All us writers out there,
we’re all just part of this massive solar system,
2
1
just pinpoints of light,
of insight,
in a blanket of darkness.
3 4
A country that would, Given an illusion of a chance, Lock away those who 7
A good book is comforting, like an old friend.
when it becomes too stressful, or too boring for me to handle I use writing and reading as a way to escape my reality 6
8
5
Be a super hero, better yet a vigilante, stand for freedom and for Justice. We can change Our fucked up country! And we better. 9
Rules are rules are rules they say. So dress nice, smile pretty, scrub your mouth out with coarse soap. There are so many better words you could say.
10
I dare you to say something,
1
I want the message that I have for this world to be seen by millions of innocent eyes.
The purple bruise on my heart only shows when I think 2
with that wizardly brain of yours.
3
I know a nest of thoughts is buried somewhere in your stitched, congested head; you couldn’t splutter speech or roll in laughter if you haven’t got a brain. 4
5
6
I keep wishing I knew how else to speak to the sleeping. 7
8
My job is to create a message that our world needs to hear, to make it a better place.
9
1 2
3
4
6
5
2
1
3
4
5
At a crucial moment in our planet's history, the national conversation on climate change has gone silent. We need to resume discussion before it's too late. Hear the fall before the impact, prevent it or make it louder. Because right now, we're a "fix-it" culture, a fix-it-late culture. And that's just 2 bullshit. 2 1
3
5
6
4
6
Great pine’s branches scratch against the window grate and we both itch for freedom. Our room grows stale in the light
1 2
The young ones usually are because of their continued, stronger connection to the hostiles. As we age, the connection fades. That day, I was the woman everyone looked at for answers. I was also the first one through the door. 3
My companion cowers in his clay pot
The pool momentarily condenses,
5
You could smell it before you saw it: the metallic stench of drying blood sitting on your tongue like a tangible weight. 4 an orange from the triggered
the liquid splintering into wood.
6 7
3 pressure of your own body?
“I think I’m drawing a dandelion.” “A dandelion? How nice!” “Daddy says they’re weeds.” “Just because they’re weeds, doesn’t make them bad. Besides, they grant wishes.”
8
The clouds look like seashells and flowing hair and I can taste the sea on my lips and the salt on my teeth. I hear the seagulls up above, white like floating bags as they circle in the sky, loud and demanding as they flood past. I taste you here; do you taste me? 9
1
2
3
4
5
I want a collaborative experience! I want to sit down with my animal friends and create something beautiful— something that's not mine or theirs but OURS! 6
2 1 She tried not to think about it when she went about her day;
It would be so lovely to forget
3
4
5
Jenn the feminist kitty says...
1
As a female writer, I've been face to face with people who assume I can't write anything interesting because I'm a woman. I've had to deal seriously with the thought of disguising my gender via a pen name if I ever want to get published. As a female reader I've also been face to face with the messages that are being sent to women through popular fiction by female authors, and all too often, these are messages that perpetuate outdated and dangerous gender roles. I'm in publishing because I want to change that, and hope to get the chance to emphasize this with collage comics. 3
2
4
5
Calvin thought back to the last time his cousin had come over for the weekend.
Juliana had been Captain Jewel the Pirate Queen while he had been Scalawag Cal: First Mate Extraordinaire.
1
2
They had sailed around the living room in their refrigerator box boat, the SS Clayton, and they had defeated their nemesis Captain Pug-Face multiple times. 3
Calvin’s pug Boris was easily defeated by belly rubs and beef treats. 5 4