A Writers Prompt

I have always enjoyed being in writers group and I've been in several!  Seems there is always someone moving away and the group breaks up or someone new takes over and the group breaks up.  You never know what you're getting into.  I've learned new things from every group that I've been involved in so they  have always been a good experience for me.  One year a lady shared this writers prompt with the group and I enjoyed it and thought it was worth sharing with everyone else.  Give it a try.  Happy writing!


Setting: The name of a place you lived.

            Use one sentence to describe that place.

Characters:  One sentence about someone who lived there with you.

Point Of View: Think about how you felt when you lived in that place.  Again, use one sentence to describe those feelings.

Expand on the scene by describing outside that place-one sentence.

Expand on the scene by describing one room inside that place-use more than one sentence here.

Stay in that room and think about one time when you were in that room.  Describe what happened.

Take a memory through the years:  Think about how you felt then. Have your feelings changed?

Vary the exercise by choosing themes:  children, education, profession, faith, hobbies.

Reasons to write:  to record, for historical value, to share insights into unique experiences, self-discovery, to make money.

Library Book Sales

     My husband and I enjoy going to our library book sales that are held the first of April and October.  We both enjoy reading so this is a great time to stock up on books.  We joined the Friends of the Library so we could go on Sunday when they're not so busy.  There are table after table full of every kind of book imaginable.
     We found some of our favorite authors.  Marlin enjoys Clive Custler and Dick Frances.  I like Catherine Coulter's series with FBI Agents Savich and Sherlock.  I also enjoy the Sisterhood series by Fern Michaels.  Finding new authors that we haven't read before is always a treat.
     This year we found a book for our car fan son called "The Complete Book of Mustang."  He will spend hours looking at the pictures and reading about each car.
     I always manage to find a few books on writing that I add to my collection.  The one that really caught my attention was the Merriam-Webster Pocket Guide to Punctuation. (Second Edition)  I didn't know such a book existed but I know that I will use this book.  Often!  Here's what it includes:
          1.  Punctuation
          2. Capitals and Italics
          3.  Plurals, Possessives and Compounds
          4.  Abbreviations
          5.  Numbers
          6.  Quotations
          7.  Notes and Bibliographies
     Another book I found is called Researching Public Records by Vincent Parco.  He's a licensed private investigator and teaches college classes on "Researching Public Records" and "How to Get Anything on Anybody."  Sounds interesting, doesn't it?
     We always see friends there who are book hounds also and we spend time visiting. One of my friends found me a book called "How to Bulletproof Your Manuscript" by Bruce Henderson.  This is going to be a good book for a writer to read.
     I also bought the 2001-2002 Writer's Guide to Editors, Publishers and Literary Agents by Jeff Herman. This book is 917 pages so there's a lot of information in there.  It may be 10 years old but still very useful.
     While visiting with a friend, she got to telling me about an estate auction her and her friend went to a few years ago.  They had known the lady who's possessions were being sold.  They bought several boxes of papers along with other stuff and found out she was a closet writer.  The boxes were full of her stories and rejection slips.  My friend laughed and said the lady was a terrible writer but they admired her for the many hours she spent writing her stories.
     We got some great books  ($20 worth!)  and had a fun time visiting with friends.  Gotta love those book sales!

Karen Sperra

Books on a Writer's Shelf

                Fall is in the air, the heater is running in the home - "rainy days and Monday's always get me down," as Karen Carpenter sang back in the '70s. Autumn is actually my favorite time of year, but there are cold days that seem to dull the senses. After a hot summer, and busy family life, part of me is gung-ho to get back to business, but the other part is lazy and just wants some hot tea and a comfy blanket. So I've compromised and pulled out some of my cozy, yet inspiring and educational, books for writers. They gently massage the tired mind, and draw out a smile or two. I'll curl up in my recliner, drink some Earl Grey tea, and have my notepad and pen at the ready next to the stack of books. I really am working, but might as well be comfortable.

                First up - poets and poetry. Poetry is definitely a must for this kind of day. It engages the senses and stirs imagination as no other writing can. I know a lot of you don't care for poetry, but to me it is essential. The books I have out at the moment are especially kind to the non-poet reader/writer. As I said, this is a lazy, working day.

                Have you ever seen an original manuscript from one of the world's greatest writers, especially a hand-written one? What a wonderful moment! You feel a connection with the writer and their work, as though you were present while they crafted the pages that you see before you. If you ever have a chance to see an author's exhibit, please do. You'll come away inspired. Sorry, my mind floated back to the exhibits I've seen at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas in Austin. To view some of the online manuscripts, go        http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/             

                And what, I'm sure you are wondering, does this have to do with the books you were talking about? A book, "The Hand of the Poet: Poems and Papers in Manuscript" by Rodney Phillips and The NY Public Library, is what led to that interlude. Opening the book to any writer here, will give you and insight into their style and life. Scribbles, cross-outs, notations...an "exploration of the creative process" as Paul LeClerc  says in the introduction. Pick a favorite, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Frost, Ogden Nash, or even Rudyard Kipling, and you'll gain insight to the works of these great authors.

                Frances Mayer's The Discovery of Poetry, is a "Field Guide to Reading and Writing Poems." The author of Under the Tuscan Sun shows her love of poetry through this beautifully written book. You can read the book for education, or just the poems as in an anthology, but it all comes together in an insightful, and delightful manner. My favorite instructive poetry book.

                Fooling With Words: A Celebration of Poets and Their Craft by Bill Moyers - This is a book of conversations Mr. Moyers had with poets, including Robert Pinsky and Stanley Kunitz. Poems and their inspiration are discussed, as well as the influence they have on each generation. Great for stimulation, and a touch of reality.

                I became so engrossed in re-reading sections of these books, that I've lost track of time...and word count. So if you will forgive me, I'll bid you adieu, but bring more book suggestions next week. Tea anyone?

Jerolyn Lockhart

Things Are Falling Into Place

Bring in the crops, all the crops from the field;
'Twas very good year and a plentiful yield.

Pick all the apples, can up the beans
Cook up the jams and splatter your jeans.

Watch the leaves fall, stoke up the fires;
Pull out the sweaters, and find the snow tires.

Fall is the season to look back and ponder
The planting and harvesting still is a wonder.

Fall bares the trees and clouds fill the skies;
Leaves die and fall - what a glorious demise!

Cattle plod down from the high mountain pasture
To winter and feed in a in a place more secure.

While the mountains foretell what we already know:
Winter's a-coming, the high peaks have snow.

So the skis are pulled out and rubbed smooth and slick
While skiers wait news of snow packed and thick.

Then the turkey is bought and dinner is planned
And every spare chair at the table is manned.

Every head it is bowed, each heart humbled low
Before the Creator of men, crops and snow.

And THANK YOU is uttered in many a place
Peace, joy and love illumine each face.

Pat Zabriskie c 1983

Composers Whims

     Haydn thought he couldn't compose unless he had on a ring which Frederick the Great had sent him.  He also thought the paper he wrote on must be white and the best quality available.
     Gluck felt he wrote his best when he was seated out in the middle of a field.  Rossini was most productive when drinking wine.  Mozart composed while playing billiards or bowls.  Zingarelli prepared himself for writing music by reading the scriptures or some classic author.
     Many of Beethoven's greatest works were inspired by the beauty of nature.  He composed best during or after a brisk walk in the woods or fields.
     Cimarosa wished to be surrounded by a dozen chattering friends.  He said the light conversation and the flow of "spirits" inspired his music.  Mehul once asked the chief of police in Paris to imprison him in the Bastille.  He said he wanted to get away from the noise and bustle of the city.  His wish was not granted.
     Wagner thought the only way he could be productive was to dress in the costume of the age and place in which the plot was set that he was working on.  He also wanted it completely quiet and wouldn't even let his family in to his study.  His meals were passed to him through a trap door.
     How do you write or compose?  One lady told me she  painted in the nude because that was the only way she could feel free enough to express herself.  Whatever works!  Keep writing!

Karen Sperra

Touchdown Touche

                                

     Being a football widow is not my lament

     I think football season is quite heaven-sent.

     While he sits engrossed by the game on TV,

    

     My afternoons, evenings are wonderfully free.

     I take leisurely lunches and cultural stops,

     Shopping and shows that really are tops.

     So when pigskin season starts up, I foresee

     A wonderful season to be spent on Me!

c 1981 Pat Zabriskie

What Am I Doing Here?

Did you ever get on your blog to post a new one and just sat there thinking, "What am I doing here?  I don't have anything to write today.  I don't know what to say.  What would I have to say that would be interesting to other blog readers?"  Well, that's where I am today.  I've been searching through all my writing books and can't seem to find anything I feel comfortable enough to write about.  I've thought back through my life as a writer and I don't think there are really any interesting stories that I can share with everyone.  So I'm going to start rambling and see what I can come up with today.

I started writing poems and music when I was 17.  Are they good?  Probably not!  Did I enjoy writing them?  Yes!  Have I ever been published?  Nope!  Do I want to be published?  Yep!  I have come pretty close to being published.  Twice I've had my story picked to be included in a book and twice they had to cut a few stories and of course mine was one of them.  That alone tells me that I'm good enough to be published.  I have sent in many songs and there are the usual "not what we're looking for" rejection slips from many publishers.  I've also had a few who wrote personal notes telling me I have talent and they would like to see more of my work.  There was even a couple of publishers who called to see if I could do some rewrite of my music and make it more country.  Did I do that?  Nope!  I tried.  It seems that when I have music written, I can't get my mind to change it for anything.  The music fits the words and that's it.  I think I'm stuck in my ways!

So here I've rambled about a whole lot of nothing but at least I blogged.  It's probably not one of my best blogs but sometimes we take the good with the bad.  When you're having trouble coming up with something to blog about, just start writing.  Who knows, you might come up with your best blog ever.  Keep writing!

Karen Sperra