Chicka, Chick, Book, Book!

January 12, 2014 Prompt #8: Let’s kick the year off with a title exercise. Lie down on the floor, lift both legs at once, count to 20… Sorry, did you really do that? I was just kidding. Instead, take a picture book title that you really love. Now, write the first few pages of the

ReviMo 2014

ReviMo

Just Write!

Prompt #7:  Author Kate DiCamillo told me once to clear her brain for writing, she does something called Morning Pages. I think it’s from the book THE ARTIST’S WAY.  You basically just sit down and let all your thoughts flow and you do not take your hand off the page. For instance, my morning pages

The Birds of America

Prompt # 6: Look around for 2-3 items that pique your interest. It can be something old, passed down in your family, or something brand new, like a pair of shoes, an ipad, or even a stray dog you just adopted. Imagine where it came from, whose hands touched it, stitched its soles, soldered its

My Very First Publication in the Macoupin County Enquirer~Democrat The Write Team

Macoupin County Enquirer~Democrat   Thursday, January 9, 2014 enquirerdemocrat.com facebook.com/MCEnquirer twitter.com/MCEnquirer The Write Team Make a Personal or Family Resolution and Fulfill the Promise The countdown to the new year has arrived and 2014 has made its debut.  Did you make resolutions for the new year? It is customary, as each new year begins, to

I Remember

Prompt #5: Remembering Poem • Write, don’t type, the words “I remember…” 10 times in list format on a sheet of paper. Think of a specific event from your childhood—the place, the people, the smells, the things that were strange—and write each recollection after the words I remember. • Cut each I remember into individual

The

Prompt #4: Write an {{ENTRANCE!}} for one of your characters. (Or for a fake character you make up on the spot for this exercise — maybe a villain! Villains are great.) Don’t just describe what they look like and what they’re wearing, but let the very action they take as they enter the scene define

The Sun Deck Motel

Prompt #3: Look deeply. Find an old photograph that interests you and really look at it. Question everything. Think about the temperature. Think about the sounds. Think about the moment after the photo was taken. Find the story in that moment. Who?  Sue and Jill  Tullbane; Tony & Tracy Tullbane What?  Post card When? 1973

Essence of a Message

January 6, 2014 Prompt #2:  Look at any sentence you are writing right now.  Cut at least five words while keeping the essence of the message.  Now go back and use another five words to add something that will surprise your readers. Open the flap and you will see Henry hiding behind a hurricane lantern

Henry the House Mouse

Squeek! Squeek!  Scurry!  Scurry!  Do you hear Henry the house mouse?  Do you see Henry the house mouse?  Where can he be?  Let’s follow him and we will see. Oh, look, Henry is waiting by the front door, of the 1820 Colonel Benjamin Stephenson home.  So, come along and follow Henry into the historic home