One Word Wednesday

Give this photo a short caption. One word is plenty. Two or three are fine.

Awesome photo is courtesy of Tweedles. Thank you!

Hinky Pinky Game Time!

I asked my librarian friend, Joan if she'd ever played Hink Pink or Hinky Pinky. At first she said, "No!" but after I described the game her memory came back.
"I played that game as a child," she said. "It was one of my favorites!"

Since I'm all about creative writing and creative thinking I decided we should play this word game together. Let me explain.

The object of the game is to come up with rhyming words that are answers to clues given for riddles.
For example: a clever prank = a slick trick.
an evil preacher = a sinister minister
a loyal color = true blue

One syllable answers are hink pinks. Two syllable answers are hinky pinkies. Three syllable answers are hinkety pinketies.

I hope I'm explaining this okay. Below is a list of clues. Chose as many as you want to answer. Ready? Here you go:

1. nervous burglar
2. noisy mob
3. blender repair person
4. one who lives in the basement
5. clever detective
6. clever prank
7. shining sun
8. noisy mod of people
9. master of a sailing ship
10. cook who cannot hear
11. short male sibling
12. sound slumber
13. chubby cat
14. angry father
15. crying father
16. rabbit that tells jokes
17. huge hog
18. lovely cat
19. improved written communication
20. believable food

21. turbulent sauce

Please put the number and the clue beside your answer. Just curious...have you played this game before?

Lots of Questions!

A question is a short important piece of writing. It's a good way to start a story. It's a good way to end a story. It's a way to get creative juices flowing and it's a way to make your reader think outside the box. If you"re a blogger, it's a good way to encourage your readers to come back again and again.

Let's have some fun with our activity. No need to get too serious. Just think of a question or two you'd like to have answered (for fun or for purpose).

I'll go first:

Why doesn't it rain when I carry my umbrella?

Your turn! Ask a question. Do you think someone might leave you an answer or two that will get you thinking...or at least laughing? Could be!

I Love One Word Wednesday!

I do! Why? Because it goes to show the power that one or two little words can have. Writing just to add words isn't important. Writing to have fun or make a statement is what counts! Using one or two words to describe how you feel tells a lot about who you are and what you like.

For our activity, let's use our senses again.

What makes you feel happy when you smell, hear, touch, taste, or see it?

I'll go first:

cotton candy (smell)

Can you guess that I like to go to fairs and eat fair foods? I showed you that with just a couple words. Now you show me. Your turn!

Writing Prompts Are Great Fun

Last week we came up with a terrific list of things that depict a city. Then we changed a telling sentence(She lived in the city.) into a showing sentence by using some of the words on our list. We were good...really good!

In fact, we were so good that I thought I'd use one of our sentences as a writing prompt.
Terri showed a city with this sentence:

Looking up, she was grateful she worked on the second floor and not the fifth.

All we need to do now is use it as a prompt to see just how creative we can get. Here goes....

Looking up, she was grateful she worked on the second floor and not the fifth because _______.

Write as little or as much as you like! Have fun with this. Get as creative as you like!

Think Fast!

This one is easy breezy!

What's the first thought, word, or phrase that comes to your mind when I say weekend?

I'll go first:

cheesy potatoes

You want to know why cheesy potatoes was the first thing that came to my mind? I guess it's because I know I have to get up early and make our family potato recipe for an OSU football game potluck!

YOUR TURN!

One Wonderful Sentence Wednesday!

You remember that list of city words we created last week? Well get ready! We're going to use them to paint a picture. We really are!

Take this sentence:

She lived in the city.

Now rewrite the same sentence but don't use the word city. Use any words that you want to SHOW....really SHOW... that "She lived in a city."

I'll go first:
She tipped the taxi driver generously, grateful that she didn't have to park in the crowded garage.

OR

She loved to walk her dog around the block just before dark.

Does "she" live in the city? Yes she does. Your turn!

Couldn't Be a Better Award for Me!

First of all, I have to thank Georgie and Tweedles for this award. I don't think that there could be a better award for me.

Scribbling is fun. Scribbling is writing. I love to write! I don't believe we have to write great literary pieces to be good writers. I don't believe that we have to be published authors to be good writers. I DO believe we have to learn to love language.

We need to turn our natural fascination with words into pleasure. We need to doodle. We need to scribble. We need to use one word to say a million things.

Playing with words should never end. Never! No matter how old we are (or how young we are) romping with words and writing activities helps us appreciate that writing is fun and exciting.

I'm a word lover. I know the power of words. It's so much more fun to write with all of you. I want to scribble together for a very long time. Are you in?

Think Fast!

Quick! What's this furry little caterpillar doing?

A Twist to Our List!

We are now the proud owners of a huge list of city words. If you don't believe me, go take a look!

We can even make our list of city words better by taking just one word and expanding on it by creating more words.

For example, if I chose the word house for my city word, I would start to think about things that were in the house and create a new list. Example: couch, kitchen, pets, family....

So, go look at the list of city words (or use one of the words that you left or remember seeing) and write it at the top of your comment section. Add two or three words that paint a picture to show us what you envision.

I'll go first:
traffic light (is my word)
stopped cars
red light
yellow light
green light
cars go fast
cars run light
cars crash

See what I mean? Now it's your turn to play with words. Let's give our CITY LIST a twist! Pick a CITY word and expand on it..have fun!