Coming into Contact

Staying in Touch
When We Can’t Touch

Inviting your 500-word personal stories for sharing here. Another outlet for sharing your good writing. Spreading kindness.  

Writing is solitary enough without having to be isolated. Most writers I know at least like to have someone with whom they can share their thoughts—that is, our considered thoughts, the one’s we’ve worked over, edited, refined, polished, and decided are worth putting out there.  And for those who are finding, or will soon find, themselves isolated and with more than ample time to think and write, we thought providing another outlet for sharing that writing would be of value, of benefit, of encouragement to the wordsmiths in our community. We shall see.  

We offer this “Coming into Contact” blog space to receive and to share your thoughts and ideas and stories. You can write—or not— about your experiences of dealing with our nation’s and community’s current health crisis, the Corona Virus pandemic. You may choose to pick another topic as a diversion for all that. In any case, we welcome your musings and sharing from your true life and true-to-life experiences.

As for the Covid-19 matter, we are told this is unprecedented in its impact and scope for life in America. And it is, no doubt. But what does that really mean on the ground? The real impact is felt in individual lives and in the lives of families and communities. Those are the stories we hope to have shared here by those observers with the penchant, the talent, the skill, the passion for putting those experiences and thoughts into words. We are talking about you.  

We invite you to share a story of your experience, not primarily because we want to hear it—and we do—but because we know you need to tell it, to write it, to share it because that is what you do. We are looking for the polished piece of writing that others will want to read. And, it has to be succinct. We are looking for 350-500 words or so. You can write as much as you like to figure out what you have to say, but edit it and polish it into something interested readers can devour in 2-3 minutes even if they read it aloud.  

We will curate these—but not edit them—and post them here. No politics, no rants, none of the stuff you are welcomed to shove out into the world through social media platforms. This blog is different. This is a quiet place for sharing good writing. We will not post everything received. We are curating it to promote and champion good writing. You and all visitors can read and appreciate the stories. One or a few may spark thoughts for your own writing whether or not you submit anything yourself. These stories will be posted with no comments enabled, except those we receive and review first. No one will critique or criticize your writing in this blog. (However, we will curate and post the positive, the cheers and applause. After all, this is called “Coming into Contact” for a reason.) We are seeking stories of experience, tension, anxiety, confronting, resolving. We want writers to share what others many not imagine is happening. We want truth, no fiction.  

If there is anything we hope to spread here, it is kindness. We hope “Coming into Contact” offers you that opportunity.  

When you are ready to start, read “Something To Write About,” if you like. Then write your story with an eye toward keeping it succinct and interesting, say 350-500 words. Then email it to  

ComingIntoContact@gmail.com

By emailing it, you give us permission to post it on this blog. We thank you for your sharing.