Playtime! Good News - Bad News

No matter how young or old we are, word play should never end. I do the same writing exercises with aspiring authors that I do with 1st grade children. It's true!
Creative talking is the starting point for creative writing.

Life experiences ignite ideas. We've all had a good news experience that had a consequence. A great way to write a story is just by reaching back into our memory. If you've been writing with me for awhile, braindrop!

Think of this as another list. We'll call it our Good News Bad News list. I'll go first:

The good news is that I killed a horsefly that was biting the heck out of Tango yesterday.
The bad news is that I got blood all over my hand and new riding shirt.

Your turn! Let's play! Get creative and have fun! I know all you animal lovers out there will have tons of ideas. Bring them on!!!

How's It Feel?

I just got back from posting on my animal blog. I wrote about a rainy day at the farm where I board my horse, Tango. Writing that post made me think about how the day felt. It was raining and the air was full of moisture. Honestly, it felt as though I could drink the air.

Sometimes the rain was hard. Sometimes it was soft. Do you feel a writing experience coming on? Hold onto your hats because I sure do!

Here are two questions for you to answer:

1. How does hard rain feel?

2. How does soft rain feel?

Here are my answers:
1. Hard rain feels like nails jabbing through my skin.
2. Soft rain feels like water from a slow sprinkler on a hot summer day.

Your turn! I'll post the questions again in the comment section. As usual, come back as often as ideas pop into your mind. Our list of descriptions can only get better!

Are You Ready for More?

I could play with words all night, but I really shouldn't. This one will be quick and easy. Ask anyone you know to join us. There are no age limits here. We can keep wallowing in the love of language and the joy of writing till the cows come home! Anyone know when that will be?

Here you go! Finish this sentence:

It was as dark as ____________.

Here's my answer: It was as dark as chocolate.

Your turn! Have fun! We're going to have a list of descriptions that we can refer back to over and over again. Just think, when you get ready to write your novel (or your next blog post) you'll have all kinds of descriptions flowing through your mind and onto your paper or computer screen! You'll be painting pictures with your words.

New Word Game...Thanks to Tweedles!

If you're new to my blog and don't know who Tweedles is, please check out the comments to the last post and then go visit her blog. She's fun and creative!

Tweedles game me an idea for our next word game. All I want you to do is answer two questions.


1. What can a gentle breeze blow?

2. What can a strong wind blow?

Here are my answers:

1. tissue

2. a filled-to-the-brim flower pot C R A S H !

Everyone can play this fun word game. Usually the easiest answers are the ones that come to your mind first. It will help to look at the other comments, because they'll stir up more memories than you can imagine.

Your turn! What can a gentle breeze blow? What can a strong wind blow? Think fast!

As usual, feel free to come back again. Bring your kids!

Word Play - For Kids and Adults!

I love words. I am fascinated by how words can change my perspective in a matter of seconds. I want you to feel that wonder too! Kids should have gobs of experience with the magic of words and so should we. Words are a way to stretch our thinking and make our writing more exciting.

Everyone should play with words and that's what we are doing!

What image comes to your mind when you think of the word soft?

Feathers come to my mind.
Here's how I might show soft in a sentence: The snow felt like feathers tickling my face.

Your turn. Think of the word soft. What does your mind's eye see? Can you show me soft in a word or two? Give it a try! Don't be shy. If you think of something after you've already been here, come back! Don't forget...we're creating our own thesaurus!

Feathers was my word to show soft. What's yours?

More Lists?

Do you want to create more word lists that you can store for future use or do you want to do something else? I've got tons of ideas and writing activities that we can do. Lists can be fun, easy, and extremely useful later on.

You tell me. What do you need? What do you want? I've got it! For now, please leave me a list of three things that you'd like to do when we write together. Think of it as a game. Writing is fun. When it stops being fun, we need to move on.

Please indicate what your goals are at the top of your list. If you're an aspiring writer, say so. If you're a teacher or homeschooler ready to head back to the classroom, I need to know that too.

If you just like to write for the fun of playing with words you've come to the right place. Let's IGNITE TO WRITE!

I'll sit tight until I hear from you! My mind will be whirling patiently.

Let's Write a Story Together!

You guys are so good, I think it's time we combine our creativity. I'm going to start a story. What I'd like you to do is to add to the story. Just a sentence will do the trick. In order to do this, you're going to have to read the first sentence here on the post and then read the comments as they come in...I'm excited already!

Are you ready? Here's the beginning of our story:

We were sitting around the bonfire last night when the most amazing thing happened.......


You take it from here! This story belongs to US. It's ours to play with. It's ours to give it colorful characters and delightful twists and turns.

I can't wait to see where our story goes. Since I started it, I think it's only fair that I end it on Thursday. So until then, let's create our very own masterpiece. Feel free to come back and add more to the story as you see how it develops! In fact, I think that would be a great idea.

Please share this activity with your blogging friends. They more people we have, the more interesting our story will be! Kids are always welcome here.