Sharing Thoughts and Ideas

I honestly believe that creative thinking naturally spills over into colorful fun writing. Creativity flows freely, especially when we share what we are thinking with others. Nothing is better than a good discussion to get ourselves out of the proverbial box.

In a Bible group I attended last week, this question came up: What is the difference between joy and happiness?

It was debated for quite some time. Then I brought the question home with me. I pondered it with my husband and a couple best friends. Each of their individual thoughts were like kernels of corn. I still don't have a full cob so I thought I'd ponder the same question with you!

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOY AND HAPPINESS?


Have at it! I can't wait to see what you have to say!

Different Writing Prompt

I'm feeling rather spontaneous today. Let's do another writing prompt!

Finish this sentence either humorously or seriously:

I really wish I hadn't.....

I'll go first:
I really wish I hadn't forgotten to change my horse's blanket. Now I have to drive twenty miles back to the barn to make sure he doesn't freeze tonight!

YOUR TURN!

Writing Prompt With Style!

Let's be just like kids again and give ourselves the freedom to pretend. The joy of language and delight of playing with words comes from a healthy friendship between our imaginations and our style of writing.

Some of us are flowery with our words. Others of us can paint a picture with our words even though they are succinct.

What's your writing style? The good news is that there's no right or wrong answer!

Here's a writing prompt to play with. Let's see what we can do with it!

You couldn't help but envy the Smiths. They..........


Have fun!

Let's Pretend!

If you like language like I do (and I know you do!) then your imagination doesn't need much spark to get ignited. Remember, word play is not just for children and neither is pretending!

Close your eyes for a second. Pretend that a thunderstorm has just passed by your window. Think about how it might sound, smell, feel, taste, and look.

Now, using these three things, a frightened animal, a fireman, and a small audience, paint with your words to write a sentence or two (or more if you like) with that thunderstorm in mind.

I'll go first!

A clap of thunder sent the almost washed-away duckling back into the sewer. I shouted to my sons for help. "I can't get the grill off this sewer," I said. This duck is going to die!" Before running outside, my youngest son dialed 911. It didn't take long for a firetruck to come screaming into our neighborhood. In only seconds, the fireman had the grill off the sewer and the duckling out. The small audience that had gathered behind us clapped and cheered. It was indeed a good day for duck...lings!

Okay, fiction for sure, but two minutes to write. I used more than two sentences but you don't need to...in fact later on, I'll come back in the comment section and do the activity with fewer sentences. For now, It's your turn!

Listen!

I loved all the responses to our last writing activity. I know it was difficult, but it was thought provoking for sure.

I promised you an easy writing activity today. Easy and useful for future writing!

Let's make a list of all the sounds we can think of...like MOO...that's a sound! This is one of those activites that can go on and on. We'll have all kinds of sounds to use in our own future writing!

Are you ready? Let's do it. We can even do it alphabetically if you want. Of course, as I say that, I'm sitting here trying to think of a sound that begins with the letter A.

Oh! I've got an A sound....Ahhhhh chooooo!

Your turn! Let's make a list of sounds that's a mile long!

HELP!

I have finally found a writing activity that has me stumped. The exercise asks for the writer to write about something that is useless and beautiful. That's easy I thought to myself. There are lots of things that are useless and beautiful. HA!

First I thought of SNOW. That's beautiful I muttered softly. And it's useless too. Then I remembered all the happy teachers and children out of school for a snow day. I thought of every back-to-work snow plow driver. Forget snow, I thought.

Then I moved on to JEWELRY. My wheels were turning again. Useless? Beautiful? At first I answered yes to both questions. Then I remembered the jewelry that was left to me by my mother. Every time I look at my rings I think of her. Her jewelry keeps my memories alive.

Oh my list went on and on. Every single time I thought of something that was beautiful and seemingly useless, I thought of a reason for it....talk about creative thinking, my mind was on fire!

Your turn. Can you think of anything at all that is useless and beautiful? Even if you have trouble like I did, give it a shot and let me know what you come up with. I promise, the next writing exercise will be easier!

Ideas are Everywhere...

My writer's group meets at Barnes & Noble once a month. We get together and and basically write. It's always fun to share brief writing activities with others and last night was no exception. We completed three writing activities and for the life of me, I can't remember them right now. When they come back to me I'll share them with you.

What I do remember is looking at magnets on our way out of the store. One of the magnets read How Old Would You Be If you Didn't Know How Old You Are?

That question stuck in my mind. I've tossed it around off and on all day long. My imagination has been running wild thinking about good times I had when I was young, cherished moments with my children, and also how old I really act.

Since I've been having so much fun with the question I saw on the magnet at the store, I thought you should too. In a day or so, I'll share what I finally decided my age would be if I didn't really know how old I am. This time, I'll wait until the very last comment has been left on Friday. For now, it's your turn!

HOW OLD WOULD YOU BE IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW HOW OLD YOU ARE?

Colorful Writing is Fun to Read!

Sometimes less is more. We don't have to be wordy to paint a picture with our words, we just have to let our imaginations run wild. We need to allow ourselves the freedom to write what our minds can see when we unleash our creativity. We need to allow our children to have the same freedom!

Here's a short sentence to show you what I'm talking about: Oil sizzled on the blacktop.

That was a five word sentence that painted a picture - or at least I think it did.

Are you ready to play with words now? If you are, you're in the right place!

Before you look at the sentence we're going to use for our writing activity, think about the sun. In your mind, decide if the sun is in a winter, summer, spring or fall sky. Once you've determined the season, close your eyes and think about how it looks and feels in this unique scene of your choice.

Answer the following sentence with short colorful words:

If the sun stains the sky, what do it's rays do?

Imagine That!

Writing activities that spur the imagination are not just for kids. I'm a firm believer that if you can't write short pieces with creativity and delight, you probably won't be able to write longer pieces very easily either!

Since this blog is all about the joy of words, the love of language, and inspiring each other by stretching our thinking, let's use a writing prompt today!

Here's the prompt for you to complete either humorously or seriously:

If I had a twin........

Have fun with this one! I wonder how many evil twins there are out there?

Is This Really a Wheel?

It's all about perspective really. At first glance this is a lovely old wagon wheel covered with snow. Blink once or twice and let your imagination go crazy. You might still see a wagon wheel in your mind's eye, but now can you see where it has been? Can you imagine how it ended up leaning against the barn?

Perhaps your mind's eye doesn't even see a wheel anymore. Maybe you see something else like a gigantic spider web or even better.

Have fun! Go crazy! Tell us what you see!


Special thanks to Georgie and Tweedles for this photo!

Paint With Words or Stretch Your Sentence

Call it what you will, but colorful creative writing comes from words that jump off the paper and create an image for its readers. This glorious image (that can be seen in the mind's eye) is so powerful that its like an individual snapshot that is changed only by personal prospective.

I am more than ready to start writing again and nothing makes me feel more creative than writing with you!

Let's paint with words! We will start with one sentence and then stretch it to become colorful and creative.

Here is an example of a perfectly fine sentence that is changed to a sentence that paints a picture:

Sentence 1: She ate lunch.

Sentence 2: The hungry gymnast wolfed down her beef stew before anyone else began to eat.

Are you ready? Let's have fun! Here is a sentence for you to change to a colorful painting:

He went to the park.

Paint with your words to create a sentence that shows that "He went to the park." You can do it! I can't wait to read your lovely words!