writing workshop: going vertical

Join me and a small group of writers February 3 and February 10 for a two-part, online workshop about a creative writing strategy I call "vertical movement." New and experienced writers are welcome. We're going to read, write, and talk about creating depth in your fiction with this writing strategy. 

This is an interactive workshop series. I'll ask you to read two short stories, write to several prompts during our Zoom sessions, and complete one short, take-home assignment to bring to the second session for an interactive workshop review with your peers. 

This online workshop is part of the regular series of creative writing classes sponsored by The Stacks Coffeehouse (Thanks, Stacks!) Cost for both days is $40. 

Register online at The Stacks Coffeehouse:

  REGISTER for Going Vertical  

If you have any questions about the workshop, post them in the comments section below or message me on my FB page: facebook.com/Sherri.H.Hoffman. I'm always happy to hear from other writers. 

26 - a celebration

Letters in the English alphabet. 

Black cards in a full deck and, 

conversely, 

red cards in a full deck. 

The atomic number of iron, count of protons and electrons but 

not its neutrons. 

President Teddy Roosevelt. 

Bones in the human foot. 

The "Old Enough to Fight, Old Enough to Vote" amendment or, 

ironically, 

"Prohibition" plus "Protection against Cruel and Unusual Punishment." 

Dimensions in bosonic string theory. 

An opal wedding anniversary. 

The numeric value of the Hebrew name of God in the Bible, which 

only appears once. 

Asteroid Proserpina.
Ganglions in the sympathetic system. 

Rhombicuboctahedron.

postcard war: a stranger comes to town

"Pick an apocalypse, any apocalypse." 

~ John Gardner, from Grendel 

Early in the 2020 pandemic under travel restrictions and limitations on gatherings, my brother challenged me to a postcard war.  Game on. 

The rules are simple: the "winner" is the one who sends either the most audacious or highest quantity. I'm an overachiever. I try for both. 

I created this set with ink and pencil over found city images. Entitled "A Stranger Comes to Town," my work is inspired by the postcards of Steve McDonald, "Fantastic Cities," and the writings of author John Gardner, who taught that there are only two plots in all literature:

1. one goes on a journey; and
2. a stranger comes to town. 

I grew up in a military family that had moved 17 times by the time I was 13 years old, making me, at once, always on a journey and always the stranger. 

Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond

Call me what you will...

~ Metallica, "Wherever I May Roam"