Sometimes as writers we just need a quick fix—to be noticed, to have our work read by someone other than our spouse, and to see our words in print (or online). If you find yourself in need of some quick validation, submitting a short piece to Visual Verse may be just the ticket! Visual Verse is an online anthology of art, poetry, fiction, and nonfiction—anything goes, in other words. On the first of every month, Visual Verse posts a new image and requests submissions for its

In my workshops I often invite participants to respond to images—whether from the New York Times Magazine fashion issue (Who dresses like that? Discuss.), PostSecret, my friend Lauren Rutten’s photographs, or works of art. Mary Winksy’s “Snowfields of Childhood” in last week’s blog post was an example of the fine writing that often results from engaging with images. This type of writing is called “ekphrasis,” although the term specifically refers to poetry written in response

The image above is called "Snow Field," by the Maine artist Kathleen Perelka. During the "Stirring the Creative Cauldron" women's retreat I led in October, I spread images from Perelka's calendar across the table and invited participants to pick one up and write about what spoke to them from the painting. We wrote for about 20 minutes, with breathtaking results. One of the retreat participants was Mary Winsky, a writer and former English teacher, staff developer and change ag