If. It's the word that we use to discuss what's not real. It helps us talk about the way we hope the future will go: If I can get there on time... It helps us understand why the past didn't go so well: If my battery hadn't died... It gives us a chance to talk about the world the way we wish that it was: If more people would listen to each other... Write a page today … [Read more...] about A Strange and Useful Word
Creativity
Warm, Warmer, Hot
How do you keep warm? (Where do you keep it?) Where is the line between warm and too warm? Is it good to get hot? Write a page that plays with ideas about heat, warmth and warming. Cars warm up. Certain plants need to stay warm enough in winter. So do pets and other animals. Consider ideas of warmth that are not exactly physical: warm people, warm fuzzies, the … [Read more...] about Warm, Warmer, Hot
Sparkles
Sudden little pinpricks of light. The world is full of them. Write about things that glint and shimmer. Twinkles from the night sky. Diamonds in the snow. Static electricity. Sometimes they quickly fade. Other times they start uncontrollable chain reactions. Sometimes they aren't even things: sparks of insight, glimmers of recognition, flashes of rage... Fill a page … [Read more...] about Sparkles
Straight
You can get straight, get it straight or get straight to the point. You can serve a drink straight up, or walk straight up the stairs. You can go straight through a stop sign or straight through an inheritance. Straight lines might connect two points or they might set up a joke. Maybe you're straight-forward. Perhaps you're straight-laced. Write a page that plays with … [Read more...] about Straight
Thumb’s the Word
Are writing and drawing different versions of the same thing? Or are they two entirely different activities? Spend most of your writing time drawing and see what you think. Draw your thumb. In ink. So you aren't tempted to erase and make it perfect. Simply look at your thumb and make whatever marks (lines, scribbles, curves, dots) that the details of your thumb … [Read more...] about Thumb’s the Word