‘Tis the season for work parties, cocktail parties, and ugly sweater parties. All of which mean one thing: time to get serious about dusting off your party tricks. No more procrastinating. Otherwise you’ll soon find yourself in a roomful of people staring at you, waiting for your showcase, and you’ll have nothing. Nothing, I tell you.

At a loss? Never fear, Three Things is here: following are three party tricks for you (or your characters, I suppose, if you prefer to live vicariously through your writing) to steal. Now get on it.

The Conjurer, 16th century. Unattributed copy of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Conjurer, 1475–1505 (Musée Municipal in St.-Germain-en-Laye). Oil on wood. The Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Joe Hargan, A Balanced View. Oil on canvas.

Hollie Chastain, Adalyn’s Party Trick I. Found paper collage. www.holliechastain.com

P.S. Speaking of parties, we’re having one this week right here at Hazel & Wren: THAT’S RIGHT, OPEN MIC IS THIS WEEK! Submit your work-in-progress today and tomorrow, and join in the wild workshopping on Wednesday!

Please note: We’ll be taking a break from Open Mic in January, so this is your last chance to participate for two whole months! Open Mic will resume its normal monthly schedule on February 8th, 2012.