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Two Exercises for Teaching Description and Using The Five Senses in Writing
One of the biggest losses I’m feeling from completing the semester at home is the inability to execute my favorite “Five Senses” activity in the classroom with my writing students. It’s one of my favorite days in the classroom, where I play music and ask students to sit and write based on prompts pertaining to their five senses. THE FIRST EXERCISE The exercise requires students to reach into a brown paper bag that I bring into the room and “touch” something that I’ve placed inside it. In the past, I’ve put pinecones, Silly Putty, or sand in it. After they touch it, they have to write what comes to mind…
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Fictography For Old Time’s Sake and as a Teaching Tool: Back Home
/FICTOGRAPHY/ def. — The intersection of photography (submitted by readers) and fiction (written by me!). A few years ago, I executed a writing challenge whereby readers submitted travel photos they took, and I would write the story that I imagined went along with that photograph. Today, as I write this, my students are engaged in an activity that asks them to write using their five senses—and to see where those senses can take them. They smelled something, tasted something, and touched something, and then they used photos and clips of music to spark a story. When it came to “sight,” I posted three photographs that they could use as the…
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Getting in the Write Frame of Mind
I can equate the feeling of getting in the right frame of mind for yoga to getting in the right frame of mind for writing. It’s time to stop finally stop saying you’re going to write it and actually do it. All I can do is strongly encourage you to write, to tell the stories you have held deep inside of you. I can’t physically make you do it. But as your self-appointed writing yogi, I am hopeful that you’ll join me on this adventure we call #nanowrimo – National Novel Writing Month. Or, if you’re not ready to begin drafting your work, just grab a journal and have…
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National Novel Writing Month Kick-off Next Week
Writers get excited about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) like kids get excited about gifts at the holidays. It’s fun, it’s fulfilling, and it can be frenetic. Why? Because you’re trying to write a novel during the month of November. That’s 30 days, people. And if you can’t finish it, you can at least make some progress toward it. Novels such as The Night Circus and Water for Elephants were started during NaNoWriMo, so if that doesn’t motivate you to begin that work you’ve been thinking about for a while, nothing will. In conjunction with the Stevenson University Library and the communication club on campus, 47 House, I’ll be kicking…
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A Previous Life – A Short Story
Last night at dinner with my friend, Elizabeth, she mentioned that she enjoys reading my short prompts and short stories on the blog. I haven’t written one in a long while, so this morning, I found a prompt that I decided to tackle. It goes like this: Write a scene whereby two people think that they have met before–whether in this lifetime or a previous one. This one’s for you, Elizabeth. A PREVIOUS LIFE The bar was dim, and there were few people in the place at the moment, because it was still early. The 80s music played in the background, and he caught himself tapping his foot to the…
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What I’m Working On: My Summer Writing Projects
Two weeks remain until the close of the Spring 2018 semester. It’s been a very hectic, but productive one, and I’m eager to hear some final student presentations, read final papers, and complete the final curriculum of the year. I may take a few days off afterwards to smell the roses, go for a road trip, see the Blue Angels, and stroll around Annapolis and some Eastern Shore towns with my Nikon in hand—one of my favorite things to do. But I’m also looking forward to completing the writing and editing of my short story collection, tentatively titled THE POSTCARD and OTHER SHORT STORIES and POEMS. As some of you…
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Flash Fiction from a Writing Prompt
** In the classes I teach at Stevenson University, students know that I have the propensity to use writing prompts in class to get them writing creatively and telling little stories. Their purpose? Simply to practice writing. Often, when I have the inclination to write something but am in-between novels, I use writing prompts a lot. There are three main reasons to use a writing prompt: It gets you writing (as stated above) and thinking creatively. It gets you thinking in way you may not have been thinking when you started staring at the blinking cursor and allows you to take a writing journey. It can turn into something wonderful.…
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What I’ve Been Up To
*** It’s Monday, November 20, and I’m not as far along with National Novel Writing Month (#nanowrimo) as I would like to be. I’ve hit over 12,000 words, but if one is trying to finish a novel in four weeks, one has to do better than that. But there’s been a slight problem. Father time has keep me busy in other areas. Because it’s been so busy and I have not been fulfilling my obligations very well as a promoter of #nanowrimo, I believe I owe you the reasons behind why I have not held up my end of the bargain. Let me present you with my Three Main…
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T H A N K F U L | D A Y 14 | NaNoWriMo
With Thanksgiving around the corner, I am thankful for my family who always encourages me to continue with my passion. It’s important to have a good support system around you when you tackle something as big as a novel. And it’s wonderful to have people who support you, even though it’s a time-consuming endeavor. T H A N K Y O U M Y D E A R F A M I L Y. * * * Now, for TODAY’S PROMPT Write 500 words For Fiction Three characters are stuck in an elevator in their 24-story building. The three have never met before. One has claustrophobia, one is exhausted and…
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Podcast & Prompt | #nanowrimo | Day 8
Steph’s Scribe Podcast 5 | Best Books For Writers My apologies in advance. I never realized how often I say the word fabulous until I listened to this PODCAST back. I’ll work on that… But seriously, all these books are F A B U L O U S, which is why I am recommending them to writers. WRITING PROMPT For Fiction Write a scene in dialogue only. Do not use any other description or narrative techniques. Just write dialogue. For Non-fiction Write the dialogue of a conversation you overheard and tried to piece together. Do your best to stay true to the actual words that were spoken by your characters.
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Prompt & Podcast – November 6 #nanowrimo
Hello, Friends! Today, I’ve got a PODCAST for you about WRITING CHARACTERS with my favorite tip about writing these characters. I think you’ll find it helpful if you don’t already do this. Writing Character Sketches Steph’s Scribe TODAY’S PROMPT Write 500 words | #nanowrimo | Choose one of the prompts below To go along with today’s PODCAST, write one of the two prompts below. For non-fiction writers: Write a short biography of your best friend(s) as a character sketch. Use all the information you know about him or her, from what they look like to their characteristics to their likes and dislikes. Try to write 500 words. For fiction writers:…
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Prompt & Podcast – Day 3 #nanowrimo
Happy Friday afternoon! I hope you are doing well AND doing well with your writing. As it’s Friday and the weekend is ahead of us, maybe finding some time to write won’t be as challenging for us as it is during the week. Today’s PODCAST is about THEMES. I share with you some thoughts about themes and what I think about with regard to novel writing and my readers. I hope you’ll have a listen and let me know your thoughts. Steph’s Scribe Talking About Themes *** As for today’s PROMPTS, they are below. Have a good weekend, and keep writing. TODAY’S PROMPTS #nanowrimo | 400-500 words | Steph’s…
