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Fictography #14 — A Love Letter From Mitchell Henry of Kylemore Castle, Connemara, Ireland
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). How spectacular is this castle? Over spring break, a group of students studied abroad in Ireland. One such student was Emily Maranto, a senior at Stevenson University. Emily has taken several writing courses with me, and as well, she’s got a special place in my heart because she was fortunate, as was I years and years prior, to intern at the Orioles. The students had so much fun on their trip, and last weekend, I was told the story of Kylemore Castle and its history, once the home of Mitchell Henry who built it…
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Friday Fiction: Strike Out
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Fictography (Lucky) #13 — Michelle’s Adventure
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a current student of mine Nick Mamakos. Nick is a Business Communication major who hails from New York. He agreed to share some photographs with me as he’s taken photography at Stevenson, and I thought this photo was lovely. Nick also happens to be a good writer, and I’ll be looking to see what he does down the road after May graduation. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had something to do with writing… This week’s piece of flash fiction is 504 words. * * * * * *…
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Fictography #12 — Self-Preservation
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a former student of mine and current Assistant Editor at the Severna Park Voice, Meredith Thompson. Meredith was a business communication major, and I got to know her well from all the classes she took with me. Meredith is a fantastic writer as well as a beautiful photographer, and many of her photographs are used in the Severna Park Voice. In fact, it was Meredith and her talents with the camera who helped me decide to purchase the Nikon I currently own. She has a way of looking at…
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Fictography #11 — Callie’s Letter
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from another student of mine, Courtney Hastings. Courtney is a business communication major, she loves to write and has taken many courses with me. She is also a member of the public relations club, of which I serve as the advisor, and is a member of our honor society, Lambda Pi Eta. She is very involved in campus life, and performs with the marching band as well. She is multi-talented, and appears to be a pretty good photographer as well. When she posted this photo on Facebook, I asked her…
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Sushi For One — Fictography #10
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a student of mine, Aja Myles. Aja has taken feature writing and public relations writing with me, and she is a very beautiful writer. When I asked in class if anyone had a photograph for this series I’m working on, within an hour she sent me three photographs from which to choose. As a sushi lover, I couldn’t resist using this pretty shot she took. And while the story isn’t necessarily about sushi, its appearance offers some solace for our main character, Sandra. At 380 words, this is the shortest…
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Fictography #8 — Christopher’s Cigarettes
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s selected photograph comes from a dear friend, Valerie Black Murray. Val and I met through our mutual friend, Stacey Beckwith Haines. I’ve spent many great times with Val, and thought her wedding to her husband, Tim, was one of the most beautiful ones I’ve attended (and it sort of reminded me of my own, therefore, Val has good taste!) 😉 Like Stacey and me who worked at the Orioles, Val works in the sports arena, and when I first met her, she worked for HTS. Now at Comcast SportsNet, it’s no surprise that she…
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Fictography #4 — Just Like That.
* * * /FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). This week’s gorgeous black and white photograph comes from a former student of mine, Tim Pyle. Tim’s photograph was taken in Baltimore’s Harbor East, near the new Under Armour store. It’s a beautiful vantage point of the Harbor, and I must admit to being very much in love with Baltimore. Therefore, I need to offer an apology to my readers for writing this bitter, angry, and sad story that takes place in this tranquil and lovely setting. I can’t always explain why a story pops into my head; it just does, and…
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Fictography #2—”Patrick”
Fictography #2 This week’s photograph for our flash fiction segment is provided by my friend and colleague at Stevenson University, Carol Cornwell. She is so talented, as you can see by her image above. She teaches photography at the university, and has taken students abroad to study and work their cameras. I am so happy she was willing to showcase one of her images from her trip to Ireland. Here is the story I’ve imagined goes with the photo. It’s called “Patrick.” Patrick The gate was rusted. The tall grass blew in the breeze that always seemed to come from the north here. Siobhan had been gone for 13 years,…
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Fictography #1: That Which Is Mine.
Welcome to my newest Friday feature. It’s called “Fictography.” The way this works is a reader will supply a photograph, and then I’ll write a piece of Flash Fiction (roughly 500 words) that reflects something about the photograph. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and I felt it was time. Writing Flash Fiction is a great way to sharpen your skills in both writing and creativity. Fun. Fun. Fun. This gorgeous photograph is provided courtesy of Rachel Noel Reid, one of my former students, friend, wife, and mother-to-be. I appreciate tremendously her support of my blog—and of this new concept. Thank you, Rachel, and I look forward…
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Flash Fiction Friday: Lessons of Survival
Friday fiction. There are no lessons of survival for the survivors. Lessons of Survival Cascading waterfall. A wall of rocks. The ocean, calmly rocking. Alone in her beach chair, she sat, stretched out wearing her sunglasses, dissecting what had happened. The rays of the sun warmed her body as she played the scene over and over in her mind, a movie trailer unable to stop. A dish she was holding crashed to the floor, and her knees buckled and bruised from falling on them hard, unable to stop her body from the weight of its own heaviness pressing down upon her feet. She couldn’t keep herself up; gravity had a…
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The Fortune Teller: A Piece of Flash Fiction
What is Flash Fiction? It’s telling a short story in a limited amount of words. Some call Flash Fiction a story in 300 words, 500 words, or under 1,000 words. There are varying degrees of word counts for this type of writing, and some Flash Fiction definitions include a word count of 1,500 words. In today’s case, I’ve told a little story in 586 words. Usually with Flash Fiction, there is a clear beginning, a middle, and a wrap up. THE FORTUNE TELLER “That boy loves you,” the old woman next door calls to me as she sees Sam drive away. She is sitting on her stoop in the 98…
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