Happiness 8-2
lying on a warm stone; opening your wings to the sun; laughter floating past.
Tag: writing exercises
Happiness 8-1
a softly purring lioness; absorbing the sky; a cornucopia of plenty.
WriteSpa #71 – Transitions
I wonder whether we pay enough attention to the delicate time of transitioning from one thing to the next. Moving from playtime to bedtime can bring on a tantrum. Moving from one job to another… […]
Nourish Your Writer’s Soul
Since spring is almost here, I’m offering “Writing through the year – Winter” as a free gift till March 21. Let me know if you’d like a copy – I’ll send you a SW coupon or the mobi file for your kindle.
Here’s what it’s about: […]
WriteSpa #63 – A Place of One’s Own
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers
As I was conversing with a WriteSpa client, and we were discussing assignments and goals, I asked her where she wrote. She hesitated, then said, “It’s a bit problematic…I don’t have a laptop and my computer’s in the living room. I don’t really have a place for it.”
From the way she spoke, I could tell that using “the computer” was for her a chore, a bit of a nuisance, something that she ‘should’ turn on and use, like a vacuum cleaner, perhaps. I knew that for her to have a satisfying relationship with Mr. Write, the ambience surrounding the area where she worked was crucial. […]
WriteSpa #51 – Thanksgiving
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers
Although Thanksgiving appears to be a uniquely American holiday, the mood now all over the world feels hectic, festive, familyish, planning ahead to the end of the year – and it sometimes can feel dark. Very few holidays are not based in some way on seasonal or pagan rituals – whether they are secular, as is Thanksgiving, or religious. In northern climates (in days long ago), this might be the last time you could see families and friends till spring. In agricultural civilizations, it’s the celebration of the end of harvest. It’s okay to feast now; by February there may be very little left. Nowadays we don’t have that worry; instead the anxiety has crept inwards, and emerges as family-related issues: passionate reunions, guilt, or nostalgia. This time of year can be fraught with tension, excitement, friendliness, food, warmth, light, depression, and so on. […]
WriteSpa #50 – Inspired by Fragrance
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers
Your sense of smell is possibly the oldest of the five primary senses, and, fascinatingly, it is most intimately associated with the formation of memories. In those old days (a million years ago), it was crucial to forming our experience of food and sex; but by now it’s evolved to an art of perfumes and fragrances. […]
WriteSpa #44 – The Soul of Color
Becoming aware of the soul of color can help you weave a pattern of balance and simplicity into your busy life.
WriteSpa #37 – Janusian Thinking
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers Studies involving fifty or so Nobel prize winners in physiology, chemistry, medicine and physics, as well as Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and other artists, reveal a surprising similarity in their creative process. Called ‘Janusian thinking’ after the Roman god Janus, it involves holding two opposing ideas or images in your Read more about WriteSpa #37 – Janusian Thinking[…]
WriteSpa #31 – Elemental Beings
When I was around seven years old, I remember visiting my grandmother, Ethel Cook Eliot, at her home in western Massachusetts. One night she sat on the edge of my bed and told me about some rain goblins she’d seen. She described them to me as about eight inches high, skinny, wrinkled, brown-skinned, and rather Read more about WriteSpa #31 – Elemental Beings[…]
WriteSpa #30 – Simplify
WriteSpa – An Oasis for Writers Simplicity is one of the finest things in life – right up there with love, ‘doing nothing,’ and walking in the woods. The empty plot of earth that doesn’t have anything planted yet is one of the most magical things in the world. So is the moment before the Read more about WriteSpa #30 – Simplify[…]
Tag lines
I’m in Los Angeles for a couple of weeks and something I’m reminded of is the importance of tag lines in the movie promotion biz. On the billboards advertising upcoming movies these little catchy soundbites or slogans seem as important as the movie title itself. They personify the plot and the mood of the film. Read more about Tag lines[…]
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[…]