodbye: Micro-Memoirs. Beth Ann served as Poet Laureate of Mississippi from 2016-2021 and is currently a Professor of English at the University of Mississippi. We’ll be looking at a couple of her favorite micros while talking about the joys and challenges of writing short. Her Substack is . Click on the date above to be notified of when we go live. Paid subscribers, go to the Writer-ish chat and post one question for Beth Ann!
Upcoming guests: Kathy Fish, Grant Faulkner, nick flynn, Brenda Miller,
, David Shields, Edward Hirsch.10-Minute Live Writing Session (Free)
July 16, 2025 Weds 4:00 pm PT
July 22, 2025 Tues 1:00 pm PT
July 31, 2025 Thurs 1:00 pm PT
August 7, 2025 Thurs 5:00 pm PT
Join me on Substack for 10-minute Live Writing Sessions (LWS). The live session is free; the replay and bonus content are for paid subscribers.
I sign on 5 minutes before and stay for 5 minutes after to answer questions or do a short craft talk. We always start writing at the top of the hour, and you are welcome to jump in/head out at any time. Even if you join with 2 minutes left on the timer, you will get some writing done. Trust the process and yourself as a writer.
Past writing sessions are here.
Writing Workshop on Substack: Paint Chips to Prose
It’s Week 3 of our 3-week writing workshop on Substack, “Paint Chips to Prose.” I made a video to cheer you to the finish line, and not to play favorites, but I love love love the paint chips this week, our final challenges and reflections, and advice on what to do when the week ends. Join in anytime!
The next 3-week workshop begins on August 11, “Word of the Day.”
Upcoming Live Conversations
Here’s the line-up for all the upcoming Substack Lives I’ll be hosting or participating in for July-August:
Jul 22, 2025 Tues 11:00 am PT
“Writing About Family” withJul 25, 2025 Fri 12:00 pm PT
“Three Things: Short Prose Conversations” withAug 4, 2025 Mon 4:00 pm PT
“It’s Not a Hobby: Moms Who Write” withAug 7, 2025 Weds, 12:00 pm PT
“Three Things: Short Prose Conversations” withAug 12, 2025 Tues 4:00 pm PT
and
“Authors Unfiltered: Do You Have/Need a Niche?” withAug 19, 2025 Tues 3:00 pm PT
“Three Things: Short Prose Conversations” with
Free UCLAx Webinar: Writing About Our Families
Jul 26, 2025 Sat 12:00-1:30 pm PT
Zoom; Registration Required
Nothing is more fulfilling, fascinating, or fraught than the prospect of writing about ourselves and our families. If you have a story to tell based on the people in your life, this class will help you navigate the ins and outs of "who gets to tell the story,” what to do when little information is known, and how to get started with writing family narratives. Includes in-class writing exercises. Register here.
Where to Submit Micro
Here are a three places to submit your micro to this week (if you’re ready)/this month (if you’re almost ready)/September (start preparing):
7.14.25 ten-minute write:
now that i know what i'm doing?
chapstick. hemp lipstick. two bobby pins. cleaning cloth for glasses. glass case. wallet with credit cards, some cash, health insurance and medicare cards, driver’s license.
collapsible plastic brush. wrapper from vitamin c lozenge...sometimes lots of them. too many give me gas. sugar the culprit. small tube of hand lotion, disposable tooth pick.
square plastic box with various meds for me or my husband. eye drops. nub of eyeliner pencil.
thin black cross pen husband gave me. notebook to write in. folded car insurance cards.
no concealed weapons, or red pepper spray. no knives. no kid's toys or applesauce squeezee tubes. compact and pale sage green canvas that gives me a flap to put the car keys so I always know where they are ( most of the time).
other side has zipper where writing notebooks slip into, like yesterday when my girlfriend invited me for a 'three sundays' talk with david whyte.
he was my silent mentor, through his books, when I began writing in earnest thirty years ago...seventy -two now...watched abby/darien interview just now...i want a lot more years to write.
159 words
Only The Essentials
My monkey mind is a minimalist out of necessity.
In my purse is a clutch wallet, with one credit card and one debit card, insurance card, a park pass, an expired Metro card, a few one dollar bills, and in a zippered compartment, earrings I removed before a recent salon visit.
Other items come and go. Some end up on the floor of my car, passenger seat, kitchen counter, my already cluttered desk. A double eyeglass case that’s usually empty, allowing sunglasses and reading glasses free range in my purse, risking broken arms and scratched lenses.
A box of mints with two left for emergencies, and since I have two left I don’t buy a new box. I know, dumb. Always a pen and small pad. A charging cord for my phone when it’s not glued to my palm or my back pocket.
My little blue heroine—a single Excedrin for migraine—when I feel one coming on.