Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Grandma Carrie By Robin Mills I remember the scent of my grandma Carrie, slightly sour mixed with ivory soap. I remember the click of her heels, the kidney shaped metal cleat meant to prolong the life of shoe soles tapping on the cold hard tile floor of their Palm Springs apartment. I remember seeing the white hoop cheese she used to stuff her home-made blintzes, nestled between her front teeth when she leaned in to whisper something in my ear, and her thick toenails covered in shiny red polish. Grandma Carrie came across the ocean as a child with her mother, from Kiev, fleeing pogroms and leaving behind some of her ten siblings who would never follow, only to be lost to concentration camps. They settled, living in a New York walk-up, likely shared with more…
What are you tired of? . . . Prompt #842
Writing Prompt: What are you tired of? #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter
Dastardly Deeds . . . Prompt #841
Writing Prompt: Dastardly Deeds that someone did to you. Dastardly Deeds you did. Have you forgiven them? Have you forgiven yourself? Can you? What would it take to forgive?
Imagine
An inspiring message from Gurdeep Pandher The human mind tends to focus on painful memories while letting positive ones fade. These distressing memories become our heaviest burden, causing ongoing emotional pain. How much of our past can we carry with us through life’s journey? This is a profound question that affects everyone in different ways. The past resides within our memories like a vast collection of stories, each one leaving its unique impression upon our consciousness. These memories manifest in various forms — from the radiantly joyful moments that warm our hearts, to the mundane yet comfortable memories of everyday life, to the deeply sorrowful experiences, and finally to those truly tormenting recollections that seem to pierce our very soul. When we carry these memories forward naturally, allowing them to exist without judgment, it should theoretically be manageable. However, human nature often leads us down a different path. We tend…
One word, one concept at a time
Brevity’s Blog, “Worth the Climb: Self-Editing Secrets That Actually Work” by Allison K. Williams reveals creative ideas for revision as well as first draft ideas. I particularly like Allison’s suggestion about “converting similes to metaphors when possible—saying something is something else is more powerful than saying it’s like something else.” Complementing Allison’s recommendations is advice given to Anita Gail Jones, author of The Peach Seed about her use of “the.” Anita found where she overused “the,” there were other problems. Her evaluation of “the” led to stronger writing and improved her story telling. This advice reinforces Allison’s concept of focusing on one thing at a time when revising. Another gem from Anita, “Beats: A unit of emotional measurement between people.” Harder to find than the single word “the,” but so important in creating a compelling narrative. Thank you to Susan and Patricia for helping me to remember what Anita said at her keynote address at Sebastopol’s Lit Crawl, May 2025.
Getting By
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Getting By By Ken Delpit Success used to mean acing a calculus exam. Success now means increasing a recipe’s called-for two tablespoons by one-third. Success used to mean deking a defender and swishing a jumper as time ran out. Success now means changing direction on the living room carpet and not tripping over the cat toy. Success used to mean getting several Jeopardy! questions before the contestants did. Success now means remembering why it is I suddenly got up from the recliner and walked into the kitchen. Success used to mean handling a ten-digit long-distance telephone number that is to be called, a ten-digit telephone number that is to be charged, and a twelve-digit billing number, all from memory, while tapping into a pay phone and thinking ahead of what I intend to say. Success now…
Write a letter to someone who . . . Prompt #840
Someone took care of you when you were little. A mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling. Hopefully there was someone you could rely on. Someone who helped you learn things, how to navigate life. Most of us had someone we could count on. And if we didn’t have that, we learned to make-do, to take care of ourselves. Who helped you learn about life? Who gave you advice? Who could you turn to? Write a letter to that person. Something to think about when writing this letter: You can heal your life. Just Write!
A mother figure . . . Prompt #839
Maybe you have biological children, or adopted children, maybe you were, or are, a mother figure to someone. Maybe you have taken care of, or are still, taking care of someone. Write about someone you are caring for . . . either as mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, spouse, partner, sibling, friend. Someone you are responsible for. Or someone you do things for. It could be big things: Cook, take to doctor visits, oversee finances. It could be little things. Write about a person who trusts you, who calls on you, who looks forward to being with you. A friend. Write about being a mother, a mother figure, a caretaker, or someone who other people depend on. If that doesn’t work, write about dreams you had . . . when you were a teenager, when you were dreaming of your future, what did you envision? Just write!
You Can Heal Your Life
“How did we go from being a tiny baby who knows the perfection of itself and of life to being a person who has problems and feels unworthy and unlovable to one degree or another? People who already love themselves can love themselves even more. Think of a rose from the time it is a tiny bud. As it opens to full flower, till the last petal falls, it is always beautiful, always perfect, always changing. So it is with us. We are always perfect, always beautiful and ever changing. We are doing the best we can with the understanding, awareness and knowledge we have. As we gain more understanding, awareness and knowledge, then we will do things differently.” Excerpted from You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay.
See The Scene
Kasey Butcher Santana describes a scene about her “outdoor classroom.” “My science teacher uses a ruler and twine to mark a square-foot box in the damp blanket of leaves covering the ‘outdoor classroom.’ My task today is to observe this small patch. Part of a log has fallen within the boundaries, and I note the moss that grows on it and the bugs that seek shelter under its flaking bark. We return once a month to note how this woodland square changes with the seasons and maybe even write a poem. I do not remember completing this assignment, but I recall the crisp smell of forest floor, the slip of mud beneath my shoes, and the surprise of a roly-poly beneath the log.” Excerpted from How a Box in the Woods Taught Me to Write About Nature by Kasey Butcher Santana on the April 2, 2025 Brevity Blog. Can you…