Spring into Writing with Short Édition!

March is here, the first month of spring. Do you feel inspired by the warming weather and renewing life? If your creativity is of a literary bent, you can submit your original short stories and poems through San José Public Library's Short Édition platform. If accepted, your work will join other stories and poems from our community to create a rich reflection of our collective voices and imaginations!

SUBMIT YOUR WORK

Need help thinking of what to write about? Here are some story/poem prompts inspired by a few of the events in March to help get your creativity up and running:

  • phụ nữ của anh ấytory Tháng: Write a poem or short story inspired by the achievements of women in American history. Read about their storcác Bên and write a fictional account of a real or imagined moment in the life of a particular figure.
  • Daylight Savings Time (Sunday, March 13): Uh-oh, we lose an hour in the spring, don't we? Think of a character whose life gets thrown topsy-turvy because they forgot about the time change. Maybe they missed an important meeting, appointment, or event? How might things spiral out of control for them? Or, how is their life made better?
  • St. Patrick's Day (Thursday, March 17): Write a story or poem that's inspired by Văn hóa dân gian Ailen, Irish history, or the story của Irish immigration to America.
  • Spring Equinox (Sunday, March 20): The vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring. What sorts of things do you notice as the temperature warms and the days grow longer? What is the weather like? How does spring make you feel? Write a poem inspired by your reflections on the changes in nature that spring brings.

Teen writers: have you heard about Author’s Corner? It's a monthly, informal creative writing club to help support teens who are considering a career as an author and want to get feedback on their work, teens who want to build portfolios for creative writing programs, and any teen who's working on a piece of creative writing.

REGISTER FOR AUTHOR’S CORNER

SJPL is also offering Teen Crash Course in Creative Writing. "If your dream is to become a published author or just to write, join us on Saturday afternoons for a free, six-week virtual course on different aspects of writing (starts February 26 and runs through April 2, 2022 from 2:00 - 4:00 PM). This program is for high school and middle school students, ages 11-18. All classes will be taught by a different professional author. You can pick and choose which ones you'd like to attend, or attend them all!"

In April, the Short Édition committee will be holding our annual SJPL Poetry Contest, open to members of the public of all ages, with prizes for the winners! Keep checking SJWrites on the SJPL blog as April approaches for more information.

Below are some books at SJPL about creative writing you may wish to check out. Happy writing!

Books on Creative Writing

Chữ S ngắn đặc biệttory Viết, bìa sách
Thơ là gì?, bìa sách
The Discovery of Poetry, book cover
The Everything Creative Writing Book, book cover
Về Viết, bìa sách