There’s so much bad news in the world today, that rather than focusing on individual holidays, the theme for this month is HOLIDAY MAGIC. It will run through the first weekend of the New Year, I think.

(As an aside, if the quotes seem Christmas-heavy, that isn’t meant to push a personal agenda, and certainly I don’t expect your writings to be Christmas-centric.)

That’s the thing with magic. You’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.
~Charles DeLint

1. It’s a Magical World, by A~Lotus
2. Indistinguishable from Magic, by Melissa A. Bartell
3. Seven Magical Things, by Becca
4. My Magic Seven, by Bobbi
5. Seven Magical Things, by Janet
6. Seven Magical Things, by Sister AE
7. Seven Magical Things by Zan

Kindle the taper like the steadfast star
Ablaze on evening’s forehead o’er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
~Emma Lazarus, “The Feast of Lights”

1. Was Jesus Born on Christmas Eve?, by Bobbi
2. Fascination, by Tiel Aisha Ansari
3. Scene on a Winter Evening, by Melissa A. Bartell
4. Hold This Law, by Richard
5. Playing for Pleasing the Moon, by Gautami Tripathy
6. La Vie en Rose, by Lissa
7. Dream or Reality, by Anu

Holiday Project Image

1. The Wonder, The Magic, by Bobbi
2. Oh, Wonder, by Niebla

If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side. We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower.
~Samuel Smiles

1. My Angel, by Bobbi
2. Haiku, by A~Lotus
3. Living with Angels, by Tiel Aisha Ansari

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

1. Christmas is Green, by Bobbi

The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
~Francis P. Church, “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus”

1. Unseen Wonders, by Bobbi
2. Unseen and Unseeable Wonders, by Gemma

Don’t forget to comment here with your name, the title of your piece, the selected option number, and the direct link to it.

HAPPY WRITING & Happy Holidays

There’s so much bad news in the world today, that rather than focusing on individual holidays, the theme for this month is HOLIDAY MAGIC. It will run through the first weekend of the New Year, I think.
(As an aside, if the quotes seem Christmas-heavy, that isn’t meant to push a personal agenda, and certainly I don’t expect your writings to be Christmas-centric.)

Option One: Seven Things

That’s the thing with magic. You’ve got to know it’s still here, all around us, or it just stays invisible for you.
~Charles DeLint

In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever].” We are not going to go around in a circle here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

Give me seven magical things in your world. Interpret “magical” any way you please. You’re not required to explain the items in your list, but it’s more fun for readers if you do.

Option Two: Pick Three

Kindle the taper like the steadfast star
Ablaze on evening’s forehead o’er the earth,
And add each night a lustre till afar
An eightfold splendor shine above thy hearth.
~Emma Lazarus, “The Feast of Lights”

Pick at least three of the following words, and build a piece of writing around them. The form is up to you: poem, scene, flash-fic, essay, or general blog entry.

ablaze, earth, forehead, kindle, night, steadfast, star, taper

Option Three: Can You Picture That?
Use the following photo to inspire a piece of writing in any form (poetry, prose, whatever).
(Please remember to copy the image to your own server, and include photo credit when it is known.)

Holiday Project Image

Option Four: Poetry

If we opened our minds to enjoyment, we might find tranquil pleasures spread about us on every side. We might live with the angels that visit us on every sunbeam, and sit with the fairies who wait on every flower.
~Samuel Smiles

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about living with angels or sitting with faeries.

Option Five:Fiction

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Using the above quotation as your inspiration, write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving childhood memories.

Option Six: Timed Writing

The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
~Francis P. Church, “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus”

Take twelve minutes (use all twelve, but don’t go over), and write on the subject of unseen and unseeable wonders.

This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format – fiction, essay, verse – is welcome.

Don’t forget to comment here with your name, the title of your piece, the selected option number, and the direct link to it.

HAPPY WRITING & Happy Holidays

Photo Credit: Jef Poskanzer

• House, Perhaps Abandoned, by Tiel Aisha Ansari
• Lost, by Rob Kistner

Option Two: Poetry

Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days.
~ Author Unknown

• Bloody Sue (Reprise), by Rob Kistner
• Reaper Groom, by Rob Kistner
• Of Witches and Ghosts, by Bobbi

Rules? (In Which Jeremy Ignores Them, to Good Effect), by Jeremy

Option Three: Fiction

“There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.”
~ George Carlin

• Feral Love, by J.C. Montgomery
• Family Dinner, by Lissa
• #22, by Wine Dark Sea
• The Howling Moon, by Bobbi
• Judgement of the Moon, by sister AE

Option Four: Timed Writing

Halloween wraps fear in innocence,
As though it were a slightly sour sweet.
Let terror, then, be turned into a treat…
~ Nicholas Gordon

• Rosy Encounter, by Medhini

Option Five: Seven Things

“Where there is no imagination there is no horror.”
~ Arthur Conan Doyle

• Fear of the Dark, by A~Lotus
• Seven Things That Scare Me, by Bobbi
• Seven Fears, by Medhini
• Seven Scary Things, by Janet

Option Six: Pick Three

A house is never silent in darkness
to those who listen intently;
there is a whispering in distant chambers,
an unearthly hand presses the snib of the window,
the latch rises.

Ghosts were created when the first man
woke in the night.
~ J. M. Barrie

Project words: awoke, chamber, distant, ghost, house, listen, still, whisper, window

• Haunting, by Snack
• White Chamber, by Niebla
• Day of the Dead, in La Paz, by Susana
• Whispers, by Janet
• Haunting, by Tiel Aisha Ansari
• Ghostly Moans, by Bobbi
• White Cats, by Richard Wells
• Scented, by Melissa A. Bartell

A gypsy fire is on the hearth,
Sign of the carnival of mirth;
Through the dun fields and from the glade
Flash merry folk in masquerade,
For this is Hallowe’en!
~Author Unknown

Welcome to the Café.
This edition of the Café Writing Project is a special Halloween edition. If Halloween isn’t part of your culture, you’re invited to open yourself up to the darker parts of your imagination, anyway.

We’ll be running the Halloween theme from now til the 9th of November, which means it also spans the Presidential election in the United States. Appropriate, I think, since modern politics are scarier than any ghosts or goblins ever could be.

For guidelines, please see The Rules. Remember that you should leave a comment with your link, including the title of the piece that you wrote, and the appropriate option number. Also, I would encourage everyone to visit the blogs of CW participants – most of our Regulars have amazing writing on their sites throughout the month.

If this is your first time here, please be aware that comments from first-time posters are held in queue until they’re approved by a live person, and that participant pages go up roughly two weeks after the beginning of each Project, and will be updated until the next Project goes live.

The planned launch date of the next project is November 9th

* * * * *

Option One: Can You Picture That?

Use the following photo to inspire an entry in any form – fiction, essay, poetry.

Photo Credit: Jef Poskanzer

* * * * *

Option Two: Poetry

Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days.
~ Author Unknown

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about witches and /or ghosts.
* * * * *

Option Three: Fiction

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
~ George Carlin

Write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving a night when the moon is howling.

* * * * *

Option Four: Timed Writing

Halloween wraps fear in innocence,
As though it were a slightly sour sweet.
Let terror, then, be turned into a treat…
~ Nicholas Gordon

Take thirteen minutes (use all thirteen, but don’t go over), and write on the subject of fear wrapped in innocence.
This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format – fiction, essay, verse – is acceptable.

* * * * *

Option Five: Seven Things

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.
~ Arthur Conan Doyle

In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever].” We are not going to go around in a circle here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

So, give me either seven things that scare you OR seven of your favorite horror films.

You are not required to provide any explanations, but it’s more interesting for readers if you do.

* * * * *

Option Six: Pick Three

A house is never still in darkness to those who listen intently;
there is a whispering in distant chambers,
an unearthly hand presses the sill of the window,
the latch rises.

Ghosts were created when the first man awoke in the night.
~ J.M. Barrie

Pick at least three of the following nine words, and write a paragraph, scene, flash-fic, essay, blog entry or poem using them. It’s fine to change tenses, or pluralize if you want to, but please bold the words you choose.

awoke, chamber, distant, ghost, house, listen, still, whisper, window

Don’t forget to comment on this post with the direct link, title, and selected option for each piece you create. Happy Writing!