What Our Members Have Been Writing: Part 3 of 3
Aka “The Mega Roundup Series”
And finally, Part 3 of the “Mega Roundup Series”!
Many members of The Writing Cooperative have been participating in the 52-Week Writing Challenge. Members share their work each week in our Members-Only Slack community. My goal in this series is to highlight some of the recent writing members have shared so you can get to know some new authors. Be sure to check out Parts 1 and 2, and then continue below to find work from 10 more of our members.
A Chronic Voice
For this challenge, “A Chronic Voice” is writing about health and chronic illness, and occasionally on general thoughts about life. An excerpt from #15 (below) may best capture an ongoing theme throughout this author’s work:
“I am still a work in progress, and always will be.”
Charlton Alexander
Committing to the writing challenge, Charlton wrote:
“My writing will be all encompassing yet will capture the essences of one word, ‘building.’”
Read more of that initial piece to find out how Charlton interprets “building”, as it’s a word with many meanings and contexts, any and all of which may be the subject of his writing. These four pieces cover just some of the topics Charlton writes on: social justice, equality, racism, Christianity, faith, nonprofits.
Kunal Duggal
Kunal is a high school student, though you may not have guessed that from his writing. For the challenge, he writes on a variety of topics often as personal essays or poems.
Russell Jelks
Russell writes on a variety of subjects, clearly evidenced here by: excerpts from a daily journal (I really like this!), a short fiction story, and a nonfiction piece on writing and music.
Lyndsay Knowles
Simply put: Lyndsay tells a story each week. (And she does it so well!) She tells stories about her life and about being human, but also about writing and reading. In her 52-week list (below), a collection of her challenge writing, she writes:
“Because this — writing — is my joy. Who knows where it will lead, but it is leading somewhere. I am sure of that.”
That not only makes me happy to hear, but I think that joy from writing also comes through in Lyndsay’s work.
Laura Llovet
Laura writes a different story about her father each week:
“My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2012, and I want to write down all my memories and experiences I have of/with him.”
Here is one of those stories. I kind of love reading about Dads. Obviously, every Dad is unique but I think there are some “universal Dad truths” that apply to all fathers. Laura’s stories are heartfelt and genuine.
Paul Markle
Paul writes poems, essays, and short stories about life, death, childhood, mental health, and self-improvement. Read “Desperate to Write…” first. I could be wrong (because I don’t know Paul personally), but I think it says a lot about who he is as a person and what kind of writer he strives to be.
“I have written at least one piece each week in my commitment to the 52 week writing challenge.That’s a commitment I am taking seriously as a huge part of my personal development.”
Matthew McDonald
Matthew committed to writing one short story every week. Matthew’s stories are usually lighthearted, clever, and funny. I can particularly identify with the Legroom story.
Elizabeth O’Keeffe
Elizabeth has written some short stories as part of the challenge, but more recently has been experimenting with lists. I personally like this format for quick, humorous pieces, or even promote some thought and/or discussion (like these two do). If you like lists, or have lists to publish, check out the publication Elizabeth started: Listmania.
Karen Thompkins
Karen joined the challenge saying:
“This is exciting! Each week, I commit to writing a short essay under 300 words or a poem as part of a manuscript I’ve been developing.”
I personally really enjoy Karen’s writing. She tells honest, relatable stories, with a strong female voice. Here are just two such stories.
I hope you enjoyed getting to know some of our members!
And to everyone participating in The 52-Week Writing Challenge, keep writing and sharing your work. If you’re not already doing so, organize your Challenge work into a list or publication. It may come in handy down the road. ;)
The Writing Cooperative is a community of people helping each other write better. Become a member to join our Slack team, get fresh eyes on your writing, and participate in the 52-Week Writing Challenge!
