NPR's Three-Minute Fiction Contest

I’ve been pounding the idea of tapping into your creativity lately because I think it’s incredibly important. We’re not singular in 2012, or the Chapelboro area, for living in a time of economic and political upheaval, but the fact that many other times and places have shared our unease can be of little comfort in the face of our own reality. What does comfort and usher in change is creativity, and the common expression thereof. Budgets may be slashed, especially in the arts and music, and sometimes we personally have little control over those decisions; we can dig deeper in our own lives, though, and work a bit at freeing the creative person inside each of us.

Solidarity with other creative women seems particularly important right now, and I’m happy to say that I have many such supporters in my life. They’re always looking out for me, and putting me on to new ways in which to follow my creative dreams. This past winter, a dear friend put me onto an NPR contest to which I am now a loyal contributor and follower (and hopefully, one of these days, a winner – we’re following dreams here, remember). Even with my new work as a Farmers Market Manager pulling me in a brand new direction, I hold tight to my writing vocation. We’re none of us one thing or another, but a colorful collage of many things; sometimes, one color or another dominates, but it’s all there.

So, in the same spirit of creative solidarity, I’m sharing this contest with you, my creativity loving readers. Maybe you know someone (doesn’t have to be a woman, :-)) who needs a nudge towards writing, or maybe you’d like to try your hand at writing a 600 word story using the prompt provided by an established author. Either way, check out the details at: NPR’s Three-Minute Fiction Contest

This round closes at 11:59pm on March 25th. Spread the word, and put some coins in your karmic creativity bank. We’re all in this together; let’s keep it interesting!

‹

Fred Applegate Speaks on DPACs "Anything Goes"

Fred Applegate – starring as Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin, in the upcoming performance of Anything Goes at the Durham Performing Arts Center – took a moment to speak with Ron Stutts of 97.9FM WCHL. Anything Goes runs from March 19-24 at DPAC.   Tell us about Anything Goes. What can people expect? “Well people […]

Fred Applegate Speaks on DPACs "Anything Goes"

Fred Applegate – starring as Public Enemy #13, Moonface Martin, in the upcoming performance of Anything Goes at the Durham Performing Arts Center – took a moment to speak with Ron Stutts of 97.9FM WCHL. Anything Goes runs from March 19-24 at DPAC.   Tell us about Anything Goes. What can people expect? “Well people […]

Parenting Page: Learning To Swear

This is a parenting page, about parenting Page. I am a child psychologist and a mother. So I specialize in children, yet I am human, thus I am full of knowledge and yet as full of emotions as any other parent. So I decided to write this Parenting Page since it might be informative and […]

Enter The Brand New Life

Last Tuesday, The Brand New Life trundled their operation down I-40 to heat up the Carrboro eve at The Cat’s Cradle. The band incorporates elements of different types of music into what materializes as a kind of fusion jazz/rock/world beat amalgamation which is a tremendously refreshing sound to the music lover’s ear. Reminiscent of some […]

MLK Day Book Drive: 10,000 Books for Kids!

To honor the birthday and legacy of service of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Book Harvest will be holding their annual community book drive (10,000 Books for Kids — 10KBK) on MLK Day and a community-wide celebration of diversity, literacy, and book ownership for all kids. The event will take place on Monday, January 21, […]

In Case You Missed It

Richard Taylor recorded and edited this video of the Town of Chapel Hill’s Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration, saying, “It’s so nobody will have missed out on seeing them.” Please enjoy what was an amazing night for everybody involved, then click on the image below to view a gallery of shots he took of the […]

Female Heroes in Mainstream Comics

These days, I hear a lot about sexism in comics, and I agree that it’s a huuuuuuge problem (especially in mainstream superhero comics)—read Kelly Thompson’s essay if you don’t believe me. So today I’m going to tell you about some of my favorite women characters in mainstream comics who are done well (I’ll probably talk […]

I Wanna Be a RepliKate

I know a lot of people in England think the Royals are obsolete. But I love them. Scratch that – I love Kate Middleton. Er, Duchess Catherine. Whatever. She is transforming the style of the twentysomething for the better, and I love her for that. She’s idyllic but still relatable. And most of all- she […]

How to Better Photograph Your Family- Tip Four

TIP 4: WATCH THE BACKGROUND It seems counter-intuitive, but any successful photograph BEGINS with the background. A bad background can ruin an otherwise amazing photo. Think of how a painter would work on the background first and then, layer by layer, add the protagonists. When filling up your rectangle (see tip 1), pick a clean […]

How to Better Photograph Your Family- Tip Three

TIP 3: GET UP. GET DOWN. GET MOVING! When you photograph your family without being intentional about it, most of your photos are taken from the same eye level. While some photos are great taken from that level, if all are taken that way it makes for some pretty boring photos. Here is an example […]

›