Literary Tarot Stories are Back!
And One Hundred 100 Word Stories Milestone
Dear Reader,
It’s been hot as heck in New York State but the stories are flowing. I don’t know what you thought about July’s prompts but I loved that exercise. I got to revisit my favorite musical numbers and songs and share them with you. I especially loved writing “The 7” from the last week of June that led up to the 31 stories of July. They are still free to read if you want to check those out here.
On August 8th (8/8) I will hit 100 100 Word Stories written! Wow! At the moment I’ve got no celebrations planned or confetti or cake but if you’ve been with me through it all I want to share this with you. Yes, it’s a bit preemptive as I have a week to go, but I’m pretty confident that it’s a foregone conclusion at this point.
In July I also started to write some 100 Word Story Collaborations. I write the first 50 words and someone else writes the last 50 words. It’s gone so well, I’ve even seen others take it upon themselves to collaborate with each other to do these! Watch out world, I think the 100 craze is spreading!
I share one collaborative piece every Friday exclusively to Notes, here are three from July: Special shout out to my July collaborators:
& !
A NOTE ON 100 WORD STORIES IN AUGUST
Every day in August, for 14 days, will feature a tarot card from the Suit of Ink (aka Suit of Wands). Remember, each suit depicts a classic work of literature. This month I’m going to include a small snippet about what the card means. And if you have access to the Archive you can go back to the Major Arcana from June and learn the meaning for those cards as well!
From August 15th - August 31st will be the Substack Publication Name Challenge. Every day will feature one Substack fiction publication name used as the prompt for a story. That Substack will, of course, be featured.
100 WORD STORIES ARCHIVE
Stories on the 1st of every month are Free-to-Read while the rest are archived, meaning they are for paid subscribers only.
[Exceptions: June 24th - June 30th]
THE EDITORIALS
Here are my Wednesday Editorial emails in case you missed them. And you can catch-up on previous Editorials HERE.
I'm Mad About Murdle!
I first “discovered” Murdle on my birthday when I went to Barnes & Noble. I go once a year on my birthday to buy books. Otherwise, I’ll admit I buy books from Amazon for the rest of the year. But it was on this occasion that I happened to see the cover. It stuck out to me and I almost bought it but for some reason chose not to! 👀
HEARD ROUND THE STACKS
I have the largest directory of nearly 300 Fiction Substacks! If you’d like to find some hidden gems for yourself, just click HERE. This month let’s take a look at a serial! The list boasts of 50 serial writers! Wow! Here’s what this one is all about:
You’re a woman who’s woken up out of stasis and you find yourself onboard the spaceship Aubade escaping Earth. Forever. Last thing you remember is going to bed. On Earth.
Start on Chapter 1:
WHAT I’M READING
From the website: F(r)iction is a literary anthology carefully curated to evaluate an important cultural topic from vastly different perspectives. From historical origins to nonfiction essays to the wildest reaches of fiction, poetry, comics, and art, each issue inspires us to think differently.
I’m currently reading their issues for research (aka Steal Like an Artist) on a future project I’m working on behind the scenes that I hope to share more about in the not too distant future.
WORTH THE WATCH
I don’t typically share illustration videos without a reason, especially because I’m not an artist. But I just had to share this one from James because it’s really fascinating to watch how he does it and, like Bob Ross, his voice is nice to have on in the background while I’m writing. It’s almost 1hr long so be prepared .
I'm late to the party, but will work on consistent 100-word stories. It's a good disciple. Totally copying your prompt concept.
100 x 100 is well worth celebrating!
You’ve inspired me to try the 100 word challenge - also referred to as a Drabble by Bill Adler in notes.