Author commentary on stories featured on my Freely Written podcast in February 2024: Breathe and Out for Delivery.
At the end of each month, I’ll shed some light on my writing adventures.
If you’re new to Freely Written, this podcast offers very short stories written from a chosen prompt with no planning and very little editing. These stories are an exercise in letting go of perfection and embracing spontaneous creativity. You may even be inspired to write a story of your own!
Episodes are released every other Tuesday and are around 10 minutes long. Listen with your favorite podcast app or from the links below!
Ep. 108 – Breathe – February 6, 2024
Listen first to avoid spoilers! Find the story here: Breathe
When I am not writing novels and short stories, my “day job” is teaching yoga. There are many styles of yoga and the practice includes more than asana, which is what we call the physical shapes we take. I also teach mediation and breathing techniques known as pranayama. In short, I spend a lot of time talking about breath and encouraging students to breathe. Yet, I hadn’t used the word “breathe” as a writing prompt until this episode.
As always, I did not have a plan for this story when I started writing. I simply created a person and gave him a reason to focus on his breath. In this case, nearly stepping into traffic. With that setup, I thought of how often I remind myself to breathe and decided to give that habit to Sam. I kept typing, imagining Sam at his desk and introducing other situations where he might take a deep breath to steady himself. The rest of the story unfolded from there.
Sometimes, these freely written stories are quick snapshots of a moment in time. A conversation or other quick scene. As Breathe began to take shape, I wanted to spread the story over a longer time period, sketching out some highlights of Sam’s life. Though it’s a bit rough–as all of these stories are–I’m happy with the overall result. Breathe is a story I could maybe see revisiting at some point. Not to turn it into a book, but maybe to polish the rough edges and turn it into a slightly longer story.
Ep. 109 – Out For Delivery – February 20, 2024
Listen first to avoid spoilers! Find the story here: Out For Delivery
I do a lot of online shopping. Though I try to consolidate my shopping, I do end up with a lot of deliveries. Usually, I don’t pay much attention to those “out for delivery” notices. The packages will show up whenever they show up. Occasionally, I do anxiously await a delivery. On the day I wrote this story, I was waiting for a package that needed a signature and trying not to obsess over its tracking info.
That anxiety slipped into this story, yet I tried to take it in a different direction. I started with a mother and daughter on the phone, and I had a vague idea that one of them would be waiting on a delivery. Otherwise, the story sort of wobbles its way into existence, bringing life to these characters with each new detail.
Though it wasn’t intentional, I like how this story subtly captures how Stella and Claire are on different wavelengths. Stella is distracted by tracking her package and playing with the technology she has just discovered. Claire is looking for connection and maybe some support as she’s feeling shaky about the future of her small business. Deep into the story, I realized that Stella’s package could underscore that emotional misstep if it was an item sold in Claire’s store. Stella does want to support her daughter but made a thoughtless purchase without realizing she could have bought it from Claire. Claire is hurt but understands that it wasn’t intentional.
Running any small business is incredibly hard. I face that when trying to sell my books to a wider audience. I also face that when helping to bring more students to the new yoga studio where I primarily teach. (That’s Sthira Sukham Yoga if you’re in the Northern VA area or want to try virtual classes!)
It’s not surprising that some of those fears and insecurities crept into this story. That often happens with free writing. Thoughts and emotions simmering under the surface can slip out as the words flow onto the page. Out For Delivery maybe doesn’t come together as strongly as some of my other freely written stories, but I like its messy uncertainty.
Have a suggestion for a future writing prompt? Let me know! If your prompt is chosen, I will give you credit in the episode.
Until next time, try a little free writing of your own. Let go of any planning and see where your imagination takes you!