Pixie Casey
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Past articles by Pixie:
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Collect Moments That Move You
One of the reasons I’m always taking pictures is because I’m afraid to let moments get lost. The idea of a snapshot calms me. It’s a way to capture time—to keep it and hold it and have it for as long as the technology allows. When I say “moments,” I don’t necessarily mean Important Events or what have you. I mean a street sign that catches your eye, or a flower, or a piece of gum stuck on the… → Read More
Rookie » How to Avoid Codependent Relationships
The ability to give your heart to someone else while staying true to yourself can be a bit tricky. It’s easy to get swept up in the two-become-one vortex in romantic relationships—to be treated like Peter Pan and his shadow, all sewn up and forever trailing one another. It’s natural to want to spend all of your time with someone that you’re wild about, but also so crucial not to lose yourself in… → Read More
Rookie » How to Accept Kindness
Picture yourself walking down the hallway of your school in between classes. You’ve just given a presentation in your last class—a presentation you worked extremely hard on—and while you’re walking, one of your classmates approaches you and says: “Hey, you did a really great job.” What’s your initial reaction? Do you: * (A) Say “thank you” out loud, but think to yourself, What does this person… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Index Your Creativity
One of my (Pixie’s) favorite books is Mary Robison’s Why Did I Ever, a story told in over 500 chapters. The chapters are incredibly short—sometimes only a few words—and the effect is marvelous. It’s as though you are reading someone’s thoughts as they jump from place to place. When I learned that Mary Robison had written the book by writing all of the chapters as they came to her on index cards,… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Look Back
Photos can be such powerful vehicles for storytelling. When I teach writing classes, one of the very first things I do is ask my students to bring in an image that reminds them of the story they want to write. So today I would love for you to go through your photos. They can be as recent as a summer or two ago; old family photos of your childhood, your parents, grandparents or even… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Lost Balloons
Today as I (Stephanie) walked around, I saw what seemed to be an abnormal number of balloons. There was a lonely yellow balloon marooned on someone’s front lawn. There was a bunch of white balloons, all wrinkled and popped in front of an apartment complex. A crushed mylar “I Love You” balloon was in the middle the street. Another silver mylar balloon that I couldn’t make out (Was it a cartoon… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Craft an Origin Story
Today is my (Stephanie’s) birthday, and I’ve always liked the story of my birth. I feel like it suits my personality, and it has a touch of drama (which let’s be real, also suits my personality). I was due on July 4th, but instead I hung out in the womb waiting for an even more perfect date…FRIDAY THE 13th! And I was born after a thunderstorm! And here is the dramatic part: I was born blue… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Pay Tribute to Your BFF
Remember how we asked you to create tributes to your furry friends back in April? Well, your responses were some of the best, most heart-tugging things I (Stephanie) have ever read. So, kinda selfishly, I want to recreate that joy for myself. This time, since our theme this month is Soulmates and all about that incredible bond, I thought, Why not take the opportunity to express our love for… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Release Your Inner Child
I (Stephanie) have been feeling creatively stuck recently, and I’ve realized that this is in large part because I’ve been looking at creating the same way I look at a lot of life: as work. That’s no fun! So, Rooks, let’s play. Let’s create something today that we would have loved when we were little. My mom always talks about how obsessed with Peter Pan—particularly the pirates—I was when I was… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Take Note
The world around you is filled with stories and poetry. There’s inspiration everywhere, which is why carrying a notebook (or using the Notes app on your phone) is essential when it comes to writing: You never know when an idea is going to cross your path. This week, we’d like you to create a poem simply by taking notes. Throughout the week, write down anything you see that you find particularly… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Remix Your Favorite Fairy Tale
Now, how might you be able to make that story yours, make it new? This might mean changing the setting, like placing the story in a big city, or even on the internet, instead of in the woods. It might mean changing up the characters. In my class, we read a version of “Hansel and Gretel” by Francine Prose where instead of brother and sister, the Hansel and Gretel characters were unhappy newlyweds… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Go on a Road Trip
Summer means vacation time for many, and my (Stephanie) favorite kind of trip is the road trip. I also loooooove road trip books (my current favorite is The Way Back To You by Michelle Andreani and Mindi Scott, which is about two teens who go to meet the recipients of the organs that a friend they lost donated) and movies (like Zombieland because it has, well, zombies!). One of my biggest… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Make a Move
With classes having recently ended for many (hopefully most) of us, a whole bunch of stress and tension may have built up in our bods. Stress can make it hard to think, unwind, and especially create. Today’s Creative Prompt is a little more of an exercise—literally. When you’re ready to get into your creative zone, we want you to MOVE for 15 minutes before you get to work. How you move is up to… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Test Your Survival Skills
I (Pixie) have recently become obsessed with reality shows about survival in the wild. Mostly, it’s because I have absolutely no wilderness skills and find it fascinating how people adapt to harsh environments using instinct, knowledge, and sheer will. Being out of your element is something we all have to deal with at one point or another. Perhaps not on such an extreme level as, say, the… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Try on Some Red Shoes
I (Stephanie) have a fondness for stories about red shoes. I love The Wizard of Oz and Dorothy’s search for ruby slippers that will take her home. I also love the spoken-word style of Loretta Lynn’s song, “Little Red Shoes,” which is a story about her childhood and her mother stealing a pair of shoes for her. (I have not, however, seen Red Shoe Diaries, which is described as an “erotic drama,”… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Stuck in an Elevator
This is such a classic prompt that it is almost cliché, but it is also a lot of fun. You are going to take two people (or more if you want!), get them stuck in an elevator together, and show us what happens! I (Stephanie) had a creative writing teacher who had us do this with either our protagonist and antagonist in a story, our love interests, or two characters that we hadn’t put together at… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Build a Dream House
One of my guilty pleasures is spending a lazy Saturday afternoon watching several episodes of House Hunters in a row. I’m fascinated by what people deem important—like when they demand granite countertops, for example, or turn their noses up at wall-to-wall carpeting—and I’m always curious as to how they’ll transform their potential houses into eventual homes. This week, we’d like you to design… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Top the Music Charts
Though I (Pixie) tried desperately to learn how to play an instrument when I was younger, I eventually came to realize that I just wasn’t blessed with musical ability (or the patience required to keep practicing!). That never stopped me, however, from dreaming about starting my own band, creating my own album covers, and writing pages and pages of lyrics. It was a way for me to express myself… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: What's In the Suitcase?
It’s sitting there at the foot of the bed: the half-packed, or maybe, unpacked suitcase. I (Stephanie) have so many questions about it, and for this week’s Creative Prompt I am counting on you to tell me or show me. What’s in there? Beach wear? An evening gown? A camera? A folder of top-secret documents? Who does it belong to? You? An elderly man? A little girl? A space alien who has been… → Read More
Rookie » Creative Prompt: Create an Ode to a Pet
April is the birthday month of two beings that have meant the world to me (Stephanie). My family cat, Snuggle, who came into my life when I was five. And my first totally-all-mine cat, Sid, who came into my life when I was sixteen. Both of these sweet meows are in kitty heaven now. Sid passed away only a couple of years ago and I wrote a whole essay about him. It is still one of the most… → Read More