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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Registering Your Work With the Copyright Office

I got a call last week from a writer with a question about copyright registration. This is one of the most common areas I get questions on; people want to know how to protect their work. The writer I talked to didn’t want to have to transmit credit card or other personal data over the Internet, and she was looking for the easiest way to register a manuscript via some other means. I logged onto the U.S. Copyright’s website and found that you have three options for getting your work officially registered. You can upload your manuscript and your payment, all via the Internet; you can complete an online form that you print out (the printed form will contain a bar code that makes it unique to you), attach it to your manuscript, and send it all in with a check via regular mail; or you can contact the Copyright Office and request all forms in hard copy so you don’t have to use the Internet at all.

Remember that your work is protected by copyright law from the moment you write the words, whether you insert the copyright mark © or not, whether you register it or not. The creation of it copyrights it automatically. Official copyright registration is a formal step so that if your rights are violated, you can demonstrate conclusively that the work is yours. In the event you had to prove work was yours, you could also show other supporting evidence such as files and notes (in what would be a civil law suit), but official registration is the gold standard. “Poor man’s copyright,” in which a writer mails himself a sealed copy of his manuscript so that the post mark can verify the date of creation, won’t hold up in court—there’s no way to prove you didn’t mail yourself an empty, unsealed envelope.

Your rights are violated when your work is used without your permission. What’s known as “fair use” is permitted so we may quote authors, but fair use is also limited use. Always give proper attribution when quoting someone. In the case of song lyrics, you’re better off to request permission to use any portion of the lyrics; music rights are more stringent in that regard. Some work is more prone to theft—movie and television scripts, for instance—and the copyright office has a special “pre-registration” process for these types of manuscripts. It’s an expensive process: $100 as opposed to $45 for regular registration.
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Copyright image courtesy of http://www.copyrightauthority.com/copyright-symbol/

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Creativity: No Flowers Required

What do you think of when you hear the phrase “creative writing”? Do you restrict it to a specific genre, such as fiction? Do you have uncomfortable flashbacks to miserable days spent in high school English class reading short stories that mystified and bored you? Does it mean ornate descriptions and a profusion of fancy and inventive phrasing? I’m pleased to tell you that good creative writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, shares the same characteristics as all other good writing. Good writing doesn’t draw attention to itself. It tells a story.

For instance, what do you think of Ernest Hemingway? Was he a creative writer? Undoubtedly. Read the opening to his short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.”

It was late and every one had left the café except an old man who sat in the shadow the leaves of the tree made against the electric light. In the day time the street was dusty, but at night the dew settled the dust and the old man liked to sit late because he was deaf and now at night it was quiet and he felt the difference. The two waiters inside the café knew that the old man was a little drunk, and while he was a good client they knew that if he became too dunk he would leave without paying, so they kept a watch on him.

Read Hemingway’s paragraph closely and pay attention to all the adjectives. See if you can find an adverb. And how about all those run-on sentences and the lack of any commas after introductory phrases? So much for those red felt-tipped comments from your English teacher.

But this is fiction, of course, and many people want to tell a non-fiction tale. Can non-fiction still be creative? Absolutely. I’ll give you three examples, all of them the opening paragraphs of the non-fiction book cited.

A hermit crab lives in my house. Here in the desert he’s hiding out from local animal ordinances, at minimum, and maybe even the international laws of native-species transport. For sure, he’s an outlaw against nature. So be it.
--Barbara Kingsolver, in
High Tide in Tucson, her book of essays

Not long after I moved with my family to a small town in New Hampshire I happened upon a path that vanished into a wood on the edge of town.
--Bill Bryson, in
A Walk in the Woods, his story about hiking the Appalachian Trail

Straddling the top of the world, one foot in China and the other in Nepal, I cleared the ice from my oxygen mask, hunched a shoulder against the wind, and stared absently down at the vastness of Tibet. I understood on some dim, detached level that the sweep of earth beneath my feet was a spectacular sight. I’d been fantasizing about this moment, and the release of emotion that would accompany it, for many months. But now that I was finally here, actually standing on the summit of Mount Everest, I just couldn’t summon the energy to care.
--Jon Krakauer, in
Into Thin Air, his account of the tragic events on Mt. Everest in 1996

These examples should reassure writers that creativity doesn’t solely live in fiction or fanciful language. From Bryson’s simple one-sentence paragraph to Krakauer’s detailed description of the amazing view atop Everest, the creativity is apparent. The subject matter, the pacing, and the clean flow of language draws us into non-fiction just as it does to fiction.

Notice the grammatical sins that our English teachers would have dinged us for. Run-on sentences. A sentence fragment. A paragraph of only one sentence. Do these “errors” distract from the work? Not at all; just the opposite.

While some writers groan at the thought of ladling fancy words over their work, some are disappointed that their flowery phrasing, their “darlings,” must go. Remember, “creative” means inventive and imaginative, not dense, fictitious, or complicated.
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Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1090739

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Prompts 101

Let’s talk about prompts.

The purpose of a writing prompt is to get you writing—writing without stopping, over-thinking, or re-writing. It’s a spark for an idea. Sometimes the idea you get from a prompt may be something wildly outside the context of the prompt, or it might focus on a different aspect of the language. Let’s take Mary and Jacob, for instance, in the first prompt below. You might not have any idea what Mary said next, but perhaps it reminds you of a crazy trip you took. Maybe you know a woman named Mary, and her face popped into your mind. Whatever direction your creative impulse takes you, follow it! Remember, the purpose of a writing prompt isn’t to follow directions. It’s to write. If Mary and Jacob don’t inspire you, pick another prompt. Then give yourself ten minutes to write without stopping. Who knows what you might wind up with?

--Mary couldn’t believe what she heard her husband, Jacob, saying. “A vacation to where? No, I don’t understand! Why would you want to go to….”

--After hours of fiddling, Mark decided he knew the best way to fix his cranky computer. He marched into the garage and grabbed….

--If you were in charge of deciding when Christmas decorations and displays would appear, what date would you pick and why?

--Veronica knew her boyfriend had a bad temper, but she never thought he would….

--Does your home have a fireplace? Do you enjoy using it, or is it more of a bother than it’s worth?

--Charles was digging through old boxes in his garage when he found it. How many years had it been? Stunned at his discovery, he sat down to look at….

--If I could be anywhere right now, I would be….

--Diana’s notebook was sitting on the table. Linda knew she shouldn’t read it, but she couldn’t help herself. Linda rationalized invading Diana’s privacy by telling herself….

--Do you decorate for Halloween? Do your neighbors? What do you think about the growing popularity of Halloween decorations?

--Ted wanted a hobby, but he was having a hard time deciding on one. Finally, he decided to take up….
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Photo courtesy of Ove Tøpfer at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/996209

Friday, October 17, 2008

Writing Group on Pause

I'm taking off for a road trip to Texas, so the writing group will be on hiatus until November 5, 2008.
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Photo courtesy of Randa Clay at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/443536

Monday, October 13, 2008

Las Vegas Author Appearances and Book Festival

Although it might appear that the only thing to do here in Sin City is gamble and visit “gentlemen’s” clubs (we can talk about euphemisms in another post), we Las Vegans actually do read. And not just Keno tickets, either.

This Saturday, October 18, 2008, at 8:00 p.m., Joyce Carol Oats will be speaking at the UNLV Student Union Ballroom, courtesy of our local think tank, Black Mountain Institute. Read more about her appearance at BMI’s website: http://blackmountain.unlv.edu/news_and_events.htm

Calling all dog lovers! John Grogan, author of Marley and Me and Bad Dogs Have More Fun, will be speaking/signing books at the Henderson Pavilion on October 26, 2008, 1-2:30 p.m. (While I was searching for information on Grogan’s appearance, I found a new Vegas book blog, http://novelhunter.com/ – check it out!)

The Vegas Valley Book Festival will be held November 6-8 at various locations. Read about the event at http://www.artslasvegas.org/vvbf/. The event is free and includes sessions from the Henderson Writers Group. Michael Chabon will give the closing keynote on November 8, 2008, at 6 p.m. at the Clark County Library.
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Photo courtesy of Sanja Gjenero at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1061011

Do You Eat With That Mouth?

What’s your stance on using bad language in your writing? Is it totally off-limits, or do you consider it on a case-by-case basis?

Last week, my writing group had a spirited discussion about the granddaddy of all swear words, the F-Bomb. It’s ubiquitous these days; everyone from little kids to the vice-president finds a way to work it into conversation. Personally, I like to use it like pepper: sparingly and only in certain circumstances. Especially when I’m writing for a general audience, I prefer to stay on the PG side of things. (In case you didn’t know, a PG-13 film is limited to one or two instances of the word; any more, and the film generally gets an R.)

Bad language can turn readers off and limit your audience, but in some instances, swearing can feel unavoidable. Soldiers in the middle of a war, for instance, are unlikely to be using “darn” and “golly.” This illustrates profanity’s effectiveness in characterization. For example, do all of your characters over 40 speak like church-goers? What about a female octogenarian who swears like a sailor?

Like several of my friends, I was raised to believe that swearing indicates a lack of intelligence and creativity. The only time I dropped the F-bomb around my dad, he turned to me and said, “I send you to school for this?” To this day, I mind my verbal P’s and Q’s in public—behind closed doors, all bets are off.

Besides discouraging me from swearing, Dad’s other cornerstone of guidance was that I should never take a job as a cocktail waitress. Dad was a bartender. As I reached the end of my teens, he told me, “I catch you packing a tray, and I’ll break your legs.” Clearly, some sentences don’t require profanity to be memorable.
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Photo courtesy of Duchessa at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/956932

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Autumn’s Colors & Other Prompts

Ah, autumn, when the temperature cools and the trees give us their version of fireworks. Does fall remind you of anything? If so, perhaps you can use that on our first prompt--and if fall leaves you cold, then move on to the next one. Take ten minutes to write about....

--When Elizabeth went for her daily walk, she enjoyed the crisp, fall air. The trees dressed in their colorful leaves reminded her of….

--Delores thought she had tried everything, but she was still about to be evicted. On the brink of homelessness, she decided….

--Have you been published? What was the experience like?

--Herbert insisted on eating the same breakfast every morning, much to the annoyance of his wife, Gertrude. She finally asked him, “Why on earth must you always eat….”

--Are you mechanically inclined, or does the difference between a Phillips head and flathead screwdriver confound you?
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Photo courtesy of Claudia Meyer at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/911086

Thursday, October 02, 2008

You're Fired & Other Prompts

Have you ever been fired? Or fired someone? Maybe you can draw on that experience to write about Harold and Lester. Take ten minutes to freewrite on any of these prompts:

--Harold stomped out of the office, slamming the door behind him. Now that Lester had fired him, everyone would know….

--Elaine lifted her champagne glass to toast the new bride and groom. She wished she could stop thinking about the conversation she’d overheard between….

--Would you ever consider becoming a vegetarian? Why or why not?

--Who is your favorite author? Why do you enjoy his/her writing so much?

--The dilapidated shack looked like….
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Photo courtesy of Marcel Hol at http://www.sxc.hu/photo/59962

Monday, September 29, 2008

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

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

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

Thursday, August 07, 2008

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

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

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:




Wednesday, July 30, 2008

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

Monday, July 28, 2008

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.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

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

Thursday, March 20, 2008

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!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

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

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

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