Work
A collection of ideas, imaginary worlds, creative projects, and learnings as I make my way back to who I still have the opportunity to be.
Until that message.
Type: Writing toward novel | Genre: Speculative Fiction | Date: June 10, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson I had gotten to the point where our covert war felt normal, but it wasn’t what I had ever wanted to raise my children in. I struggle with the shame of it—how much, when I received that message from Cace, I was excited to dive…
If she shushes me again I’m going to scream.
Type: Free write | Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Date: June 8, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson If she shushes me again I’m going to scream. I don’t want the most memorable story of my I-can-surely-find-myself-in-Spain trip to be getting kicked out of the hammam spa, so I stand up from the baths, wrap my towel around my waist, gulp the last of…
A tree. A bear. A sorceress. A shepherd.
Type: Free write | Genre: Fiction/Fable | Date: June 1, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson A tree. A bear. A sorceress. A shepherd. First, I was a tree. I first felt wonder then. I started out as a sapling. I suppose I actually started out as a seed, then a small shoot from the ground, but my time as a sapling is…
Angels + Super Weird Humans
Type: Free write | Genre: Speculative Fiction | Date: May 18, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson What we do doesn’t make sense. On paper, sure. Protect the humans. Try to provide a little order to their chaos. Give ‘em lil’ reminders of hope, like the twenty-dollar bill they forgot was in their spring jacket or a card from their great…
Hold Fast to Goodness
Type: Personal Essay Free Write | Date: May 4, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson A phrase I have tattooed on my rib: hold fast to goodness. An alternative translation from its original Hawaiian: stand strong in your decisions made from truth and righteousness. The translation I latched onto at 19 was the “hold fast to goodness” one. How fast does one have…
“Did you ever see your Nephew again?”
Type: Dialogue Exercise | Genre: Speculative Fiction | Date: April 27, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson “Did you ever see your Nephew again?” I ask her, trying to catch her downcast eyes. She shakes her head. Just slightly, like she doesn’t want to commit to its answer. “I couldn’t,” she says. “What stopped you?” She doesn’t respond for a time, wandering about…
“Goddammit Jasper,” I spit, but it don’t matter…
Type: Free write | Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Date: April 13, 2022 | Author: Lala Jackson “Goddammit Jasper,” I spit, but it don’t matter. The horse can’t understand me anymore I can understand it, which is why I now find myself on the ground again, him having just thrown me off his back for the…
Vanilla Vodka + Limeade
Type: Dialogue Exercise | Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Date: February 24, 2021 | Author: Lala Jackson“Tapping your foot isn’t going to make me choose faster, love.”“Not gonna make you choose any slower either, and trust – it’s good for me to have the outlet.” “Mmm.” “You know you’re gonna choose the limeade, it’s always the limeade.” “What was it that Gene gave…
Jeff’s Scones + Croissants
Type: Dialogue Exercise | Genre: Contemporary Fiction | Date: February 17, 2021 | Author: Lala Jackson I’d only been standing in line for a moment when a man to my right, who I had not even seen approach, said “Reah ad tha is clo-ing, yea?” far too close to my face. I kept my body…
Lala Jackson 