It's not fiction and it's not poetry, just my (studied) opinion, but it did make the New York Times' ROOM FOR DEBATE.
I cut my doctoral teeth on prescription drug abuse and prescription monitoring programs, and to winnow down my opinion to ~300 words in 2 hours was a bit of a challenge.
Subjects near and dear to my heart.
Several times while figuring out what to say, and how, I kept thinking: Thank God I can write micro-fiction. I can write short and fast. For all you freelancers, I don't know how you do it on deadline, day after day.
Peace...
Posts
Oh Linda, I am so happy for you! Literally, I am bouncing around the kitchen, smiling and clapping! THE NEW YORK TIMES. It just doesn't get any better than that. Bravo!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow.
ReplyDeleteLinda I am so proud and amazed at you-- THE NYT!!! OMG you hit the holy Grail right out of the box and you nailed it.
ReplyDeleteWord counts and nonfix are a way of life and soon it just becomes second nature but it basically means you start with 2x what you need and cut, cut cut some more. Microfiction is a GREAT training ground and I am so glad you acknowledge the help it offered you in this effort - great job, mad props.
mjs
Such fabulous news. I'm so excited for you, Linda, and you must be elated. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you friends! This was a very exciting thing for me professionally, and I never, ever thought my creative writing would kick in the way I did. What a blessing. Thank you for your support -- always! Peace...
ReplyDeleteGood article Linda. There are some knucklehead comments, but they have less to do with what you wrote and more to do with people's personal convictions. Prescription drugs are the new favorite of all the high school kids in my area. Nothing but anecdotal evidence, but I'd feel safe betting real money that pill use has eclipsed any of the other major abused drugs (including alcohol)...possibly even combined. The combination of easy availability and peer pressure makes for a daunting combination.
ReplyDeleteCorrect me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that opiate use was originally legislated because their widespread abuse was so obviously detrimental to so many people that action had to be taken. Alcohol's addictive properties can't be disputed, but cocaine and heroin are at least two to three times more addictive, depending on whether you're talking about physical or psychological.
I think it's clear that prescription drug abuse is rampant. Reminds me of what Chris Rock famously said - that the government wasn't upset because people were taking drugs. The government was upset because people weren't taking THEIR drugs. And the pharmaceutical drug company commercials just keep on playing...
ReplyDeleteJai
And in musing about Chris Rock I totally neglected to mention that I'm thrilled for you! The New York Times? Woohoo!!!
ReplyDeleteMassive hugs and congratulations!
Jai