#Sarah Selecky

[author-mandi-bean]

Facing February

Any other writers trying to get their shit together in 2025?

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Six Weeks, Six Senses.

Hi friends! I wanted to share with you something that I’ll be doing to kickstart my writing in the new year. I participated in this COMPLETELY FREE online writing workshop a few years ago, and it helped my writing immensely. I’m PUMPED to be able to participate again this year, and I can’t wait to compare some of the things I’ve written at the start of 2020 to the things I’ll write before during and after this workshop.

It’s called Six Weeks, Six Senses and its run by Bestselling author Sarah Selecky. If you’ve followed this blog for a hot minute, chances are you’ve seen me mention her before. That’s because she has amazing resources for writers from free writing prompts and workshops and annual short story contests, to extremely in depth writing classes and retreats. Six Weeks, Six Senses is a free online workshop that focuses on one sense per week: Sight, Sound, Touch, Scent, Taste, and Magic ✨. Each week you receive three emailed image prompts: a person, an object, and a setting. You then use those images to write something, focusing on the sense of the week. For example in the week revolving around scent, writers try to focus less on visual cues and more on what the characters in the scene can smell. There is a space on the workshop website for you to post your stories so that other participants can read and give you feedback. Sometimes Sarah pops in and reads/ critiques things too which is honestly the coolest thing, knowing that a successful, published author has read your words. You do not have to post anything, there are no commitments. You can do week one and skip two weeks and hop back in at week four. Whatever works for you.

Long story short: It’s free, it’s helped me immensely in the past, and I just wanted to throw it out there in case anyone else wanted to join me in this!

[bookburning]

Radiant Shimmering Light

She looks at me carefully. She wants something from me. Or is this connection?

From first meeting with our heroine—straight up, a Canadian virgin who sees pet auras—I naturally expected a beach read. I got one, but also a much more subtle commentary than I'd imagined. As the best satirists do, Selecky left me uncertain how much she meant to make fun of her characters: I rolled my eyes at the self-professed wellness guru hawking candles by webinar but had to squint at her board-room speeches. “Health and work cannot be compartmentalized. This is why feminine leadership is the change that the whole world needs to see.” Isn’t it? Or is it? Like the proliferating auras of the protagonist’s strange visions, substance and nonsense blur to pure sensation, perfectly evoking our digital hall of mirrors. 

In Bright Lights, Big City, Jay McIrnerney warned of fiction in a “bronze age” with “nowhere to go.” 

It can run but it can’t hide. The new writing will be about technology, the global economy, the electronic ebb and flow of wealth.

That was 1984. I think it’s true that literature has since suffered even more than we have from our phones: it seems impossible to write anything interesting about life spent checking notifications and scrolling feeds, but equally impossible to ignore the fact that that’s what we’re all doing. In Radiant Shimmering Light, with characters who feel as real as the pages of “@” mentions, Selecky has made a very good effort. I couldn’t put the book down—even to check Instagram.  

[illshowyourhurricanes]

In the Line of Fire (Part One)

This is the first part of a three-part series of sorts based on this amazing prompt by the amazing Sarah Selecky. Starting this off with some season 2 Billy Russo!

Trigger warning: mentions of death

Rated: R (language, mentions of death, blood and gore)

Word count: 860

Tag list: @dylanobrusso @obscurilicious @the-blind-assassin-12 @something-tofightfor​ @ms-delos @madamrogers @lexxierave @benbarnestongue @yannii04 @gollyderek @carlaangel86 @poindexted @maydayfigment​ @thisisparadisemylove​

If you would like to be added to/removed from my tag list, let me know.

Enjoy!

He glanced at his reflection in the blood-smattered mirror; his eyes were still pitch-black. The thick, pink, ugly scars over his once-flawless face clashed with the scarlet smear of blood over his forehead. 

You ain’t so fussy anymore. You ain’t so pretty. 

Billy’s face twisted in a sneer of contempt. His hands were stained red even though he’d scrubbed them raw. He had dried blood outlining the outer edges of each fingernail, caked underneath them. Slowly, he realized his upper body felt damp, sticky, and he looked down at what was originally a white t-shirt in a daze. It was completely saturated with blood. 

He hadn’t forgotten what he’d done, and he grinned, smile gleaming with pride. He was more than satisfied with his handiwork. 

You ain’t lookin’ so good yourself, asshole. 

The splintered remnants of the stickball bat he’d snapped in half laid at his feet, and Billy nudged it out of his way with the toe of his combat boot. 

“I was a Marine.”

His own voice, hoarse and defensive, echoed in his head. He shook it violently. It had to stop. 

“Is that what you got for your service?” Arthur had nodded toward Billy’s face, the thick, pink scarring, the ruins and remnants of Frank’s retribution, and he’d let out an acidic laugh accompanied by a mocking salute. “Thank you, sir.” He could still hear that asshole’s voice clear as crystal, and his lip curled in disgust.

A loud noise of rage erupted from Billy’s throat. He kicked the discarded half of what remained of the bat. It smacked the wall, ricocheting off and skidding to a halt half a foot from Arthur’s body. . Lifeless. Bloody. Impaled. 

Lifting his chin, Billy swallowed hard. His throat was sore, dry. Every muscle in his body was tense and his head was pounding. A smack to the side of his head with one hand, he turned to the dirty mirror again and cracked his neck, moving it side to side. He rolled his shoulders, his right one not as willing to move as his left.

“You remember when you came at me with that bat?”

Gotcha this time, mother fucker.

Billy began to walk deeper within the house. With just a few long strides he found himself standing in Arthur’s bedroom. Bolting straight for an old, beaten down dresser, he yanked open the top drawer,  contents tossed around until he found a plain black t-shirt. It was thin cotton, cheap. His skin crawled with the knowledge of who it belonged to, but he didn’t have much of a choice. 

Laying the cotton t-shirt back over the side of the dresser drawer he’d left ajar, Billy peeled his blood-soaked t-shirt from his torso and back, lifting it above his head and tossing it to the ground. 

Blindly, he rummaged through garments in the drawer, grabbing for anything he could get his hands on and wiping at his bare chest, his abdomen, his shoulders and back. Most of the blood that had soaked through his discarded shirt and stained his skin had dried. Only a scant amount of red was visible on what he’d managed to locate, dead man’s clothing repurposed for soaking up blood.

Tossing it to the floor, he pulled on the black shirt he’d grabbed originally. It was tight over his chest, strained over his biceps, but it would do. He returned to the kitchen, slipped his arms through the sleeves the fake leather jacket he’d gained from the big-mouthed asshole on the bus. 

You’re one sad bastard. 

Billy smirked. One thing hadn’t lost was his military training. He could be silent as he trailed after his pray. He was quick and agile, light on his feet, cat-like. His hand curled into a fist: he could practically feel the cool metal handle of the knife he’d knocked from the stranger’s hand and picked up with his own. Briefly, he wondered what it felt like to know you were going to die from being stabbed by your own knife. 

He straightened the collar of the jacket, lined with fur,  and took one last look at his handiwork. Kneeling in front of the chipped kitchen sink, he found what he needed within two seconds. With one last walk through, the plastic container that had been over half-full was then empty. He traded the plastic jug for the handle of what was left of his makeshift weapon and pocketed the blade, slipping through the back door. Wooden and rotting and warped, it was already partway ajar. Billy scanned over his surroundings. There was no one in sight. 

Fishing into the pocket of his jeans, he pulled out a light blue, plastic Bic lighter. Tightly, he gripped the broken section of the bat with the jagged, splintered edge up. With a quick flick of the spark wheel, he held the flame to the bat, using the wood like kindling. 

He threw the blazing bat toward the dilapidated house the way he would a grenade back in Kandahar. I was a marine. He was quick on his feet, agile, car-like. As he ran from the house, his feet hitting the ground one after the other, he was almost silent. 

[flowingrooted]

When you sit down to write, how much time do you give yourself to practice? I mean the off-record stuff: writing exercises, drills, and warm ups.

Think of the way dancers or musicians interact with their art. The performance, the finished piece, is the culmination of hours of practice: boring warm ups, weird experiments, and repetitive rehearsals.

When is your writing rehearsal?

Be honest: are you the kind of writer who feels writing exercises are a waste of time?

When you sit down to write, do you always feel you should focus and work on your story?

Your story is important. Finishing it is important. The workshop — the critique and feedback — this is important, too.

But it is not of primary importance. Your finished work is simply a performance piece that comes out of your rich and continuous writing life.

— Sarah Selecky

[dwellonthese]

Healthy January

Hello lovelies! Can you believe we are half way through the month?

In January, the world seems to focus on wellness, making adopting healthy habits a bit easier. I like to kick off the month taking care of my doctor’s visits. I’ve had a lot of eye appointments and doctor’s visits all year, but I’ve recently seen the dentist and got my mammogram done.

I also checked in with my functional…

[seawomanbds]

The Little Bird Writing Contest 2017 (Canada)

The Little Bird Writing Contest is "an annual, international contest exclusively for innovative, emerging short fiction writers. Entry Fee: CDN $25

Esi Edugyan, 2017 Judge for The Little Bird Writing Contest & Giller Prize Winner

The Little Bird Writing Contest is “an annual, international contest exclusively for innovative, emerging short fiction writers. The contest opens each spring when the birds come back and showcases the excellent stories (up to 2,500-words)” that come from Sarah Selecky‘s ‘Story Is a State of Mind’s daily writing…

[likethetailofacomet]

Little Bird Writing Contest

Hi friends!! Here’s a short story contest that I’m going to try to enter this month. It opened today and you have until the end of the month to submit a short story to answer this prompt: 

Write a story that starts with an ending. Give your character an unusual watch, use the words “striped” and “innovative” somewhere, and end your story with fruit.

It’s run by Sarah Selecky, a NYT bestselling author. I have taken a few of her online courses and she’s fabulous. Just thought I’d throw out a fun challenge to all you crazy talents out there. Happy writing! 

https://www.sarahseleckywritingschool.com/writing-contest/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=558687-the-little-bird-writing-contest-is-now&utm_source=lists%2F52585-Letters-from-Sarah-Selecky&simplero_object_id=su_gH9jDPGzAaD2HNhEBxbG6fwD

[the960writers]

Sarah Selecky: 

If you want to see challenges to power in action, look to the women. We’ve been here, in spite of efforts to invisiblize us and in spite of the climate of male toxicity that can exhaust and wound us. Julie McIsaac, from her blog And Then a Man Said It

There are so many ways to live as a writer. You don’t have to go through the initiation that serves the institutions that are (let’s face it) crumbling now, anyway. There are safe places to write, where you can feel the magic that hums when people write together, and tap into the unknowable, sparkly mystery.

[thesuzanne]

Publications round-up

It’s been a busy year in my writing studio with more doing and less promoting. Time to share some of what I’ve been up to!

Blog post about the writing craft:

Writing from a state of calm for Sarah Selecky’s Writing School

Recent interviews:

Cover story on Giller Prize shortlisted author Alix Ohlin, for Quill & Quire.

Interview with Writers’ Trust Prize shortlisted author Jenny Heijun Wills, for Hazlitt.

Canada’s Walk of Fame interviews for this year’s magazine: Cindy Klassen, Triumph, Will Arnett, Jim Treliving and Frank Gehry (links to come)

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Uh, check. ✅

[nicolebrewerwrites]

So hi again. It’s been six damn months since I posted an update on my reading -- predictably, I fell behind on my short story reading goal, and am only just on track to finish my book reading goal for the year. That said, I’ve been really enjoying reading (and buying) books this year, and I’ve succeeded in shrugging off the pressure I felt to read both more more more and new new new. I’ve been picking up books I’ve had on my shelf for years, and it’s felt great.

THE BOOKS:

When I last left you, I was reading Fra Keeler by Azareen Van Der Vliet Oloomi, which took me a hilariously long time to read (given how short it is) but was an existential delight. I’ve been reading a lot of short story collections to try to keep up with the short story goal (more on that at the end of the year), so haven’t read many more novels. In fact, I only have three really spectacular books to report: Bridge Retakes by Angela Lopes (read my Goodreads review here), The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton (yes I know I’m late to the party), and Glory by Gillian Wigmore (Goodreads review here).

I’ve plowed through many more short story collections though, and some of them have been truly incredible: Bad Endings by Carleigh Baker, The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender, The Third Person by Emily Anglin, This Cake is For the Party by Sarah Selecky, How You Were Born by Kate Cayley, and The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. These collections were filled with almost entirely 4- or 5-star stories, and Adichie’s collection is probably one of the best books I’ve ever read, of any kind.

THE STORIES:

I’m about a month behind on the 365 story goal, but I do think I’ll be able to catch up. Maybe. I think it might depend on which reading goal I prioritize -- I set out to read 365 stories plus 20 books this year; technically I’ve already read 23 books, but 8 of those were short story collections. So, technically, I need to read 4 months of stories and 6 more books by the end of the year. We’ll see, I guess.

Anyway, obviously there’s a lot to report on, so here are the 4- and 5-star stories I’ve read since the end of March. I haven’t included stories from the collections listed above.

The best of the best, my five-star stories:

"Meanwhile" by Sasha Fletcher, in Joyland

"Zen and the Art of Children Maintenance" by Paddy Scott, in Grain 44.3

"Unearth" by Alicia Elliott, in Grain 44.3

“The Soft No" by Kimberly King Parsons, in Joyland

"Barry Four Voices" Erika T Wurth, in The Offing

And my four-star picks from the last six months:

"What She Tells Them" Gail Anderson-Dargatz in Making Room, an anthology from Room magazine

"Little Hippo" by Miriam Cohen in Joyland  

"Circumnavigation" by Maggie Su in The Offing

"Uncle Harris" by Catriona Wright in Grain 44.3

"The Argentina Diego Maradona Hotel" by Joel Katelnikoff in Grain 44.3

"Ookie Cookie" by Méira Cook in Grain 44.3

"Yellowcat" by Claire Humphrey in Grain 44.3

“Pins and Needles" by Elaine Hayes in Grain 44.3

"Kokum's House" by Dawn Dumont, from Glass Beads

"Aurora Borealis" by Amy Jones in Taddle Creek 

"Erase and Rewind" by Meghan Bell in Room 

"The Fisher Queen" by Alyssa Wong 

“Salmon Upstream" by Nicole Dixon in Taddle Creek 

"Home (not ours)" (Excerpt) by Caleigh Baker 

"Pee on Water" by Rachel B Glaser 

“Susan and Tomas, Susan/Tomas, Tomas/Susan, Tomas" by Shilpa Iyyer, in Noble/Gas Qtrly

...

IT’S WORTH NOTING:

I’m actually trying very hard to read stories from a variety of places -- print magazines, online magazines, new journals, established journals -- and by a wide range of people. I’m a bit upset by how few publications are making it into my best-of lists. A four-star story, to me, is adventurous in style, packs an intellectual or emotional punch, and brings something new to the table. It must do all three of those things to be four stars, and (of course) it must do them well (according to me). I am open to recommendations!

[narcbrain]

Review: 'Radiant Shimmering Light,' by Sarah Selecky

Review: ‘Radiant Shimmering Light,’ by Sarah Selecky

In “Radiant Shimmering Light,” her brilliant, hilarious, perceptive debut novel, Sarah Selecky examines the enmeshing of “self-care” with flagrant self-promotion and knee-jerk consumerism.

Narrator Lilian Quick — 40, insecure, and in considerable debt — makes her living in Toronto selling pet portraits on Etsy. The portraits showcase Lilian’s ability to see animal auras, a supernatural gift…

[rachaelacheson]

Things I miss already

Inspired by Sarah Selecky’s 10-minute free writing prompts for the Writing Through Uncertainty program. Prompt for March 24, 2020.

Things I miss about life before the virus.

I miss the anticipation of everything I was going to do this summer — of getting a season pass to the local amusement park, hanging out in the sun at the local pool. Heck, I miss everything I was looking forward to doing this…

[mrsjuliana]

2 for 99 cents (The Big Gulp)

2 for 99 cents (The Big Gulp)

** I have signed up for a 6 week writing course by Sarah Selecky. Each week we are to use a specific sense to incorporate within our writing, as well as given 3 picture prompts to include in our piece.**

2 for 99 cents (The Big Gulp)

As the miles of hi-way stretched between Joe and his hometown, he found himself sandwiched between rows of cornfields, golden like the sun, and fluffy cotton candy…

[escritoryoutube]

Writer Sarah Selecky pokes fun at online culture in her new book … – Toronto Star

http://dlvr.it/QSY9sv