Watcha Doin'?

Just touching base. What are you doing this holiday week-end?

Show Time!

We've played around with words a lot to paint pictures that are colorful and descriptive. We've shared our word paintings and we've found joy...or at least I think we have....in just writing. The more we play and share the more we think. The more we let our imaginations go, the more colorful and descriptive our writing becomes.

Let's play with emotions to see what we can come up with. Rather let's play with words that tell and turn them into phrases that show an emotion.

Take the word AFRAID. If I wrote a sentence that said, "I was afraid of that big dog," I would be just telling you something. But if I said, "My hands started to sweat when I saw that big dog coming," I would be showing you fear. See what I mean? You would have a clear picture of my distress!

Let's write sentences that show fear. I'll go first: My shaking hands clutched the blanket over my head when I heard the howling outside my bedroom window.

YOUR TURN! WRITE A SENTENCE TO SHOW THAT YOU'RE AFRAID!!! Make sure you don't use the word AFRAID in your sentence.

Just Curious...

I've had this blog up and running for over a year now and I'm curious about a couple things. Do you write for the sheer pleasure of writing or do you really really want to have your writing published someday.

If you do want to become a published author, what kind of writing interests you? Do you want to write a children's book? Perhaps mystery writing is to your liking. Maybe you even want to write a self-help book. We're all writers. Writers write. I'm just being nosey I guess!

If you're a teacher, do any of the writing activities we do help you in the classroom? I sure hope so! Kids have a natural curiosity and joy and almost any writing activity we do can be modified to meet their needs. Hopefully you wallow in words

I just found out that one of my stories will be published in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I didn't even remember submitting the story! Submitting stories is so much easier when you can do it online!

Thanks for writing with me. You make it so much more fun!

Take a Trip Down Memory Lane

You know, sometimes one of the best ways to conjure up a good story is to slip back into your childhood for a few minutes. Most of us have childhood memories about special places we visited in the spring or summer. One of my favorite memories is being allowed to take two of my best friends to my grandmother's farm in late spring.

As I recall the story I can still smell the last of the lilacs that clung to the bushes in her yard. I can taste the strawberry shortcake that she made for us every single meal...yes EVERY SINGLE MEAL!

I can hear the laughter that my friends and I shared while sitting on Nona's upstairs deck reading magazines that we found tucked under her bed...TRUE ROMANCE. We felt a guilty pleasure that was unmistakably the highlight of our trip.

And as I recall these memories, a feeling of being an adolescent again comes over me. I want to write. How about you? Do you have a memory of a special trip or place you visited when you were young? What's your memory like?

Oh! before I forget it, my sister-in-law has a terrific website for real travelers. Go take a peek! Her adventures are only a click away!

Words We Dread to Hear...

Time to draw from our memory bank of past experiences! We have all lived through situations that just the thought of can make us want to cringe. What's trivial to some might be monumental to others.

I was speaking at a conference once and decided to use the restroom before I was scheduled to talk. As luck would have it, there was no toilet paper in my stall. Before I could think of a dignified way to ask for some, the person in the next stall said, "Hey...there's no toilet paper in my stall, could you pass me some from yours.

I now officially dread the words: THERE'S NO TOILET PAPER IN THIS STALL!

Based on a past experience what words do you dread to hear? PLEASE SHARE!

Have fun with this! Even playing with words we dread can be joyful!