I really, really, really want to reach 50,000 words in November and I want to do it in 2019 before the new decade starts and we’re in the far future.
Author: Richard Leis
Richard Leis (he/him/his) lives in Tucson, Arizona where he writes poetry and fiction, attends and teaches writing workshops at the Writers Studio Tucson, and works for HiRISE, a team in the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona with a camera in orbit around Mars onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Appearance Wrap-Up: “UNREAL: Readings from Writers Studio Tucson Teachers” at Antigone Books
Five of the writing instructors from The Writers Studio Tucson read unreal, dark, and surreal passages from a novel-in-progress, short stories, flash fiction, and poetry last Friday, October 1, 2019 in front of a large crowd of students, family, friends, readers, and writers.
Upcoming Appearance: UNREAL at Antigone Books
I’m joining the other Writers Studio Tucson teachers on Friday, October 18th at 6:00 PM at Antigone Books in Tucson, AZ for a public reading from our latest works that focus on “the unusual, the dark, and the unreal.”
Move It to the Top
I have learned a valuable lesson about writing this year as a result of teaching writing workshops. This led to a breakthrough in writing poetry that has transformed my poems in the past few months. Here is what I have learned.
Philip Ivory’s “31 Days of Classic Horror”
Tucson writer and instructor Philip Ivory dives into “31 Days of Classic Horror” films on his “Write Yourself Sane” website, starting with 1931’s Dracula.
Shadow Award 2019 Short List
In the 2019 Shadow Award from The Molotov Cocktail, one of my entries landed me on the short list.
Fall 2019 Writing and Teaching
As summer temperatures in Tucson finally drop below 100°F and we head into autumn, I’m preparing lesson plans and writing new exercises for two fall workshops at the Writers Studio.
Review: Kids by The Midnight
I only became aware of the music genre known as retrowave or synthwave a few years ago, though I had been listening to examples of it for longer. In 2018 my appreciation for the genre deepened into love. This is music I jog to. This is music I write to. This is music that makes me nostalgic for the 1980s, but it also makes me question and critique that era. One musical act in particular is responsible for my current retrowave obsession: The Midnight.
New Poem: “November in Portland” in Impossible Archetype, Issue 6
Issue 6 of Impossible Archetype (a free PDF download) is now out and it includes my latest poem, “November in Portland.” It’s a poem based loosely on the death of a classmate in high school in the Pacific Northwest, a setting that cannot help but underline any given mood.
Summer 2019 Writing and Teaching
This week kicks off a busy summer of writing and teaching. I’m currently preparing lesson plans and writing lessons for two summer workshops. There are only two spots left in my science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing workshop online for the Writers Studio. I’m grateful for the interest! And there’s still room in my face-to-face […]
2019 Rhysling Anthology edited by David C. Kopaska-Merkel
Lots of good poems this year, but when I read the poems I later selected while voting for the Rhysling Awards, they really leapt out at me and I love them fiercely.
“Crafting Fantastic & Imaginative Worlds” at The Writers Studio!
I am so excited to announce that my proposal for a workshop on writing speculative fiction and poetry, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror, was recently approved, and the class is now listed and available for registration! This new 6-week workshop is titled “Crafting Fantastic & Imaginative Worlds” and it uses The Writers Studio method of persona writing and critiquing. It begins Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Recommendation: “Forever Baby” by Dana Diehl in Cartridge Lit
Dana Diehl’s latest flash fiction piece titled “Forever Baby” and inspired by the game Stardew Valley is available on Cartridge Lit in the new “The Double Click Temple Issue.” Her story is awesome, sad, allegorical for so much, and you don’t need to know anything about Stardew Valley to appreciate it.
Summer Writing Workshops at the Writers Studio!
The Writers Studio Tucson is holding eight-week writing workshops again this summer, and there are two options for the beginning level: I’m teaching Workshop Saturday mornings from 10:00am – 12:30pm starting July 20th. Lela Scott MacNeil is teaching Workshop Wednesday evenings from 6:30 – 9:00pm starting August 7th. Registration and the full list of courses including […]
Supporting Professional Payment Rates in Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Markets
The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America sets the minimum payment rates for professional short fiction markets. In September, this rate rises from 6 cents per word to 8 cents per word. Interesting to me, because I’m submitting stories to these markets… One of my favorite magazines is Beneath Ceaseless Skies, devoted to “literary […]
Movie Review: Assimilate (2019)
Assimilate isn’t the cheap and nauseating found-footage film the trailer led me to believe it would be, but instead an effective low-budget thriller that relies too much on jump scares but tempers these with earned emotions and suspense.
New Poem: “Distraction” in Impossible Archetype, Issue 5
“Distraction,” my latest poem now available in the five issue of Impossible Archetype (a free PDF download), began as an exercise in anaphora and setting to tell a larger story. I also wanted to capture a particular mood.
Review: The Low Passions by Anders Carlson-Wee
With stuff I didn’t want to know about the world and reminders of things I don’t want to remember, Anders Carlson-Wee’s poems in The Low Passions feel like they have exactly the right words, the perfect, accessible, blunt, beautiful, challenging, and surprising words.
The Limits of Success
I was not prepared for how much worse imposter syndrome would get once I started writing regularly, getting published, participating in public readings, teaching…
New Writing Instructor at the Writers Studio Tucson
I’m now a writing instructor at the Writers Studio in Tucson, Arizona and I’ll be teaching an 8-week introductory workshop in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction beginning Saturday, April 20th!
