Janelle Polcyn
Bio
Writing is where I can think, but also where I can shut my brain off and just let the world disappear and the story consume me. Personal anecdotes, long-form fiction, micro-fiction, and things that make me smile.
Stories (7/0)
Lessons learned in my twenties
Make your house your home. No matter how temporary. Temporary places are not welcoming. Make yourself feel at home. Replace the "depression lights" in your apartment, find a way to add color to your walls, add pretty curtains, and get the couch.
By Janelle Polcyn4 months ago in Humans
Potatoes in the Garden
Someone told me long ago that to grow potatoes, you just wait until one you bought from the store grows eyes and you put it in the ground. I had two such potatoes one spring that I decided would become the start of my free potato scheme. I put one in the ground and one in a pot.
By Janelle Polcyn6 months ago in Feast
Vocal Fry
The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I actually wasn’t sure it was still there, but I saw it in the from the window by my desk while I wrapped up my work, a dim but distinct light in the distance. I used to use the cabin as a secret hideout with my friends and cousins. I haven't visited the cabin in years, but my neighbor’s kids were about the right age to start using it. I was sure he was initiating them to the playground in the woods. I grabbed a flashlight and some firecrackers and hurried out.
By Janelle Polcyn9 months ago in Fiction
Playing Pretend
I am easily bored. But also easily entertained. I have been an advocate for year-round school for as long as I can remember. Summer was just too long for me, but school was also too long. I liked the structure. Couldn't I get more and longer breaks throughout the year? Stretch it out?
By Janelle Polcyn9 months ago in Feast
Broken and Stained Glass
The glass in Shane’s studio doesn’t come in sheets from art stores, but in colorful vases and bowls from thrift stores and dumpsters. Every piece that comes into his home is admired for its special qualities. The most recent piece was a tall, cobalt blue vase that cast a deep and wonderful hue against the wall when the sun shined down on it. The green shards on the table in the art studio were once a wide bowl of a vase with little bumps and grooves that refracted the light in unpredictable and beautiful ways. They were all beautiful when he picked them up and brought them home. He never brought home a vase he didn’t like for one reason or another.
By Janelle Polcyn9 months ago in Fiction
