Steph's Scribe

The Website of Author & Professor Stephanie Parrillo Verni

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  • About Me
  • PRESS KIT
  • Podcasts from Steph’s Scribe 2020
  • Books I’ve Enjoyed
  • Books I’ve Written

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    Two Exercises for Teaching Description and Using The Five Senses in Writing

    May 22, 2020 /

    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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    The Way the Rain Smells

    February 23, 2016

    Fiction Friday: An Update

    January 25, 2019

    Getting My Books in Order

    May 12, 2020
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    Fictography For Old Time’s Sake and as a Teaching Tool: Back Home

    March 12, 2019 /

      /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…

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    Book Review: A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline

    January 31, 2019

    Fashion Friday

    January 24, 2020
    photo of building exterior during daytime

    Franco and The Blonde: Fiction Friday

    April 17, 2020
  • Getting in the Write Frame of Mind

    October 30, 2018 /

    ​​ 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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    It’s Not Bragging. It’s Marketing.

    May 13, 2015

    Baseball Nostalgia and Baseball Fiction

    May 17, 2020

    Podcast 9 – Building Your Story

    March 10, 2020
  • National Novel Writing Month Kick-off Next Week

    October 24, 2018 /

    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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    Writing Can’t Be ‘Thin Love’

    January 21, 2016

    Thank You, Readers! I’m Flattered.

    November 6, 2019

    Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmin or Do Any of THESE Things

    March 20, 2016
  • A Previous Life – A Short Story

    October 4, 2018 /

    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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    All The Books We Want to Read | Building Your Summer Reading List

    March 18, 2016

    Writing About Baseball: The Slump from The Postcard & Other Short Stories

    December 11, 2018

    Baseball Nostalgia and Baseball Fiction

    May 17, 2020
  • What I’m Working On: My Summer Writing Projects

    April 30, 2018 /

    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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    Remembering Venice Through Poetry

    May 14, 2018

    2019 – I Bid You Adieu With a Swift Kick of The Boot

    December 30, 2019

    Podcast 13 – Ideas to Help Foster Creativity During This Crisis

    April 6, 2020
  • Flash Fiction from a Writing Prompt

    April 20, 2018 /

    * 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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    Friday Fiction – The Beginning of a Love Story

    November 6, 2015

    That Magic Moment When It All Clicks—Writing A New Novel

    March 9, 2016

    Fashion Friday

    January 24, 2020
  • What I’ve Been Up To

    November 20, 2017 /

      *** 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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    When An Idea Hits You, You Jump [for joy]

    November 29, 2017

    Podcast 17: The MFA Journey as a Writer (and a teacher of writing)

    May 27, 2020

    That First Sentence

    September 9, 2015
  • T H A N K F U L | D A Y 14 | NaNoWriMo

    November 14, 2017 /

    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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    A Little Teaser for My Upcoming Novel: Little Milestones

    June 7, 2019

    Springtime in Annapolis

    March 17, 2016

    Fifty Shades of…Shades

    January 20, 2016
  • Podcast & Prompt | #nanowrimo | Day 8

    November 8, 2017 /

    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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    Coming Up With A Book Title

    January 6, 2019

    My Newest Writing Project

    September 7, 2018

    Autumn is Always a Good Time to Fall into a Story

    November 9, 2015
  • Prompt & Podcast – November 6 #nanowrimo

    November 6, 2017 /

    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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    Celebrating World Book Day 2019

    April 23, 2019

    All the Best This Holiday Season

    December 24, 2015

    The Move to Online Learning and Its Benefits

    March 22, 2020
  • Prompt & Podcast – Day 3 #nanowrimo

    November 3, 2017 /

    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…

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    Podcast 2 – Who Inspires Your Writing?

    January 13, 2020

    A Valentine’s Poem

    February 13, 2019

    An Easter Contemplation About Grandparents

    April 11, 2020
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I finally picked up my mail from campus and got the award I received in August for the work the Fellows did to help the university navigate the pandemic. As one of five Faculty Fellows for the newly established Center for Teaching and Learning, we created programming workshops to help faculty adjust to teaching during these challenging times.
Hi, all! Thought I’d make a video and try a little different introduction. I am so thankful to be connected to you all. As I say in my profile, I’m here to inspire and be inspired, and today I’d like to share those sentiments.
Today, I'm trying to break the Monday blues by wearing an outfit inspired by the fashion on @emilyinparis. The character Camille wore a cute one-piece plaid jumper with a sheer-sleeved shirt (see my stories), and I tried to mimic that outfit in my own way.
Before you write something, do you have to get mentally prepared and inspired? I know I do. Getting in that head space and physical space to be ready to write can be hard sometimes.
My daughter and I were lucky enough to spend an afternoon in Monterey, CA. We had lunch at a restaurant that was on the Pacific Ocean that jutted out over the water. It was a cloudy day, but stunning, and the meal was delicious.
Well, we made it to Friday🥳With so much uncertainty still floating all around us, sometimes you just gotta toss your head back and laugh. My wish for you today is that you have people around you who can make you belly-laugh. You know the kind of laughing I mean, right? The kind where you snort or cry or can’t catch your breath because it’s so damn funny????
Venice. 💕 #tbt
Annapolis has a lot of cool neighborhoods, and there are many on the water...including homes on rivers, creeks, and the Chesapeake Bay. I took this shot of Sherwood Forest from the boat in the fall. It was a beautiful day, and my camera was ready to capture the colors that were all around us.
Tired of being here, here in the cold,
FINALLY! Woo-hoo! An edited and complete manuscript is DONE and ready for beta readers!
Yesterday, I was able to get to the 100-page mark of editing my new novel (in stories). There were a couple of points where I got a little choked up reading the story—not at all expecting myself to react that way, as I wrote the words. Again, as I said last week, that’s what can happen when you put a little distance between yourself and the work.
Any other tea lovers out there? I’ve been watching a bunch of British movies lately, and it reminded me of all the high teas we enjoyed in London. You can probably guess from my posts that I’m going a bit stir crazy and I’m totally dreaming of our next trip. Until then, we’ll have to make our tea at home and watch shows/movies set around the world. Some recent favorites include: Emily in Paris, Cider with Rosie, Love and Friendship, Photograph, Island at War, Finding Joy, Grantchester, The Last Post, and Call the Midwife. #tbt

Recent Blog Posts

  • Show recommendations to binge-watch January 7, 2021
  • Here’s Hoping for a Brighter 2021 December 31, 2020
  • Ending 2020 with a Manuscript and Some Thoughts December 30, 2020
  • A Writer’s Muse: Annapolis December 18, 2020
  • Give the Gift of Books December 15, 2020
  • One of My Favorite Scenes November 22, 2020
  • My 5th Novel Has a Name (at least for now) November 15, 2020
  • Capturing Moments November 12, 2020
  • The 6 a.m Pledge for My Health November 4, 2020
  • Reading, Writing, and an Empath for November November 1, 2020

Steph’s Scribe is the blog of Stephanie Parrillo Verni, professor, author and blogger. Copyright 2021.

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