A Common Philosophy Among Thieves Forum Seventy-Nine Words

Well, kids, I've been a bit hesitant to begin any discussions or projects within the ACPAT group until I gathered a few more folks for the philosophy, but I suppose five is a good few to start with for now. I believe my first homework assignment will spark your interests as well as your imaginations. More importantly, we will be using this small group to chisel a piece of prose which you can all submit to a reputable publication in an effort to further our own writing careers.

We can all write. I can tell you this as I have read everyone's work and enjoyed the unique voices you all possess. I believe I can write, as well. In fact, I can write, and write, and write... only a fraction of which am I ever truly comfortable sharing with anyone. Which means, of course, that I edit my writing. I trim the fat and chisel away the bits and pieces of writing which allows the words I leave to shine more brightly and speak louder on their own. Short stories are difficult because every word that you allow must be important and deserve a spot within the sentence. This discipline is what separates talented writer's from good writer's, the ability to apply borders to the world you create on a page, and to live within those limits that you set for yourself. It's hard to color inside the lines. That is where we find this first assignment, which comes to you from Esquire Magazine, whom is celebrating their seventy-ninth anniversary with a writing contest into which I believe we all should submit our own work. What is the objective? To write a story. The twist? The story can only be seventy-nine words.   I’ll have a few more details in the contest section of the group. I’m setting this up as a contest, but I’m going to be submitting pieces as well, only I'm not allowed to actually submit to my own contest, so you'll have to check the group writing page unless someone can tell me how to get around that technical issue. Thanks.

Write within these walls, but think outside of the box.
~Catcher