1,000 Writing Prompts.

One of the Blues Brothers'
Halloween 2010

Since November 2010, I have been pretty diligent about doing "morning pages", three handwritten pages each morning about nothing in particular. But I am trying to get my writing discipline back, so I next started making evening "writing appointments." These appointments are fine, but I'm not getting any work done on the current novel, and I need to get something going. So I bought the Kindle edition of Bryan Cohen's 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories, and More. So the plan is to start today with prompt 1 and use the book each night, in numerical order, to work on writing on demand on whatever the prompt says.

And so far, it isn't working for me. But soldier on I will....

1. Explain your most memorable Halloween, from the candy you received, the costume you wore, the environment of your neighborhood (if you trick or treated) and why it has dwarfed all your other Halloween experiences.


Wow. It's March, and Spring is here and the last thing I really want to think about is Fall and Halloween. The thing about my family was, costumes were not purchased. They were not "made" either, not in the traditional way where mother pulls out the Singer Sewing machine and whips up a Princess dress that would intimidate Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. Sure, mom put some thought into planning it, and like a good Manic Depressive, would have all the planning and acquiring of materials during an up-time. So there were plans, fabrics, etc. Unfortunately, by the time it was the actual week of Halloween, mom was in a valley emotionally and didn't have the energy to actually make the costume. Costumes were not made, therefore, they were assembled from things we already had. Her long skirt and white peasant blouse? Poof, I am a gypsy. Leftover white dress from Confirmation ceremony? Presto, a sixties Bride in a mini skirt, complete with veil.

I don't remember Halloween, until First Grade. I walked to school ever day with Raymond Darbenzio. We went to school in the morning, then everyone went home for lunch and changed into costumes and walked back to school for afternoon Halloween parties. (I am sure there were some kids that had to bring the costume to school and change there after eating cafeteria lunch, but they were not in my neighborhood). I had some kind of princess costume, typical first grader. The best part is that walking home from school, we trick or treated. The rules were that we couldn't go into anyone's home, because only pedeophiles would invite strange children in. And we were not allowed to eat any candy until we got home and our parents "checked for razor blades and poison." Which now that I am a mother, I know that it means, "mom pulled out the good stuff."

I'm not sure that Halloween "dwarfed" other experiences. When you have 46 Halloweens, after a while they do run together.  And making the holiday fun for my kids was way more fun than anything I could remember doing growing up. Which I guess is part of growing up.

quote of the day

Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.
            -- Michele Shea

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

It has often been said
there’s so much to be read,
you never can cram
all those words in your head.

So the writer who breeds
more words than he needs
is making a chore
for the reader who reads.

That’s why my belief is
the briefer the brief is,
the greater the sigh
of the reader’s relief is.

Dr. Seuss

Yes, I'm alive

OMG! I just had a cup of tea and realised I have not updated this since people stopped clapping and Tinkerbell died... You would not believe how tidy my house now is. But I'm sorry you'll just have to take my word for it..

I am lost in a sea of pseudo-olde-english with setting fire to people wearing Crocs, hoping you haven't found other blogs, just generally being not online in order to recognise my children again, my day sprawls from crawling out of bed at 6.30 to midnight. I am not complaining though. it will be fun fun fun till they take my TBird away.

I won't promise anything to you but I will make more of an effort to blog more often. No, really! What do you mean you don't believe me?.

Ok, so I delegated.

Some help is better than others...

Normally, I don't like the advice of the little Microsoft paperclip. But lately, he's getting better...

Writing, deadlines and randomness

I got a new full time job this past fall, and one of the reasons I took it was that is was 40% documentation. Like I have to spend that much of my time writing about what I did with the rest of my time. Which means non work writing is a bit thin. That's what i had heard about the problem with writing for a living and trying to write fiction on the side. The good thing is that I have lots of new characters to draw from. People you'd never think really existed do exist and call me on the phone several times a week and ask me to do impossible things. Like believe whatever lies they're telling me at th moment. Good thing I have a built in BS meter. Although the way it's been red-lining lately, I may need to get it re-calibrated.

No surprises here...

Nothing I didn't know already!

In other news, I'm about 16K into the new book. Then I hit a snag in that one of the characters decided to write a diet book, and may lead a couple others down her dark, eating disordered world with it. I do need to stop researching and get writing...

80%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Free Online Dating from Mingle²

And Erin has a good explanation...Decompressing Faith

Is there such a thing as a bored artist?

I know, it's not writing, but creatvity like this should be passed on and celebrated, right?

glumbert.com - When graphic artists get bored

Musings, and wow, has it really been a month....

since I last blogged here??

Have several things going on. The Summer Fiction Fest is in full swing at Random Acts of Reading. We're going along at a fairly good clip so far. It's just June 2, so who knows? The goal of the Summer Fiction Fest is to read as much fiction as possible before September 1st. Hopefully, that'll put the yearly number close to 75, making it much easier to reach 100 by December 31.

So, if you have suggestions for the reading list, feel free to leave the in the comment trail. I have a pile to start with, but some of them aren't fiction, like the Great Influenza, a history of the flu in the early 1900's. Also have Jonathan Franzen's memoir, and I'm looking for Flannery O'Conner's Mystery and Manners.

After that, who knows?

It's Thursday Quiz day!

which probably explain why I was "carded" at Walmart the other day. The cashier asked for my idea, "you've got to be kidding," i said. She wasn't, I could tell by the embarrassed look on her face as she looked at the 1964 staring her in the face

You Are 26 Years Old

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

Thoughts from Virginia Woolf

"It is worth mentioning, for future reference, that the creative power
which bubbles so pleasantly in beginning a new book quiets down after
a time, and one goes on more steadily. Doubts creep in. Then one
becomes resigned. Determination not to give in, and the sense of an
impending shape keep one at it more than anything."
--Virginia Woolf

Kind of like running a marathon. It's easy to start off too fast, and lose steam and not finish. So, I'm taking heart that starting this book is going slowly. Maybe that's a sign.

In honor of Easter....

Thursday's quiz, a day late. Although in the interest of full disclosure, I don't eat jelly beans. I don't eat any candy that doesn't involve chocolate. Life's too short to eat sugar straight.

You Are a Caramel Apple Jelly Bean

You have a gentle sophistication. An appreciation of fine things, without being snobby about it. You enjoy sweet tastes and silky textures.

What Flavor Jelly Bean Are You?

More new writing equipment...

I'm allergic to cats, so I can never have one of those, but here is the latest employee here at the story factory




As far as I can tell, his job is lure in the victims, so the main dog can bark at them. Gotta love team work.




Otherwise, their jobs are to:
sleep
snore
Ask to go out every 24 minutes, so I have to get up and move from the desk.
fight at 6:45 am, making sure I am awake. If I could teach one of them to make the coffee, then I'd have something...
.

I won't be here for Thursday, Quiz Day,

Does this mean I'm a moderate?

You Are 68% Democrat

You have a good deal of donkey running through your blood, and you're proud to be liberal. You don't fit every Democrat stereotype, but you definitely belong in the Democrat party.

How Democrat Are You?

Booking along....

Sometimes, you get to writing something and then you just have to sit around and think about it for awhile. So that's the stage I'm in. Although, if you know an Iraq war vet who has lost a limb and wouldn't mind answering questions for this book, pass them on!

New tools, new book

Not sure, but for some reason, blogger isn't liking my new laptop. I did get a new laptop this week. The desktop has just celebrated its sixth birthday in January, So it's time to think about moving to the notebook fulltime. There is still somethings left on the desktop, but portability is key.

While I taught a class on marathon running a while back, several people said I needed to write a book about how to run a marathon. I don't think the world needs another how to book on running 26.2 miles, but maybe a novel about the characters who took part in the class?

The structure is already there. I could even put the class running schedule in.

Yes, I am a Quizaholic...

But, it gives me something to do while I'm waiting for my turn to be flogged on the Flogometer, Ray Rhames'
answer to Miss Snark's Crapometer. The Good news...my first two pages are entry number 6. 

You paid attention during 97% of high school!

 

85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!

Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz

It's not Thursday, and it's not a quiz, but here we go...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Serene Highness Lady Illiah the Free of Much Madness upon Avon Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

or

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Venerable Lady Susan the Festive of Helions Bumpstead Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

How did I put off writing before the internet???

If it's Thursday, it must be random quiz day...

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

You Are Eggnog

Rich, sweet, and probably a little drunk. Everyone who knows you tends to get a little fatter.

What Holiday Food Are You?

You Are Apple Pie

You're the perfect combo of comforting and traditional Those who like you crave security

What Kind of Pie Are You?

You Are 30% Left Brained, 70% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet. The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?