Tag Archives: games

Grand Week

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Grand Week

By Nandy Ekle

This week has been a very special week for us. For the first time, we have had all of our grandchildren with us. And let me tell you, it has been a great Grand Week. Our oldest is six years old and the youngest is twelve months. And watching them all laugh and play, sing and dance has been an extremely amazing event for us.

One of the wonders of this week, other than the obvious of just having them close to us and enjoying their interactions with each other has been their games. They all have super busy imaginations and they came up with some of the most creative ideas I’ve ever heard. The girls put together a singing group and practiced a specific song until they were comfortable enough to sing it in public and even have a grand finale ending. The boys played cars and car tracks. They all colored pictures and drew on paper. And Nana read stories.

So what does this have to do with inspiration for writing (other than gloating that I got to keep the grands this week)? Listening to the stories the kids made up sparked my own imagination. Each game they played, each song they sang, each story they told stuck in my own head and took a corner to mature in. And, of course, they will get all credit for the ideas they gave their nana.

If your imagination feels like it’s running dry, spend a few days listening to children play together. The well of ideas will suddenly grow too deep to keep up with it.

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

Grand Week

Posted on by
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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Grand Week

By Nandy Ekle

This week has been a very special week for us. For the first time, we have had all of our grandchildren with us. And let me tell you, it has been a great Grand Week. Our oldest is six years old and the youngest is twelve months. And watching them all laugh and play, sing and dance has been an extremely amazing event for us.

One of the wonders of this week, other than the obvious of just having them close to us and enjoying their interactions with each other has been their games. They all have super busy imaginations and they came up with some of the most creative ideas I’ve ever heard. The girls put together a singing group and practiced a specific song until they were comfortable enough to sing it in public and even have a grand finale ending. The boys played cars and car tracks. They all colored pictures and drew on paper. And Nana read stories.

So what does this have to do with inspiration for writing (other than gloating that I got to keep the grands this week)? Listening to the stories the kids made up sparked my own imagination. Each game they played, each song they sang, each story they told stuck in my own head and took a corner to mature in. And, of course, they will get all credit for the ideas they gave their nana.

If your imagination feels like it’s running dry, spend a few days listening to children play together. The well of ideas will suddenly grow too deep to keep up with it.

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

D’Wannas

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

D’Wannas

 By Nandy Ekle

The alarm rings and my eyes open long enough to turn it off, then they close again. I turn over and force my eyes open and feel the sand under my lids pull my eyes closed again. I roll out of bed, stumble into clothes and start my day. I look at the stove and the breakfast foods and all I can think is, “I d’wanna.”

I get to my desk at the office, turn on the computer and look at my tasks. The voice inside my head speaks up again. “I d’wanna.”

“What does that mean?” I ask the voice.

“This is not what I wanna do today,” it answers back.

“I wanna sit on the couch and play games.”

“We can’t do that,” I say. “We have things to do.”

“Oh, yeah? Like what?” The voice is insistent.

“We have to make our living, then we have stories to write.”

“D’wanna.” It stamps its foot like a toddler.

“Here. I’ll show you how fun is it.” The voice turns its head with mild interest. I put my hands on the computer and mentally open a door inside my head. A third voice joins the conversation as my character steps out of the room and begins to tell me her story. I type as fast as I can to keep up as the character’s voice gets louder and faster and pretty soon I’m having a ball.

Suddenly I realize the toddler’s voice, the one with the d’wannas is gone and my story is written and I feel satisfied.

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