Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. MissUnderstood Me By Julie Sherman Not all dragons are fire-breathing, terrifying, scaley, menacing creatures. Folklore and fairytales have given us a bad name and have ruined our reputations. Some of us are quite nice. Some are even meek. Some are mothers who just want to care for their young draglings in the dark, clammy caves of our homes. Others are literally party animals and want to romp and roll in the mountains, scratching our backs on the rough terrain. And most of us are kind. Many of us go around helping other dragons fend off bully dragons who flap their immense, scabrous wings close to other dragons’ faces and blow smoke through their enormous nostrils and balls of fire through their mammoth mouths. We are descendants of pterodactyl and t-rex, so we get our wide…
Glimmers . . . Prompt #772
“The opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for glimmers, these tiny moments will appear more and more.” Author Unknown #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
More First Lines From Books . . . Prompt #771
“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness . . .” “The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls “I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a dumpster.” “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus “Back in 1961, when women wore shirtwaist dresses and joined garden clubs and drove legions of children around in seatbeltless cars without giving it a second thought; back before anyone knew there’d even be a sixties movement, much less one that its participants would spend the next sixty years chronicling; back when the big wars were over and the secret wars had just begun and people were starting to think fresh and believe everything was possible,…
Life . . . Prompt #770
More than one friend recently told me their difficulties, about how things seem impossible, how hard everything is. Sometimes I wonder why these things happen. And then I remember: Life. Life happens. There are ups and downs. Situations that seem hopeless. And then time goes by. We find solutions. Or the situation remedies somehow. Write about a time that seemed hopeless. What happened? Or, if you are in a situation now that seems hopeless, write as if the problem has been resolved. What would your life look like if this situation was remedied? Writing About Difficult Times In Your Life by Guest Blogger Nancy Julien Kopp #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter
Beyond a warm house . . . Prompt #769
What are you grateful for? Let’s go beyond a warm house and plenty of food. Dig a little deeper. Did something happen that curved your lips into a smile? Did someone catch your eye and give a knowing nod? Did someone unexpectedly reach out to help you? What are you thankful for? #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting
What do you need to unsubscribe from? . . . Prompt #768
What do you need to unsubscribe from? What do you need to let go of?
Chinese New Year . . . Prompt #767
Chinese New Year 2024 Year of the Dragon According to legend, Chinese New Year started with a mythical beast called the Nian (a beast that lives under the sea or in the mountains) during the annual Spring Festival. One year, the villagers decided to hide from the beast. An older man appeared before the villagers and said that he would stay the night and get revenge on the Nian. The old man put red papers up and set off firecrackers. The next day, the villagers returned and saw that nothing had been destroyed. They assumed that the old man was a deity who came to save them. The villagers learned that the old man discovered that the Nian was afraid of the color red and loud noises. The tradition grew as New Year approached. The villagers wore red clothes, hung red lanterns and red scrolls on windows and doors. They…
Inflatable Snowman, A True Story
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Inflatable Snowman, A True Story By Su Shafer Across the street, the inflatable snowman is down laying on its side in the dirt by the porch its head still turning back and forth back and forth, back and forth looking from the cold black ground to the heavy belly of the leaden sky. It’s still smiling, but the smile seems tentatively directed right at me silently saying “Hello?! No arms, no legs — I’m not getting myself back on that porch!” and wondering why I’m just standing here Staring at it laying there half deflated and helpless It starts to snow, the only sound is the little motor in its head whirring, worrying how bad is it going to get down here on the ground? Still smiling but desperate now. Why does she just stand there?…
Freeing Your Creativity
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray writes about: Freeing Your Creativity. Does it feel like your creativity is locked up tight in a box you are afraid to open? You put it in there long ago when your third grade teacher didn’t like your drawing or your father disapproved of you wasting your time writing poems or your grandmother told you that you didn’t have as good a singing voice as your sister. It happened to me in junior high school when my in my design class the teacher exclaimed about a drawing I actually really liked, “Suzanne, you can do better than that.” Decades later I’ve yet to pick up another drawing pencil. The Creative Self The creative self is a tender and vulnerable part of us, so it doesn’t take much to discourage it. I could have left the creative urge locked up with my drawing pad. Fortunately, I found…
What informs your writing?
Excerpt from “The Dream Lover,” by Elizabeth Berg: “What once had been random observations and journal entries were becoming pieces of fiction that took on a kind of authority of their own. I learned that wind informed, that memory informed, that hopes and dreams did. So too, a fork on a plate, an unopened letter, the shine of wet on cobblestoned streets — all of these could help shape a story.” What informs your writing? Just write! #amwriting #justwrite #iamawriter