Tag Archives: fiction

#SOL20 Day 9: We’ll See What Happens

“We’ll see what happens,” the Wife shrugged as she grabbed her bag and keys. The Husband looked up. “What’s THAT supposed to mean?” The Wife lowered her bag and countered, “C’mon. You know that’s how it goes, right? It’s not like we have any control over what actually happens. We jump in, and then…yeah. We’llContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 9: We’ll See What Happens”

#SOL20 Day 8: Signs of Spring

I always love that first day I start to notice signs of spring. Here’s a little old thing I wrote to celebrate. The sun whispers to the spring soil,“Come out, my friends, it’sTime to play!” Is it that they don’t hear?Are they still cold,HidingWaiting afraid forWinter to pass?Who will be the first to break forth?NotContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 8: Signs of Spring”

#SOL20 Day 7: A Time to Bake

Today was hamentaschen day. Hamantaschen, for the uninitiated, is a triangular-shaped pastry filled with stuff, and it’s eaten around this time of year in celebration of the Jewish holiday of Purim. Which, for the uninitiated, is a celebration (among way too many) of how someone tried to get rid of Jews and failed. But inContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 7: A Time to Bake”

#SOL20 Day 5: Failure is…

Today was…a day to remember some lessons. Today’s lesson was a lesson in…what should I call it? Patience? Self-forgiveness? Understanding? Revised expectations? I went to the gym today hoping to score a new PR (personal record) on my deadlift. Yeah, I guess that makes me a meathead. I’ll take it. I really wanted this oneContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 5: Failure is…”

#SOL20 Day 4: Letting Out The Meanie

Each week, I ask my writers to set an intention for the following week, and to let me know what, if any, support they might need. One of my kids asked me for some support on how to make her characters more complicated. Well, this fourth grader also happens to be an incredible writer. AsContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 4: Letting Out The Meanie”

#SOL20 Day 3: Story Stand-Off

Day 3 of the Slice of Life story challenge. Here goes: “Go ahead. You can do it,” she urged. Lainie drew a breath, huffed it out and rubbed her face with her hands. “But I don’t actually want to,” she whined. “Can’t I just…you know…write some poetry or personal narrative? I’m sure it will turnContinue reading “#SOL20 Day 3: Story Stand-Off”

Steering My Craft: Short Sentences, Revisited

This blog post is part of an effort to refine my own work as a writer, and to strengthen my practice as a writing teacher. For each exercise, I’ll provide the directions, my effort, and a short reflection. The Assignment: I’ll get real here. I wasn’t a huge fan of how things turned out for my shortContinue reading “Steering My Craft: Short Sentences, Revisited”

Steering My Craft: Long Sentences

This blog post is part of an effort to refine my own work as a writer, and to strengthen my practice as a writing teacher. For each exercise, I’ll provide the directions, my effort, and a short reflection. The Assignment: Craft a passage (up to 350 words) within a single sentence. Punctuation and complex clauses are welcome! SheContinue reading “Steering My Craft: Long Sentences”

Steering My Craft: Short Sentences

This blog post is part of an effort to refine my own work as a writer, and to strengthen my practice as a writing teacher. For each exercise, I’ll provide the directions, my effort, and a short reflection. The Assignment: Craft a paragraph using short sentences (maximum 7 words each). No sentence fragments are allowed! FIRST ATTEMPTAmong itContinue reading “Steering My Craft: Short Sentences”