Practicing, Milk, and Distractions

Readers Write is a feature in The Sun where readers share their personal writing on a given topic—a unique fixture of the magazine since the section’s inception in 1978. Send us your true story on an upcoming topic, and if we publish it, you’ll receive a complimentary one-year subscription.

Not sure what to write? See below for some prompts to spark an idea. Writing style isn’t as important as thoughtfulness and sincerity, and topics are intentionally broad to give room for expression and interpretation.

Practicing: Entries due November 1
A violin concerto, a foreign language, the perfect free throw—to master a skill, you need to put the time in. Maybe you’re working on something less conventional, like your social graces or sticking to a routine. Do you practice a religion or a meditation regimen? Does practice make perfect, or does it force you to confront your limitations? Take some time for your writing practice and send us your true stories by November 1.

Milk: Entries due December 1
Milk. Some love it; others can’t tolerate it. We pour it on cereal, add it to coffee, and blend it with ice cream to make shakes. It comes out of cows’ udders, nursing mothers’ bosoms, and schoolkids’ noses in the cafeteria. It’s a symbol of all that is nurturing and a source of fat we want to eliminate from our diets. But try as we might to replace it with watered-down oats and almonds and soy, these are all pale substitutes for the real thing. Send us your true stories about Milk by December 1.

Distractions: Entries due January 1
Distractions are a part of daily life: The baby that starts crying as soon as you sit down to work. The magazine that takes your mind off waiting for news at the hospital. The cute guy you can’t stop eyeing while you’re studying at the library. And in a world where our attention is currency, most of us carry a machine built to distract us in our pockets. For some people, internal intrusions—anxieties, fantasies, the argument they can’t stop rehashing—are louder than any ping or buzz. Others are able to filter out everything but what they want to focus on. Distractions can hinder our progress, can help us cope, or can be just a nuisance to overcome. Send us your true stories about how they affect you by January 1.