Denise E Lindquist
Bio
I am married with 7 children, 28 grands, and 13 great-grandchildren. I am a culture consultant part-time. I write A Poem a Day in February for 8 years now. I wrote 4 - 50,000 word stories in NaNoWriMo. I write on Vocal/Medium daily.
Stories (1226)
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Winter Was Storytime Growing Up As A Child . Honorable Mention in The Ritual of Winter Challenge. Top Story - December 2025.
While growing up in my family, there were lots and lots of stories. Stories from children's books were read, mostly at bedtime, and there were stories told year-round. Stories that weren't written. Stories that were very old and taught a lesson or told of why things are the way they are.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Humans
Date Day And Night
We have some fun local events that we have only recently started attending, because of our now regular date night. We went to see Georgette Jones, and she was great. She sang like her mother and sang songs by both her mother and father.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Longevity
One Character In A Fiction Story
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Write a story whose forward movement is propelled by: a character's belief in something: a tale such as in Alice Hoffman's White Horses, a religion, astrology, the I Ching, a friend's lie, or winning the lottery Allow something imagined to fire your character's imagination and provide the fuel to cause that character to act and move the story toward some conclusion. The Objective - To respect the minds and imaginations of your characters. To see how a character's imagination can transcend the confines of a limited point of view - as in Hotel New Hampshire and Zuckerman Unbound. To allow characters to experience the full range of thought of which we all are capable.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
My Reiki Story
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Write one sentence for a story that is in its fourth or fifth draft. Then revise the story to heighten and illuminate this final meaning. The Objective - To make you aware of how you come to final meaning slowly, slowly, as you revise a story. To bring you through this process to what you intend the story to mean and what you want to convey to the reader. And finally, to make everything in the story accrue to this final meaning.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
Good Men Are Hard To Find, So Relax And Let Them Find You
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Have a place in your writer's notebook where you play around with titles, making a list of your favorites. Or read through a story looking for a title to emerge from the story itself - a phrase, an image, etc. The Objective To sharpen your instincts for a good title and to understand how titles can lead you to stories.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
Two Native American Elders Visiting
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Begin a story from random elements such as two characters, a place, two objects, an adjective, and an abstract word. If you are not in a class, give this list to someone and have them provide you with the words so you will be surprised by them. If you are in a class have the class make up a random list. Then everyone must use these elements in the first two pages of a story. The Objective - To exercise your imagination, to prove to yourself that all you need is a trigger to get you started writing. And if you care about the story you start, the finish will take care of itself.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
Roots And Branches
Roots and Branches Challenge: The Prompt - Write a poem about roots and branches, what grounds you and what carries you forward. For this challenge, we’re asking you to think about what grounds you and what pushes you forward. Roots and branches are one way to imagine it: where you come from, what keeps you steady, and how you keep growing. Your poem might stay close to the earth, grounded in memory, family, or tradition. Or it might stretch outward, imagining growth, change, and possibility. Both directions matter, and the tension between them can give the poem its shape.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Poets
The Wife And The Girlfriend
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — A man is having an affair with his secretary. He goes to bed with her in a motel room. When he wakes up in the morning, he’s in the same motel room, but the woman next to him is his wife. Two pages of dialogue. A few lines of action. We can assume the description is already in place. The Objective — A writer needs to be able to imagine an improbable scene and bring it to life. This is a separate issue from making up a story.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
A Letter To My First Love
The Prompt - Write a poem on endings, using flame or fire as your central image. This is the final challenge in our Vocal+ Fall Poetry Series, and it’s all about endings. Flames fade, fires burn out, and what remains is ash, memory, or the promise of something new. Your poem might take fire as destruction, as warmth, as memory, or as transformation. However you approach it, let the flame guide you to what it means to reach an ending, whether it arrives with silence or with a burst of light. Write like you are watching the last fire fade.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Poets
The Storage Room
The Forgotten Room Challenge: Write a fiction story that centers on a room that hasn’t been entered in years. This prompt is about the spaces we avoid and the stories they hold. A room that has not been entered in years is more than just four walls. It can be a vault for memories, a keeper of secrets, or a place where time feels strangely preserved. What happens when someone finally steps inside? Does it unlock the past, change the present, or blur the line between the two?
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Fiction
Dropping Out Of College
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise - You're a senior in college writing home to tell your parent(s) that you're dropping out of school for your last semester; you can't promise that you will ever go back. You want them to understand, if not exactly approve of, your reason(s) for leaving. Make these as specific as you can - and as persuasive. The second half of the exercise is to write the answer, either from one or both of the parents. Limit: 550 words The Objective - To get inside the head of another person, someone you have invented, and assume her voice to vary your narrative conveyance.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
