Today’s Word…….. (Drum Roll)………
ASININE: adjective – foolish, unintelligent, or silly; stupid
Sentence: The asinine comment made by the guy in the back make the audience groan in annoyance.
Hope you have fun using this word.
Happy “wordsmithing”!
Month: February 2013
The Letter
I wrote this very short story a few years ago while I was the sponsor of a writing club at school. We would come up with story starters or topics to write about. The topic on this particular day: Sneaking around behind someone’s back. I really wanted to try something a little different. I admit my mind typically goes to cheating or theft, but I decided to try two sets of sneaking around in my fictional story. As always, if you enjoy my work and want to use it, please make sure you give credit.
The Letter
The door silently closed behind me as I let myself into the house. The alarm didn’t go off, so I knew that Nick was home. I plopped my bags on the floor and went to search for him. It had been four long days since I’d seen him, and I was actually home a day early.
As I passed by the television, a flash of white caught my eye. There, taped to the screen, was an envelope with my name on it. Footsteps sounded upstairs as I plucked the envelope off the television and opened it.
The breath was sucked out of me and the words swam across the page. He was leaving me. And he was taking the coward’s way out. My eyes narrowed as I realized what the frantic rushing around upstairs was all about. He was obviously trying to get everything packed before I got home.
My body trembled. It tends to do that when I’m really upset about something. I can’t seem to hide any of my emotions. My teeth started to chatter as I contemplated my actions and how to deal with the coward upstairs.
The couch looked inviting, so I plopped down, suddenly exhausted. Three years. Three long years of putting up with him. We had lived together for a year and a half. All the laughs we had together. All the tears we’d shared. Other thoughts flashed through my mind. The forgotten birthdays and anniversaries. The dinners he hadn’t made it home in time to eat while they were warm. The late nights working. Me. Cleaning whiskers off the bathroom every day for the last year and a half.
I sat there quietly remembering, my eyes dry. I slowly put the letter back into the envelope. I got up off the couch. My bag seemed light for the first time that day. I placed the letter back on the television and silently walked out of the house. He was right. The coward’s way was the best way.
Story-Starter Sunday!
Here is another installment of Story-Starter Sunday. What better day of the week to write? I hope you have fun with this one. Here, the sun is shining after a night of rain. Most of the snow has melted, and it’s much warmer than I thought it would be. It’s a great day to spend a little time with your notebook, computer, or journal. Here is your Story-Starter Sentence:
I opened up the love note from my boyfriend excitedly. It wasn’t until I was halfway through that I realized it wasn’t to me.
Just One More Time… That’s All
I wrote this in December of 2008. It’s pretty obvious it’s about drug use, but I really think it could be about any type of addiction. On a funny note (because the poem is not funny at all), the only reason I even remembered having written it was because my Shih Tzu Zeus will not stop licking this one spot on his hind leg. I literally told him, “Zeus! Stop it! I know it’s an addiction, buddy, but this has to stop before you go bald.” Yes, I talk to my dogs. I was getting ready to post to this blog as I said it. Then it hit me that I had written several poems about addiction. Obviously, they’re much darker than my little dog licking his hind leg. I hope you enjoy. Please remember to credit me if you choose to use any of my work.
Just One More Time… 
That’s all.
It’s not like I’m
Addicted.
I know I told her
I’d quit.
That I chose her
Over It.
And I have chosen
Her.
But it’s
Just One More Time…
That’s all.
It’s not like I’m
Addicted.
I know she doesn’t like
The Stuff.
I know it goes against
Her morals.
She was raised
Differently
Than I was.
It’s just a party thing.
But it’s
Just One More Time…
That’s all.
It’s not like I’m
Addicted.
I know I have bills
To pay.
I know I hang out with
The wrong people.
I know I made
Promises
That I’ve broken.
But it’s
Just One More Time…
That’s all.
It’s not like I’m
Addicted.
She knows
I lie.
Yet I still do it.
She knows
I use.
Yet I still do it.
She knows
I’ve broken my promises.
Yet I still do it.
She knows
That I can’t quit.
Yet I still do it.
She knows
That I’m killing myself.
Yet I still do it.
She knows
She’ll have to let me go.
Yet I still do it.
Just One More Time…
That’s all.
Superfluous Simile Saturday
Although I don’t really use similes as much as metaphors in my writing, I think coming up with them is kind of fun. So here is yet another blog post dedicated to writing something specific on a specific day. We already have WWW: Wondrous Word Wednesday. Today will become Superfluous Simile Saturday. Here are some similes my debate students and judges jokingly came up with today.
Jamie: I am as tired as a teen in church.
Duncan claims he is as hungry as a hippo. (lol. Clever! A simile and a pun!)
Trevor is happy as Teddy with a lint roller.
Hmmm. Not the best examples I’ve heard. I think my kids are trying too hard! Let’s see what you come up with. Post your favorite similes in the comments or make sure that you add them to your own writing. Have fun!
WWW: Wondrous Word Wednesday
I love words. My students groan every time I pass out a new vocabulary sheet for a unit, but I truly think that learning new vocabulary is extremely important. My brain just feels stagnant when I don’t learn new things. Wednesdays will be my dedication to making sure your brain does not become stagnant. Try some of the WWW words in your daily conversation or in your writing. While some of the words might seem familiar, I’m really just hoping to remind you to use unique words. Here is the first WWW post. If you have any WWW words that you would like to add, feel free to post them in the comments. Or post a sentence using the WWW word from today.
Today’s Word…….. (Drum Roll)………
ARDOR: noun – great warmth or feeling; passion
Sentence: The ardor I felt for Mike eventually resulted in our marriage two years later.
Hope you have fun using this word.
Happy “wordsmithing”!
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
– Maya Angelou
I suspect that almost every writer feels this way. This quote is particular to me because I do feel that there are bountiful untold stories fluttering around in my brain, but I have yet to overcome my Ink Monster completely and write about them. Many of us have a fear of putting what we want down on paper (or computer) due to rejection or the inability to write because we have yet to find that amazing idea that no one has discovered (as if that idea really exists).
This quote gets to the heart of the matter for every writer. Failing to put pen to paper is agony. Having stories to share coupled with a fear of sharing them multiplies that agony. That’s why I’m writing this blog. My goal is to never bear that agony again. I hope you follow the same path toward taming your Ink Monster.
Overcoming My Ink Monster 