My latest collection of short stories, If the Creek Don’t Rise: Tales from the South, has postcard fiction tucked among the pages. The series of cards from Angie to Sis loosely pins 14 short stories and six flash fiction tales into a whole.
The Oklahoma City Writers and I had a grand time talking about “If the Creek Don’t Rise” on March 18, 2017. The book format, original drawings by Susan Raymond, and the succinct cards make the collection a fine read and fun gift. (It’s available from Pen-L Publishing and Amazon.)
Here’s a stay-in-touch way to practice your writing: Send picture cards through the U.S. Postal Service. Although several steps are involved in sending ‘real’ postcards, the person on the other end gets a small surprise tucked in among bills and junk flyers. The extra steps also say thinking about you more than a tweet or Facebook post. Will it replace our cyber efforts? In a word, No. A card can’t replace the speed and convenience of cyberspace, but it is more personal.
Postcard fiction, slipped in with flash fiction and short pieces, offers readers a different coffee cup read. Try it.
I used to do this with postcards. On one side is a photo prompt and on the other is the short 100-word story. Room on the mailing address side to actually send it to someone. Now you’ve gotten me fired up to try it again and see if I can build a mailing list of people to send them to 🙂
Well, cheers! What an excellent way to write and keep yourself and your pen sharp.