Writer's Nudge: View from the Kitchen Window

Looks peaceful, right? I'm sure you're old enough to know, as the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving. Something is about to happen outside this window. What? Why? Who will be involved? How does it end? Will it affect the people who live in the house? By the way, who lives here? If you're eight-through-fourteen years old, write on! Be sure to post your writing by clicking on  "Comments." I love to read your work, and others will, also.

Write on!
Because of Jesus,
Miz Sharon

Writer's Nudge

I love this picture. It's so evocative, meaning it is heavy with emotion. It has many sensory images. What's going on here? Write a response to the picture or let it illustrate a story. Here are some things to think about:

Where is this place? What clues in the picture make you think this?

Who is this girl? What is she doing here? Why is she alone? Or is she?

What is the girl seeing? Smelling? Hearing? Feeling? Thinking? What emotions is she feeling?

What happened just before this scene?

What will happen within the hour?

What time of day is it?

How do the colors in the picture make you feel?

Does this picture remind you of anything you have experienced?

You don't have to answer all of these questions. You don't have to answer any of them, either. Write what you want to. The important thing is that it relate to the picture.

HINT: Have you ever tried listening to music while you write? I do that a lot. I choose music that goes along with the story I'm writing or the emotions I'm feeling as I write. Music can enrich your writing.

Click "Comment" and write your story. It may not show up right away, since I have this page set up so I can moderate comments.

Write on!
Because of Jesus,
Miz Sharon

Do You Write?

Shortly after I learned to read (and, by the way, that took awhile), I started writing. I loved it! The magic of putting on to the blank page my thoughts and imaginings fascinated me. Trouble was, too many of my stories sounded a lot like the latest horse novel I'd read.


Then one day I read in the Bible that there's nothing new under the sun. That includes plots (story lines, what I call "tale bones"). We writers make a plot our own by looking at old tale bones from different angles. We put new flesh on old bones by adding characters, actions, colors, feelings, places, problems, times, and dragons. Okay. So we don't always include dragons--but we can if we want to.


Back to my lead question. Do you write? If so, check out these sites listed in the inaugural issue of ACFW Journal, The Voice of Christian Fiction:

  

Aletheia Writing Magazine

Go Teen Writer  

Holy Worlds

Kingdom Pen

NextGen Writers 

Pekazoid Prophets

Writing for the Teenage Author

Written World Communications

ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) also recommends these books for youths who write (like you!):


A Teen's Guide to Getting Published: Publishing for Profit, Recognition, and Academic Success by Jessica Dunn


Seize the Story by Victoria Hanley


Spilling Ink by Ellen Potter


Rip the Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing by Karen Benke


In addition to those, I recommend any book about the craft of writing by James Scott Bell.

What do you write? Click on the "Comment" button below and tell me. If you have any questions about writing, leave those, too. I'll answer you.