He got up and sat on the edge of the bedstead with his back to the window. “It’s better not to sleep at all,” he decided. There was a cold damp draught from the window, however; without getting up he drew the blanket over him and wrapped himself in it. He was not thinking of anything and did not want to think. But one image rose after another, incoherent scraps of thought without beginning or end passed through his mind. He sank into drowsiness. Perhaps the cold, or the dampness, or the dark, or the wind that howled under the window and tossed the trees roused a sort of persistent craving for the fantastic. He kept dwelling on images of flowers, he fancied a charming flower garden, a bright, warm, almost hot day, a holiday—Trinity day. A fine, sumptuous country cottage in the English taste overgrown with fragrant flowers, with flower beds going round the house; the porch, wreathed in climbers, was surrounded with beds of roses. A light, cool staircase, carpeted with rich rugs, was decorated with rare plants in china pots. He noticed particularly in the windows nosegays of tender, white, heavily fragrant narcissus bending over their bright, green, thick long stalks. He was reluctant to move away from them, but he went up the stairs and came into a large, high drawing-room and again everywhere—at the windows, the doors on to the balcony, and on the balcony itself—were flowers. The floors were strewn with freshly-cut fragrant hay, the windows were open, a fresh, cool, light air came into the room. The birds were chirruping under the window, and in the middle of the room, on a table covered with a white satin shroud, stood a coffin. The coffin was covered with white silk and edged with a thick white frill; wreaths of flowers surrounded it on all sides. Among the flowers lay a girl in a white muslin dress, with her arms crossed and pressed on her bosom, as though carved out of marble. But her loose fair hair was wet; there was a wreath of roses on her head. The stern and already rigid profile of her face looked as though chiselled of marble too, and the smile on her pale lips was full of an immense unchildish misery and sorrowful appeal. Svidrigaïlov knew that girl; there was no holy image, no burning candle beside the coffin; no sound of prayers: the girl had drowned herself. She was only fourteen, but her heart was broken. And she had destroyed herself, crushed by an insult that had appalled and amazed that childish soul, had smirched that angel purity with unmerited disgrace and torn from her a last scream of despair, unheeded and brutally disregarded, on a dark night in the cold and wet while the wind howled
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Writing Prompts Based on Songs (Part 2) 
This is the second part of a two-part series of Creative Writing Prompts. Visit part one. 16. St. Vincent: “Save Me From What I Want” Prompt: A woman reveals to someone close to her that she has gotten everything she has ever wanted yet still feels disappointed in life. What does that person tell her? […]
Read More Musical Creative Writing Prompts If you’re tired of writing about the same old topics, try these Musical Creative Writing Prompts. These 30 prompts are guaranteed to dig you out of that rut and generate new material, and each one of them will offer a wonderful chance to exercise your writing muscles. My advice is to start playing the music while you read the […]
Read More The Best Travel Writing Magazines I ranked the travel magazines below using the The Best American Travel Writing series. For the last five years, each magazine with one of its essays reprinted in the book got a certain number of points, and if it was listed in the “Special Mention” section in the back, it received a fewer number of […]
Read More 33 Publishers and Journals Seeking Novellas It can seem like there is no place to publish your novella, but actually the opposite is true: the form is experiencing a revival. From Melville House’s “The Art of the Novella” series of classic novellas, to Big Fiction Magazine and Nouvella, there are more places than ever to publish your novelette or novella. In […]
Read More The 17 Best Christian Publishers These are 17 publishers who are actively seeking Christian manuscripts of all stripes and genres. Most of these publishers are traditional publishers, but I do have a few on this page that are hybrid publishers (half self-publishing and half traditional publishing). There are advantages and disadvantages to both routes to publication, so I’d advise you […]
Read More Ranking of the 100 Best Literary Magazines This list ranks literary magazines by how often their short stories have appeared in the Best American Short Stories. In some ways it’s ridiculous to rank literary magazines by the number of awards they’ve received, but it still can be useful for writers to figure out where to submit. (If you’re looking for nonfiction or essay […]
Read More Ranking of Literary Nonfiction Markets This list uses the Best American Essays series to rank magazines, literary journals, newspapers and other literary nonfiction markets by how often their essays are cited in the anthology. If you’re writing literary nonfiction and looking for good magazines to submit your essay or other nonfiction, check out these markets. The ranking covers the last five years […]
Read More Best Online Literary Magazines As literary magazines continue to move from print to online, it’s important to separate the chaff from the wheat. This list attempts to do that. Below are the online literary magazines that attracted my attention, boast the best names, have the most accomplished stories, showcase the work in outstanding design, and have the best chance […]
Read More 10 Incredibly Written Sex Scenes in Books Articles about sex scenes in books usually fail in one of 3 ways. They often: The sex scenes below are literary fiction. But don’t run away! They’re really good sex and really good writing, and yes, those things can be combined. I’ll prove it to you. Just read the first couple of excerpts below and […]
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