Melissa VolkerJan 4, 20201 minOf Circuitry and StarsOffering a free read of a short story uncharacteristic of my writing -- cyberpunk! Get it at the dropdown link "Extras" under fiction....
Melissa VolkerJul 27, 20183 minDEEP WATERS thoughts on my writing: its failings, its purpose, its promiseMy published collection of short stories was born of a time in my early adulthood in Manhattan where I was single, sometimes lonely,...
Melissa VolkerApr 17, 20181 minShattered - a poem for a fictional characterWhen truth has failed, your faith has sundered You lift your gaze, the question wondered The bough has broke The veil was felled, You...
Melissa VolkerDec 4, 20172 minA Hero Among UsIf you Google, "What makes a good hero?" in fiction there are a fair amount of hits that come up with lists of qualities and...
Melissa VolkerNov 20, 20173 minTime -- And Time AgainTime, time, time See what's become of me While I looked around For my possibilities I was so hard to please Look around Leaves are...
Melissa VolkerNov 18, 20172 minThrowing Down the BonesYou keep waiting for me to speak, but my words died a long time ago -- about the time you stopped listening. But I know more than you...
Melissa VolkerNov 15, 20172 minWaiting to DrownWe are drowning in mediocrity, oblivious to our impending end. We are satisfied with the bland, content with the merely okay -- no, worse...
Melissa VolkerSep 17, 20173 minSilenceAnother installment in the process of getting (the right) words on paper: When I'm working on a book, my first draft tends to be an...
Melissa VolkerAug 25, 20174 minThe Eternal Blue"I've been thinking a lot about this thing we all do -- life…" she began, her pencil absently tracing an invisible line around the open...
Melissa VolkerAug 18, 20176 minReminiscence on Where We GoA coffee cup, a ring of dried sludge around the bottom, a pair of round, tortoiseshell glasses -- one lens tinted dark where it bakes in...
Melissa VolkerAug 17, 20171 minIf You Walk With MeIf you walk with me, you are welcome -- though I cannot guarantee the content of our time. My vision shifts with sun and shadows, rage...
Melissa VolkerAug 5, 20173 minDrama, Tragedy and all The FeelsAnother installment in the process of getting (the right) words on paper: Every Wednesday I take our teen son on a road trip to spend the...
Melissa VolkerJul 21, 20174 minNo, it's not a movie, it's a book -- but...Another installment in the process of getting (the right) words on paper: I just spent three days knowing a chapter was all wrong from...
Melissa VolkerJul 17, 20174 minTruth in WritingWhenever I do a reading, questions invariably arise regarding my approach to writing, where my ideas come from and how I get them from...
Melissa VolkerJun 25, 20173 minHIDDEN - why I wrote about anxiety"HIDDEN: an impossible story" is a short, YA magical realism novel about a fifteen-year-old boy and his struggle with anxiety. There's a...
Melissa VolkerApr 10, 20173 minThe Space I'm InThis is NOT my work space. It is lovely, zen, uncluttered, and unfettered. The view is -- green, and while not particularly special, it...
Melissa VolkerMar 21, 20172 minOne Man's Trash is Another Man's TreasureSo I recently won a short story contest on Words and Brushes. Yay for me! But seriously -- I'm happy, it's nice to be validated, to be...
Melissa VolkerJan 24, 20174 minTo outline or not to outline - that is the question...I've been thinking a lot about writing...the act of writing, the putting of words to paper and making it real, rich, honest. All writers...
Melissa VolkerSep 18, 20164 minThoughts on Life, Writing, and InspirationW.P. Kinsella died. For those who don't know, he wrote the book, "Shoeless Joe" upon which the movie, "Field of Dreams" was based. He...
Melissa VolkerJun 2, 20162 minWriting with an EarWhen asked about my writing, I usually say I think of it as painting with words. That I strive to craft my prose with an eye toward...