Guess What? I'm A Guest Today ...

... over at Misha's blog, "My First Book."  Here's the direct link to my post:  http://sylmion.blogspot.com/2011/07/hi-all-please-welcome-alana-to-my-first.html?

If you enjoyed my previous posts What's His Story? or Read Between The Lines where I presented you with a brief scene and asked you to provide the backstory, I think you'll like it.  Similar premise, slightly different angle and story.  Take a look and enjoy.  And writercize! 

While you're over there, scan through Misha's posts and her previous guest bloggers for lots of great writing information!

Stay tuned later on today or early tomorrow for a scent-filled prompt to come!

An Ode to a Toad (Poetry Schmoetry) - writercize #82

I'm not sure exactly how or when it happened, but replacing the start of any word with "schm" has become the perfect substitute for a rhyme when none exists or the author wants to lighten the mood.  It's actually pretty fabulous if you think about it - it makes writing much simpler.  Except for words that already start with "sh."  Then it doesn't work quite so well - shoe schmoe just doesn't have the same ring as napkin schmapkin or working schmorking or fancy schmancy ... or poetry schmoetry.  Try it for fun.  It's like a magic smile on your face.

Today's poem is a part of the Poetry Schmoetry blogfest hosted by Small Town Shelly Brown.  (Seriously, don't smile after reading that sentence - I dare you.)  The blogfest lasts until Friday and participants just have to post one poem this week to participate, so if you haven't already, get on the bandwagon and add yourself to her linky-link!

I was originally thinking I'd write a nice poem about the moon, but after looking at the silliness above, I've changed my mind.  Maybe tomorrow.  It's all about silly rhymes now.

writercize:  Pick a type of poetry.  (i.e. Ode, Sonnet, Ballad, Limerick, Haiku, Epic, Free, Quatrain, Acrostic - whatever you like)  Now, find a word or phrase that rhymes with that type of poetry.  Combining the two, give your poem the title and get writing!  

For example, you could write a sonnet on a bonnet, or an agnostic acrostic, or a quatrain in the rain, or a salad ballad.  You get the point.  I chose an ode to a toad.

Click "read more" for writercizer sample ode to a toad response.  Please note I am not a biologist, so if I make errors about the ways of the toad, forgive me. 

Alphabetical, Illogical Ways - writercize #81

This weekend I received the September issue of Writer's Digest magazine in my mailbox, and while I don't generally post anyone else's writing exercise, I saw a couple of irresistibly good ones to share.

There are actually several prompts on the WD website if you're trolling for ideas.  Of course, I encourage you to bounce around my blog first, but hey, you never can have too many ideas, right?

This comes from an article called "10 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Thinking Like a Comedy Writer" by Leigh Anne Jasheway, under technique #9: Keep Them on Their Toes.  She's referring to misleading your reader by throwing twists and turns into an otherwise straightforward story.  Her words are italicized in quotations:

"One of my favorite exercises for generating misdirected ideas is called Illogical Ways.  First, choose a problem you'd like to resolve with misdirection.  For example, let's say you're writing a novel and your main character needs to have a broken leg.  Your goal is to find illogical ways for that to happen.  Starting at the end of the alphabet (because it makes your brain work differently), list one illogical way for each letter.  For example:

• in a Zebra stampede
• slipping on nonfat Yogurt
• a Xylophone accident
• Wearing pantyhose too tight, causing her to trip

You can use this exercise to push even the most benign details of your stories beyond the obvious, keeping your readers enthralled along the way."

Although I love the broken leg idea, I'll change the topic to put a slightly different spin on things.  You might need to pull out a dictionary for this one!

writing exercise:  Using the Illogical Ways exercise from Z to A, explain why your character had a car accident.

In case you need help reversing the alphabet - here you go.  ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDBCA

Click "read more" for writercizer sample response, beginning with runaway zamboni.

The Eyes Speak - writercize #80

It has been said, more than once, that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  I would imagine that even if we all wore straight jackets masking our body language, our eyes would deepen and confirm our truths and betray our lies.  We lock them in love, avert them in fear, wink them in flirtation, roll them out of disrespect and blink them to expose nerves.  

writing exercise:  Describe the eyes of a character in your story or those of a real person you have strong feelings towards - feelings of love or hate.  What do those eyes look like, and what do they tell you?

Click "read more" to see writercizer sample response(s) on her daughters' eyes.

100 Word Liar - writercize #79

Brevity has the power to be a writer's best friend.  A great writer has the ability to compose lyrical prose one moment and cut to the chase the next.  Brevity will help a journalist stay within maximum word counts, a greeting card writer pack a punch, a novelist write a successful query and a copywriter create memorable slogans.

When writing, challenge yourself to summarize the main points in one to two paragraphs and make sure that the summary is at the heart of the matter.  Anything else should support that core story.  You can do this before or after writing, depending on your personal style.  Those who outline and prepare first can do it before sitting down to write the story itself and use it as a road map; those who allow the words to tumble out first and find the story later can use it to guide rewrites.

Today's writercize, inspired by the Group Blogging Experience, challenges you to be succinct.

writing exercise:  Using exactly 100 words (including title), write a story with a beginning, middle and end inspired by the topic of lying.

Click "read more" to see writercizer sample response about how Naomi (meaning: honest) learned deceit.

Hope: Define It - writercize #78

One good way to find out if a person understands the concept or thing they are talking about is to ask them to define it in their own words.  Sometimes asking for a definition will direct the listener to a new word the speaker actually means to relate, and sometimes understanding the speaker's definition will clarify and deepen the listener's understanding.

Asking a child to provide a definition in his or her own words can be very beneficial for a parent or teacher in a couple of circumstances.  During a disagreement or emotional outburst, it can help the adult understand what a child is really feeling.  In a school assignment, it can help identify if the child is thinking about the lesson or simply mimicking the original text.

If a child can not define the word, ask them to define what the word is not.  In preliteracy skills, knowing what a word is not can be just as helpful as knowing what it is.  This is one reason books for young children focus heavily on opposites.

Even in a discussion between adults, a pause to clarify any one person's use of a word can help deepen understanding and connection.  

I often find that our individual perception of words, especially non-nouns, are like snowflakes or fingerprints.  No two people will define the same word in the same way.

writing exercise:  Without using a dictionary, define "hope."  Include an antonym.

Click "read more" to see writercizer sample response.

The Real Life Skills? - writercize #77

In a previous post called Question It All, I challenged readers to think critically about the news they read rather than digesting it directly.  I very much appreciate listening to news radio, catching up on current events in the newspaper and magazines and watching TV news (all when I have a moment of time to spare, that is) but I try to take everything with a grain of salt.  I expect reporting to be objective and unbiased, and I expect that facts have been checked, but I don't necessarily trust that it is.  When there's a scoop and ratings to consider, sometimes objectivity and fact-checking are placed on hold to get the story out.  

I'm especially wary when it comes to reports on statistics and studies.  It may be due to my Communications course on statistics in college, but I could pretty easily create a study to support any hypothesis I like.

Last week, Newsweek released it's list of the top 500 public schools, based on academic success factors such as college-bound seniors, SAT scores and AP course offerings.  I would be proud to send my children to a school that is on the list and feel pretty good that the academic consideration is well-covered.  I think the matrix is a good indicator of the academic component of the high schools, but I do think it falls short of the term "best schools."  In my view, a "best" school offers much more than academics; it offers education on life.  I thought about it for a few days and wrote an opinion piece on Technorati that was published earlier today.  A copy of that analysis is below.

writing exercise:  If you were creating a matrix to determine which schools best prepare their students for life after student-hood, what factors would you look at and why?

Click "read more" for the writercizer sample response.  (Article first published as How Should We Really Calculate The Best High Schools? on Technorati.)