Bizarre and Unique Holidays

Do you enjoy writing prompts?  I found these holidays on the internet and thought I would share them with you all.  Try writing about one of these bizarre and unique holidays.  You might come up with something fun and publishable.

                                                   For the Month

Classical Music Month
Hispanic Heritage Month
Fall Hat Month
International Square Dancing Month
National Blueberry Popsicle Month
National Courtesy Month
National Piano Month
Chicken Month
Baby Safety Month
Little League Month
Honey Month
Self-Improvement Month
Better Breakfast Month

Now I'm going to give you part of the day by day holidays.  There are a lot of them!  I'll give the rest of them next week.

For the month of September:
1  Emma M. Nutt Day (the first woman telephone operator)
2  VJDay (Surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri formally ends WWII)
2  National Beheading Day (that's a strange one!)
3  Labor Day (first Monday of the month)
3  Skyscraper Day
4  Newspaper Carrier Day
5  Be Late For Something Day
5  Cheese Pizza Day
6  Fight Procrastination Day
6  Read A Book Day
7  Neither Rain Nor Snow Day
8  International Literacy Day
8  National Date Nut Bread Day
8  Pardon Day
9  Grandparents Day (first Sunday after Labor Day)
9  National Pet Memorial Day (second Sunday in September)
9  Teddy Bear Day
10  Sewing Machine Day
10 Swap Ideas Day

Whew!  There's a holiday for everything!  I'll finish the list up on next weeks blog.  Enjoy and happy writing!

Karen Sperra

Beware!

     Have you ever wanted to be published so much that you would do anything for it?  Anything?  Scary thought isn't it?  Not only is it scary but it can be expensive and can hurt our writing career.  Beware!
     My first love as far as writing goes is music.  I started taking piano lessons in the sixth grade.  I practiced constantly.  When I couldn't stand playing my lessons anymore, I sat at the piano and made up my own songs.  As the years went by I learned how to save my songs by writing them on staff paper.
     People encouraged me to try to get my songs published so I decided it would be fun to be rich and famous (Ha! Ha!) so I started sending my songs in to publishers.  Nice form letters came back saying they couldn't use my songs at that time or it wasn't what they were looking for.  I even got a few words of encouragement from some publishers about the wonderful demo singer (me) and some said that if I could rewrite it to make it more country, the song would be publishable.
     Eventually I read an ad in a songwriting magazine that said for $400 this company would make a professional demo tape for the customer and help get it out to publishers.  Wow!  How could I go wrong with this company?  I was telling a school teacher friend of mine about the ad and she gave me the $400 to get the demo tape made.  She said she didn't want the money back but she would like me to do the same thing for someone else someday.  She enjoyed listening to my music and she had faith that I would someday be published.
     The day I got the demo tape back in the mail was very exciting.  After listening to it, I sat and cried.  They took my beautiful waltz love song and turned it into a bar room brawl song.  After crying all night, I started trying to call the company.  Guess what?  Their phone had been disconnected.  I wrote letters and they came back.  I talked to people in the music business and no one had heard of the people in the ad.  $400 and one big dream ended up down the tubes.
     I'm still writing and I'm still trying to get published.  Now I pay very close attention to who I send my work to.  Beware!

Karen Sperra

From There To Now

                                                                                          Pat Zabriskie

In the 1970s, I began writing in earnest. I took a writing course by correspondence. It taught me the basics and assigned me topics to write about. As a result, within about three months I sold my first article to a parenting magazine for $75.00.

No, that check isn’t framed as my first freelance acceptance. I cashed it and knew my writing had value in the marketplace.  As a teacher in my church’s education department I used my new-found skills to develop lessons and programs. The denomination’s state office asked me to write a year’s worth of lessons for local distribution. My work was recommended to our national publications department and I was soon writing curriculum. I averaged from two to six assignments a year for Sunday school quarterlies, special activities, seasonal programming and events.

When I was director of our church’s Christian education department, the material grew out of our children’s needs and was grade level appropriate. The kinks were worked out in the classroom.

Part of our activities centered around puppets. Our teacher magazine ran five original puppet characters I created with scripts. These scripts were made available by mail to other Christian puppeteers. My mimeograph was busy. After a year or two, I gathered the scripts up into two books of plays. Gospel Publishing House published them.

All of this writing got done while my pastor husband and I raised five children. I somehow managed to keep up with the work of the pastorate. Wives were partners in ministry in my day. Though I seldom spoke from the pulpit, my husband said my pulpit was the kitchen table, where I often entertained other busy women and we cried and prayed together.

When I sold my first article to a teacher’s publication, I was so thrilled I ran through the house showing each child my byline. The oldest one looked at me and said, “So?” Children keep you humble. After all, you are Mom. Why look for any other fame?

As the kids left home one by one, I filled my empty nest with more writing.

I worked for local newspapers in every little burg we pastored. We presented unique summer programs so as not to compete with the larger churches wonderful Vacation Bible schools. We taught the Bible in a fun, non-competitive way. The locals referred to us as the “Little Church at Hollywood and Vine,” for our puppetry shows in the schools, carnivals, churches and nursing homes.

Before our last two kids moved on, we performed for the High School Graduation Alternative Party. Along with a fun night in a safe place that had movies, games, activities and food, we slid our big stage onto the gym floor in front of the bleachers full of grown up seniors. We heard some giggles and the words, “A puppet show!?”

But we wowed them with crazy puppet antics by “teen” puppets. We used their favorite music, and plenty of “inside” jokes. We performed a soap opera called, “General High School” with high school names romantically linked; we spoofed their teachers. The kids loved it. One of the puppeteers was a student and did a segment outside the stage as Mr. Rogers complete with changing into a sweater and teaching a new word: Grajeation.” The show lasted 20 minutes and was the talk of the party.

Another time we spoofed the school board. We had them in hysterics. We poked fun but were careful not to demean or be offensive.

Writing that kind of material was a blast.

All this has influenced my writing. I wrote straight news features, did interviews with local “celebrities.” Wherever we lived I wrote material--even for a writer’s Christmas party. They were going to hire a belly-dancer, but preferred the Hat Show and a spoof on writers.

Now, as I age (gracefully?) I’m having fun writing the cozy mystery I started years ago. I have time.

After writing material for puppets, children, teachers, Sunday school, short features, spoofs, and news, this is a whole ‘nother ball game.

And I’m still learning how to write.

Family Reunions

     My family reunion is coming up in September.  I am so excited!  I love reunion and being able to see all those people you haven't seen for a year.  We have a huge family reunion because it includes everyone on Daddy's side, everyone on Mama's side and everyone in between.  We always have at least one person show up that we can't figure out where they fit in.  They enjoy themselves and have fun so that's all that counts.
     Reunions are a great source of writing inspiration.  At least it's that way in my family.  We have some real characters that keeps things lively.  One reunion we had turned into a bit of a wife swap party and my innocent Mom was standing there in the yard trying to figure out why people were leaving with someone else's husband or wife.  There's always at least one drama queen or king who likes to make a scene and get all the attention turned on him/her.  And let's not forget the little kids who enter the talent show part of the reunion and stand up in front of everyone and tell stories about their mommy and daddy while mommy and daddy sit there with red faces.
     Think about all the people that come to your family reunion.  What would happen if you wrote a story about every person that showed up?  I would have enough stories to keep me busy writing for the rest of my life.  There are other sources for good stories also.  What about church dinners, company parties, kids birthday parties, etc.  The list is endless.  We have all been to at least one of these parties and can come up with some interesting, funny, humiliating or sad stories about something that happened.  You don't always have to tell the truth either. Maybe you like the way your aunt sits all hunkered down in her chair and write a story about a lady who sits that way.  Maybe there's one person who refuses to come to your reunion or party and you could write a story about someone who is so intimidated by other people that they won't go out in crowds.
     Do you have someone in your family who has been married more times than Elizabeth Taylor?  There could be some great stories there.  What about the spooky man who lives down the street from you that only goes out at night?  Why does he only go out at night?  I'm sure you could think up a great scary story about that one!
     Yep, I can't wait for my family reunion.  I will have to stay on my toes this year and see if I can come up with a great story from this one.  Think about writing a story about your next family reunion.  Happy writing!

Karen  Sperra

A Christmas Memory

One year for Christmas I decided to do something so different that it would shake up my husband's family.  I had them all do an "About Me" type book.  I typed up form papers with questions on them and mailed them to every person in the family.  They started with their full name, where they were born, where they went to school, a favorite school memory, what jobs they have held and many more questions such as these.  We went into our favorite food, flower, color, etc.  I was amazed at the response I got from them.  One elderly uncle had to have some help filling out his pages but we got some wonderful information about him and his life that we will treasure forever.

After I got everyone's information back, I copied enough books for everyone in his family.  They anticipation from them all was very exciting.  They couldn't wait until Christmas day to get their very own copy of the family book.

Everyone quickly unwrapped all their other presents and said their thanks to everyone then it was time to unwrap the books.  I loved watching them all as they tore the paper off and started reading their books.  There was much laughing, talking and even some very quiet moments as they took a journey into each others lives.  What they found the most amazing was that as well as they know each other, they all learned something new about every other family member.  Watching and listening to them was the best Christmas present I could have ever received.

We all still have our family books and we get them out once in a while annd read them again and smile at the memories inside of them.  I've heard people say that there's a writer inside each of us and after doing those books that special Christmas, I'm a firm believer in that.

Karen Sperra