What do you think about tattoos? Do you have a tattoo? What is it? Where is it? Why? If you don’t have a tattoo, would you ever get one? If yes, what do you envision it will be?
Author: mcullen
Marlene Cullen is enthusiastic about encouraging people to write, even those who think they can’t write. Her series of books, The Write Spot anthologies, features writing that entertains as well as inspires writing. Every story, vignette, and poem in The Write Spot books include writing prompts motivating readers to become writers.
Marlene hosts The Write Spot Blog, a treasure chest of inspirational gems for writers.
Fulfilling her passion for writing and sharing with others, Marlene has created unique writing environments such as Jumpstart Writing Workshops, where participants often experience transformational changes. Her workshops provide essential elements for successful writing.
Marlene is the founder of Writers Forum of Petaluma, a monthly literary event featuring presenters talking about the craft and business of writing.
Marlene's awarding winning short stories and essays have been published in literary journals, anthologies, and newspapers, including Tiny Lights, Building Bridges, More Bridges, Redwood Writers anthologies, and The Write Spot anthologies.
She is a member of the California Writer's Club.
Start at the height of desire — David Lavender
Many of us have heard “start your story in the middle of the action, or the height of the conflict.” David Lavender suggests “start at the height of desire.” You need not worry about being dull if you can present within the first few hundred words a definite character in the grip of a definite emotion. “But introducing a character and his motives to an audience must be done deftly and without explanation. For example, if setting up a boy-loves-girl story, Lavender says, ‘I must show the boy immediately engaged in wanting the girl. I must do it with unobtrusive little touches. I must bring it out through the way he acts and what he says, being at all times careful not to let the reader guess that he is having something explained to him.’” — Nicki Porter, August 2015 The Writer magazine
Sensory Details – Kinesthetic, motion in writing
How do we convey the sense of touch, or feel, or kinesthetic (motion) in writing? “The key to good imagery is engaging all five senses.” Five Types of Imagery: “The five senses: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory (smell), and gustatory (taste).” Previous posts about using sensory detail in writing: visual, auditory and olfactory. Now, let’s explore using the sense of touch to embellish and enhance writing. Sometimes, the best way to learn is by example, learning from what others have written. “At school, the guilt and sadness were like wearing clothes still damp from the wash,” and “Whenever I moved, I felt as though I were touching something icy.” —Family Life by Akhil Sharma I know what that feels like, so when I read this, I can feel those damp clothes and know what the author wants to convey. Here’s an example of using movement in writing: “By the thirteenth loop,…
Chicken Soup for the Soul always looking for new talent
Have you wondered how Chicken Soup for the Soul chooses their stories? Do you have a story you think might qualify for selection for being published? What you need to know about Chicken Soup submissions: Recipe for A Winning Chicken Soup for the Soul submission A Chicken Soup for the Soul story is an inspirational, true story about ordinary people having extraordinary experiences. It is a story that opens the heart and rekindles the spirit. It is a simple piece that touches our readers and helps them discover basic principles they can use in their own lives. These stories are personal and often filled with emotion and drama. They are filled with vivid images created by using the five senses. In some stories, the readers feel that they are actually in the scene with the people. Chicken Soup for the Soul stories are written in the first person and have…
Imagine you are . . . Prompt #180
Imagine you are on a tropical paradise vacation. Sitting on the lanai, hearing the waves lap against the shore. Smell the ocean breeze. Feel the soft wind on your face. See the light curtain billow in the gentle breeze. Settle back in your rattan chair, cool refreshing drink nearby. Hear the ice clink against the side of your glass as you sip your refreshing drink. Hear the gentle wind chimes. Breathe deeply, enjoying the fragrance of fresh, tropical flowers – the heady scent of orchids, plumeria, roses. Perhaps pink, climbing roses. See a piece of fruit. . . an orange. Feel the bumpy, heavy skin. Peel it. Feel the texture of the orange free of its heavy skin. See the uniform sections connected into a symmetrical arc of segments . . . .a globe. Carefully, slowly pull on one of the segments. So slowly that you see the burst of…
There was a smell of Time in the air . . .
Excerpt from The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury:There was a smell of Time in the air tonight. What did Time smell like? Like dust and clocks and people. And if you wondered what Time sounded like, it sounded like water running in a dark cave and voices crying and dirt dropping down upon hollow box lids, and rain. Time looked like snow dropping silently into a black room or it looked like a silent film in an ancient theatre one hundred billion faces falling like those New Year balloons down and down into nothing. That was how Time smelled and looked and sounded. Marlene’s Musings: I love the idea of writing what Time smells like. . . sounds like . . . looks like. . . Your Turn: Choose an item, an object, a thing, that interests you. . . what does it smell like? sound like? look like?
Food! Spices! Prompt #179
Picture the house you grew up in. Or, any house where you have lived. Walk into the kitchen. See the table and chairs, the counter, the cupboards. Open a cupboard door. . . or walk into a pantry. Take a deep breath. Notice the smells. Open the spice cabinet. Inhale and . . . what are those many and mysterious smells? Prompts, multiple choice: What food reminds you of the kitchen in the house where you grew up? Memories surrounding that food? OR: What nourishes you? Or: I grew up with . . .
Silverstein wrote for the ear
Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends “resonates because Silverstein wrote for the ear. Purposeful rhythm. Calculated pace. Challenging riffs. Delightful melodies. Words selected as much for their sound as their meaning.” —Jack Hamann, “For the ear — Writing with rhythm,” The Writer, July 2015 Tips to make writing stronger, inspired by Jack Hamann, “For the ear.” Vary pace – “bookend longer sentences with short, rhythmic declarations.” Use a thesaurus. Use alliteration (see below). Give weak verbs the boot. Omit unnecessary words, especially “the.” Read aloud. You’ll notice places that need tweaking. Alliteration is a stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series: But a better butter makes a batter better. Marlene’s Musings: Have fun with this. Choose a prompt and write. Then, revise, using the tips above.
Sensory Detail – Smell
How do you put the sensory detail of smell in writing? Let’s sniff out ideas. Take a deep breath and imagine the smell of: fresh lemons watermelon chocolate coffee fish – cooked, or freshly caught roast turkey right out of the oven popcorn – movie popcorn with melted butter How would you describe these smells to someone who cannot smell or who never smelled these particular scents? What does a crunchy red apple smell like? Does a red apple smell the same as a green apple? Does an apple smell different if it’s crunchy or mushy? If it’s cold, it might have that earthy smell of a river. Or an apple might smell like a hot summer afternoon in an orchard. Can you put apple smell into words? If you can, walk through an orchard or a field where the earth has recently been plowed. Inhale. Describe that earthy smell….
Delicious! by Ruth Reichl
We’re talking about sensory detail in writing this month on The Write Spot Blog. Delicious! by Ruth Reichl is rich in sensory detail: . . . I could taste the cake in my mind. Strong. Earthy. Fragrant. I remembered the nose-prickling aroma of cinnamon when it comes in fragile curls, and the startling power of crushed cloves. I imagined them into the batter. Aunt Melba was grating the orange rind now, and the clean, friendly smell filled her airy kitchen. Delicious! is filled with this type of glorious descriptions about smells. Reichl is a restaurant critic and cookbook author. No wonder she knows about smells! Delicious! is . . . well. . . delicious with lovable characters, a charming story, delightful scenes and interesting premise. Characters’ stories circle around one another, building upon detail until the end, when it all comes together in a satisfying scene. “Got any ginger?” “What…