Our next stop was in Huntsville, Texas, home of Sam Houston State University, where my younger sister is an English professor. Thus, I was honored to be asked to present to/teach the Sam Houston Writer’s Guild.
Others who taught were professors who mainly talked about writing a thesis, not about creative writing. But creative writing is why these young people are in this group. I was so excited to be able to share what I’ve learned over the last few years and help talented writers have the opportunity to publish long before I did. We talked about cover letters, Shunn format, word counts, drabbles (one-hundred word stories that must contain a beginning, middle, and ending), some of the best writing groups on Facebook to join, some ideas on what publications they should be reading, like Writer Beware, and many other things. I began class by discussing drabbles since they are little known by most people. I asked if they wanted me to name two objects to include or come up with their own ideas. They elected to have two subjects. I went with a bloody hand and a tree stump. I was impressed with some of the stories they came up with! It’s not easy to write on the fly like that, make it only 100 words, and write a good story. I’m not sure I could do so most of the time. I only gave them ten minutes, though they were still all furiously writing, so we extended it to fifteen.
I had a great time! I was nervous, but all of them were gracious and grateful for the information I was able to provide. What an honor! Thank you, Professor Tayebi!
On Hummingbirds Wings 