In celebration of the 20th anniversary of her novel, Sugar, author Bernice L. McFadden led us in heart-stopping, sensory storytelling for the final Salon of our Summer Series!
Prompt #1
Write a story that opens with a heart-stopping first sentence, followed by a descriptive paragraph that employs the five basic senses:
- Sight
- Hearing
- Smell
- Taste
- Touch
Prompt #2
Write three short paragraphs—the first “fear,” the second “anger,” the last “pleasure”—without using these words. Try to render these emotions by describing physical sensations or images. Try to make your language precise and fresh.
Our Summer Salons—now open to the public—are a space for our community to learn from and write with some incredible authors, poets, journalists, and novelists. The Girls Write Now Summer Salon Series is an extension of our Writing Works Program.
Bernice L. McFadden is the author of 10 critically acclaimed literary novels including Praise Song for the Butterflies, which was long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and The Book of Harlan, winner of the 2017 American Book Award and the 2017 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work. Bernice’s work has been featured in anthologies including What My Mother and I Don’t Talk About edited by Michele Filgate, Cutting Edge edited by Joyce Carol Oates and the upcoming Nicotine Chronicles edited by Lee Child. Under the pseudonym Geneva Holliday, Bernice has also written five romance novels.