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Have you been watching the summer Olympic games?
I'm super inspired by the athletes who run, bike, spin, jump, race, swim, twist, sprint, lift, and hurdle. They perform amazing feats with their bodies that don't seem possible.
What about writers? We perform amazing feats, too. We create fantastic tales from our imaginations. We bring characters to life. We keep going even though we may not be the next J.K. Rowling (or Michael Phelps).
Don't we deserve a medal, too? I say YES!
Write down 5 reasons why you should win an Olympic Gold Medal in Writing. Here are mine:
1. I show up at practice every day to write.
2. I warm up for the day with a writing exercise.
3. I struggle through the rough bits and keep my goal in mind.
4. I sprint to the finish when the story end is in sight.
5. I do the heavy lifting of revising to make my story better.
What are your 5 reasons? Make your list and take a bow. And don't forget to hum your national anthem!
I read on Discover Magazine's blog that a representative from the National Center for Atmospheric Research said that a single, small, white, cotton-ball cloud weighs about the same as 100 (4-ton) elephants.
Wow.
The weight comes from all the water that's in that cloud. Makes you see clouds differently, doesn't it?
Try this: Set a story on a cloud. It can be a small, white, cotton-ball cloud, but remember, the cloud is actually dense with heavy moisture.
Who would live on a cloud? Would they wear raincoats and boots? Or would they have special skin that has adapted to all that heavy water weight?
What would houses be like on a cloud? Would the houses have special roofs? Or would there be no houses at all?
What would people eat and drink? What would the gardens be like?
What would your story conflict be? Maybe, despite all that moisture, there's a water war. Or someone on the cloud is allergic to water. Or....use your imagination!
Setting can be fun to play with in a story, and what's more fun than playing on a cloud?
What? What's fun about reading the dictionary in the middle of summer???
Yes, it can be fun. Honest. I'm not kidding. Words and definitions are weird and wonderful.
Try this:
Find a dictionary. Maybe it's a beat-up old dictionary you've had around the house for a while. Or an online dictionary. Or a small paperback dictionary you carry around in your backpack.
Pick a letter at random. Let's say "t."
Find five words under the letter "t" that you don't know the meaning of. I found T-zone, tabard, traduce, tole, and tinea. Read the definitions, just for fun.
Pick your favorite word and write a story about it. (Tinea means ringworm--ooh, don't want to write about that.) I picked tole. That means "painted, enameled, or lacquered tinplate used to make decorative domestic objects." (That means "objects around the house.")
What if a boy walks into an antique store and finds an old pot made of tole? And what if the antique store owner warns the boy that anyone who puts water into that pot will cause something bad to happen? What if the boy doesn't believe him? What if he buys the pot, takes it home, and fills it with water?
What could happen next?
The dictionary is a treasure trove of ideas....even in summer!
Hot enough for you?
Most of the country (except here in the Pacific Northwest) has been sweltering under a heat wave.
If you have any energy left to write, use the hot weather in a story you're writing.
How did the heat wave make you feel? Sticky, grumpy, happy, sweaty, or thirsty?
What did you wear? Flip-flops, sunglasses, a baseball cap, and your favorite shorts with the dolphins on them?
Did you stay inside and play video games? Or did you bike to the beach and build a sand castle?
What did the heat wave smell like? Suntan lotion, chlorine, and hot asphalt?
What did the heat wave taste like? Grilled hot dogs, fudgicles, and watermelon?
Try using sensory details from the heat wave to create a scene in your story that sizzles under the sun.
And stay cool!
So how's your writing going over the summer?
Not so well? Summer brings a lot of temptations that take us away from our writing--like swimming, running through the fire hydrant, and eating ice cream (which I wrote about in my last post). And, of course, trips to the library.
Which brings me to the Little Free Library I came across the other day when I was walking.
Have you seen these? Little "libraries" are popping up all over the country. This particular library was made out of old keys, bottle caps, and can lids, which shows that reading and recycling definitely go together. It was filled with children's books, which made me even happier.
The motto of the Little Free Library is "Take a Book. Return a Book." This seems like a great way to exchange books, and that got me thinking. What if we used that same motto for writing? "Take a Story. Return a Story."
In other words, what if you and a friend write a story for each other over the summer? You would "take a story" from your friend, and "return a story" to him or her.
Or how about if you write one chapter, and your friend writes another chapter? Over the summer, you can exchange chapters or stories and create your own "Little Free Story Library."
If you have old keys, bottle caps, and can lids around--or other fun objects--try decorating a box to create a place to put your story library.
Don't forget the ice cream. That's a summer distraction I will never give up.
It's summer, and that means...ice cream!
We may not be able to eat five scoops of ice cream at once, but how about naming five new ice cream flavors? Say good-bye to plain old vanilla and chocolate. Here's your chance to be creative.
Naming things is one of the funnest parts about writing. Let your imagination go crazy. Think about a hot, sizzling day, and come up with five exciting, over-the-top, wacky names for ice cream flavors.
While you're imagining licking one of those deliciously goofy ice cream cones, try using your exciting new names in a story you're writing.
Here are my wacky flavors. What are yours?
1. Star Light Strobe Light Strawberry
2. Polka-Dot Packs-a-Punch Pistachio
3. Five-Alarm Fire Fantastically Fabulous Fudge
4. Chill Out, Man Chillcolate
5. Razzie-Dazzie Rambunctious Raspberry
Now excuse me. I think I hear the ice-cream truck outside.
On May 21 I posted about having an Idea Box. That's where you put objects inside a box, and when you need an idea for a story you reach inside and...voila! You have an idea.
Today I'm thinking outside the box. Literally. I bought some stacking storage boxes for my study, and as you can see, they're covered with pictures. Each day I look at these boxes, but I don't feel inspired by them. Today I do.
The pictures include a pair of gloves, chess pieces, a cat, a shovel, Christmas ornaments, garden shears, a screwdriver, a pair of pliers, a dog, a doll, a scuba mask, a sewing machine, a shirt, a pair of pants, a hammer, and the following types of shoes: tennis, T-straps, and high heels.
Wow. That's an interesting assortment of stuff. Why did I feel inspired to really look at the box today? That's how inspiration works. We can't predict when or how it will strike. We just need to be open to it. It's everywhere, even on the side of a box.
What if it's a magical box someone left behind when they moved? And when someone else opens the box, a pair of talking tennis shoes jump out? Followed by a scuba mask, a hammer, and a sewing machine? And they're all complaining about being left behind?
Here's my challenge. Find an object in your house that you see every day. It may be a lamp, your kitchen table, or a pillow. Let yourself get inspired. See something magical about that object, and write about it.
And if you write about my box and all the objects inside it, don't forget to put the lid back on.
