A Writer's New Year Resolutions

Happy New Year!

It's that time again. Time to think about what we'd like to accomplish with our writing in the New Year.

No point? We'll just break our resolutions? Not if we make them realistic.

Try jotting down one writing goal you feel sure you can stick to. Here's mine:

Write for 15 minutes each day.

That's it. By promising myself to write for 15 minutes each day, I'm pretty certain I'll write more than that. 

But more importantly, by opening my notebook or my laptop each day and taking 15 minutes to write, I'm performing an important job: I'm staying in touch with my creativity. 

And who knows what kind of fireworks can happen after that?

Happy Holidays 2013!

Dear Writers,

Thanks for following Yellow Pencils throughout the year!

I hope Yellow Pencils inspired you in some way. Did you find an idea for a story? Learn a new writing skill? Have fun experimenting with the prompts? 

Keep writing and filling pages with words--your words. 

Yellow Pencils returns next week for another year of writing activities. 

Have a great holiday!

A Writer's List to Santa 2013

It's that time of year again. Time to write to Santa. 

I'm not asking for the latest tablet, a spiffy dictionary, or the newest bells-and-whistles computer. 

Once again I'm asking Santa for words. After all, isn't that what we writers really need? 

Here's my letter to Santa from last year. Santa is magical, so why not ask him for help with our writing? 

Here's my "wish-list" to the big guy in red. 

1. An engaging, struggling character who comes to life on the page.

2. A unique setting that draws my readers in.

3. Descriptions that paint a visual picture in words.

4. Just the right adverbs--sparingly, to give some verbs that extra oomph. 

5. A brilliant, fabulous, magnificent title that entices someone to say, "I have to read that!" 

What's on your list? What will make your stories prance and jingle their way across the page next year? 

Music in Our Stories

Most of us like to listen to music.

Whether it's the newest boy band, a great female singer, or a classical favorite like Bach, music adds another dimension to our lives….a dimension I like a lot!

The characters in our stories can like music, too. The kind of music they listen to tells a lot about who they are.

The young adult novel I'm writing takes place in 1967. It's been fun to make a playlist of songs my 14-year-old main character would be listening to. (And I have to remember, in 1967 she'd be listening to music on vinyl records--no iTunes, iPods, or even CDs.)

Here are some popular songs from 1967 that my character loves:  

• "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles

• "I'm a Believer" by the Monkees

• "Respect" by Aretha Franklin

How about your character? What songs would he or she listen to? Make a list of 3 songs, then choose one your character loves the most. 

Listen to the words and write them down. Why does your character love this song? What does it reveal about the situation your character's in?

If you find yourself humming, that's good. It means you're "in tune" with your characters! 

Dialogue, Dialogue

If you're like me, you spent the past Thanksgiving weekend talking. Maybe you had relatives over for dinner, or you got to spend extra time with your friends.

In our stories, talking is called dialogue, of course. I always like when I come across dialogue in a story, because it's interesting to see how characters will respond to each other. 

Dialogue serves three roles in a story. 

1) Dialogue gives your readers information.

"How long have you lived here?" Jason asked. 
Bob groaned. "Five long years." 


2) Dialogue reveals something about your characters' personalities and how they speak.

Jennifer and her grandmother stared at the Grand Canyon.
"Cool," said Jennifer.
"Wondrous," said her grandmother.


3) Dialogue moves your story forward.

"What happened?" Leon said.
Angie grabbed her friend's hand. "Come on. This place is going to explode!"

For a fun, silly exercise, write a dialogue between:

• A sports car and an SUV racing for the same parking spot.
• A shoe and a toe.
• A chair and the person about to sit in it.
• A toaster and a piece of bread.
• A snowman and the girl who wants to knock it down. 

Have a good time talking and "dialoguing!" 

A Thanksgiving List for Our Characters

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, a day when it's fun to eat pumpkin pie and give thanks. I have a long list of things I'm grateful for, including my writing friends. 

But we're not the only ones who can be grateful. What about our fictional characters? 

If you're writing about a character who celebrates Thanksgiving, imagine this person writing down 5 things he or she is grateful for. 

It makes you think about your character, doesn't it?

The young adult novel I'm currently working on takes place in 1967. The main character, 14-year-old Francie, is a budding photographer whose life is changing in a lot of ways.

I think Francie would put these things on her Thanksgiving "grateful list." 

1. The new Sgt. Pepper album by the Beatles. 

2. My best friend, Toni, most days. 

3. Mom and Dad, most days.

4. Matt, when he stands tall so he doesn't look shorter than me. 

5. My camera with a full roll of film. 

What about your character? Make a "grateful list" for him or her (or it). Then check the list again in a few months. How would the list change?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your fictional characters!

Setting: Houseboats

If you're like most of us, you live in an apartment, a house, a trailer home, a dorm, a cottage, a condo, or some other kind of building that stands on land. 

Not many of us are lucky enough to live on a houseboat. I took these photos in Seattle, where there are several communities of people who live on the water.

Even if we can't live on a houseboat, we can choose it as a setting.

What are the sights, sounds, and smells your character would experience living on the water?


What kinds of people or animals would live there?

• How about a cat named Admiral?

• A girl whose mother is a tugboat captain?

• A boy who's afraid of water?

• A dog who dreams about having a big yard?

• A retired pirate?

Try setting a story on a houseboat. If you're lucky, you actually live on one. For the rest of us, we can create a story where a house surrounded by water gives our readers an unusual setting. 

Happy houseboating! 

Show, Don't Tell

"Show, don't tell" is one of those pieces of advice writers hear often. But what does it mean?

"Telling" is summarizing the action for the reader:

He was nervous. She was angry. The shark was scary.  

The reader doesn't experience the action directly because it's filtered through you, the writer.

"Showing" is writing the action directly as your character experiences it. 

His hands got clammy. She clenched her fists. He stopped breathing as the shark circled. 

The reader experiences the action directly, too. 

Sometimes we need "telling," to keep the story moving. But in most cases, "showing" will make your character's actions or feelings more vivid.

Try rewriting these examples of "telling":

Bob was happy.
The girl was serious.
The cake was stale.
The room smelled bad.


Here are my rewrites. How about you? 

Bob's grin covered his whole face.
The girl stared at him with unsmiling eyes. 
The dry cake crumbs stuck in his throat. 
When he opened the door, an odor hit him. 


Try "showing" instead of "telling" when you want your readers to feel exactly what your character is feeling. Sometimes it's okay to "show-off!"

Turkey Tot and Talking Animals

Yesterday I went to a fun event at Eagle Harbor Books on Bainbridge Island. I got to help celebrate the publication of Turkey Tot, a new picture book written by George Shannon and illustrated by Jennifer K. Mann.


The afternoon was extra special because George and Jennifer are my friends, and because Turkey Tot is Jennifer's first book. Yay!

Jennifer is also my A+++ critique partner, along with the fabulous Dawn Simon. The three of us form a troika (you can look that one up), meeting every other week to read each other's rough drafts. 

We find ways to make our writing stronger, and sometimes Jen brings her illustration sketches. That's super fun! 

Turkey Tot tells the story of four friends: Chick, Pig, Hen, and Turkey Tot, who's "been different since the day he hatched." 

Turkey Tot is determined to get those blackberries the four friends can't reach, and you know what? It turns out that being different might be just the excellent thing they need.

The dialogue in Turkey Tot features talking animals, of course. They sound exactly how I imagine Chick, Pig, Hen, and Turkey Tot would talk if I came across them in the barnyard.

Have you written a story with talking animals? Give it a try. Pick two of your favorite animals and let them star in your story. Your dialogue can be silly or serious, clever or crafty.

As Turkey Tot would say--well, check out the funny, wonderful Turkey Tot and you'll see! 

Writing Scary Halloween Stories

What's more fun on Halloween than telling scary stories? Okay, trick-or-treating and eating candy may be more fun, but telling scary stories is right up there.

Maybe it's the dark nights, or the wind creaking through the branches, or the lit-up Jack-o-Lanterns with their weird grins, but Halloween is the perfect time to get down and scary with our writing. 

Do you need story ideas? How about these?

• A story with a graveyard, a high-pitched voice, and a violet light.

• A story with the title, "The Frightful Christmas." (Sometimes it's fun to mix holidays.)

• A story about a girl who has a Halloween party where all the guests arrive looking like her.

• A story with this first line: "One day, Bob's cat stole his Halloween costume."

• A story about a town where every day is October 31st.

• A story with the title, "The Ghastly Ghoul of ______." (Fill in your street or town's name.)

After you write your story, don't forget to share it with your family and friends on a spooky night! 

Keeping a Writer's Journal

Call it a journal, a notebook, or whatever. It's a place to play with your writing.

A writer's journal is a place to experiment and explore. To loosen up. To write down random thoughts, story ideas, and observations. 


A journal is just for yourself. It's private, so you don't need to share unless you want to. Because it's private, you can write down whatever you want. 

It doesn't have to be fancy. It can be a spiral notebook, or a small tablet. (I mean the paper kind.) Or it can be a journal with hard covers. Just so you can carry it around with you. If it's small, put it in your pocket. If it's bigger, tuck it in your backpack. 

Why paper? Because it's super portable, it's cheap, and many writers feel there's a connection between our brain and our hand when we write with a pencil or pen. 

If you've never used a journal before, here are some ideas to get started.

• Keep a list of silly words.

• Interview yourself for a blog.

• Write a letter to yourself 20 years in the future. 

• Rewrite "The Three Bears" as "The Three Pieces of Broccoli."

• Write a poem about your pajamas.

• Create a comic strip about your neighbors.

• Interview a 3-year-old.

• Ask your grandparents about the day they were born and write down their story. 

Have fun playing in your journal. And don't forget to write down the date. You may discover an old journal and find a new idea. When you do, it'll be handy to know when you got it. 

Smells and Similes Part 2

Last week I wrote about fall, and I still have this beautiful season on the brain--especially the smells of fall or autumn, or whatever you like to call it. 

As I wrote about before, smell can be one of the hardest things to describe in our writing. It can help to use a simile--a comparison with "like" or "as." 

For example.

• The squash soup smelled like a sunny day at the end of October. 

• The crisp air smelled like a newly ironed shirt. 

Try using a simile to describe the smell, scent, aroma, or odor of the following things:

• Dog breath
• The inside of your refrigerator
• A banana peel on the sidewalk
• An old pizza box
• Your cat's fur
• Chocolate chip cookies just out of the oven
• A baby's hair
• A rubber band found in the back of a drawer
• A bag of Halloween candy

Smell adds texture to our stories. Similes add new layers of meaning. Combine the two, and you'll give your readers a double dose of reading pleasure--no matter what the season. 

Writing about Fall

I love fall! 

Call it autumn, fall, or just plain beautiful, this season makes me want to run outside and jump into a pile of leaves.

One of my favorite picture books about fall is Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, by Julia Rawlinson, with pictures by Tiphanie Beeke. 

Fletcher, a young fox, worries when the leaves on his favorite tree change color. Is the tree sick? 

Here's how the story starts:

The world was changing. Each morning, when Fletcher bounded out of the den, everything seemed just a little bit different. The rich green of the forest was turning to a dusty gold, and the soft, swishing sound of summer was fading to a crinkly whisper. Fletcher's favorite tree looked dull, dry, and brown.

Fletcher was beginning to get worried. 

Gorgeous writing! 

Julia Rawlinson took a risk by starting a story with description. Don't some of us skip over that part of a story? But her description is so detailed, she paints a picture of Fletcher's world.

Notice the alliteration--the soft, swishing sound of summer. She contrasts that with--dull, dry, and brown. 

Try writing your own description about fall. 

Describe one leaf that you find on the sidewalk. Or start a story with your character catching leaves as they dance through the air. 

Go outside and smell the crisp air. Each neighborhood has different scents in the fall. Write down yours, from the wood smoke rising from a chimney, to the rotting stick on the side of the road. 

Happy fall. Happy descriptions. And check out Fletcher and the Falling Leaves to find out what happens to Fletcher's tree. 

Art and Writing

This weekend I co-taught a class for adults. "Paint It. Write It. Book It: A Travel-Book Adventure" gathered an amazing group of people who learned how to create their own travel journals using words and pictures.  

"Frog n' Boots" by Margaret Nevinski

I loved teaching this class! The only problem: I'm terrified of painting. I'm comfortable with words, but when it comes to art, I'm the person in the back row hoping no one notices me.

Luckily, my wonderful co-teachers, Dorothy Matthews and Susan Callan, convinced me and the students that we can paint! All we have to do is try.

And try we did. Despite the rain falling on Bainbridge Island, we trooped out for a field trip to paint, sketch, observe, and write. 

I found this large ceramic frog named "Frog n' Boots" and decided to paint it. Then I added a story in pencil:

I am Frog n' Boots of Winslow Mall. Here is my crown. Where is my prince? I wait and the prince does not arrive. Am I ugly? Am I beautiful? 

Rivet! I croak with my lovely voice. A child laughs. Am I funny?

My crown is made of jewels. My cloak is made of fine wool. My boots are made of soft leather. Am I fine? Am I rich? Am I beautiful? I wait and the prince does not arrive....

I wrote this as a story that can be read in a continuous loop. Will Frog n' Boots find her prince? 

The best part is, I had a great time painting! I discovered that art--my very own art--can embellish, deepen, lighten, or inspire my writing, whether it's a travel journal or a story. I'm not ready for the Louvre yet, but I'm eager to keep going. 

How about you? Try adding a picture to your words. For those who draw and paint already, great. For those who have the same fears I did, take the plunge. 

It's fun. And you may find your own prince...hidden in yourself. 

What If Stories Part 2

Tina and Buster

A while back, I wrote about "What if" stories? 

These stories are fun to write, because asking "What if?" stretches our imaginations. It makes us see beyond the everyday. It helps us think about things that could--or couldn't--happen. 

So here are more ideas for your very own stories that ask, "What if?"

• What if your dog and cat plotted against you? 

• What if a talking banana popped out of your toaster?

• What if the world was square?

• What if your school turned into an amusement park?

• What if the ocean was pink?

• What if there were no oceans? 

• What if the entire world spoke the same language?

• What if you created a map that bossed people around?

• What if a gorilla showed up at your front door? 

• What if a lonely hairy tarantula wanted to be your best friend?

Have fun writing a "What if" story. Here's the start of mine. "What if" you wrote one, too? 

Tina and Buster

Lately I noticed that my dog, Tina, and my cat, Buster, were spending a lot of time together. They ate their meals together. They slept on the sagging end of the sofa together. They even watched TV together, and Buster hates TV.

Normally Tina and Buster avoided each other. What was going on? Could they be plotting something against me? 

When I caught Tina hiding my shoes in the backyard bushes, and Buster sprinkling kitty litter in my bed, I knew something was up....

Adverbs

Adverbs get no respect. 

In case you've forgotten your English grammar, an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs usually tell us when, where, or how an action is performed. (Are you asleep yet?)

Often adverbs are "ly" words: 

• She ran slowly.
• He quickly ate his lunch. 
• She really liked him. 
• He traveled adventurously. 

But not always: 

• She drove fast.
• He never ate breakfast.
• The leaves were quite red.
• I almost traveled to Japan.

So why don't adverbs get respect? Because many people think we writers overuse them.

Look at the some of the sentences above. Could we use a more vivid verb instead of an adverb? Are we being lazy writers?

• She raced. (Instead of drove quickly.)
• He wolfed his lunch. (Instead of quickly ate.)
• He skipped breakfast. (Instead of never ate.)
• The leaves exploded with red. (Instead of were quite red.)

Not an adverb in sight, and we used strong verbs: raced, wolfed, skipped, exploded. 

Try this at home: go through a story you're writing and highlight every adverb. Then see if you can replace the verb and adverb ("drove quickly") with a strong and vivid verb ("raced"). 

Of course, we don't want to cut every adverb. We really, really, really don't want to do that! 

Villains

I've been thinking about villains again. You know, those bad guys (or girls) who make our stories interesting.

Yesterday in my Shakespeare class I discovered that the word villain comes from the same root as villager. The dictionary defines the common root as, "a rustic, a boor." 

Huh? How did a person who lives in the country become an evil villain? Sometimes English words change meaning that way.

So I was thinking about villains, and how fun it would be to retell a fairy tale or folk tale from the point of view of the villain.

• "Little Red Riding Hood" from the point of view of the wolf.

• "Cinderella" from the point of view of the evil stepmother.

• "Hansel and Gretel" from the point of view of the witch.

You get the idea. 

Pick your favorite tale and try retelling it. How does your villain see the world? Why does the witch want to cook Hansel and Gretel? In your story, you can find out! 

A Tasty Treat in Our Writing

Believe it or not, these "books" are a cake! They're from a celebration at Vermont College of Fine Arts, where I received my MFA in Writing.

Wouldn't you love to taste one of these cakes? Imagine being able to eat a book! 

Taste is one of the senses we most often neglect when we write. Maybe it's because some things taste yucky (like burnt broccoli) or different (like purple potatoes) or just plain weird (like cayenne ice cream). Some foods have a funny name (like quinoa) but are delicious.

Tasting food is part of life, so why not include different tastes in our stories? How does your character react to lavender birthday cake, chocolate waffles, or green peas with lemon sauce? 

For fun, list your 3 favorite foods. Then include these foods in a story and have your characters taste them. What do they think? 

My favorites are blueberries, chocolate ice cream, and sour cream potato chips. 

Remember to include a detailed description: "She licked the velvety chocolate ice cream cone with pink and blue sprinkles. A smooth river of chocolate filled her mouth and swirled in eddies to her throat." 

Give your characters a tasty treat. Let them design (and eat) their own cake! 

The Character Interview

To those of you going back to school this week or next week...have a great year! 

I hope you get to do lots of creative writing at school. If not, remember to take your journal with you. Maybe you can squeeze in a few minutes of writing in the morning or when you're waiting for the bus. 

When you have only a few moments to write, try doing a character interview. 

Think of a character in a story you're writing, or want to write. Here are some questions to ask your character, to get to know who he or she is. In your few moments of writing, write down their answers. 

• What's in your backpack this minute?

• What was your very first day of school like? 

• What do you want more than anything in the world?

• Where are you the happiest?

• Who's your favorite person and why?

• What talent would you most like to have?

• If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

• What are you most afraid of?

Go ahead, interview your character. Write down the answers in those few moments you can catch to write.  

And now I'm curious. What's in your backpack? 

Happy school year! 

Magic Pen Story Starters Part 5

I'm teaching workshops for young writers over the next two weeks. The writers are incredible--so smart and funny. I love hearing their story ideas, and they inspire me with their enthusiasm.

The workshops are keeping me hopping, so I'll return to Yellow Pencils on Monday, August 26th. 

Meanwhile, here are the Magic Pen Story Starters I give young writers who need ideas. Maybe you need an idea, too?  

• First pick an adjective:

Giant
Smelly
Enchanted
Teenaged
Jittery
Rich
Klutzy
Zany
Angry
Miniature
Kind

• Now pick a character:

Mad scientist
Zebra
Marshmallow
Dentist
Hamster
Philosopher
Taco
Termite
Zoologist
Ski instructor
Dog groomer

• Next pick an action:

Designs a 3-D map that talks
Blogs about squirrels
Enters a watermelon eating contest
Invents a door made out of Jell-o
Plays soccer in the World Cup
Is the only survivor of an asteroid that hits Earth
Becomes invisible whenever he eats yogurt
Forms a club that collects ants
Steals the key to the Three Bears' house
Creates a new junk food
Goes with two friends to the bottom of the ocean

So...a story about a rich marshmallow who plays soccer in the World Cup? 

Or an angry taco who blogs about squirrels?

Have fun mixing and matching, and coming up with an idea for a super story. Then take out your magic pen or pencil and have fun writing!  

Choose an Unusual Setting

Do you recognize this object? Yes, it's a telephone booth! 

A phone booth is a rarity nowadays. But there are still some around. I found this one outside a motel in Wisconsin. 

Using an unusual setting like a telephone booth can make the places in our stories memorable and interesting.  

Imagine the possibilities. What would happen if you inserted a telephone booth into your story? 

Or try one of these ideas:

• The phone rings. Your character, walking by, answers it. What happens next?

• Your character must make an urgent phone call. But his cell phone battery is dead. He runs down the street and finds a phone booth. But now he has no change. What happens next?

• A family of Tele-Fairies lives in the phone booth. Every time a human makes a phone call, a fairy goes out into the world to do good. But no one has made a phone call for ages, and evil forces are outweighing the good. What happens next?

• As a prank, six friends decide to squeeze into a phone booth. They're packed in so tightly they get stuck. What happens next?

• An alien appears on Earth and falls in love with the first object it sees: a beautiful red and silver phone booth. What happens next?

See if YOU can find a role in your story for the humble phone booth, a nearly forgotten part of our culture. 

The phone's ringing. It's for you! 

Shakespeare for Young Writers

While Yellow Pencils was on vacation, I saw a production of William Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" at Door Shakespeare in Door County, Wisconsin. (Funny that my last post was about doors.)

I didn't read Shakespeare until I was in high school, and I think that's too bad. Shakespeare's plays can be complicated and even violent, but they also contain wonderfully playful and inventive language. 

In "Macbeth," the three "weyard" sisters recite this spell:

Double, double, toil and trouble:
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. 

Into the pot goes "adder's fork and blindworm's sting, lizard's leg and howlet's wing." 

It's okay if you don't understand what all the words mean. They're still fun to say out loud.

Try finding a Shakespeare play adapted for young people in your library. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a great play to start with, with fairies and other fantastic characters. 

For a writing prompt, copy out a short passage into your journal and say it out loud.

Then try writing something with a similar pattern, but using your own words.

For  example, for the "double, double" spell above:

Four, four, fox, bear, wolf, and boar:
Scour the woods, and search for gore. 

Will Shakespeare lived 400 years ago, but his words last forever. Every writer--even young ones--can have fun exploring his language. Don't wait till high school to discover him! 

Yellow Pencils Goes on Vacation!

While Yellow Pencils is on summer vacation, I thought it would be fun to leave you with writing prompts about...pencils!

Remember, take your notebook and pencil (or pen or tablet or laptop) wherever you go this summer. You never know when a brilliant idea will strike. 

When you have a quiet moment with your notebook, try one of these prompts about our favorite writing instrument--the modest pencil. 

Happy writing until Yellow Pencils returns July 29th! 

• The dull, gray pencil was so jealous of the shiny, blue pen, he couldn't see straight.

• The pencil was headless when her eraser fell off. 

• Mr. Percival Pencil was the spiffiest guy in the desk drawer.

• The cat rolled the pencil under the sofa, hoping it would stab the mouse.

• The pencil had six younger brothers, making it very crowded in the pencil case.

• All her life, the yellow pencil had longed to write a famous novel--but she didn't think she'd be writing it in jail. 

Happy penciling! 

Opening Doors Part 2

A couple of years ago I wrote in Yellow Pencils about using doors as a prompt to start a story. 

I took this photo in Stratford-upon-Avon, the English town where William Shakespeare was born and lived. 

Do any story ideas spring to mind with this blue door? Who or what do you think lives behind it?

A door is an invitation to a new place where anything can happen. Doors exist in our real world, and they can play an important part in imaginary worlds. 

Try using one of these lines as a first sentence to a story. 

• The blue door creaked open slowly, and I gasped.

• My mom had warned me about the blue door.

• It's a well-known fact that blue doors can sing.

• When the blue door flew open, I fell through it flat on my face.

• He knocked on the blue door, ignoring the word "Beware" whispering in his head. 

Enjoy creating your own world through this door!   

Alphabet Brainstorming

Creativity guru Jurgen Wolff posted a great writing prompt in his e-newsletter. No, it doesn't involve playing with ABC blocks, but it does involve the alphabet. 

If you'd like to brainstorm about a character in your story, try this prompt. It's fun! I'm using it for a teenage character I'm fleshing out. 

Write down the letters of the alphabet, from A to Z, on the left-hand side of a paper or screen. For each letter, come up with a random word. (Don't think about it too much--just whatever pops into your head.) 

For each word, jot down ideas that relate to your character. 

For example:

A - artichoke. My character has never eaten one because her mom cooks meat, potatoes, carrots, and peas--nothing more adventurous.  

B - breath. My character chews gum because she's afraid of having bad breath. 

C - cage. My character feels as if she's in one because of her parents' expectations. 

D - deny. My character finds it hard to believe that she's pretty.

And so on to Z. Be sure to use nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Have fun being randomly alphabetic. I hope you get some great insights.

Setting: The Gum Wall

Here in Seattle we have a gum wall. Actually two walls--on both sides of an alley--filled with (used) gum.

The gum wall has become a tourist attraction, and it's a fun place to go people-watching. 

It could also be a great setting for a story. 

• What if two characters meet next to the gum wall--and one character disappears?

• What if a character's walls at home are covered with gum?

• What if the gum can talk?

• What if the gum wall is magic?

• What if a character writes his or her name in gum--and that's the start of an adventure? 

Get out a pack of gum, chew a piece while you think up story ideas, and then use the gum wall as a setting. 

And if you live in Seattle, add your gum to the brick alley wall. 

Summer Writing Part 2

Has your summer vacation started yet? Do you have your notebook and pencil ready? How about your guitar? 

Here are more ideas to make this summer a fabulous writing summer. 

1. Write a song. Music and lyrics. You've never written a song before? Go for it! Summer is for experimenting.

2. Write a concrete poem. No, not out of cement. A concrete poem is written in the shape of the thing you're writing about--your cat, a stop sign, or a donut.

3. Write a story about 4 friends whose names all mean "sun" in different languages.

4. Write about a hat that travels from Los Angeles to Maine.

5. Write an acrostic poem about summer. Here's mine:

Sizzling sidewalks
Umbrellas on the beach
Melting popsicles and  
Moments by yourself.
Easy-going days let you
Read and dream under a tree. 

How is your writing summer shaping up?