Write Now: Homework for a class that starts on November 1

write some journaling.

 

We'll use this during the first week of class as a starting spot for a piece of polished journaling (and maybe a layout if you're up to it).

 

Chose a person you have a relationship with, and then spend just a couple of minutes thinking about him or her with this idea in your mind: what do you hope life brings to this person? Then, spend about ten minutes writing down a list of those hopes.

 

As you're writing, try not to censor yourself; don't worry, for example, about sentence structure or grammar or even spelling. Just get down as many possibilities as possible. Not censoring yourself also means that if your thoughts take you in an unexpected direction, don't fight it—go along for the ride. Save this journaling somewhere you can find it.

 

You'll also need to have a photo (printed, if you are a paper scrapbooker) of this person.

Self Scrapbooking: Spot

THE TOPIC | Spot

THE WRITING PROMPT | What is your favorite spot? Where do you find safety and solace and feel most at home? Maybe you have more than one favorite spot or can you recall a favorite spot as a child?

Remember, tell me more.

WRITING TIP | Sometimes it takes a while for the thoughts to develop even when we want them to be there immediately upon sitting down to write or journal. I find that when I'm feeling stuck I'll often begin by simply restating the prompt. That simple action, of writing or typing out the prompt, seems to give permission to the thoughts to begin flowing. It doesn't always work right away but it's worth a try. Sometimes I just have to sit with the words for a while before anything happens.

THE PHOTO | Your spot.

Self Scrapbooking: Think

THE TOPIC | Think

THE WRITING PROMPT | What's on your mind or heart today? What are you celebrating or struggling with?

WRITING TIP | Writing about our lives is important. If I'd been given this prompt a year ago my answer would be totally and completely different. I've always maintained that not all stories need to be told, especially in the midst of a bunch of layouts celebrating your kid's birthdays. I hope what you've written so far in the class feels special and important and that you know that it's awesome that you're sharing a piece of yourself and your everyday and learning something about yourself through the process of writing it down.

Remember, tell me more.

THE PHOTO | A shot of yourself in a mirror. A reflection. Something that has to do with what's on your mind.

October's Dozen Day

Take a Photo of Something that is....

• Harvested
• Colorful
• Something Simple
• A Stranger
• Soup
• How You Write
• A Reminder
• Ten Things
• Masked
• Independent
• Tall
• Historic

Twelve Layout Ideas:  

1. You:  How do you feel about preparing food and/or a meal?  How much time do you spend in the kitchen?  What do you remember most about being in the kitchen as a child?
2. Holidays:  Create a layou celbrating Halloween.  WEhat are your traditions?  Stories behind the costumes?
3. Places:  Document your Alma Mater, or your resume
4. Every Day Life:  TV... What do you watch and why?  How is it different today, then it was 5 or 10 years ago?  COmpare your favorite cartoons, with that of your child's.
5. Rituals:  What are some of the events that you plan to do every Autumn? 
6. People:  Scrapbook family friends, the family who you are not related to, that you seem to spend the most time with.
7. Inspiration:  Revisit a scrapbook or creative idea book that is gatherng dust on your shelf.  Pick a project and complete it.  Document the process, if it is not a scrapbook page.
8. Personality:  COmpare and contrast the personality of two family members whose persnalities are very different from each other.
9. Things:  Scrapbook your closet...the clothes that you wear most often, uniforms to work?, gavorite shoes, etc...
10. Family Stories:  Document a funy family story that is often told around the table at family gatherings
11. Seasons:  Have you experienced a Season of ill Health or helped a family member or friend through theirs?  DOcument your experience.
12. Fun:  Create a layout of the family doing an Autumn activity together.  (Raking the leaves, visiting the cider mill, etc..)

 

 

 

 

Self Scrapbooking; Carry

THE TOPIC | Carry

THE WRITING PROMPT | What are you carrying around right now? What do you carry around with you each day? Purse? Guilt? Passion? Keys? Kleenex? What's inside that bag you carry?

GO DEEPER | How is what you carry influenced by your Mom or Grandma or other significant person in your life?

Remember, tell me more.

THE PHOTO | The contents of your purse. Keys.

Self Scrapbooking: Listen

THE TOPIC | Listen

THE WRITING PROMPT | Radio, music, talk? What do you listen to? Kids chatter? Silence? Think about the variety of different sounds you encounter over the course of a day. What sounds you miss? A cool exercise to consider would be to actually document sounds you hear over the course of an entire day.

WRITING TIP | This is another prompt that lends itself to starting each thought with the same couple of words. I love the resulting cohesion and I always think of other things once I get into the rhythm of writing that way. Don't ever be afraid to copy yourself and employ some of the writing techniques that work for you again and again. It's part of the practice of writing and part of how we learn who we are as storytellers.

Remember, tell me more.

THE PHOTO | Think about how you take a photo of something you can't see. Consider going beyond the obvious (radio, iPod, etc.).

Halloween: Test Tubes converted into candy holders

These were created for Pete and his "lab rats" for Halloween.  My husband in the lead graduate student in his research lab and he wqanted to give the younger guys something different for Halloween.