Daily Happiness 8-18
an old photo that makes your heart leap with memory Chartres packing for a trip
Author: winslow eliot
Conclusions
A concluding paragraph is the reader’s bridge from your story back to their own lives. In this exercise you’re going to try to connect the two in some way. Write a one-paragraph conclusion to a story that you haven’t written. You’ll need to resolve the story you’ve imagined. Without reiterating the tale, or summarizing, you Read more about Conclusions[…]
Daily Happiness 8-17
wonderful news Ashdown Forest in Sussex, U.K. goldenrod and queen anne’s lace
Daily Happiness 8-16
being brought fresh coffee in bed getting in touch with an old friend vivid dreams
The Yellow Leaf
In August, every now and then I’m startled by the sight of a yellow leaf. It always seems too soon, and takes me by surprise. It seems to signify the end of something big. I try not to get caught up in a whelm of nostalgia. But in August I can’t seem to help it. Read more about The Yellow Leaf[…]
Daily happiness 8-15
finishing a novel eating dates in a desert oasis letting go
Daily Happiness 8-14
The Road Through the Woods by Rudyard Kipling Venus the sound of leaves dripping quietly after heavy rain
Using Odd Words
Five Interesting Words To Use In A Story Use these words to inspire a short story. You can use them in any order you like. (If you need guidance on structure, go back to the five paragraph concept we talked about a while back: 1. set up or mood 2. action/generated circumstance 3. plot twist Read more about Using Odd Words[…]
Daily Happiness 8-12
a garland of roses the bray of a neighbor’s donkey someone giving you a gift for no special occasion
This Stone, This Dawn
The time being is being in time
right now – here – this moment
this breath, this smile, this piece of stone
We all know that. It’s what the sages say.
but it’s gathering the energy to stay
this way
that is so hard.
like a great wave crashing over us
and sweeping away back out to sea
we’re back to long ago
or thinking about the next big wave
or what’s below.
But see – even while we wait
we’re soaked in the ocean of time
of being
the waves are only brief images
like a shimmering mirage
in the desert heat
or a single heart beat
yes the desert is time – not the mirage
and the heart is time – not the heart beat
and the ocean is time – not the wave
Be mindful of that – and be at peace
You’re always here: this moment, this breath,
this stone, this dawn.
Daily happiness 8-11
drips from the leaves in the quiet after a storm the leaning tower of Pisa being adored by your cat
Daily happiness 8-10
friends for a Sunday brunch Monet’s water lilies love songs from the thirties and forties
Daily Happiness 8-9
a glass of Vouvray on a hot summer afternoon the coast of Coromandel the foxes on the hill barking clear and cold
Opening Line
One of my favorite writing exercises is to write a story beginning with someone else’s opening line. It’s always amazing to me how differently writers picture the rest of the tale. Here’s an opening you could try: “The sound of the rushing river grew louder. By the time I got to the bridge I realized Read more about Opening Line[…]
Daily Happiness 8-8
beauty George Gissing, who wrote The House of Cobwebs the sound of someone else mowing the grass
Listen To Those Crazy Crows
Listen to those crazy crows
after the thunderstorm
caw – caw – caw
like birdsong wrenched from the throat
of a black-feathered prince
enchanted in a fairy tale
why am I here
who put that spell on me
caw – caw – caw
look at this old watermelon they threw out
the sun is nice and hot
come sit on this branch, my dear.
caw – caw – caw
I am a crow up high
on the branches of a delicious pine
and my prince is disguised too
so that we can hide from the angry king
and the witch and the goblin
and seek and find…
safe in the blue sky we cry
wrapped in our feathers that make us invisible
we hide
screaming our jokes, our injunctions, our news …
yes, we’re having a tremendous time.
Daily Happiness 8-7
the wild coyotes on the mountainside Mesa Verde receiving a royalty check
Daily Happiness 8-6
a steel-blue lake high in the mountains the Wicklow hills a long time ago crystalmancy
Writer’s Block Revealed
In a recent essay on Writers Block and other Urban Legends (http://dosomedamage.blogspot.com/2009/08/writers-block-and-other-urban-legends.html#comments), Jay Stringer defines (and dismisses) the affliction that he says is erroneously labeled as writer’s block. At first, having suffered painfully from this alleged ‘affliction,’ I read his piece with a certain amount of resentment. But then he wrote this:
Daily Happiness 8-5
desert rose a full lunar eclipse watching molten lava pouring into the sea
The Window
For one week try this practice at around the same time every day: describe the view outside your window. Try to be as observant and detached as possible, and make your feelings absolutely clear only through description. In other words, don’t say “I felt” or “It seemed scary.” Say “The sky is heavy” or “a Read more about The Window[…]
Friendship
a long time ago
you were my friend
i don’t know what happened
to that particular ship
did we drift apart
or did we fight and I never knew?
did I hurt you?
one day we’ll dock in the same harbor
and meet each other
we’ll hug and walk
and drink some wine
and talk
on that far away island
at a small cafe
surrounded by vanilla vines
near a waterfall that flows
into clear sea
and you’ll tell me.