Name that Tune!

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." 

Have you ever heard a song and fallen in love again?  Have you heard a song that makes you want to get up and dance no matter how badly your body feels?

Have you hummed a song in your mind, and as the lyrics ignited your emotions,  thought "That's what I really want to say ....."

What does music do for you?  Name that tune!

Pleae take a minute and visit my new website at
www.rewriteinc.com

Taste Buds and Fall

Stir up your senses and engage your imagination!

What does autumn taste like to you?

Use Your Senses as a Trigger

Use your senses to conjure up images of fall.  Think about how autumn smells.  How it tastes.  How it feels.  Think about how autumn sounds.

Now wallow in the joy of language as you finish the sentence below:



Autumn seemed to burst with beauty as I.....

A Twist to Our List!

We are now the proud owners of a huge list of city words. If you don't believe me, go take a look!

We can even make our list of city words better by taking just one word and expanding on it by creating more words.

For example, if I chose the word house for my city word, I would start to think about things that were in the house and create a new list. Example: couch, kitchen, pets, family....

So, go look at the list of city words (or use one of the words that you left or remember seeing) and write it at the top of your comment section. Add two or three words that paint a picture to show us what you envision.

I'll go first:
traffic light (is my word)
stopped cars
red light
yellow light
green light
cars go fast
cars run light
cars crash

See what I mean? Now it's your turn to play with words. Let's give our CITY LIST a twist! Pick a CITY word and expand on it..have fun!

Perception, Our Senses, and Us!

It's all about perspective really. It's about how things seem when we see them, hear them, taste them, feel them, or smell them. Since we've been writing with perception and our senses,, let's keep going!

Let's unleash our imaginations and dazzle our papers with words and thoughts that are free from stress or purpose!

Fantasize and be unconventional! Have fun while you write... be spontaneous.

Write about how green smells or spaghetti sounds or how a book tastes. Write about what a bell feels like or how a stomach ache looks.

This kind of activity reminds us how important our senses are when it comes to writing. It reminds us of the power of words and the wonder of language. It's all about perspective once again!

That First Sentence....

When I go to the library (to chose a book to read) I always do the same thing. I open an attractive book and read the first sentence. More often than not, I know right then and there if I want to check the book out of the library. Same thing when I go to the book store.

That first sentence has make me want to read more. Same with editors. If a manuscript you submit doesn't have a first sentence that reaches out and grabs that reading editor by the throat, it's going to go into the slush pile.

I know that all of us don't aspire to become published authors and that's just fine. As long as we are having fun, that's more than fine, it's terrific!

Since we've been painting with words, drawing from our memories, and using all of our senses, we should be good to go with a writing activity I thought of today!

Here goes:

Write one sentence that would make anyone want to read more!

I'll go first:

A whisper-soft breeze blew through her hair like the calm before a storm.

Your turn! You'll do better than me. Come back more than once if you feel inspired to write more than one reader-grabbing sentence!

All About You and Me Week!

I thought it would be interesting to write about US all week long! Since know one knows us better than us, we should do a pretty good job!

Five words can tell a lot. They can paint an honest to goodness picture when you throw in a little imagination. My daughter-in-law is a second grade teacher. She asked her students to use only five words to tell about themselves. You may think that's not a lot, but it is...especially if you can read between the lines. One boy in her class wrote: My dad is in jail. Those five words told me a lot about this young man. They painted a picture of his life for me.

I know we did it before, but let's do the same activity as the kids in that second grade class. Use only five words to tell about yourself. Try not to think too hard!

I'll go first: I need to be busy! (What does that tell you about me?)

Your turn! Use five words to tell us about you.

Teachers and parents, as usual, you can do this activity orally or in written form. Don't forget to model the exercise first or you'll get responses like: I have long brown hair. That's not the kind of picture we want to paint! Rejoice in the good time that a simple writing exercise can offer.

Use Your Senses to Show Your Favorite Time of Day!

The smell of my coffee brewing alerted me to the start of a new day. The sunshine was just beginning to peek through my half-opened bedroom curtains offering promises of great things to come. I rubbed my sleepy eyes and threw on my cozy robe to trudge downstairs. My two dogs followed me (like shadows at my heels) and I cracked the backdoor to let them go out and come back in at their leisure. By the time I flung open my kitchen windows I was as awake as the birds that were singing in harmony from the treetops. I watched three deer peacefully nibbling on grass and clover in the field behind my house and realized that without a doubt, early morning is my favorite time of day.
YOUR TURN! What is your favorite time of day?

Quote a Quote!

A teacher left me a message last week asking if I could make our writing exercises match the curriculum being taught. The answer is, "Yes I can!" However, I'd rather do that on a one to one basis. If you're a teacher and you need something specific, please let me know. I'll respond to you by email.

Honestly, like I've said before, I believe the foundation for good writing comes from the freedom to fool around with language and words. That happens when we just play! So, let's have some more fun!

Let's start are own quote anthology!

Here's how:

Share your favorite quote. (It doesn't need to be exact.)

or

Write your own quote for us to remember!

I'll go first. My favorte quote is: Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take but by the moments that take your breath away.

I Can't Think or.... PLAYTIME AGAIN!!!

I just returned home from a wonderful weekend with two of my lifelong friends, Joan and Linda. You'd think my brain would be filled with ideas. It's not. So when I have a hard time concentrating on one idea, I just let my pencil or computer keys write about anything and everything.

This time I want you to help me! Please go to the comment section. Check the comment directly before where you will leave your comment and write the first thing that comes to your mind ...for example, if the comment you see is dog, your word might be cat. Words, sentences, or phrases are fine. Remember nothing you write is wrong. Everything you write is right!

I'll start us at the comment section. You'll see. Go play!

Teachers, this is a great way to break the ice the first few weeks of school. Your kids will look forward to this activity. Why? Because it's pure, simple, and spontaneous!

Writers, this activity will snap you out of writer's block. Later, you might want to chose one of these ideas and really use it to write something specific. Oh! By the way, if you want to have some more creative fun, head over to Sasha's blog for an ongoing story!

Okay. I'm ready. Go look at the comments!

Playtime! Good News - Bad News

No matter how young or old we are, word play should never end. I do the same writing exercises with aspiring authors that I do with 1st grade children. It's true!
Creative talking is the starting point for creative writing.

Life experiences ignite ideas. We've all had a good news experience that had a consequence. A great way to write a story is just by reaching back into our memory. If you've been writing with me for awhile, braindrop!

Think of this as another list. We'll call it our Good News Bad News list. I'll go first:

The good news is that I killed a horsefly that was biting the heck out of Tango yesterday.
The bad news is that I got blood all over my hand and new riding shirt.

Your turn! Let's play! Get creative and have fun! I know all you animal lovers out there will have tons of ideas. Bring them on!!!

Let's Put It Together!

We've come up with some pretty amazing lists in the past week. First we listed words that showed movement. Then we listed words or phrases that described a person we knew (or had seen). We created a setting and then we described the place.

To be perfectly honest, you guys came up with better ideas than me. That's what I like about writing with you! It's lonely being a writer. It's fun having creative people who love to write and create.

With that being said, let's look back at our lists and write a quick paragraph using some of the words or phrases from each list. The words or phrases can come from your list - or someone else's list.

Here's my paragraph:

As Mary drifted past me she brushed her long ashen brown hair away from her face. I watched as she ambled under the umbrella of trees and looked out toward the lush green pastures. Mary is as mighty as she is tiny. It didn't surprise me a bit when she shoved open the heavy metal gate and picked up the overturned water trough. It surprised me even less when Mary gave every horse that came up to see her an affectionate pat. As she engaged each horse, drifting more into their world, I felt as though time stood still.

Your turn. Write as little or as much as you want. Just refer to the lists and have fun! I just did!

Just so you know, I'm leaving for a horse show tomorrow afternoon. I won't be back until Sunday evening. I'll check my blog then. Wish me luck!

Name the Place or....More Lists!

Okay...now we have a list of amazing descriptions of people we know (or have seen). So are you ready to create another list? Let's make a list of words or phrases to describe ONE place. This place can be somewhere that makes you happy. It can be somewhere that makes you thoughtful. It can be somewhere that makes you feel safe. Create a list of words or phrases that describe this place.

Here's my list:

1. greenish-blue roofs that can be seen from far away
2. filled with animals
3. green pastures
4. winding walkway under umbrella of trees
5. smells like hay and manure

Your turn! Describe ONE place. Let your senses fill your mind's eye before you start!

More Lists - Don't You Just Love Them?

Okay. Onward and Upward. Now we're going to make a list of words to describe someone. That someone can be a family member, friend, casual acquaintance, or someone you just observed at your local coffee shop.

Close your eyes. Get a person in you mind. Now then, think about what three to five words or phrases you would use to describe that person. The words or phrases can show physical attributes, emotional characteristics, or fashion sense. Actually, anything goes. Draw your senses into this activity if you like.

I'm thinking of my person right now. Here are five words I would use to describe her:

1. hard working
2. long ashen brown hair
3. tiny but mighty
4. smells like sweet grain
5. tired

Your turn!

Lists - Quick and Easy -Smile!

I visited Suzanne's blog yesterday and she listed five things that made her happy last week. Her words made me think. I'm big on lists. I think they get creativity flowing. They're quick. They're easy. They can be saved and used for future writing projects.

So this week will be our list week! For starters, list five things that will make you smile this week. Here's my list:

1. my kids, husband, sister or all (I combined them...couldn't help it)
2. my animals
3. a phone call
4. my friends
5. blogging with you!

What will make you smile this week? List five things! Please share.
Have fun thinking and writing. Remember that writing starts in your mind and heart. I'm smiling already!

Let's Write a Story Together!

You guys are so good, I think it's time we combine our creativity. I'm going to start a story. What I'd like you to do is to add to the story. Just a sentence will do the trick. In order to do this, you're going to have to read the first sentence here on the post and then read the comments as they come in...I'm excited already!

Are you ready? Here's the beginning of our story:

We were sitting around the bonfire last night when the most amazing thing happened.......


You take it from here! This story belongs to US. It's ours to play with. It's ours to give it colorful characters and delightful twists and turns.

I can't wait to see where our story goes. Since I started it, I think it's only fair that I end it on Thursday. So until then, let's create our very own masterpiece. Feel free to come back and add more to the story as you see how it develops! In fact, I think that would be a great idea.

Please share this activity with your blogging friends. They more people we have, the more interesting our story will be! Kids are always welcome here.

Journals - Great for Kids and Grown-Ups too!

Many of you know that a few weeks ago I lost my scrappy little dog, Kelly. One of the first things I did was to write about him. Why? Because writing is a way to clear my mind. It's a way to get my feelings uncluttered and down on paper. Writing is therapeutic to me.

I chose to share my writing but the beauty of most journals is that they are not intended for an audience. They are, however, a good way to get rid of anger, take a close look at fear, or simply follow a vacation with words that won't be forgotten. Journals are a very good way to learn more about who you are and how you react to different situations.

Obviously, I love journals. Journals can be written in thousands of ways. Every journal can be unique to its author. It can start from writing prompts like: The most important thing that happened today was____________________.

or simply Guess what?

Writing prompts usually get the mind engaged but they're not necessary. Sometimes you'll discover that something you wrote and planned to keep to yourself is worthy of publication. You'll want to share what you wrote.

Journals are fun. Writing is fun. With journals, anything goes!

Do you already keep a journal? Has it helped you or your writing in general? If you have children, I've got loads of ideas for journal writing that are creative and quick. Let me know if you'd like any of them!

How Do You Know When You Are Creative?

Someone posed an interesting question to me this week. The question was this: How do you know when you're really being creative versus just writing to complete a project?

I know when kids are being creative. They exhibit pure joy while they are pretending either with friends or by themselves. They take on the persona of the character they are portraying. They really become immersed in their role and they get lost in their actions.


I stopped to think about myself and my writing. I guess I'm not being creative when I have to labor to put words onto paper or when I keep glancing at the clock to see how late it is getting.


I think I am the most creative when I lose all track of time and allow myself to do what I encourage teachers and parents to do...wallow in spontaneity and the love of language.


I'm creative when I have no thoughts about today or tomorrow - only the here-and-now. All things are created equal when I write. I have no sense of good grammar or bad spelling. My words just flow onto paper.

There must be other ways to know when I'm really creative. How do you know when you're creative...better yet, how do you activate your creative mode?

I'm doing a school visit tomorrow. (or today if you're reading on Friday). Wish me luck!