Monthly Archives: June 2018

Writing Warmup: “Really? A cronut?”

I try to occasionally stretch at least one of my writing prompts a bit…

Here goes:

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“Really, a cronut?”

“Why not? It’s a delicacy. And it’s just a warmup. I’ve pre-ordered for us.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“When you see the spread of desserts blanketing the table in back, you’ll change your tune.”

“What is with you and sugar?”

“It’s not just sugar. It’s butter, it’s flour, it’s comfort.”

“And it’s decadence.”

“Well, yeah, there’s that.”

We eased our way through the maze of customers and leaned with our shoulders to open the double doors.

There stood four guys in chef hats, lined up like sentries, arms crossed.

“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?”

Writing Prompts–June 29

question-imagination

Another award-winning sampler of tweaks to your writer’s imagination.,,

  1. “You can relax! Trust me!”
  2. “Yes, she’s unusual. And actually more than a little scary.”
  3. We decided he needed a new bit, a new approach…
  4. Finally, she understood! I think…
  5. The server slid the food my way. I looked down at the plate, then up at the server. “Can you tell me what exactly landed in this dish?”

Writing Prompts–June 27

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Four more for your imagination’s pleasure…

  1. We weren’t thrilled to see a silhouette of a person inside the guest room…
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  2. “Could you please have a clue, just this once?”
  3. “It’s anybody’s guess at this point.”
    I winced. “Just what I like in a detective…that sense of certainty.”
  4. “Donuts, a Snickers, and day-old coffee—breakfast of champions.”

Writing Prompts–June 26

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I’ve been creating my own writing prompts when I need a little creative boost for the day. For the next couple of posts, I’ll add a few here, in case you want a little nudge yourself.

  1. “What’s with all the cameras?”
  2. “I think we’ll need a little more coverage than your twelve Instagram followers.”
  3. “Some people are helped when they write in a journal.”
    “Ohhh, you wouldn’t want to read what I’m thinking.”
  4. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get you home.”

 

Curation Monday

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Interesting thoughts from people much smarter than I am…

#Follow your curiosity and passion. What fascinates you will probably fascinate others. But, even if it doesn’t, you will have devoted your life to what you love…”

Diane Ackerman
http://www.advicetowriters.com/interviews/2012/7/25/diane-ackerman.html

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Jon Winokur

✔@AdviceToWriters

You must once and for all give up being worried about successes and failures…”
–Anton Chekhov

bit.ly/2JA6bql

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Keep A Diary

Keep a diary, but don’t just list all the things you did during the day. Pick one incident and write it up as a brief vignette. Give it color, include quotes and dialogue, shape it like a story with a beginning, middle and end—as if it were a short story or an episode in a novel. It’s great practice. Do this while figuring out what you want to write a book about. The book may even emerge from within this running diary.

–John Berendt

http://www.advicetowriters.com/home/2018/6/2/keep-a-diary.html

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Jordan Rosenfeld @Jordanrosenfeld

Don’t let yourself become bored with your writing or practice. Take #risks. #WritersGuide2Persistence #create

Curating my readers

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Just thought I’d include samplings from some of the blogs I follow.

As you can see below, my interests run the gamut.

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From ShapeShifter Fitness

Best Black Bean Burger Recipe Ever

I’ve always thought it’s impossible to match a good beef burger when matched up against any black bean burger, but after eating making these it’s honestly a toss up, and I could go either way if given the choice.

Here’s the recipe link:
https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/the-best-black-bean-burger/

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From thewriterscafe247

Trying to Overcome My Shortcomings As a Writer and As a Person

Problem #1: Too Many Ideas, Not Enough Stories
Problem #2: Working on Too Many Projects at Once

What to do next?

Step 1: Turn off Streaming Services
Step 2: Give Myself an Achievable Goal (not based on word count)

[Note from me: I appreciate the writer’s honesty and his ‘solution-based’ approach to this post.]

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Musings From Dirty SciFiBuddha

His June 4 Musing

I think it’s totally possible to “follow my bliss” and be fulfilled.  

But first, I have to demonstrate the brutal/ruthless honesty required to know myself—to know what my “bliss” even is—by tracking the evidence/tendencies that reveal not just my shining glories, but also my darkest failings.

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From Roses in the Rubble

Brainy Blessings

Seems to me this prayer from Saint Thomas Aquinas is relevant for all of us!

Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself.

[Note from me: There is more to the prayer. I narrowed it down to what most clearly spoke to me as a writer.]

 

 

Curation Wednesday: Risk-taking and Writing

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http://ingridsundberg.com/2010/04/02/write-with-reckless-abandon/

Back in 2010, Ingrid Sundberg attended a writing conference and posted her notes from a session Four Rules on Risk Taking and Writing by author Libba Bray.

Some of the highlights:

  1. Explore what we don’t know! We write to open up a whole new conversation with ourselves and the world.
  2. Sit at the kitchen table with your characters. See what they would say.
  3. Beware the thought “Should I….” Follow yourself and not what you think others may want you to be doing.
  4. There is no sure thing other than writing the thing you want to write the most.
  5. If it is not scary then there are no stakes. And if there are no stakes then it is not worth writing.

Thanks to Ingrid Sundberg for sharing this.

 

 

 

 

 

Twitter Gems–June 5

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Twitter Gems

  1.   Jordan Rosenfeld  @Jordanrosenfeld

The more you write, the less fraudulent you’ll feel. This is why I call it a writing practice. #WritersGuide2Persistence #writelife

  1.   Jon Winokur  @AdviceToWriters

First-person narrators is the way I know how to write a #book with the greatest power and chance of artistic success.
ANNE RICE
#amwriting #fiction

  1. Jeff Goins  @JeffGoins

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.” —G.K. Chesterton #amwriting #writingquote

 

Writing Warmup: “Time for a new wardrobe!”

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“Time for a new wardrobe!”

Where did she get these ideas?

“My clothes are fine.” I flipped to the new page in my Sports Illustrated.

“Your clothes are not fine. I can darn near see through the seat of your jeans and let me tell you, it is not a pretty sight from any angle.”

I reached around and felt my, well, my butt. “Okay, things might be thinning a bit back there, but that doesn’t mean a complete overhaul of my closet.”

“Okay, then, let’s start with pants.”

“My cargo shorts have served me well.”

“What part of ‘pants’ don’t you understand?” She rifled through everything that had stayed on a hanger. “We’re talking a piece of clothing that actually covers your entire leg.”

“I’m sure I have some in there.” 

She pulled out a pair of tie-died Zubazz and glared at me.

“See? I told you.”

I’ve been dreaming up writing prompts for years. I just decided to add a little substance to a few of them as a writing exercise. They’re obviously not complete stories, but I’m giving myself [and anybody else] a chance to develop them further.