Remember a childhood friend or enemy. What stood out as a trait unique to that child? Consider what has become of him or her based on that trait remaining true. I had a friend named Marsha for a short time in second grade. I say short because she did not let any of her friends…
My husband and I used to own an old red, full-size Dodge truck. I drove it quite a bit, and being a small woman, it always made me feel as though I was doing something unusual. I would see my petite hands wrapped around the over-sized steering wheel, surprisingly slender, the flat bench seat seeming…
Think about a book or story you have read that made a strong impression on you. Select one of the secondary characters and imagine their point-of-view of what happened. Now write their story. This is nothing new. John Gardner did it in Grendel (based on Beowulf) and Rhys’s also voiced other characters in Wide Sargasso…
I have always viewed writing as a way to create moving pictures in a person’s mind. Sometimes the movement is just the steady closing in on the moment of discovery when everything is crystal clear, intense, sharp to the senses. Other times the view is like the image made by a really fine film camera…
So I thought I would combine a little of my teacher stuff with my writer stuff. Every Tuesday I am going to post a prompt for creative writers to respond to. The idea is to write on the prompt idea for a full week. Then start on the next one. Prompt: If you have read…
I have always firmly believed that the acts of one person can represent many and can also lead to similar acts. I recently heard of an individual who worked to build his house entirely of U.S. made products, from nails to wood to windows. As a result, he proved that one can build a quality…
As promised, this post is about a mind mapping program I downloaded onto my iPhone. It is called Simplemind and is user-friendly and versatile. I wanted something like Freemind, but for my phone for when I am away from my computer but want to map out an idea for a story, lesson plan or even…
I like time travel stories because the character that travels in time still has to deal with who he or she is. In my first novel of the series I am writing, the main character Brent Garrett is impulsive and tends to do what is immediately important to him. That impulsiveness sets in motion a…
