I’ve been thinking about my goals for next year, but I haven’t actually started working on any of them. I’m mostly scribbling ideas on random pages like someone pretending to be productive. One of the big goals trying to sneak back is doing spoken word poetry again. I keep telling myself I will return to it “soon,” and now “soon” keeps running away from me.

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• My next-year goals chaos
• One powerful writing prompt
• A funny story from a writer
• Practical writing advice
• Quick submission calls
• A question for you

Let’s get into it.

I’m writing this from a small workspace near the market here at Ring Road, Benin City. There’s a loud market advert blasting outside, mixing with people shouting prices. It’s chaotic, but somehow the noise is keeping me awake long enough to finish this issue.

Write a scene built around an object that shouldn’t matter… but somehow changes everything.
The object can be anything: a burned matchstick, a bus ticket, a cracked plastic button, a wilted leaf someone kept for years.
Focus on what the object reveals about your character. Make the object carry a small secret, a memory, or a shift in desire.

Framework:

Example:
In Raymond Carver’s short story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” ordinary objects like glasses, ice buckets, and half-finished drinks shape entire emotional moments without being “special.” The objects don’t matter by themselves; they matter because of what the characters bring to them.

Your version will be completely different because the object, the memory, and the character are yours alone.

When Franz Kafka was working full-time at his office job, he used to sneak out to write in the early hours of the morning. One night, after finally getting into the writing flow at 2 a.m., he wrote passionately for hours… only to look down and realize he had been writing in total darkness with no candle lit. He literally couldn’t see what he’d written. He just kept going, hoping it made sense.

Writers everywhere understand this: sometimes the idea burns brighter than the light in the room.

Toni Morrison once said in a talk at Portland State University in 1975:
“If there’s a book you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.”

It’s practical advice: stop waiting for permission. Write the thing you wish existed. Let that be your compass. If you’re unsure what project to start, begin with the thing you can’t stop thinking about.

Theme: The Joy of Nature
Submit up to two haiku
Deadline: January 11, 2026
Visit the site to submit

Submit one funny poem
No fee
Prize: Up to $2,000
Deadline: April 1, 2026
Visit the site to submit

Submit short stories, 1,000–10,000 words
Genres: All fiction
Opens again in January
Visit the site to learn more

If you love writing strange, quiet, emotional, or surreal sci-fi, Fusion Fragment is a great home for your work. They publish SF-tinged short stories and novelettes between 2,000 and 15,000 words, leaning toward reflective, character-driven, atmospheric fiction. Pay is 4 cents per word (up to CAD 400). Simultaneous submissions are allowed.
Visit the site to read the full guidelines and send your best work.

What project are you working on right now?
Hit reply and tell me. I’d honestly love to know, and I’d love to give you a shout-out in the next issue.