Holiday Magic

No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year--or even if you don't--there's something magical about going outdoors and seeing all the lights.

What if you were a space alien seeing stores, houses, and apartment windows lit up for the first time? What kind of creatures would you think Earthlings were?

For our writing prompt today, imagine you're a space alien. Your ship has just landed next to a brightly lit shopping market, like in the photo above. What are you going to tell your space buddies back home?

Be creative. Why do Earthlings have so many lights?

Holiday Parody

A scary Christmas tree? That's what you get when you say, "Twas the fright before Christmas...." and that's called parody.

What is parody? According to Sarah Ellis in The Young Writer's Companion (a wonderful book), parody is "A humorous, exaggerated imitation of a poem, song, character, or writing style."

Other holiday parodies?

"Jingle bells, Santa smells, ninety miles away...."

OR

"Joy to the world, the school burned down."

Can you come up with other holiday parodies? Think of your favorite (or least favorite) holiday song or poem, and give it a try:

"Rudolph, the snot-nosed reindeer, had a gooey, gobby nose...."

"Frosty the jail man, had a big, big set of keys...."

Have fun poking gentle fun at the songs we hear over and over at this time of year. Who knows? Your parody may become the next big hit!

Opening Doors

Sometimes starting a new story is as easy as opening a door.

If you need an idea for getting started, try using a door in the first sentence or paragraph. Doors are portals, or openings, to the outside world. When we hear a knock on the door, we're interested. When we open a door, we meet--someone or something.

Try using these first sentences to start a story, or make up one of your own. Whom or what will you meet on the other side of that door?

• I opened the door, and....
• When the doorbell rang, Adam ran to be the first one there.
• The door was so low, Uncle Jake had to stoop to come inside.
• I'd never seen a door painted flamingo-pink before.
• Creak!!! I pushed the door open and found....
• The name carved into the wooden door gave me shivers--it was my name.
• The door slammed with such force that Julie jumped.
• I knocked three times and waited. And waited.
• Hello? I'm a 500-year-old door, and I have a story to tell....

Treasure

What does the word "Treasure" mean to you? Riches, gems, gold?

Do you think of buried treasure? A chest full of money? A surprise you find in your pocket? A hidden fortune? A wallet filled with $100 bills?

Or does "Treasure" make you think about a person or a pet? Someone in your family whom you treasure? Your cat that keeps you warm at night ? Or your uncle who always gives you just the right present?

Or do you treasure something more abstract? Time? Beauty? A friend sticking up for you? A kind act on a day when you're feeling rotten?

Who or what do you treasure? What does the word Treasure mean to you? Set your timer for 15 minutes and write about it.

November

Last week I wrote about November, and I'm still thinking about the things I love about this month.

I love the sky in November. Here in the Pacific Northwest it's often gray, but the sun is trying to peek through. The shades of gray are all different and alive, and always changing--mouse gray, almost-white, soft gray, or metal gray.

In November, a picture book by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Jill Kastner (published by Harcourt in 2000), is one of my favorite books about November. The book is like a poem to a month that doesn't get noticed too much, except at Thanksgiving.

What do you like about November? Thanksgiving with your family? The first snow? Getting out your mittens? Sleeping in on weekends? Raking the last leaves? Watching which birds migrate? Getting ready for Christmas?

Make a list of your favorite things about November, and write a poem about them. And don't forget to have a great Thanksgiving. I'm grateful for everyone who reads "Yellow Pencils," and I'm grateful for November!

Smells and Similes

Maybe it's the smell of wet leaves in the air, but I always think November has great smells.

Smells, scents, odors, aromas--whatever you want to call them--are one of the hardest things to describe when we write. Sometimes it's easier if we use a simile: a comparison using the words "like" or "as."

Try to describe what the following things smell like using a simile. Go wild with your imaginations!

I'll get us started.

• Dirty socks: Her dirty socks smelled like five-day-old fish.
• Salsa: Mom's homemade salsa smelled like the best vegetable garden on Earth.

Now you try some:

• Burning rubber
• Clean sheets
• Peanut butter
• The inside of our car
• The inside of my desk
• An eraser
• My dog's ears
• A tree trunk
• A rusty fence
• Already-been-chewed bubble gum

Have lots of fun with smells and similes!

Writing an Alphabet Poem

Every person who writes a newspaper story knows that the 5 most important questions to ask and to answer in your story are Who? What? When? Where? Why?

What if we turned those 5 questions into a poem, and had fun with the alphabet?

Here's the pattern. Our poem will have 5 lines answering our 5 questions:

Line 1: Who? (the subject)

Line 2: What? (what happened)

Line 3: When (when did it happen)

Line 4: Where (where did it happen)

Line 5: Why? (why did it happen)

Ready to start? Pick a letter of the alphabet. Let's say we pick S. Here's our poem:

Who? Sam

What? Slithered sneakily

When? After snack time

Where? To the sandbox

Why? For a snooze.

Now let's take off the questions, and we have our finished poem:

Sam

slithered sneakily

after snack time

to the sandbox

for a snooze.

Now you try one. Pick a letter of the alphabet. Will you pick J, T, or M? Or the first letter of your name? (Warning: Q and X are the hardest.) Have fun writing your alphabet poem!