December Open Mics and related events in NEPA

Just like November, December in Northeastern Pennsylvania is jam-packed with Open Mics and related events! See if you can get your ticket punched at every one!

Thursday, December 19 - Scranton
TWO, TWO, TWO EVENTS IN ONE LOCATION! Show up for one and stay for both! You'll be glad you did.

Winter Open House at the Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton, starting at 5:30.
"The Vintage Theater's Board of Directors warmly invites all members of the community to its Winter Open House. This party is perfect for all those familiar with The Vintage and those who have never been before! Complimentary food, drink, artisan vendors (including Boutique Libertina) and prizes! Featuring Chelsea Collins (of A Fire With Friends) on piano, information to the inner workings of The Vintage and did we mention complimentary drinks?!? Open & Free To All!"

Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry Night at the Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, sponsored by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers Collective! Sign-ups begin at 8:00, poetry at 8:30. This month's host is the incomparable Wendell Bullock!

Friday, December 20 - Wilkes-Barre
Third Friday Spoken Word at Art Seen On The Square, 21 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Open Mic plus feature Brian Fanelli! Sign-ups begin at 7:30, readings begin at 8:00.

Saturday, December 21 and Sunday, December 22 - Scranton
The Eight: Reindeer Monologues at the Vintage. Tickets are going fast for this scandalous behind the scenes tell-all about what really goes on with the team that pulls Santa's sleigh!

Sunday, December 22 - Stroudsburg
Every Sunday features the Open Mic at the Living Room, 522 Main Street in Stroudsburg, next to the Sherman Theater. You never know what you'll have there: music, dancing, poetry, storytelling...plus whatever you bring to the event! Sign-ups begin at 6:30, performances at 7:00.

Friday, December 27 - Scranton
So how was your Christmas? Did you get everything you wanted? Well, if what you wanted was a giant pile of poetry, you'd better rouse yourself from your Boxing Day hangover and head on over to the third edition of Kick Out the Bottom open voice poetry reading at Embassy Vinyl in Scranton, hosted by Charwonica Dziwozony! Limited to thirteen readers, signups begin at 6:45, poetry begins at 7:00!

***ADDED 12/22/13*** Saturday, December 28 - Wilkes-Barre
the joy... A special holiday event at The Lamp Post, hosted by Bianca Roman!
the lamp post, chapter one 47 North Franklin St. Wilkes Barre (3rd floor of Downtown Arts Building)
Holiday Arts & Performance Event
Dress Code: FESTIVE
Admission: please bring one wrapped gift (=approx. $5.00) we will end the night with a gift exchange for all attending members of the illumiNATION!!!

Sunday, December 29 - Stroudsburg AND Tunkhannock
OH NOES! Two events at the same time in two widely separated parts of Northeastern Pennsylvania! How will YOU see the old year out? Well, if you're not able to bilocate or astrally project, you'll just have to pick one and ask your friends to fill you in on the other!

Open Mic at the Living Room, 522 Main Street in Stroudsburg, next to the Sherman Theater. It's the holiday season, and the final open mic of the year! ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!! Sign-ups begin at 6:30, performances at 7:00.

Breaking Ground Poets Holiday Open Mic at 7:00 at the Tioga Bistro, 49 East Tioga St., Tunkhannock. According to Katie Watkins Wisnosky, "There will be a writing workshop @ 5 with Jim Warner beforehand at the Tioga Bistro. ADULTS - you can attend the writing workshop, too, for a $5 donation to the BGPs. We will be celebrating our TWO YEAR anniversary (woot! woot!), so there will be food, ugly Christmas sweaters, and oh yea - the best youth talent in the area! And maybe some surprise performances by mentors..."


This may not even be everything! If you're aware of additional events through the end of December (or beyond - never to soon to start getting ready!), leave a comment or send a message and we'll add them to the list!

Writing Group meeting spot for Saturday, November 30

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective will be unable to meet at The Vintage on Saturday, November 30 due to the Small Business Saturday Art & Craft Showcase (great gifts by talented local artisans, nothing over $50) being held there from 10 AM to 4 PM.  While our fall-back position in recent months has been the Starbucks at the Steamtown Mall, KK has suggested meeting at the second floor food court at the Steamtown Mall this Saturday at 1:00. (The food court allegedly has an Arthur Treacher's - the only one within a hundred miles, at least.) While this lacks the easy accessibility of Starbucks and may feature all sorts of first-weekend-after-Thanksgiving-at-the-mall shenanigans, it looks like this is where we're meeting.

November event overload

So many events happening in November I just...can't...even...and the thing is, these events may have been going on every month without me being aware! Unless otherwise noted, all events are free, though donations are appreciated.

Friday, November 15 - Wilkes-Barre
Reports of its demise were apparently premature. That, or it's a terrifying zombie out for brains. Third Friday Spoken Word is back at Arts Scene on the Square, 21 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Open Mic plus feature Eric Wilson! Sign-ups begin at 7:30, readings begin at 8:00.

Saturday, November 16 - Scranton
The Writers Showcase will appear in its new location at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street in Scranton. Not an open mic, this will feature several local poets and authors presenting their work, including Matt Hinton, Marissa Phillips, Dale Wilsey Jr., Kate Senecal, and special guest Jeffrey Condran. Performances begin at 7:00.

Sunday, November 17 - Stroudsburg
Every Sunday features the Open Mic at the Living Room, 522 Main Street in Stroudsburg, next to the Sherman Theater. You never know what you'll have there: music, dancing, poetry, storytelling...even Roger Hammer of the Unholy Sideshow! Sign-ups begin at 6:30, performances at 7:00.

Monday, November 18 - Kingston
Writer's Showcase and Open Mic Night at the Hoyt Library. Open mic with five minute slots, followed by featured readers Amye Archer, Brian Fanelli, and Richard Priebe. 284 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston. Readings begin at 6:30.

Thursday, November 21 - Scranton
Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry Night at the Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, sponsored by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers Collective! Sign-ups begin at 8:00, poetry at 8:30.

Sunday, November 24 - Stroudsburg
Open Mic at the Living Room, 522 Main Street in Stroudsburg. See November 17, above.

Friday, November 29 - Scranton
Screw the orgy of Black Friday consumption, it's time for the newest and most exciting open mic of all! The second edition of Kick Out the Bottom open voice poetry reading at Embassy Vinyl in Scranton, hosted by Charwonica Dziwozony! Limited to thirteen readers, signups begin at 6:45, poetry begins at 7:00!


So. The next time someone whines "There's nothing to do around this area," you have my permission to print out this post and smack them with it.

October events, and a prompt

The prompt for Saturday, October 19 is from KK: "Wrapped in plastic and floating down the river." Here are a few of the literary events happening around the area - ours, and those being put on by our friends or like-minded individuals!

Thursday, October 17: Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective presents Third Thursday Poetry Night Open Mic at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton - featuring Dead Poets! Come dressed as your favorite dead poet and recite some of their poetry FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE! Or come as yourself and show those spirits that the living can hold their own when it comes to poetry! All are welcome. Admission is free. Signups begin at 8:00 PM, poetry at 8:30 PM, supernatural phenomena shortly thereafter.

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/555421117839809/


Friday October 18: Third Friday Spoken Word, Pre-Halloween Bash with Featured Performer Kyle Rebar at Arts Seen on the Square, 21 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Free and open to the public. Sign-ups begin at 7:30, readings at 8:00. And hear the words of Featured Performer Kyle Rebar: "I'm going to be in COSTUME, and so should you, if you come, so come! Legend has it that the ENTIRE evening might be a giant performance piece. Only one way to find out!" Wear a costume for extra Carlton points!

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1420252018198484/


Saturday October 19: Breaking Ground Poets present Buddy Wakefield at 2:00 PM at TwentyFiveEight Studios, 703 North Washington Avenue, Scranton (behind Cooper's Seafood.) Tickets are $15 and must be bought in advance. You can buy them here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/417951 .


Sunday October 20: Weekly Sunday Open Mic at The Living Room, 522 Main Street (next to The Sherman Theater), Stroudsburg. Sign-ups begin at 6:30. Music, dancing, poetry, prose, and quite a few other things.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OpenMicAtTheLivingRoom


October 25 DOUBLE HEADER!

Friday, October 25 (and the last Friday of each month): Open Mic at Embassy Vinyl (325 Adams Ave, Scranton) hosted by Charlotte Rusalka! First Come - First Serve - no feature, 3 to 5 minutes! Begins at 7PM!

Friday October 25 at 7:00 PM: release party for Brian Fanelli's "All that Remains," starting at 7:00 PM, at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton.

Poet Brian Fanelli will celebrate the release of his new full-length collection, All That Remains (Unbound Content) at The Vintage Theater on October 25th 2013. All are invited to attend this literary event which will include live readings of selections by the author. Following the reading, the author will sign books. 

ALERT: Vintage will not be open during the day Saturday, September 28

***ALERT***ALERT*** 

Conor just let me know that the Vintage will be closed during the day this Saturday - everyone who could keep it open has somewhere else they have to be.

SO, should we:

1. Agree to meet somewhere else? We had a very good meeting on Courthouse Square about two months ago.
2. Skip the meeting this week?
3. ...something else?

Please respond on the group's Facebook page if you can, or leave a message here if you don't have access to the page.

September Events: Third Thursday, K.K. in a play, and more!

Here's a list of events for the rest of September:

Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry Night, Thursday, September 19 at the Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton. Sign-ups begin at 8:00, poetry begins at 8:30. Free and open to all, though donations for the support of the Vintage are always appreciated.

Third Friday Spoken Word featuring Dale Wilsey Jr., Friday, September 20 at Arts Seen on the Square, 21 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre. Poetry begins at 8:00. Free and open to all, but donations are accepted.

Open Mic at the Living Room, Stroudsburg, every Sunday at The Living Room, 522 Main Street, Stroudsburg (next to the Sherman Theater.) Sign-ups begin at 6:30 PM.

Ghost of a Chance (starring K.K. Gordon as Chance) at the Actors Circle at Providence Playhouse, 1256 Providence Road, Scranton. Performances are September 19, 20, 21, 27, and 28 at 8:00 PM, and September 22 and 29 at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $12 General, $10 Senior Citizens, and $8 Students. Reservations can be made at  (570) 342-9707 and are held until ten minutes before showtime.

Some slots are still open at Abington Area Community Classroom writing class being taught by Laurel! Please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested! (Note that the first session is this Thursday!)

Give Life to what you Write   

Join instructor Laurel Radzieski for a journey through the mail that will inspire and enliven your creative writing. Claim your voice, investigate real and imagined worlds and explore your personal history through correspondence techniques and related exercises. Be prepared to bring your writing. Experimentation with poetry, memoir, fiction and creative nonfiction will be encouraged. You’ll never look at junk mail the same way again.

Location: First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit                  6:30 PM

Cost: $40.00                                                                        

Visit https://abingtonareacommunityclassroom.wordpress.com/class-registration/ for registration details. 

5 Thursdays, September 19 – October 17

ALSO: Support the Vintage at the Vintage's Fall Ball, Saturday, September 21! 

Celebrate the Start of Autumn at The Vintage's Fall Ball

We love a good party. We love the fall. We love seeing new and old friends. Let's do all of that on one night.

The Vintage Theater, an all-ages arts space and performance venue within downtown Scranton, is approaching its fifth year of operation and could not be more ecstatic and proud of its hard-work towards its mission of accessible and affordable arts of all mediums, styles and genres. The Fall Ball is our way of saying thank you to the community and welcoming the season - we hope you'll join us!

The event will be held on Saturday, September 21st, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $5-$10 (give more if you can) at the door. The Vintage's Fall Ball will showcase food from local farms, mulled wine (for 21+ patrons only), spiced cider, delicious fall-inspired chocolates, artisan wares, live music and much, much more. 

An array of local vendors and artisans will be on-site, including Bella Faccias Chocolate Creations, offering gourmet chocolates and OM in The Attic, featuring hand crafted, one-of-a-kind, vegan, wooden jewelry, infused with love, made using fallen branches from Northeast PA. Additionally, The Vintage will be partnering with several local farmers who will be offering fresh produce, as well as samples of food, wine, and desserts. 

Artists Diana Perciballi, Heidi Van Lueven, and Brent Pennington will also have work on display and available for purchase.

If you're looking for the ideal way to welcome the season while support arts, culture, and local businesses in Downtown Scranton, The Vintage's Fall Ball is the must-attend event of the season.  

For more information, visit ScrantonsVintageTheater.com or join the official event page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1406913696195263/?ref=22

What: The Fall Ball

Who: Hosted by The Vintage

When: September 21st 2013; Doors open at 7:00 pm

Where:The Vintage Theater, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton, PA 18503

Tickets: $5.00 – $10.00 (give more if you can) - At Door

Contact: Conor O'Brien, info@scrantonsvintagetheater.com or 570-507-9671

Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scrantonvintage

Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vintagetheater

Donate: https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=8397

Our Website: http://www.scrantonsvintagetheater.com

Third Thursday Open Mic is Thursday, August 15

Sorry for the little-to-no-notice - but the NEPWC third Thursday Open Mic Poetry Night will begin at 8:30 at The Vintage (326 Spruce Street, Scranton) Thursday, August 15 - featuring CARLTON, from the far-off land of Wilkes-Barre. Show up early to sign up. All are welcome. Admission is free! Come and share your poetry, or just enjoy the poetry of others.

Prompt for August 3, and 24 hour Art Event at The Vintage

The prompt for this week comes from the latest poem by Alvin K Nurse: "constant monkey chatter."

Also, the NEPWC has been asked to take part in The Vintage's 24-hour Art Event! Stay tuned for details.

Prompt for July 27

This week's prompt comes from Leslee: "The gloves lay on the ground by my feet."

Upcoming Breaking Grounds Poets events

Laurel Radzieski asked me to pass this on to the group. Upcoming events from the Breaking Grounds Poets, including one being hosted at The Vintage on Monday, July 29.

Write Bloody poet (and one of Andrea Gibson's favorite new writers) Jon Sands will be performing at The Vintage Theater in Scranton on Monday, July 29th. Ticket sales will benefit The Breaking Ground Poets. The Breaking Ground Poets is a volunteer-run organization that provides a safe space for local teens to discover the power of their voices through spoken word and literary expression. Breaking Ground Poets will open for Jon. There are limited tickets for this event (100), please order yours today!

Purchase tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/415729

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/296277297185639/

The two-time National Poetry Slam Champion, Anis Mojgani, will make an appearance in Scranton in late August. Tickets have not been posted yet. He will be performing at The Century Club. Click here to listen to "Shake the Dust" - one of his most popular poems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qDtHdloK44 Tickets will be posted soon on brownpapertickets.com or you can visit the Breaking Ground Poets FB page for more information. 

Legendary Write Bloody author and former punk rocker, Jeanann Verlee, will also be performing in the upcoming months. Read more about her work here http://www.jeanannverlee.com/ 

Third Thursday is July 18; plus, more prompts!

Getting the word out early: the July Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry Night will be Thursday, July 18, and will also see the return of the Featured Reader. The Feature for July be Alvin K. Nurse, whose poetry draws from the many twists and turns his life so far has taken. Get there early to sign up to read, and be sure to stick around for Alvin's presentation! Signups begin at 8:00, poetry begins at 8:30. The event takes place at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton, and as always, admission is free!

I wasn't able to get the prompts for this past weekend posted, but they were

With words it takes longer

and

You got one thing right

The prompts for Saturday, July 13 are

You've got to romance me first

and

The air smelled like bacon

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective meets every Saturday from 1:00 - 3:00 at The Vintage in Scranton. New members are always welcome. See you there!

A whole mess of prompts

I've been slacking off with prompts lately. Here are some recent ones.

"I eat fortune cookies for good luck," from a poem by Wendell Bullock. Wendell rewrote the prompt into one of his boxing sketches for last weekend's meeting.

Older than that is this from K.K.: "Life is like a game. Some people get the green cards, and some people  get the pink." If you missed Chaz's two-person play short play based on this prompt - well, maybe if you ask very nicely, he'll present it again.

Another older prompt: "She's not into me," again proposed by K.K.

There are two prompts from the most recent meeting: "Lying is his native language," a line from (I think, someone correct me if I'm wrong) a very old poem by K.K.  The other, proposed by Marion, is "Is this about anything?", which was a comment someone made about something presented this weekend.

Use any of these, or all of them, or none of them. Now, get writing!

A Farewell to Spring: Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry

The NEPWC Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry (and Prose) Night will be held this Thursday, June 20, at 8:30 PM at the Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton. This will be the final evening of Spring, the last full day before Summer begins, so who knows what sort of change-of-season shenanigans will take place?

All are welcome. Admission is free. Bring something you've written and present it for an audience!

Prompt for June 1, 2013

The prompt for this Saturday comes from poet/playwright/author/regular guy K.K. Gordon: "Nah. Gave that up."

Third Thursday, and some prompts

Third Thursday Open Mic Poetry (and Prose) readings for this month will be held Thursday, May 16 at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton. Sign-ups start at 8:00 PM, and readings begin at 8:30 PM. Admission is free, and all are invited!


Prompts for the May 18 meeting come to us from KK:

The office girl looked terrified and annoyed.

and/or

I've already thrown the dirt on your grave.

Prompt for May 4 and 11 was

It has to have a gun.

Our meetings are held every Saturday at The Vintage from 1:00 - 3:00 PM. All are welcome! Bring a poem or prose piece to present to the group!

The NEPWC Journal

Today we tossed around the idea of creating a published journal of sorts, like the Stacks writing group did. It would feature original short stories and poems by our members, as well as artwork throughout. There seem to be four basic questions (or groups of questions) in doing this:

1. Getting the content. Poems and short stories, short enough to fit on one or two half-sheets of 8.5" x 11" paper, plus illustrations. All must be in a format that can be scanned, copied, and/or digitally stored. All content will be being released into the wild. Its appearance in even something like this may count as first publication, so that may complicate matters for pieces people may intend to publish later.

(One suggestion was that the content could be the result of a "free write", so that numerous stories and poems would be based on a single writing prompt. This would also keep the length of each piece low.)

2. Design. What works best for this? Everything typeset neatly, the rough-and-ready look of zines, or some combination of the two? What should the title be? What other information will be contained? How long will it be?

3. Creation. What sort of paper? Should the cover be a different paper? What kind of staples or stapler? How many copies? Where is the best place to do this? Who will bear the cost?

4. Distribution. The journal will serve as a sampler and an ad for the group. Where should we place copies? How many copies at each location? How many copies will we keep for ourselves, and for future use?

We are going to contact several people currently publishing zines (including the Stacks zine) to get their advice.  We might not have something in place for the Scranton Zine Fest in June, but we may have something ready to be dropped off at local libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops before too long.

Prompt for April 27

"I'll hurt you if you stay."

Prompt for April 20

The prompt for April 20 is from Rusted Root by way of K.K.: "Lift me up with golden hands."

REMINDER: Third Thursday is THIS Thursday, April 18

Our Third Thursday Poetry Readings for this month will be held Thursday, April 18 starting at 8:30 PM at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street in Scranton. Admission is free, and all are welcome!

Here are some images from the March 2013 Third Thursday. All photos are by Alvin K. Nurse.

Leslee Clapp reading at Prose in Pubs at the Vintage, April 21 at 4:00!

Leslee Clap will be one of the opening readers at the April 21 Prose in Pubs, which will be relocated to The Vintage (326 Spruce Street, Scranton) for this month only. She did a preview of her presentation at this weekend's NEPWC meeting.

Prose in Pubs @ The Vintage will start at 4:00 PM on Sunday, April 21, 2013. The featured reader will be Rae Bryant.

Rae Bryant's biography, from the Prose in Pubs page:

BIO: Rae Bryant’s short story collection, The Indefinite State of Imaginary Morals, released from Patasola Press, NY, in June 2011. Her stories and essays have appeared in The Paris Review (online), StoryQuarterly, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, BLIP Magazine, Gargoyle Magazine, and Redivider, among other publications and have been nominated for the Pen/Hemingway, Pen Emerging Writers, and Pushcart awards. She received fellowships from the VCCA and The Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a Masters in Writing, teaches creative writing, and is editor in chief of the university-housed literary and arts journal, The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review. 

Rae Bryant's website: www.raebryant.com

Rae Bryant's Wikipedia entry

HAPPENING NOW: K.K. Gordon's "Taking Liberties with Peter Rozig"

K.K. Gordon's dramatic comedy "Taking Liberties with Peter Rozig" is currently being performed at The Olde Brick Theatre, 128 West Market Street, Scranton, along with "Lou Gehrig Did Not Die of Cancer" by Jason Miller.

Performances are April 12 and 13, April 18, 19, and 20, and April 25, 26, and 27.

Showtime is at 8:15 PM.

Tickets are $12.50 for Adults, $10.00 for students and Senior Citizens.

For reservations call 344-3656.

The Olde Brick Theater, 128 West Market Street, Scranton

K.K.'s synopsis of "Taking Liberties with Peter Rozig": "Chris, a disgruntled postal employee, kidnaps a co-ed who's obsessed with serial killers in order to complete an absurdist piece by Peter Rozig. Wackiness ensues!" 

He summarizes "Lou Gehrig Did Not Die of Cancer": "Victor, the son of a spaghetti sauce mogul and a little league coach and his charming community theater bride seem to be outgrowing each other."

These two dramatic comedies are being presented by Scranton Public Theatre, Northeast PA's Resident Professional Theater, as part of A Spotlight on the Jason Miller Playwrights' Project.

Prompt and Superprompt

We wrapped up the normal meeting quickly on Saturday, so we took Chaz's suggestion of a "free write": ten minutes of quiet time dedicated to writing from a new prompt. The prompt Leslee chose was "rat poison," and we came up with diverse pieces of flash fiction: new member Vanessa told a tale of a quiet neighbor who has suddenly asked the story's narrator to pick up some rat poison at the store - even though the neighbor keeps a scrupulously clean house; Alvin wrote a story based on a true incident about a group of kids and their dog engaging in a fearless rat hunt - no rat poison needed (adding the phrase "beating a dead rat" to the vernacular);  Leslee wrote of a class that tries to have some fun with a substitute teacher by supplying her with false names (including "Rat Poison",) and how she turns the tables on them with a writing assignment; Marion wrote of two siblings, a hoarder and an anti-hoarder, and a dispute over an ancient container of rat poison; Leslie also wrote about two siblings, resuming their bickering after a temporary truce in the wake of their mother's death; and Harold wrote a story involving Ratt, Poison, and numerous other relics of mid-80's culture - and a woman who has chosen to live in the past, rather than join the modern world of iPhones, dubstep, and half-gallons of ice cream that are only a quart and a half.

Anyone else is welcome to write to the prompt of "rat poison" for next week. Try limiting yourself to just ten minutes of writing and see what you can come up with!

We also floated what Alvin described as a "superprompt": a "story seed" or beginning of a modified "exquisite corpse" story. Harold supplied the opening. Everyone else is welcome to take that starting point and run with it, wherever they see fit, possibly limiting themselves to three paragraphs or so, so they can then hand off their stories to the group to see where others might take them.

Here is the "superprompt" story seed:


Tim didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when he first came home. Pat was gone for the weekend, so he had the place to himself. He unlocked the front door, stepped inside, turned off the alarm, closed the door, took off his jacket, and tossed it over a chair. He stepped into the kitchen to fix himself a drink and heard an unfamiliar crunch under his shoes.

He was walking on broken glass.

The window over the sink was smashed, and glass was scattered around the kitchen.

He stopped moving and tried to assess the situation. Someone or something had smashed through the window.  Whoever or whatever it was would have made a hell of a racket coming through the window, but was stealthy or clever enough to avoid setting off the motion detectors - part of the alarm system he had shut off a minute ago.

Were they still here? It seemed likely. He knew that he should run, get out of the house, get in his car and call the police from there, but he felt rooted to the spot. Somebody was in his house - his house - and he wanted to confront them, not run away.

Tim stared at the broken glass and listened for any sounds that would give away the presence of someone else in the house. He didn't hear breathing, or snoring, or anything. But he did see spots of blood on the floor, scattered among the shards of glass.. Whoever or whatever had come through the window was injured and bleeding.


Where will you go with this? Write the next few paragraphs - or even chapters! - of the story, and bring them to next week's meeting!

Prompts and promptings for Saturday, April 6

At last week's meeting, Leslie pulled two prompts out of the book "642 Things to Write About."

Prompt 1: Choose how you will die.

Prompt 2: Write a scene where the only spoken dialogue is "Uh-huh," "Umm," "Errr...," and "Mm-mmm."

Harold suggested that for our next project we do a sort of "exquisite corpse" story - where one member writes a section and passes it off to another member, who will write another section and pass it on again.

Chaz suggested starting the meeting with an "open write," setting aside a few minutes for each member to write whatever comes to mind.

Our next meeting is Saturday, April 6 at the Vintage in Scranton starting at 1:00.

Third Thursday Poetry Reading is TONIGHT, March 21!

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers' Collective Poetry Reading and Open Mic is TONIGHT, Thursday, March 21! Readings are at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Avenue, Scranton, and begin at 8:30 PM. Bring something to read, or come and enjoy poetry readings by others. Admission is free!

Writing prompt challenge: expanded and revised edition!

The writing prompt challenge has been extended for another week to March 30! And I forgot to list a critical piece of it last time - a second prompt!

The challenge is to write "Flash Fiction", a short-short story of six hundred words or less, using one of these two prompts:

• During the long Arctic nights we held grave discussions.

or

• And then I asked him with my eyes to ask again - yes.

Present your story at next Saturday's the March 30 meeting at the Vintage, and the group will decide on a winner! We've already had three presentations, from Leslee, Harold, and Wendell, and they can revise and re-present their work, too!


For more on flash fiction see these sites:

Flash Fiction Online: http://flashfictiononline.com/main/
FlashFiction.net: http://flashfiction.net/
Flash Fiction World: http://www.flash-fiction-world.com/
Flash Fiction Friday: http://www.flashfictionfriday.com/

Writing prompt challenge!

Leslee Klapp came up with a contest at the March 2 meeting. First, the group would collectively decide on a prompt. Then, since we will not be meeting on March 9 due to the Scranton St. Patrick's Day Parade, we would have two weeks to compose short-short stories - flash fiction - of no more than six hundred words that use the prompt either in the title or somewhere in the story. The group will collectively decide on the best story, and the writer of that story will win a prize!...of some sort.

We grabbed random books scattered around the loft of the Vintage and began pulling out sentences for consideration. The group then voted, and we settled on one to be the prompt:

During the long Arctic nights we held grave discussions.

So. That's the challenge. Using that prompt as the title or part of the story, write a story of six hundred words or less for presentation at the March 16, 2013 meeting. The group will vote on all presented works, and the best story will win a prize. Good luck, and get writing!

Laurel Radzieski to be featured reader at New Visions

Laurel Radzieski will be one of the featured readers at the New Visions Bi-Monthly Writers Showcase & Poetry Reading at the New Visions Studio and Gallery, 201 Vine Street, Scranton on Saturday, March 30, 2013 at 7:00 PM.

Other featured readers will be Andrea Talarico McGuigan, Shelby Fisk, Chris Campion, Stanton Hancock, and Heather Davis. Featured Music during intermission will be by Danny Jackowitz.

The show starts at 7:00, and admission is free.

Storing and accessing your work online

Here's a simple solution for storing and accessing your work online in a way that it's easily accessible to you but not accessible to anyone else: Create a blog with the privacy settings set to allow only you to access it, and upload all your works there! No one else will be able to see what you've uploaded, but you'll be able to access your work as easily as signing in to your blog.

More details here:

Another Monkey: I've got a new blog (that you can't see!)

K.K. Gordon's "Real Friends Help You Move" to be performed at the American Globe Theatre in New York

K.K. Gordon's "Real Friends Help You Move" has been selected to be performed at the American Globe Theatre in New York on Wednesday, April 24 as part of their 15 Minute Play Festival!

19th Annual 15 MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL

It's fast, it's fun, it's where the audience gets to play critic and vote each night for their favorite play. This annual play festival features 35 original short plays chosen from more than 250 submissions from emerging playwrights throughout the country. Audiences' vote each night for their favorite play with the winners moving on to the finals and a chance to compete for awards and cash prizes.

Semi-finals
April 22 through April 28, 2013, 8:00 PM

Finals:
Friday,May 3, 2013 at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM
Saturday, May 4, 2013 at 5:00 PM and 7:30 PM

Tickets: $18 at the box office

The American Globe Theatre is located at 145 West 46th Street in New York City.  (Note: This special notice is on their website: "Sorry, American Globe Theatre is not wheelchair accessible.")

Best wishes to K.K., and big huge congratulations on this accomplishment!

Also check out this excellent article from the Scranton Times-Tribune!

Upcoming events and announcements

1. Our monthly Third Thursday Poetry Readings will be held on Thursday, February 21 starting at 8:30 PM at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street, Scranton. All are welcome, and admission is free!

2. The very next day, Friday, February 22, K.K. Gordon will be the featured poet at a reading at the Dietrich Theater in Tunkhannock! Open mic sign-ups begin at 6:30, open mic begins at 7:15, and the feature begins at 8:15. Admission is free. Call the Dietrich at 570-996-1500 for details.

3. K.K.'s short play "Real Friends Help You Move," which was recently performed at the Shawnee Playhouse as part of their "One Act Winners" program, has been selected to be performed in New York City! More details to follow.

Leslee's birthday feast, Saturday February 2

At last week's meeting, Leslee asked me to remind everyone that, as part of her birthday celebrations, she will be providing refreshments at the February 2 meeting.

Poetry Night Thursday, January 17

The Northeastern Pennsylvania Writers Collective will be hosting its monthly Open Mic Poetry Night at The Vintage, 326 Spruce Street in Scranton, on Thursday, January 17. Poetry starts at 8:30. The event will feature an open mic.  All are welcome to read poetry (and even short prose!)