By R. David Fulcher, Old Scratch Press Founding Member
Recently I had the honor of joining the Folkloring podcast. This podcast addresses how we can integrate folklore into our everyday lives, including our writing.
Preparing for this podcast prompted me to reflect upon the influence of folklore, myth and legend on my own writing and was surprised to discover the influence has been quite profound.
Below are some of categories of folklore I came up with in case they could be an inspiration for your writing.
1. Global folklore
By this I mean folklore that originated from a specific geographic location hundreds of years ago, but now is so well known it is generally accepted.
An example of this would be the legend of the vampire from Romania. First something that was very localized, vampires are now so common they now appear on cereal boxes and television series.
I integrate the vampire myth into my writing in several stories in my book The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror in such stories as “The Night Flyer” and “The Watchman’s Web”.
2. Urban Legends/Localized Folklore
In this category would be legends still most popular in specific geographic regions, such as the legend of the New Jersey Devil that haunts the woods of New Jersey, or the infamous Bunny Man of Clifton, Virginia.
The mythology of native Americans is extremely rich and strongly connected to the natural world.
In my book The Cemetery of Hearts, I reference a native American myth from the American Southwest that claims that the majestic canyons and mesas were spun out of a gigantic spider.
In my story “The Land Spider”, a gigantic spider starts swallowing a small town in New Mexico building by building.
These are just a few ideas to get you started, but the world is full of legends and folklore, and weaving them into your writing will enrich your fiction and poetry.
You can learn more about the Folkloring podcasthere
Happy Writing!
R.David Fulcher, Founding Member of Old Scratch Press
As we often hear, and know is true, writing is a solitary endeavor. Since I find long stretches of alone-time nourishing, I love that about it. But that doesn’t mean I want to go full-on-hermit. I need human interaction, even if it’s just Tina at the grocery store telling me about her cats.
Specifically, since my need for human interaction is limited, I’ve sought to find ways to find or create a writing community that is a balance of the two. Here are a few things I’ve come up with that might seen outwardly mundane, but with an added introverted twist:
· Online Writing Group: I created Bewilderness Writing, knowing that my role would be as guide, not teacher. Each week I read a poem, offer jump-off lines that folks can choose to use, or not, and then we free write for 10 minutes. Afterwards, each person reads what they’ve written and the group does not offer comment or critique. Sounds ridiculously simple, huh? It is. And what can’t be known beforehand is just how intimate and rich the writing can be within this container. Setting aside all the “writerly benefits”, it fills my need to see and hear others figuring out life using words on the page. There is great comfort there. And the tapestry of styles and voices enriches my own writing life.
There are many “writing alone, together” online opportunities without prompted writing, as well.
· In-Person Writing Group: I created “Writers in Coffee Shops” a few years ago using the social networking website Meetup. I set it up with straightforward parameters from the get-go of “writing alone, together”. We would meet at a local coffee shop, spend a few minutes sharing what we were working on, then get to it. At the end of the hour, we could share about how or what we did for the hour. After that time, folks were welcome to share their work and invite comment or critique.
For awhile, especially in the beginning, I had people who did not get the memo and wanted to chat. With gentle reinforcement those folks either got used to our system or didn’t come back. Eventually, I found a small, committed group, and we came to know our coffee shop time as not only a standing-date commitment to our writing, but a place to commiserate on the writing life. We became friends.
Want something similar?
Shut Up and Write: https://www.shutupwrite.com/While I might prefer my more “demure” group name, this is basically the same format and you can find them, with over 400 chapters all over the place
· Collaborative Writing: Recently, I had a friend and former Bewilderness group member contact me after taking a poetry class that included “renku,” which is a Japanese collective poetry composition of collaborative linked verse. My friend asked if I wanted to give it a try together. She would send me a few lines and I would send a few back. Since we’re just starting this adventure, I can’t tell you the outcome, but I’m hopeful. It is just the right mix of connection and effort for me. It intrigues me to see what might come out of it. Think of your favorite writing form, enlist your favorite writing friend, combine the two, and see what you might come up with!
These writing groups are for messy, first-draft writing where the intention is to get “your butt in the chair” and ideas on the page. While these groups all lack the comment/critique component, I am a big believer in getting other eyes and trusted opinions on your work, and there are plenty of in-person and online opportunities for that. Whichever one is your preference, there is great benefit to having others along for the ride alongside you, and what that looks like is for you to choose.
My first mystery novel, A Fire Circle Mystery: A Witch Awakens, about an amateur sleuth discovering her lineage as an Appalachian Granny Witch, comes out in Spring 2025.
By R. David Fulcher, Founding Member of the Old Scratch Press Poetry and Short Form Collective
Floetry (my definition) a written form of expression combining fiction and poetry.
It is uncommon, but not unheard of, for writers to embrace both fiction and poetry. As one of the writers in this category, I often wonder if this is a benefit or a detriment. To a purist, being competent in both could perhaps mean I’m a master of neither, to echo the old saying “jack of all trades, master of none”.
More recently, I’ve decided being fluent in both fiction and poetry is a definite advantage. To begin with, several of the masters of speculative fiction integrate poetry into their work to great effect. Consider these lines of from Stephen King’s novel The Tommyknockers:
Last night
And the night before,
Tommyknockers, Tommyknockers
Knocking at my door.
And these lines from Ray Bradbury’s novel Something Wicked This Way Comes:
By the pricking of my thumb,
Something wicked this way comes.
These are by no means the only examples. Dean Koontz dives into poetic verse within his many novels, and it can be argued that the fantasy writings of the Irish writer and dramatist Lord Dunsany (a possible influencer or JRR Tolkien, discover more here) read more like poetry rather than prose.
Therefore, having made the case for “floetry”, how do I employ it? Primarily I interweave poetry into my prose in two ways:
As bookends to start and end my books, with the remainder of the book being fiction, and
The Pumpkin King and Other Tales of Terror starts with my poem “Eulogy to E.A. Poe”:
Man of dark musings and opiate visions!
Mind of pits and rats,
Black cats and ancestral corpses!
How is it that love sparkled within those dark recesses, Like diamonds within a bedrock of obsidian— That verse sprang from that ebony hand,
As vibrant and unlikely as lilacs from snow?
Tales of cities under the sea,
Of waves weeping softly, “Annabel Lee!”
Did the bells, the bells, the bells, foretell of your demise, Or was it borne on Raven’s wings, thus falling from the sky?
Could it be that your last vision was your brightest?
Oh, soul of all that is night,
Inspire my pen to wail and to write.
In a similar fashion, my book Asteroid 6 and Other Tales of Cosmic Horror starts with the poem “The Outer Reaches of Unknown Kadaath” (Kadaath is a reference to the works of H.P. Lovecraft):
Rest awhile, friend, for it is clear that you have walked far over hill and valley, and penetrated the wild and strange woods, to have happened upon this long-preserved manuscript beneath the moss-covered rocks.
I came upon this very spot, perhaps many years ago now, as just a lad. Here I took my respite, beckoned by a fair breeze sweeping over the verdant fields and a song sung in dulcet tones far sweeter than any produced by mortal throats. I was weary from hiking many miles, and my body eagerly fell into a deep sleep.
A song floated over my consciousness, sung by a thousand child-like voices:
Weary traveler,
Rest your head,
And sleep awhile
Where the faeries tread.
Weary traveler,
Laugh in kind,
And take deep draughts
Of faerie wine.
Weary traveler,
Spend the night,
Follow the trail
Of the faerie lights!
Additional stanzas of poetry are injected into other parts of the tale, with the intent of lulling the reader into a sleepy, dream-like state.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it – a brief introduction into the concept of “floetry” with several examples of usage.
What do you think?
Can poetry and prose peacefully coexist on the same page?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments!
Thanks for reading,
-R. David Fulcher, Old Scratch Press Founding Member
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You’ve published three works. You have the acceptance rate of +-3%. Fed up with the time and submission costs of rejections? Resubmit to a magazine editor who published your work before. This may lead to a relationship with a magazine publisher/editor. Why would you want that? Aren’t editors grinches handing out rejection coal? Some editors are coal distributors, but other offer something you may want:
They publish books in your genre and may publish your book.
They repeat the same writers: either multiple works in the same or different issue. How can you figure this out? If your published work is digital (online), find an author you like, who was published in the magazine you were published in; type their name in “search.” Does the search results list only their current work or multiple works? If only one, try again with at least two different authors you like.
Nominates writers for awards (magazine award, Best of the Net, Pushcart)
How do you know if the editor is interested in a relationship with you?
They accept your work in three days or less from submission.
They locate your work in the first three pages of the issue.
They publish more than one of your works.
In the issue forward, they mention your name.
They ask you to publish previously submitted rejected work from their slush (reject) pile.
Nominate you for an award
The benefits of having +-10 magazines with repeat publications are
Create 120 works a year = 10 magazines * 4 submissions a year * 3 works per submission
Create enough work for a full-length book of +-70 pages
Be selected as a featured reader: Robert is a repeat writer for Oddball magazine, I want him to feature for me.
Be invited to be an associate first line editor of a magazine
Show appreciation for the editor/publisher:
Once your work is published, put a posting on your social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok), that announces your publication with links to the publisher’s magazine.
When you read work, say it was published by “editor name” in “magazine name” and announce the magazine’s next publication with their links.
Once you are a repeat writer for a magazine, submit quarterly.
Even yours truly, with over seven hundred publications, only has a +-33% acceptance rate with a new magazine. One of my publication strategies was to create and now maintain a relationship with +-10 magazine editors.
Yours Truly is:
Robert Fleming, a contributing editor of Old Scratch Press
When I was a little boy, my father would assemble a huge train table in our living room next to the Christmas tree. The table was easily ten feet wide by ten feet long, and three feet high. In addition to the tiny figures of the villagers, quaint tiny homes and buildings, working street lights, fake trees and assorted trains that adorned the table, crepe paper in a red brick pattern was attached to all sides of the table. The paper ran from the sides of the table all the way down to the carpet, creating the illusion that the table was supported by brick walls all around.
Or from my point of view, the perfect fort wherein I could hide.
The strategy was to sneak underneath the table after my parents had gone to sleep and wait for Santa to place the presents under the tree. I actually made it to my secret hiding place each year, carefully separating the folds of the brick crepe paper back in place behind me so that nothing looked out of place.
And like clock work, every year I would promptly fall asleep before sighting Santa.
So that is the memory, suspended in time for more than forty years, like an image trapped within an icicle that never melts.
The reality is starkly different.
The old house was sold many years ago, the train table dismantled and perhaps rotting in some unknown wood pile, and the assorted engines, passenger cars, and cabooses stored away in bubble wrap for another generation.
Things are different with my wonderful parents as well. Mom passed away in 2022, and Dad is struggling every day in a memory care unit.
Despite all of these life changes, I still hold on to this memory, this specific icicle of time has not yet eluded my grasp.
My attempt to preserve this memory in poetry appears below. The poem is called “Christmas Eve from Under the Train Table” and first appeared in The Hot-Buttered Holidays Issue of Instant Noodles in 2021.
I hope you can find something special in my memory as well.
Happy Holidays,
-R. David Fulcher
CHRISTMAS EVE FROM UNDER THE TRAIN TABLE
There I was, and there I would remain, Expectant and curled-up beneath the great trains which had whistles and steam and a radio tower that lit up. The trains were sleeping, but my breath replaced their din, Escaping my lips like an anxious child.
It is not the darkness I fear. I fear that my mischievous breath will plume forth and collect Itself into a crystal ball, and then roll out from under the brick-red crepe paper, a great red marble full of my embarrassment.
The clock clangs midnight. I can hear my parents through the walls, their secret laughter like soft explosions accompanied by the faint swish and whisper of wrapping paper.
Now I can their slippered arrival. My heart pummels in my chest with incessant fluttering, sick of this distant observation, insane with the knowledge that all this espionage is for me.
I have a trove of old New Yorker cartoons I’ve saved in a folder since forever. The premise of this one (from the fabulous cartoonist Roz Chast) is the romanticized version of Thoreau’s life vs. the reality. My argument was always “of course he can simplify. He has no kids, no partner, and his mom does his laundry.”
I think we also can hold that same romanticized ideal for writing.
“I WON’T BE COMING IN TODAY. I’M JUST NOT FEELING IT”
…was the text my friend received, canceling their appointment together 15 minutes before it was to start. What bravado, I thought. What mixture of honesty, courage, chutzpah, and downright rudeness is this?
And how many times have I felt like saying the exact same thing? Especially when it came to staying motivated to finish, organize, edit, submit separate poems, and find a publisher for my poetry collection. Not today. I’m just not feelin’ it.
The option is to feel it. Even when you really, really don’t want to. There are so many other demands on our time, and I am easily overwhelmed if I only look at the long game. I have to break it all down into bite-size “feelable” pieces.
What that looks like for me is:
1. I can sit here for 10 minutes and freewrite with one of the 500 prompts I find and keep and never do anything with.
2. I can spend 10 minutes on the website Duotrope to find 5 more places to submit my poems.
3. I can print out all these poems, spread them out on the bed, and figure out how they make sense together.
4. I can spend 5 minutes on an email to “make the ask” of a trusted someone to read my work.
5. I can take a break from it all and not beat myself up about it.
6. I can “manage the myth” that my work is valuable and someone, somewhere will love it, until it becomes the truth.
7. I can submit the poetry collection to contests of all shapes and sizes.
8. I can make an effort to forge connections in the writing world. I can join writing groups, create writing groups, take classes and workshops, reach out for help, or join a collective. You never know when you might meet the right person that could lead to your book publication (like I did!).
9. I can endure countless rejections, knowing the subjectiveness inherent in the game, and know to never take anything personally.
10. Do it again and again. Hang in there, until what’s foreign becomes familiar and the stars align, because you kept at it. And as for the end result, sometimes knowing whatever you have done is enough.
And what a divine feeling that is, indeed.
By Ellis Elliott—Thanks for Reading! Join me at https://bewildernesswriting.com/ Find my poetry collection, Break in the Field, from Old Scratch Press, on Amazon. My new cozy mystery fiction novel, Fire Circle Mysteries: A Witch Awakens will be available in Spring 2025.
One of the things I like best about poetry is its ability to capture the beauty of a single moment, even if it’s not something that would normally be seen as beautiful. At its heart, poetry is emotional storytelling. A moment becomes significant when it is infused with feeling—joy, sorrow, nostalgia, or wonder
Last year, I edited an issue of Instant Noodles with the theme of ‘instant.’ I was looking for poems that captured that exact essence of poetry that appeals so much to me. I wanted the beauty of the grief or the joy of a single moment captured in a poem. It’s probably my favorite issue of Instant Noodles that I’ve edited to date. I think the poems we published in that issue were the kind that will resonate long after reading them because every reader shares that moment with the poet.
That issue of Instant Noodles can be read for free here . I highly recommend giving it a look.
Life is filled with fleeting moments—those golden, mundane, or bittersweet slices of time that often pass unnoticed. But poetry has the unique ability to crystallize these moments, transforming them into something timeless and profound. Capturing moments in poetry is about taking the ephemeral and making it eternal.
Here’s a poem of mine that captures the moment when I held my son for the first time. It appeared in the Instant issue of Instant Noodles.
Contraction
After hours of flesh seizing muscles finally relaxed and I cradled a fresh universe in my arms, puckered face already rooting for food.
My world imploded, contracting until nothing existed but this one tiny fist raised at the audacity
of the air to be so dry the lights so bright the scream that replaced the rhythm of my familiar heartbeat
and I traced constellations across freckled skin as I eased into a new center of gravity.
The Power of Specificity
Great poetry thrives on specificity. Think of a single red leaf falling on a crisp autumn afternoon or the smell of fresh bread wafting through an open window. These details evoke emotions and anchor the reader in the poet’s world. Poetry doesn’t need grand metaphors to capture the essence of a moment. Sometimes, a simple, honest line is more powerful than elaborate language.
Share Your Moments
Because life is poetry, everyone is a poet. You can write about your own moments and shape your memories into poems. Then, you’re sharing that moment with others. Your words let them feel what you felt and maybe even remind them of their own special memories.
Poetry helps us slow down and notice what’s around us. It takes the little things that we might normally ignore and makes them important. So grab a notebook, start noticing the world, and turn your moments into poems that last forever.
A couple of years ago, I had one session of Bewilderness Writing focused on poems related to “grit and gratitude,” remembering that not all gratitude is the same. Sometimes, it comes long after an event we would never deem worthy of our thankfulness at the time, or sometimes, it comes from a simple shift in our perception of things.
Below are some poems with writing prompts that I hope might help you through whatever is challenging you. I’m a big believer in working it out on the page, hoping to come out on the other side with a sense of renewal.
Describe a time in the past when you “lost heart” and yet were eventually able to return to the moment at hand. What brought you back? See if you can describe it with strong sensory detail.
How might you bring a sense of the sacred and reverence to your everyday activities? Is there a chore that has changed, or might be changed, into an act of mindfulness or devotion?
Notice how, as Kleber-Diggs speaks in the voice of trees, he seems to be speaking for all of humanity at the moment as well. Choose some group of living things from the natural world and write in their voice, describing how it feels to be them in a world like this.
For book lovers, there’s nothing quite like the magic of a book festival. These vibrant events bring readers, authors, and publishers together in a celebration of storytelling, creativity, and community. If you’ve never been to one, here are five great reasons to mark your calendar for the next book festival near you.
1. Meet Your Favorite Authors
Imagine having a face-to-face conversation with the authors behind your favorite stories. Book festivals often feature a wide array of authors—from bestsellers to emerging voices. You can attend book signings, hear authors speak on panels, and even ask questions during Q&A sessions. It’s a great chance to connect with the creative minds shaping today’s literary landscape.
2. Discover New Books
Browsing through endless stalls at a book festival can feel like stepping into a treasure trove. You’ll have access to books you may not find at your local store, including limited editions, indie publications, and advanced releases. Plus, many vendors offer special discounts, so it’s the perfect time to stock up on fresh reads.
3. Participate in Workshops and Panels
Book festivals aren’t just for browsing and buying; they’re also educational. Many events feature workshops, panel discussions, and lectures that cover topics ranging from writing techniques to industry trends. Book festivals are usually free to attend which gives you the chance to attend these workshops for free! Whether you’re an aspiring writer or just curious about the publishing process, these sessions offer valuable insights.
4. Connect with Fellow Book Lovers
If you’re passionate about reading, there’s nothing quite like bonding with others who share your enthusiasm. Book festivals provide a space for literary conversations, allowing you to swap recommendations, discuss your favorite genres, and maybe even join a book club. It’s a community experience that extends beyond the event itself.
5. Support Local and Independent Authors
Book festivals often highlight local talent and independent authors (like me!) who might not have the same platform as big-name writers. Attending a festival gives you a chance to support these creators, discover hidden gems, and diversify your reading list with unique, lesser-known voices.
From meeting your favorite authors to discovering new books and making connections with fellow readers, book festivals are a must for anyone passionate about literature. Whether you’re a casual reader or a die-hard bibliophile, attending one can enhance your love of books in unexpected ways. So, find the next book festival near you, grab your tote bag, and dive into the literary world!
When I first read my great-great-grandfather’s Civil War memoir*, I wasn’t expecting to find stories that would inspire my own writing. But tucked among the tales of battle, violence, and survival was a mention of a woman named “Granny Grills”—a healer who gave him charms for protection and herbal preparations for healing. This mysterious “granny witch” lived in the mountains of East Tennessee, tending to her community with a mix of folk wisdom and the magic of the mountains.
Granny Grills introduced me to the rich tradition of the Appalachian Granny Witches (or Granny Women) who served in the isolated towns with the combined roles of midwife, herbal healer, and preparer of the dead for burial. While inspired by Appalachian folklore, the archetype of the folk healer—often a wise, self-sufficient woman—is found across many cultures, from Latin American curanderas to the hedge witches of England. Each of these traditions reflects our very human need to connect with the earth, heal with natural remedies, and seek wisdom from those who live closest to the land.
We live in an age where technology rules, and I think folk magic endures in literature because it connects us with something deeper and often forgotten: our roots. The figure of the granny witch, like other folk healers, symbolizes resilience, self-reliance, and a deep respect for nature—all qualities we find ourselves yearning for in our increasingly tech-centric world. These characters are timeless because they remind us of the power within ourselves (and for me, this is called intuition) and the importance of connection, whether it is to the earth, our community, or our heritage.
Bringing folk magic into fiction isn’t just about fantasy. It can be a way to explore values like resilience, diversity, and community. Granny witches and other similar folk traditions speak to readers because they represent a balance of independence and tradition. They remind us that wisdom is often found where it is least expected, and that those who honor nature and listen to their own “still, small voice” hold a unique kind of power.
*The Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis: 1861-1865, Harper and Bros. 1867. Available on Amazon.
Ellis Elliott is the author of the poetry collection Break in the Fieldand is currently working on her first cozy mystery novel based on a lineage of Appalachian granny witches.
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