write a great short story

And I have to say that when people read a workshopped story they expect it to be at an earlier stage of development than what it is. So the very fact that something is printed or emailed creates a mindset, as opposed to when you pick up some literary pub and start reading.

I say this to say that the story I read got reviews across the board – quite interesting. Some people thought it was nearly done, some people thought it was a first draft. Now the question: how do I feel about it?

I started Bob Bausch’s class on creative nonfiction last night. Very strong commenters, and now I need to pull something together to workshop… the whole reason I do these workshops is to force myself to produce, and now I’m wondering if this will work. At $200 a class this is going to get expensive.

That said, he had a great idea for curing writer’s block. Turn the screen off, and keep writing. Seems hilariously simple, but the endless self-edit during the process of writing is lethal.

So here’s the latest list of story starters. None are speaking me, but it’s therapeutic to write them down.
1. Skip & Karen
2. The office vampires
3. Competitive kids, competitive parents, the moment when you fall of the cliff and realize things aren’t going as well as you thought. Turns out you can’t self-actualize through Pre-Calc.
4. Religiosity, worn on his sleeve, as a way to meet girls.
5. The last good thing I did.

So little creativity… so much time.