Category Archives: Writing

Jump Start Your Writing Challenge – An Accident

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Jump Start Your Writing Challenge – An Accident

Rory C. Keel

 

This week i’m posting the first of my 2017 Jump Start your writing challenge from last week. this piece is of an accident, one I remember as a child.

One of my fondest memories is roasting hotdogs and marshmallows over a fire pit in the backyard. My Grandma would let us weave  hotdogs onto the hook of a wire coat hanger, and my brothers and I would hold them over the fire and giggle with delight as the flames licked at it searing it to perfection.

Marshmallows naturally followed as the best dessert for a backyard campout. When I had worked a mallow onto the hook,  I would slowly rotate the hanger in order to evenly toast the soft sugary puff until the dark brown color indicated it was warm and gooey.

On one occasion my younger brother, with his hunger for the sugary delight and a tendency toward being a pyromaniac, jabbed the sweet treat deep into the heart of the red-hot fire. Deciding he needed to rescue the melting goodness when it erupted into flames, he jerked the hanger catching it on the wire grate. Panic set in. As he twisted and pulled to save the mallow, he yanked and the hook let go flicking the flaming marshmallow toward my brother.

After pealing the goo from his face, Grandma bolted into the house, picked up the receiver and dialed my mother informing her of the emergency. The urgency of the situation suddenly changed with the laughter of my mother when she heard my Grandma’s high-pitched voice say, “We need to go to the hospital. Your son has been hit in the eye with a marshmallow!”

Write about an accident you remember!

Happy New Year

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Happy New Year

By Nandy Ekle

A new year, but the same goals: lose more weight, exercise my body, organize the house, cook more meals/eat out less, and write more words.

Yes. Write more words. I want to write more words. However, the year started off with lots of activities, lots of overtime at my day job, but not much energy to get it all in. And on top of that, I still have one more Christmas present to finish, several more to wrap, and a quick trip to deliver these gifts to those we haven’t celebrated with yet.

So write more words. I wonder if Stephen King says that every New Year? Write more words. How many words are enough? At this point, if I could just write SOME words that have nothing to do with my day job, I would be ver happy with even that small goal.

So, please accept this as confirmation the annual resolution of WRITE ORE WORDS has been set for this new year.

Let me know your goals for this year in the comments below.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

More Flash Fiction

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More Flash Fiction

by Adam Huddleston

 

Last week, I revisited my authorial roots and presented a very elementary flash fiction story. This week I thought, Why not try it again? If you’re interested, you can play along. The mandatory words are: galactic, vase, intrepid, morose, and final.

Although Terrell’s galactic ship was fast, the flight from Morris-1 to the icy moon of Gatak long. During the wait, the pilot and his saucy wife had plenty of time to argue.

“If you hadn’t stopped for a drink two planets back, we would have been there by now!”

Terrell looked down morosely at the floor between his boots and sighed. Even intrepid explorers like Terrell Gaines were subject to ridicule. He glanced at a vase perched on a nearby table. This was the final straw.

One more complaint and he’d turn that from an ornament to an urn.

Wow, that turned out darker than I expected, but, that’s how writing goes sometimes.

Have a Happy New Year!

Jump-start your writing in 2017

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Jump-start your writing in 2017

Rory C. Keel

I’ve never been very good at keeping any New Year’s resolutions so I‘ll not make any for 2017. However, I may be up for a challenge, perhaps a short-term challenge.

In the month of January I will attempt to write a few short pieces based on the following ideas:

  • A trivial event
  • A casual remark
  • An accident
  • A photo in the newspaper
  • A weather change
  • A vice that someone has
  • A virtue that a person exhibits

This should jump-start my writing in 2017.

Try it with me!

 

Goals 2017 Happy New Year!

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Goals 2017

Happy New Year!

In looking back over my writing goals from the past years, I am reminded how drastically career goals can change from one year to the next.

In a previous post, “FOUR YEARS FROM NOW”, the blog covers an idea from Joanna Penn, thecreativepenn.com, about modeling your writing career around the four year Olympic games. I love that idea because the publishing industry moves like molasses. By looking at things over a multiple year perspective you might be surprised at how much work you accomplished.

PRIORITIES

When I get up in the morning, there are two primary goals that I want to achieve every day, besides the usual day job and life happens stuff.

1) write

2) exercise

Writing feeds my soul, and exercise because I’m not getting any younger. It’s beyond my comprehension why I’m loading the dishwasher at eleven o’clock at night and I have yet to accomplish either of those two things. What did I do all day?

Pressing Onward

The muse of ideas in 2016 that materialized has shifted my priorities in a big way for 2017. Has that ever happened to you?

A rescue horse and his trainer fell into my life, and their story is finally a reality as an eBook. Because of a great team of extremely creative people, the RESCUE ANIMAL SERIES was born! We have four titles so far, with many more to come. This project has totally shifted my focus from two middle grade novel series currently in progress, to promoting this new picture book series. Who knew? Sometimes the story chooses the writer.

NEWSLETTERS

In 2017 I will be doing more newsletters and blogs. I love reading blogs, and for me, blogs are fun to write. They’re short, narrowly focused, informative, and include interaction with readers. Of course, we’ll continue our popular wordsmithsix.com blog site about story craft.

As the newly elected Newsletter Editor & Publicity Chair for Texas High Plains Writers (formerly known as Panhandle Professional Writers), I’ll be cranking out newsletters and announcements for that group over the next two years. The TPHM Window is FREE to anyone. Let me know if you’re interested, and I can add you to the distribution list. If you live anywhere near the Texas Panhandle, you can join the THPW writing organization for only $36 per year and you’ll be added to the eList automatically. We meet every other month in Amarillo. It’s a great time to network and talk writing. panhandleprowriters.org

PRAIRIE PURVIEW is the blog featured on the home page of my website. Posts are about the history of Texas and life in the Texas Panhandle, with particular focus on the western lifestyle. Please check that out each month. I’m also doing a NAT’s eNEWS which will be an extension of the rescue animals and their owners. Think of it like a behind the scenes as we create the books. You can sign up for my free eNewsletter via my website nataliebright.com

Also in 2017 are two projects near and dear to my heart. My uncle and I are working on a family genealogy book about the John G. Williams clan from of North Carolina and following their journey to Texas. Along those same lines is a book about the cattle industry in the Texas panhandle, that will be filled with original recipes and photos of working cowboys and cowgirls featuring our own cow/calf operation and the Sanford Ranch, located in the Texas Panhandle.

IT’S ALL IN YOUR HEAD

I’m wondering, do you have a story tugging at your heart and occupying head space? I have so many! How do you decide which one to write? Tell us about your work in progress.

I may have to dig into the ‘discard’ file drawer and revive a small-town tale about heartache, a new life, and a second chance for love. I don’t know why I’ve been obsessing over this story for the past few months, but perhaps it has some redeeming qualities. The characters are driving me crazy.

Wow! That’s a lot of writing to be done in 2017. I am so excited, and I am determined to stay on track with my story telling this year.

It’s not looking that great for yoga.

Hope your 2017 is filled with an abundance of

glorious words, sweet tea and sunshine!

The Dog And the Leash

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

The Dog And the Leash

By Nandy Ekle

I took part in a survey recently—one question, intended to make you think introspectively: name one thing you wish you could bring back from your childhood. This question definitely did get my brain cells working.

I started thinking about what kind of child I was. And then a story bubbled which gave me my answer.

Once upon a time, a girl had a dog. This dog was very energetic and very powerful, and the girl had to learn to control it. She clipped a leash to its collar and they went for a walk. The dog wanted to run and play, and he wanted the girl to run and play with him. But he was big and strong and the girl usually ended up huddled in a corner with a skinned elbow or a tear in her jeans.

But she couldn’t get rid of the dog because he was her constant companion. He went everywhere she went. He slept next to her at night, got up and went to school with her in the morning, came home and ate dinner with her, took baths with her, and then went to bed with her every single night.

And every day she took him for a walk on the leash. She learned to tell him no, that she didn’t want to run. She pulled on the leash to slow him down when he went too fast. And she yanked the leash if he tried to run after a bird or a rabbit.

But she also gave him treats. She bought tasty things for him to chew on. She gave him his favorite snacks. She scratched him behind the ears and made sure he had plenty of healthy food and water.

One day she took her dog out for a walk. She took hold of his collar with one hand and held the leash in the other. She rubbed the metal clip of the leash on the metal loop of his collar, but she didn’t really attach them. Instead she hung the leash around her neck, held her arm out as if she actually was holding the leash, and they began their walk. And an incredible thing happened. Her dog walked as if he really was attached to the leash. He didn’t run away from her, or drag her, or jump around. He walked calmly by her side and obeyed her when she talked to him.

After a while she remembered how much fun it was when he was running and jumping, and she wanted him to do that again. So she pretended to take the leash off his collar, but he still stayed calmly by her side. It wasn’t until she began to run that the dog started running as well.

So, I’ve gone through all this to say, I’m the girl and my imagination is the dog. I’ve spent so much time and energy learning to control it, and now when I want it to run wild, it looks at me as if I still have it leashed. If I could bring one thing back from my childhood, it would be my wild and free imagination.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Example of Flash Fiction

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Example of Flash Fiction

by Adam Huddleston

 

Years ago, I was a moderator for a flash fiction website. That site was deactivated some time back but there is still a warm place in my heart for that story style. We participated in a monthly competition where a set of words were given that had to be used in the tale. The catch was that the story could be no longer than one-hundred words, but should contain a beginning, middle, and ending. Here is a very quick and basic example:

  1. Cat
  2. House
  3. Dog
  4. Mouse
  5. Kill

A warm sun crested the horizon, waking Serenity, the Harrison family’s cat. His first mission was to traverse the house for his food bowl, taking care to avoid the moronic dog. Once his belly was full, he partook in another lengthy nap. When he felt sufficiently rested, the tabby began his quest for his true arch-nemesis; the dreaded field mouse. After an exhaustive search, Serenity rounded a corner and spotted the fiend. It was now that the cat contradicted his given name, and pounced for the kill. As the sun set, Serenity nestled into his bed, belly full.

Gotta See

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Outtakes 273

Gotta See

By Cait Collins

 

Years ago when the first Harry Potter movie was released and the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit the theaters, my youngest sister’s boys and I began a tradition of seeing these movies together. When the last Harry Potter ended, so did the tradition. By then the young boys were young men and had their own lives.

The older nephew came over to help me put up Christmas decorations in early December and we got to talking about the years we spent going to the movies together. He suggested we go see the new Disney release, Moana. We were finally able to match our schedules and see the movie. The theater was almost sold out, but there was no noise from rowdy kids. The film was so brilliantly produced, the only sound was laughter.

I have always loved Disney movies. I grew up with Darby O’Gill, Old Yeller, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. My first date (at age 6) was a school outing to see Perry the Flying Squirrel. I have found that the productions to be well written, masterfully produced, and ever memorable. Moana is no exception.

A young girl seeks answers for her fascination with the ocean, but she is not allowed to go beyond the reef. She battles to be a good daughter and a good future chief for her village. Her journey is filled with witty dialogue, spiced with beautiful music, and enhanced with magical animation. It is a treat to watch.

I appreciate the new Disney heroines. More recent releases have departed from perfect princesses to flawed young women who must meet challenges and grow to be strong, confident women. Do not misunderstand, I still watch the princesses on the Disney channel and on DVD’s from my movie collection. They are a part of my youth. Aurora, better known as Sleeping Beauty, will always be my favorite princess. But, I’m delighted with the brave, spunky, sarcastic Moana. You really gotta see this movie.

In Media Res

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In Media Res

by Adam Huddleston

 

The literary term this week is: in media res. It is a phrase referring to the usage of beginning a story in the middle of a sequence of events. Many tales utilize this, as it puts the reader right into the action. An often used bit of advice is to start your scene as close to the high-point as possible then get out quick. In media res takes this philosophy and applies it to the entire plot. “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad” both use this device.

Although I have yet to utilize this technique to a great extent in my writing, I feel confident in stating that when using it, the writer should be sure to provide a background that engages the reader and drives the story forward. Hope this helps!

Happy writing and have a Merry Christmas!