Dear Writer,

Last month I took a trip to Illinois to visit my mother, and the 17-year cicadas were out. They were present audibly at all day—even driving I could hear the thrum of the cicadas with the windows up and A/C on.

This got me thinking to past cicada cycles; I haven't been in the midwest for the last two eruptions. This led to a wonderful realization:

I'm only 4 in cicada years!

(I'd be older for those with 13 year cycles, but let's not go into that.)

Lessons for writing: Be patient and prolific.

Cicadas survive because they are so bountiful. So, put your writing out into the world. Make some noise. Some of your works may stand the test of time or generate new ideas much later.

Before we get to the post, if you haven't done so, can you take my nonfiction reading survey? (Take it if you read any nonfiction books.) You'll be helping me with my next book.

​Find the survey here.​

Okay, now on to this month's Writing Yoga exercise. It's a fun one!

Mountains of Metaphors

This month, I challenge you to pick an abstract topic and generate a mountain of metaphors to explain it. The results can be a lot of fun.

I may share a few in a future newsletter, so feel free to send me anything you write using this exercise.

Golden Quill Deadline Extended

You now have until July 15 to submit your short fiction, nonfiction, or poetry piece with the theme of memories for the Golden Quill contest.

​Here's the link to enter.​

New Class: Workbooks that Work

On August 15, I'm teaching a course with Jane Friedman called Workbooks That Work. Learn more and register on Jane Friedman's site.

That's all for now. Have fun with the Metaphor Mountain and I'll be back in a couple weeks.

Anne

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