Friday Favorite: It's the little things...

I like Lucky Brand clothes.  We get catalogs from them. The winter issue arrived and I laughed out loud when I saw it.

If this is the style this season, well... I just don't get it. Could they be for real?

Is it just me, or does this model look like a (sexy) homeless man who stole some bag lady's sweater to throw over the flannel he found that was so small he couldn't button it?

And look at the expression on his face.  My mind came up with all sorts of scenarios of what he must be thinking.

Give it a try. Leave a comment on what you think a caption to this photo should be.

Writer's Wednesday: Short Story Pointers

Edgar Allan Poe is considered the father of the American short story. The man knew how to tell a creepy tale.

I've taught short stories--both studying them and writing them. The most effective way to learn about short stories is considering Poe's rules. 

Here are a few that will help you create a better short story.

• The story can be read in one sitting.
• The story focuses on one element: plot, character, theme, setting, etc.
• Limit the number of characters.
• Confine to a single setting.
• Follow structure: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement. (Most of the story leads to climax.  The falling action and denouement can be a paragraph or even a couple of lines.)

***Most importantly, each word or phrase is present to create a single effect/mood/emotion in the reader.

Follow these rules and you might even make Poe proud.

Go ahead and enter it in a contest. OWFI is accepting entries until February 1.

Friday Favorite: The Corner of Nice and Neighborly

People often don't want to get involved.

Whether it's food in a coworker's teeth or a pal's open zipper, many won't tell the individual unknowingly making a fool of himself or herself.

Why?

When I was a little girl, I recall sitting in a restaurant when a woman exited the ladies' room trailing toilet paper--with her skirt tucked into her pantyhose.  NO ONE said a word to her, but as she passed tables, EVERYONE talked about her.

Why?

Even as a kid it bothered me, so as she sidled up to the salad bar, I told her.  It was the kind thing to do.

 In the last couple of weeks I've seen two random acts of kindness that warmed my heart.

The first one was when I saw 16-20 people all lifting a trailer, working together to re-hitch what had apparently come undone. They were strangers, but someone needed help.

Then yesterday, in the same intersection, I saw a man jump out of his car into four lanes of traffic to shut an open gas flap on the car in front of him. 

How many people would do that?

Have you witnessed someone help a stranger? Do you have insight as to why some people won't even tell a friend when he or she is unknowingly doing something embarrassing?


Journal: Write about an act of "nice and neighborly" kindness.

Toddler Tuesday: childhood summer

 

My son loves his twin (second) cousins.  They love him, too. It's a win-win.  

At the end of the month, my cousin and her family are moving to Belgium.  "The girls" will soon turn eleven, and my two-year-old son adores them. Perhaps he's young enough to not realize they're soooo far away.  And why should he? We can learn to Skype.   

My husband and I are so thrilled that their family has this opportunity. They are such a good age to see that the world is much smaller than most people suspect.

And we know they'll return as often as they can--after all, we have the draw of my kids and a great-grandma who lives two blocks away.  We hope to travel to Belgium in a couple of years when our children are older (as in both actually born). 

Recently, we gathered for a farewell visit, and my cousin Kathy snapped this photo with my iPhone. The sun was setting, but the kiddos are all looking forward together.  Is there symbolism in this or what?

 

Although this time in your life is coming to an end, relish the new beginning. We love you all and wish you the best!

Journal: Write about childhood summers or a childhood visit with a cousin.

Happy New Year!

I don't make resolutions, but I do make goals.  This year, I've made a concession. For myself.

I'm not offering Friday journal prompts anymore.  Although I believe writing in a journal is helpful in storing fodder for fabulous stories, I no longer feel the desire to provide the prompts.  If you are new to the blog, please click on the journal tags and go at it. If you have been using the prompts, then you've probably picked up by now that anything can inspire an entry.  As far as creative journaling is concerned, it's not really what gets you started.  It's what you have to say.

So, have a happy new year, find inspiration, and keep writing.

Journal: superhero

Journal: Create a new superhero. Check out this link for ideas.

Journal: the fear within

I'm not afraid of rain.

It's what's in it that scares me--tornadoes, flash flood, cars hydroplaning.

As a child, I was the same way about dark.

The dark was simply an absence of light. But the evil murderers lurking in it were harder to see that way.

Stephen King's It made clowns just as frightening for similar reasons.

Journal: Take something benign and make it contain something fearful.

Journal: editing

As a writer, I spend a lot of time editing and revising my work. I enjoy it.

However, looking around my home office, I notice some of the same problems. Instead of words, of course, I'm dealing with furniture, books, etc. Some things are just clutter. Some items are redundant. Some objects I need to get rid of simply because they annoy me. Others have outlasted their purpose. In certain areas, a little rearranging could make great improvements. I'm trying to convince myself that just because an item is perfectly good, it may not be good for me.

Editing one's life is much more difficult than one's words.


Journal: What can you (or a character) edit in life?

Journal: Scents

I finally jumped on the bandwagon that is Scentsy. And it's true. My house smells great. It's reminded me of what a strong emotional trigger smells can be.

How often has a whiff of a scent immediately thrust you into a time machine to revisit a specific place or person? I've jotted four different places and four different people below.

Places

• Crayola crayons, Elmer's glue and coffee
• roses and baked goods
• Black cherry candle and alcohol
  
• vanilla and litter boxes
  

People

• leather and cigarettes
• shaving creme and soap
• way too much Polo cologne
• baby poop and peppermints
  

Now, your turn.

Journal: Dive into your memory. Think about a smell or combination of smells that connect you to a certain person or place. Write a scene using those smells and that memory or combine several from your list.

Journal: reunion

Journal: Write about a reunion.

Journal: neighbors

Journal: Write about a neighbor.

Journal: on the road again

I've been zipping along highways a lot lately. Since moving to a small town, I don't have much of a commute anymore. I'd forgotten how calming it can be. The time a commute allows to get my mind in order and relax is something I miss.

Journal: What do you think about when you're on the road?

Journal: shoes

I tried and tried to get the little man to wear Sesame Street shoes for a family pic last month. No such luck.

However, the next morning he woke up and wanted to wear them to school.

Journal: Write about shoes.

Journal: kindness

Journal: Write about depending upon the kindness of strangers.

Journal: the first page

Because I've been such a nerd this week about this little series of books called The Hunger Games trilogy, I figured I might as well use it as my journal.

Suzanne Collins tells the reader everything he or she needs to know about the main character in the first four pages, and it could be argued she does it in two.

Seriously.

Don't believe me? Read a sample.

See what I mean?

Sister. Daughter. Fighter. Survivor. Hunter. Rebel.

Sure, she grows and changes throughout the novel, but the core of her is right there in the first few pages.

Journal: If you're writing a book, look at your first few pages. Do they hint at the whole story?

Journal: indulgence

My husband booked a sitter (my parents) and made reservations at The Canebrake. As if that's not enough, he also booked a couple's massage. Yay! I'm really looking forward to gourmet food (locally grown and often organic) and good wine. Did I mention the massage? Double yay!

He definitely earned a gold star for the day.

Journal: Write about an indulgence.

Journal: trust

Journal: Write about a wavering trust.

Journal: Roofless

Tim Long and Jerome Johnson--two of the nicest guys from my hometown--created a musical called Roofless. It will be at the NYC musical theater festival in September. I'm so proud of them and hope to see it on Broadway soon.

Journal: Write about a dream becoming reality.

Journal: Splish splash

Journal: Write about playing in the rain.

Journal: forest inspiration

As I wrote Glamour, I imagined my Naturals scampering about in this area. When I shared this tidbit with my Inklings at our writing retreat, one of them said that she'd imagined this place as she read it. Two others said that they used the spot in their own writing, too.

Journal: Go ahead. Find inspiration in the woods. What happens here?