How Do You Define Success?

Last week my writing group tossed around an interesting question: how do you define success as a writer? We discussed this question in light of this quote from Danell Jones, author of The Virginia Woolf Writer’s Workshop, the book we’re currently reading. “Simply moving through the world with a writer’s eye, she [Virginia Woolf] would contend, gives us a richer human experience, a more expansive life, whether we ever succeed at communicating our experiences in words or not.” (p. 7 of The Virginia Woolf Writer’s Workshop.)

Here’s the question we boiled it down to: If writers are in the business of communication, but we fail to communicate the message we intended, yet still communicate a message (however far removed from our original idea), can we count that as success? I would offer that perhaps it’s all about the degree of interpretive accuracy. The further away our readers are from our intended message, I believe the less successful we are. However, with that said, I think that just getting the words onto paper in any form that resembles what we imagined is a success. When our work goes out to meet the world, we relinquish control over it, but first we must have something to send out. The simple act of writing is a success all by itself.

“Nothing you write, if you hope to be good, will ever come out as you first hoped.” –Lillian Hellman

A Word of Advice and Other Prompts

In prior prompts, I’ve asked writers to describe the worst bit of writing advice they’ve ever received; today, I’m asking the opposite. (And let’s all remember the words of Lillian Hellman , who said, “If I had to give young writers advice, I would say don’t listen to writers talking about writing or themselves.”) You know what to do: pick a prompt and write for ten minutes without stopping or correcting anything, even if Word puts little squiggly lines under your words. (You can turn that feature off, by the way.)

--Writers get plenty of useless/annoying/forgettable advice, but occasionally we get a really good tip. What is the best writing advice that you’ve received?

--Joyce did not like her husband’s business partner, Phil. She wasn’t quite sure what it was that inspired her dislike, but the more she thought about it….

--Do you have a writing space you can call your own? What does it look like?

--Have you ever golfed? What was your experience like?

--Jack was almost out of patience with his dog, Patches. Patches was barking and jumping at the back door like someone was there to see them. “No one ever comes out to see us!” he scolded the dog, but that was before he spotted….

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Photo information: Photo courtesy of Steve Woods/Woodsy at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/727441

Prompt-a-palooza

If you’ve been longing for some writing prompts, you’ll be happy to hear that I’ve got a bumper crop for you today. Here are all the prompts I’ve given my writing group since we resumed meeting September 3. So, pick a prompt. Write for ten minutes. No stopping, no crossing out, no checking the dictionary. Ready, set…go!

--Mildred hated her new home. She hated the house, the neighborhood, even the oak tree in her front yard. In fact, Mildred hated the entire state of California, and she never would have moved there if it hadn’t been for….

--“How’s about you give me the gun and we talk about it?” Fred said gently to Daisy. “I know you’re angry about….”

--Recent media reports tell us that the majority of kids today want to be famous more than anything else. Do you think that this is a new development, or has fame always been such a prized goal?

--Paula saw the note on the kitchen counter, the paper neatly folded in half with “Open this first” scrawled on it. She unfolded the paper and began reading: “Dear Mom, I don’t know how to tell you this, but….”

--Combine a broken vase, an arthritic cat, and a shovel in one story.

--Greg and Linda are at the mall. One of them has a serious case of wandering eyes and just cannot stop staring at other people. Which one of the two has the roving eyes? What does their conversation sound like?

--Judy heard tires squealing and horns honking right before….

--What’s your take on bugs? Do you tolerate them, or do you have a lifetime supply of Raid?

--Bill watched Carrie walking down the isle. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress. Bill was mesmerized by the sight until….

--You and motorcycles: have you driven one? Ridden on one? Do you think they’re dangerous or fun?

--Ben couldn’t believe his eyes. Sheila was supposed to be home, sick in bed, but here she was at….

--Jerry had just lit a cigarette when the waitress walked up to him. “You can’t smoke in here, sir,” she said, but Jerry was tired of being harassed about smoking.
“Don’t call me sir. And you can take your smoking rules and….”

--Are you fashionably late or always on time?

--Hector wanted to keep his trophies, but Louise said they would have to go because….

--Combine mud, lotion, and a notebook in one story/poem.
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Photo Information: Courtesy of gerard79 at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/969325

A Late Arrival & Other Writing Prompts

Time is a funny thing. For some people, being late is a form of disrespect. For others, time is strictly a relative measure. Today, impending tardiness faces the subject of our first writing prompt.

You know the drill. Pick a prompt. Write for ten minutes. Don’t stop while you’re writing. Ready, set, go!

--You (or your character) are late. You are very late. Even worse, you are late for….

-- “Mom! Mom! MOM!!”
“What? Why are you shouting at me like that?”
“Come QUICK! It’s a….”

--Are you a morning person or a night owl?

--Sally knew all she had to do was get in the back door, and she was home free. She slid the door open, and stared at the table. The package was gone! Now she would have to….

--If you have pets, how do you handle their meals? Do Fluffy and Spot get the gourmet canned stuff, or the bargain-buy dry food?

--Anna opened the door and saw a small, purple dragon. She shut the door, rubbed her eyes, then opened the door again. It was still there. The dragon squeaked at her, then ran inside her apartment….
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Photo courtesy of Tory Byrne at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/580773

Writing Group Meetings Resume September 3, 2008

Now that the Northwest Senior Center is closed, I don’t know what to call my writing group--we were the Northwest Writers' Group. Shall we copy Prince and be “The Group Formerly Known As…”? Maybe we could have one of our artistic members design a symbol for us.

Whatever we call the group, our meetings will resume on Wednesday, September 3, 2008, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. at Derfelt Senior Center, 3343 Washington.

When I spoke to Amy, she said she’d had calls from people who said I had gone incommunicado – my apologies to anyone who was wondering where in the Sam Hill I had disappeared to.

I haven’t been to Derfelt yet to check out our new digs, although I’m very familiar with Lorenzi Park and the surrounding area. I had planned on driving over there before we resumed meeting, but I have to confess that I’m grieving over the Northwest Senior Center (which makes it hard to work up enthusiasm about the new place, honestly, although on the plus side it is much closer to my house).

And on that note, I’ll close with some pictures I took at Northwest after I heard they were shutting us down:

The Prompts Are Back!

If you’ve been waiting for new prompts, today is your lucky day! Grab a pen and paper (or fire up Word) and freewrite for ten minutes on….

--The boxes in Anthony’s garage….

--Have you ever rescued an animal?

--Before Darlene knew it, she was shouting at Drew. “It wasn’t MY idea to take a family vacation! What ever possessed you to drive me AND all four kids to….”

--Do you love the heat of summer, or are you always trying to escape it?

--“That’s just dandy,” snarled Jerry. “I should have known you’d move out just when….”

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Photo courtesy of Carlos Gustavo Curado at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/gugacurado

A Writer’s Cat Gets a New Home

It’s hard to believe that I haven’t posted anything on the blog since March 25—four months! Not long after my last post, my beloved mom, Barbara Hudson, became ill. She passed away on May 6, 2008.

I’ve done a tremendous amount of writing during these four months—an obituary, a eulogy, letters to creditors, journal entries—but the blog fell by the wayside. So to get reacquainted, let me introduce you to Baby Cat, the handsome fellow looking right at you. He was Mom's kitty, her faithful companion, and now he lives with me.

Some of the last things Mom asked about were her sister and her kitty. I promised her I’d call Aunt Aleta and take care of Baby Cat. Mom was a writer, and so Baby Cat and I had already bonded while I was trying to get e-mail addresses off Mom's computer. (Well, and there was that whole food thing--Baby doesn't like to miss meals.) Unlike my other cat, Gray, Baby Cat is laid back, a snuggler who likes to lick (and once in a while gets a little carried away and bites). When I set him up in my office, with a little hidey hole under an old desk in the closet (lined with a rug from Mom’s place), he happily settled in. He’s asleep there right now.

At first I nicknamed him Buddha Boy, but am considering changing his alias to Ninja Cat. I was worried about the guy—I mean, he had lived with my Mom for years and enjoyed being the only pet, a deeply loved pet who got as much attention as he wanted. I have two large, frequently ill-mannered dogs and one mostly behaved cat (Gray, who was almost feral when we took him in, and who had to be banished from my office because he lays on my work and blocks the computer screen). I was concerned that the shy little Baby who loved to come out and lay in his other bed (did I mention I made him two beds?) while I was working would have a hard time with the other animals, the child, the husband, and all our visitors. Most of all, I was concerned that Gray, Mr. Bossy, would hurt Baby. Then one morning I witnessed Baby kick Gray off the sofa—whapping him upside his bossy face with both a back and a front paw without even getting up from a reclining position. Ah, Ninja Cat, you sneaky fellow. I worry no more.

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Note: For those of you who would like to read more about my mom, please read my entry, "A Long Road" on my Vegas Girl blog.

A Prompt Extravaganza!

You know what to do – read these prompts, pick one that inspires you in some way, and spend ten minutes freewriting. Happy writing!

--Easter dinner was going fine, until….

--Pastor Jack Bradley has just purchased a home next-door to Dexter Umbert, a dedicated atheist. Tell us about their first conversation and/or encounter.

--Betty walked in the door just as the man yelled, “This is a stick-up!” Her first reaction….

--Mark was aghast that he’d lost Fluffy. Inwardly, he fumed, “I told them they shouldn’t leave me in charge of a….”

--“My friends call me Pear Shape,” said the man, “because….”

--Combine a child’s drawing, a cactus, and a stray cat in a story or poem.

--Jack had a gun, but Sam….

--The red wallpaper….

--One tree still stood….

--“You thought I didn’t know? About you and….”

--A child’s handprint….

--Dave started planning for Christmas in July because….

--Jody bought the $200 paperweight….

--When you were a child, did you have a “lovey”? A blanket, a stuffed animal, or some other irreplaceable object? (Or perhaps you still have this object as an adult??)

--The dogs smelled the cooking ham….

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Photo courtesy of Dominic Morel at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/cx_ed

Northwest Senior Center Closing

Attention all Northwest Writers' Group members past and present: We received sad news yesterday from Amy at the Northwest Senior Center here in Las Vegas. Due to budget cuts, the center will be closing on May 30. I haven’t read anything about how many senior centers may be closing, or any other particulars on the impending budget cuts—I admit that these days I avoid the news because it’s rarely anything good.

Our group has spent six terrific years at the center; I can’t deny that I’m very saddened by the news we’ve lost our home. This session I was planning on collecting poems for a chapbook, but I am now considering collecting stories about our writing group and our years at the center instead.

You can bet I’ll be taking lots of pictures during our remaining time at the center. It’s a beautiful little building, a converted house that epitomizes hominess. I’ve watched the ash trees in the courtyard grow into lovely tall trees, and every spring a mockingbird makes her nest in the ceiling supports of a building out in back. I’ve always wanted to go play the bocce court; I guess my time is running out!

We hope to be relocating our group to the Derfelt Center after our usual summer break. As soon as I have more information, I’ll post it.

Life is a series of farewells; only the circumstances should surprise us. –Jessamyn West

Is Just Write Just Prompts?

Prompts, prompts, prompts!! For quite a while now I’ve been posting just prompts (one of the most popular parts of my writing group), but it’s not because I haven’t been writing. I’ve been concentrating on my book. At this point I feel like I’m digging a swimming pool with a spoon. I also started homeschooling my son after Thanksgiving, which is fun, scary, and very time consuming. Until the dust settles around here, I have to admit I will be posting mostly prompts.

I’d love to hear about any stories my prompts helped create—I’m thinking of publishing a collection of my prompts with LuLu.com. Please leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Happy Writing!

Another Wednesday, Another Batch of Prompts!

Today I had an unusual experience - for only the second or third time in almost six years, no one showed up at my writing group! Considering the rainy, wintery weather, I can't say it was surprising. Here are today's prompts; a dream, an embarassing mistake, an outhouse... take your pick. Find one that strikes your fancy, and give it a ten-minute test run. Happy writing!

--Every night George’s dreams were filled with….

--Tell us about your most embarrassing social faux pas. Change the names of the innocent, if necessary (even the not-so-innocent, if that helps).
--Jason was shocked to find himself standing in front of so many people. The applause was thunderous! He reached into his pocket for his acceptance speech notes, only to find his pocket empty. Jason’s mind was totally blank when he took the podium….
--The house was such a fixer-upper that it still had an outhouse….
--Do you remember when airline travel was fun? What do you miss most about that era?

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Photo Courtesy of: Viktors Kozers at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/815958

"To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub." --Shakespeare, Hamlet

Tax Season & Gobs of Prompts

If you've been wondering what happened to me over the past couple of weeks, I have two words for you: tax season. Those of you who are self-employed know just what I'm talking about. I even turned down lunch with my neighbor this weekend so I could focus my word-oriented brain on numbers. I don't think the damage will be lasting; I'm sure the insomnia will fade soon. :)

Here are some prompts from last week and this week. Remember, write fast and write without editing yourself. Take ten minutes to write on one of these:

--Have you ever won an award?
--Linda only drank lemonade….
--He hated wearing glasses because….
--Why is thriftiness such a forgotten value?
--My favorite science studies were about….
--When the earthquake hit….
--If you were unable to write, what other creative endeavor would you be most likely to pursue?
--The monster lurking in Shane’s closet….
--“We’re meeting at the bowling alley?” LuAnn asked. “But what about….”
--You are trapped in an elevator with someone famous. Who are you trapped with, and what do you talk about as you await rescue?
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Photo courtesy of Linda Long at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/589848

Barbed Wire & Other Writing Prompts

Did you know that barbed wire was once called The Devil's Rope? Perhaps that will help you attack the first prompt; if not, don't fence yourself in - move on to a different prompt. Take ten minutes to write without interruption on:

--Combine the following items in a story or poem: barbed wire, an empty beer bottle, and a smoke alarm.

--Claudia didn’t like snakes….
--The house was empty, except for….
--What are your first memories of using a dictionary?
--“You can bring a hundred red roses,” Diana said. “Nothing can make up for….”

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Photo courtesy of Jamie Woods at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/809111

Pardon Me, But Your Blog Is Showing

If you’re a writer, especially one who has embraced blogs, I have a warning for you. Despite your worst fears to the contrary, people are reading your articles, stories, and poems. People you will never meet will read your writing and form an opinion about your work, and possibly about you. Occasionally, you’ll hear from some of them, and this is both good and bad news. Take, for instance, an e-mail I received recently.

The writer (whom I won’t identify for fear that the Google Gods will once again bring my name to the Writer’s attention) sent me an e-mail about a post I had written on one of the Writer’s books. Yes, “Writer” with a capital “W” – someone published in a big way. Someone with an agent and reviews in large, national newspapers. Someone who gives interviews.

I marvel any time someone finds one of my blogs and takes the time to write. To me, it’s this incredible bonus because I enjoy writing so much, whether or not anyone reads my work. Honesty is a key ingredient in my writing, and I’m opinionated. I do my best to be tactful, but sometimes I’ve hit the “publish” button and felt my heart pound. A few months ago I wrote about a media panel here in Las Vegas, and I had a funny feeling when my post went up. I had given my very honest opinion about all the panelists, and I didn’t like all of them. Who will read this, anyway? I reasoned. Surely, even if they found my blog, the official Las Vegas media would regard me as nothing more than a speck on the windshield of the Internet, right? Just another irksome “citizen journalist.” Then I got an e-mail from one of the panelists – thankfully, he had given the presentation I liked – and I had to face the unpleasant thought that if one panelist had found my blog, then chances were good the rest of them had also.

Not until I got the e-mail from the Writer did I stop to re-examine my assumptions about who might be reading my work. The funny thing about the post that attracted the Writer’s attention is that I had labored long and hard over it, but not because I had concerns over what I’d written about the Writer. My concerns were over a segment about a local man, and I spent a day making sure that my words were fair and appropriate. The Writer’s e-mail was a surprise. Thankfully, it was a friendly counter-point to what I had written, one that gave me a chance to respond.

After the e-mail, I realized that making assumptions about who was reading my blog was foolish. Anyone might be reading my words – people from the other side of the world, famous people, angry people. Yikes. Talk about something that makes your heart pound! I had unwittingly envisioned walls and barriers that do not exist.

What about you? Have you heard from a surprising reader? Do you make assumptions about who reads your work?
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Photo courtesy of Georgios Wollbrecht at http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Wazari

The Clippings Box

Maybe I love to read newspapers because my love of writing began with journalism. Maybe it’s because I still think newspapers are the best source of information, or because papers like The New York Times are an excellent source of good writing. Perhaps the real reason is that a newspaper is rich with writing fertilizer. Tragedy, irony, absurdity, comedy – a newspaper has it all, every day.

I’ve got an old cardboard box in my office that holds my clippings collection. The papers multiply so rapidly that sorting through them yields forgotten treasures – everything from an article about the school crossing guard shortage in Las Vegas to a story about labyrinths. Here are some of the other things I found in my clippings box:

Drunken Lemurs
Score one for the First Amendment. Here’s the headline: “Judge sides with man fired over Dilbert comic.’” Seems that the Catfish Bend Casino in Iowa didn’t care for David Steward’s sense of humor. Steward posted a Dilbert comic in which the dialog states, in part: “Why does it seem as if most of the decisions in my workplace are made by drunken lemurs?” The judge characterized Steward’s action as an error in judgment as opposed to intentional. Drunken lemurs everywhere are outraged.

Mystical Book Experiences
Read Michelle Slatalla’s account of her attempts to find synchronicity in anonymous book exchanges (via bookcrossing.com) in this NYT Article: “Love That Book? Then Set It Free.”

One More Reason To Persevere
Did you know that Elie Wiesel’s classic Night was rejected by 15 publishers? Read Rachel Donadio's NYT story: “The Story of ‘Night’”

A Battle of Statistics
An NYT article by John Markoff said Steve Jobs (of Apple) feels Amazon’s new book reading device, Kindle, is DOA because 40% of Americans read one book (or fewer) every year. I took heart from an AP article by Anick Jesdaniun that says 62% of 18-30 year-old Americans use the library. Further proof that statistics couldn’t be more flexible if they practiced yoga.

Personal History
On November 23, 2007, USA Today (along with most papers) reported on the anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assignation. In USA Today, the article was just a side-bar blurb. The brief story took me back to the 70s, to a car ride with my Uncle Newman and Aunt Thelma from the airport in Dallas-Fort Worth to their farm, just outside Ballinger, Texas. Uncle Newman pointed out the infamous book repository to me as we drove past it. I was maybe ten, and although I had heard of the assignation, at that time I had no idea what a powder keg of history it was. I was more interested in hearing about Bonnie Parker, of Bonnie and Clyde gangster fame, who was born in Rowena, a town in Runnels County not far from Ballinger. I suspect Uncle Newman knew that I’d appreciate his observation about the book repository later; he was a historian and writer. Now I understand that personal history intertwined with public events enriches both narratives.

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Photo courtesy of Oláh Zoltán at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/816067. Presumably, all these lemurs are completely sober.

The Door Bell At Dawn & Other Writing Prompts

Think back to a time when someone unexpectedly appeared on your doorstep at an odd hour. Did your visitor bring good news or bad? Perhaps that memory can help you with the first writing prompt. If door bells leave you cold, pick another prompt for inspiration. Remember, this is a ten-minute free-writing exercise, so write quickly and limit your self-correction.

--The doorbell rang just before dawn….

--Write a story in which one of the characters has lost at least one of his/her five senses.
--Ryan paid for the three-karat ring before he discovered….
--An explosion shattered the night….
--Spicy food….

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Photo courtesy of Lisandra Barros Mendonça at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/287711

The Endless Edit

"When do you know you're done?" is one of the most common questions I get about writing books. I always tell people that you don't know when you're done. You decide. Does that mean you should send out half-baked work? Of course not. But here's what I've found: rarely will you be 100% happy with your work, not today, not when you see it in print. Without fail, I find things I would change in my published work.

But what happens before publication, when you're stuck in what feels like an Endless Edit? I'm not talking about the perfectionistic editing that is only an avoidance strategy. I'm talking about necessary work. Over the weekend, I printed out the first three chapters of my book. I just finished the proposal package. When I read Chapter One, I realized a few unpleasant things. First, it needed significant work. Second, my proposal package was now more thorough and well-written than the book. Third, I was going to have to tell my husband that my book required more work before it met the world. He didn't look particularly happy to hear that.

I'm not happy to be in the limbo of the Endless Edit, but I am grateful for the opportunity it presents. Someday, when I pick up my published book, I'm sure I will find things I would like to change. With the persistence and hard work an Endless Edit requires, however, I believe my chances of being published are much higher. This is the phase that separates many writers from their final dreams. It's easy to run out of patience during editing. To avoid the feelings that the Endless Edit brings, writers may declare their work is finished when it isn't. I refuse to let the Endless Edit defeat me. Patience and perseverance are what is required. Well, and a little bit of stubbornness, but we'll talk about that another day.

Make the Time to Write

From H. Jackson Brown, author of Life’s Little Instruction Book: “Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

When I had a day job and writing was strictly my passion instead of my work, I fantasized about what life would be like as a full-time writer. We all know this scene, right? The afternoons at the coffee shop, the blissful hours of contemplation and reading. Uninterrupted hours of time would replace the constant struggle to find enough time after work, dinner, homework, housework, a husband, a kid, and life in general. Then I made the leap into freelance writing and found that it was like moving to your favorite vacation city. I no longer had time to do all the fun stuff I had visualized in my happy little writing fantasy. Suddenly, I was writing all day, but it wasn’t the paradise I had envisioned. I didn’t always have control of what topics I wrote on, or even when I worked (deadlines do not care about holidays or weekends). I enjoyed everything I was doing, but my days were often filled with research, interviews, and clients. I faced an odd situation: I was a full-time writer, but I still felt I didn’t have enough time to write.

My to-do list remains long, but I do my best to keep things in perspective with this quote. It inspires me to turn off the TV, and helps me think about my priorities. It’s hard to sit down at the computer at 9:00, just when Larry King is coming on and my mind is shifting into low gear. It’s all too easy to fall asleep on the sofa, laptop on but unused, CNN turned down to allow dozing. Is this a waste of time, or a necessary break at the end of the day? I ask myself that question constantly. I’m not unraveling the space and time continuum, or creating timeless masterpieces of artwork, or tending to the sick and poor. I’m just a writer. But everything, on whatever scale, requires time and attention. We have to make the time to write; if we wait to find the time, we’ll always be searching.

Crime and Other Writing Prompts

--The crime (or criminal) I remember most vividly is….
--For one moment, Dale thought he would reach the summit. When he lost his hold on the rock and started to fall….
--“Everyone is happy at Kathy’s Kindercare,” said Kathy, who both owned and operated the day care. “So your daughter obviously….”
--My favorite time of day….
--Comment on this Van Gough quote: “Your life would be very empty if you had nothing to regret.”
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Photo courtesy of scol22 at stock.xchng; http://www.sxc.hu/photo/772803

Photography and Writing

Those of us who like to write are often also involved in other creative pursuits - painting, dancing, acting, and so on. I love photography. It's an art form in its own right, and it's also a wonderful way to take visual notes. Take my photos from Friday, for instance, at the Clark County Heritage Museum. What stories do these pictures tell?