Well not quite that season. We’re referring to Spring Festival, which is still a couple months off. Coincidentally, we’re planning to release Terracotta Typewriter #4 around the same time. We’ll have a launch party with dumplings, baijiu, and plenty of fireworks to scare off the demons and neighbors. OK, we’re joking about the fireworks, but we will be celebrating Spring Festival in style.

The point is, we want your Spring Festival stories and poems. We’re interested in the most amazing/unusual/humorous/ridiculous/entertaining Spring Festival experiences to be included in issue 4. So, think back to that first time you drank baijiu, played mahjong, set off firecrackers in the house, drank more baijiu, and ate the dumpling containing the lucky jiao coin…which you accidentally swallowed because you had too much baijiu.

Try to remember your stories and send them to us at tctype@gmail.com for consideration in the next issue.

What do you do with those jiao coins and notes (or worse, fen)? They don’t go in vending machines or laundromat washers like the small change in other countries. Do you save them somewhere? Do you give them to beggers? Or do you have a game to play with them? And what about the fake jiao coins? (Don’t laugh, they really do exist.)

Write a poem or story about all that loose change. Think of a character that has an obsession with those coins. Or write about your own experiences with small change (have you ever tried paying for a meal in jiao?).

[Note: this contest has been extended. We are still accepting entries.]

Thanks to the folks at Other Press for donating a review copy of The Beijing of Possibilities by Jonathan Tel for our first contest. We have decided to tie this book giveaway in with our Get Over the Hump writing prompt.

Going with the title of the Jonathan Tel’s collection of short stories, we want you to write about the possibilities (or impossibilities) of China. Feel free to use a specific city. Remember, this is just a theme, you may stretch the (im)possible to however you see fit. We know there are a lot things that are (im)possible around China…like seeing a bear in a tutu riding a unicycle with a monkey on its back through the Forbidden City. Go ahead and use this theme in a story or poem–whatever form you feel fits your ideas.

Now for the contest specifics and mumbo-jumbo. Beginning today and ending at midnight EST on August 31, 2009, you may submit your story or poem. The best submission will win a copy of The Beijing of Possibilities and will be published in the next issue of Terracotta Typewriter. All other entries will be considered for publication. Only ONE entry/submission per person.

Send your submissions to tctype[at]gmail[dot]com. Use the subject line: [your name], Contest. And include a brief biography (in case we decide to publish it). Don’t forget to give your work a catchy title. All entries that do not follow the guidelines will be deleted.

The winning poem or story will be selected by Terracotta Typewriter. The decision of the publication is final. The winner and others chosen for publication will be notified via e-mail.

For those of you who don’t want to enter the contest or cannot wait to win a copy of the book, you can also order it online (there’s even a Kindle edition).

I’ve been listening to Yerboli quite a bit lately. I picked up his CD in Shenzhen several months ago, and am still in awe of his music. The sound he gets out of the two strings on the dombra (冬不拉) is amazing. The only problem with it is that I don’t understand Kazakh.

For this week’s writing prompt, write about music. Find a song you enjoy but don’t understand (this works much better if it’s in a language you don’t know). Write a story or poem based on the song–think of the emotion of the music. What is the story of that song? You might find your words dancing on the page to the rhythm.

And if you’re in Shenzhen, you can usually see Yerboli at C:Union as well as some other locations.

It’s Thursday and we forgot to post a Get Over the Hump writing prompt on Wednesday. We have excuses out the wazoo, but you probably don’t want to hear them.

Running with the theme of tardiness, try writing a story or poem about being late. Most people have stories to tell about being late or waiting for someone who was late. Take one of those stories and fictionalize it, or add some poetic devices to the mix. You might have a character who is constantly late (for his/her own funeral). Or you may just write about all the excuses for being late–there are plenty to fill a page.

Now, get writing and don’t be late next time.

It’s summer. The weather is warm and the sun is still out, which means we really need to get outside again. Of course, we have to remember our friends in the Southern Hemisphere–sorry, it’s the start of winter for you.

It would make sense to have a summer-themed writing prompt today, but that would just be cliche. Instead, we’re going with the theme of grilling…and not the tasty kind. Grilling in this case refers to a tough interrogation.

Write a scene of a story or even a poem that involves someone or something getting grilled. You could even grill yourself and/or your conscience. Whatever or whoever you choose, get grilling. And, while your at it, would you send over some 新疆羊肉串.

I’m not talking about the topics of conversation that should be avoided in Mainland China. I’m also not talking about looking for buried treasure on The Simpsons. I’m simply talking about the letter and its use.

For this week’s writing prompt, try to see how far you can get with Ts. More specifically, use as many words that contain the letter T as possible. You might consider writing a line of poetry in which every word begins with T (you can even alternate letters for each line). Or only use words that contain at least one T.

For prose, you might have every character’s name begin with T. Or only have objects in the story that begin with T.

There’s a lot you can do with this. It might sound complicated and get difficult as you write more, but it can also be a lot of fun.

In a similar vein as this exercise, Christian Bök’s Eunoia has an interesting way of using vowels. Check out his homepage for a chapter of it.

This week’s writing prompt is more of a lesson than a prompt. Many writers focus on poetic language and/or the plot of the story, but neglect the characters that drive the story. As an editor and reader, there’s nothing worse than encountering characters that don’t fit a story or act in ways that don’t fit their personality.

Often when a writer is stumped for ideas and calls it writer’s block there’s a problem with the characters. Poorly developed characters lead to failing stories. Sit down and talk with your characters for a little while and find what makes them important.

It takes more than dialogue and description of emotions to create a character that readers can connect with–a write must provide motivation and back story. Most of a character’s motivation or history can be written through subtle references–there is no need for info dumps. If your character does something that is integral to the plot, the reader needs to know why he/she came to that decision. Does his/her action seem plausible based on what the reader knows?

For some writers it can be helpful to create character sheets. Write down everything you know about the character before writing the story. This can help you create more realistic characters (even if your story isn’t based in reality).

Before you write your next scene or paragraph, think about your character. He/she may be able to tell you how to move your story along so that you can reach that end.

As writers we should study the classics. We should also study contemporary works of literature. And everything in between.

The point is, we should learn from what we read. Many writers get compared–usually because writers are influenced by those who came before.

For this week’s writing prompt, try to emulate or channel another writer. Use classical or contemporary work. Or try to write in the style of a particular newspaper or magazine. You can use an idea or style from another writer. For poets, you can try using similar poetic imagery, rhyme scheme, or meter. Just be sure that you don’t plagiarize the work (unless you happen to have 100 monkeys on 100 typewriters for 100 years banging out Shakespeare).

While we don’t advocate the traditional literary technique known as deus ex machina, we do enjoy modern interpretations of it. For this week’s “Get Over the Hump” writing prompt, we’d like you to try a different approach to that old literary device.

First you need a plot that necessitates the device–something impossible or improbable that has no plausible escape plan (think government bailout of the auto industry). From here you can use the appearance or act of deity of your choice (or other whimsical figure) to further the plot to reasonable end (or as reasonable as the apparition of a deity might facilitate).

Please don’t use deus ex machina to invite aliens into your work unless they are really, really cool.

If you really want to give your work that Chinese characteristic, you might consider your favorite characters from Journey to the West, such as the Monkey King.