Tag: Writing Inspiration
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The Geese
I wrote this during a Thanksgiving holiday at our son’s house. There is a running trail near where I took these pictures and wrote this poem. This week has been busy as we are tending our son and daughter-in-law’s kids while they are on a holiday. I went running on this trail again for just…
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“Words Dance….Grandly Exciting To Me” Gary Paulsen
Gary Paulsen, the author of over 100 books, died in 2021. Hatchet, his most famous book, was a middle-school staple. When I was teaching 11th grade, many of my students would reread it, along with Dogsong and Winter Room (all three were Newbery winners). I came across a memoir Paulsen wrote in one of my…
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Fog
Saturday, I woke up, and my running friends were all gone with other commitments. I don’t mind running alone as I enjoy getting lost in my own thoughts. I love running in a light rain, but I haven’t had fog for a while. We have been experiencing a lot of rain these past few weeks,…
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Winter Running
I am not resigned to staying in my cozy house in the cool winter months.Paved streets, trails, red rock canyons, or black lava rock, call my name and await my arrival.The steady climb and a variety of sights, volcanic rock so dense. Red dirt and the wild smell of rosemary fragrant from the night’s…
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Suzy Snowflake
When I was about six years old, our church put on a Christmas musical. I can only remember my part of the program: dancing to Suzy Snowflake. This song has easy lyrics and is fun to listen to. Suzy Snowflake was written in 1951 and made famous by Rosemary Clooney and written by Sid Tepper…
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Expand a Sentence
I think one of the hardest concepts of creative writing for students who don’t want to be writers is teaching them how to be descriptive and “showing” versus “telling”. Most of them will only write one creative story a year and possibly some smaller assignments. So, how do I get the “most” out of them…
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The Devil and Tom Walker
What is it like to move for three months? That’s what we did. My husband took a coaching job at Southern Virginia University, so we are in Virginia for three months. I really enjoy exploring my surroundings wherever I go, and the first morning I laced up my running shoes and took off to explore…
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Understanding Literature Settings
Today I was preparing a lesson for my students in my dual enrollment literature class on setting in literature. For years, I have kept different journals where I write down quotes and passages from books I read that I enjoy or have some impact on me and many of them are on setting. In Wired…
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Haiku Practice
Haiku is one of the simplest forms of poetry, but is it? The way a haiku sounds is just as important as the 5-7-5 syllable rule. A picture should be painted when you read it. Some writers practice one haiku a day. Here are a few rules: I love being outside and in nature. So,…
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Find Your Voice: Start A Journal
In May, I was invited to speak at a local high school about my journey with publishing my book. The central theme I chose to convey was to encourage my audience to write their stories. Everyone has unique experiences and perspectives that can inspire others. Memoirs, histories, recipes, and stories of our past can empower…