Are writing prompts really useful -- or just pleasant procrastination? My short story "Get Away," freshly published in DarkWinter Literary Magazine, opens with a first-line prompt from my Tarot Prompts for Writers page: "The road lay behind him in the darkness...." I would never have come up with the story without that prompted first line.… Continue reading Writing with Prompts (New short fiction: “Get Away”)
The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is open for entries! Young writers of the nation's capital, we want to read your stories, poems, and comics. Send them in before midnight on February 28th for a chance to win prizes and publication. The Awesome Authors contest is open to Ottawa youth writing in… Continue reading Awesome Authors 2026 is on!
March Update: The 2025 contest is now closed and the judges are reading your entries. Good luck! Original post: The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is open for entries! Young writers of the nation's capital, we want to read your stories, poems, and comics. Send them in before midnight on February 28th… Continue reading Awesome Authors 2025 is on!
Back to school and bored already? Liven up the year with a visit to your school from a teaching artist -- like me. In Quebec, we have two great programs to help fund an author or artist visit to your school: Culture in the Schools and ArtistsInspire. Culture in the Schools The Ministry of Education's… Continue reading Funding for Writing Workshops in 2024-25
[December 2024 update: I've now posted all 22 of the major arcana, so check out my Tarot Gallery. Click on any card for a set of writing prompts, and follow links to detailed card descriptions. I hope it inspires you.] [Original post...] Recently, a fellow writer suggested using tarot cards as free-writing prompts for some… Continue reading Tarot Prompts for Writers
Catherine Austen 