Random story thoughts

Went to the new site for suggestions for a story. They gave three characteristics you are supposed to make a story out of: leftovers, stiletto heels (size 7) and a collection of Tootsie Roll wrappers. Ha-ha! Let’s see. It made me think of something Janet Evanovich would have lying around her character Stephanie Plum.

Debbie Anderhaus was not your normal detective. She was a mom detective. She never left home without leftovers for lunch in her Suburban. Her car was full of fascinating things. A booster seat with a teddy bear in it, tippy cups rolling around on the floor and loose Cheerios randomly ground into the carpet. Near the Cheerios was a hot pink stiletto (size 7) that she had not worn, but instead had found by the side of the road at one point and threw into the back of her vehicle. She had tried to use said stiletto as a hammer once, without much luck. Perhaps it would be better used as a weapon?

Debbie also had a secret addiction, which was only noticeable by the stashed tootsie roll wrappers stuffed in various places in her office on wheels. Tootsie roll wrappers shoved in the ash tray, under the seats and many crammed into middle console. Nothing wrong with a little addiction to chocolate, but she was sure she could feel her teeth rotting out from the sugar. Yet she could not stop popping them into her mouth to keep herself entertained on stake outs. It still amazed her how no one gave a second thought about a soccer mom sitting in her car. She could be anywhere from the suburbs to the city, and was so completely inconspicuous.

Writing ideas

I decided to go looking for writing ideas after I went to the bathroom at my daughters school. Weird train of thought? Actually, not! On the back of the stall door was the beginning of a story. A sentence actually, with a note from the librarian encouraging the students to use the sentence to build a story off of. Apparently, she does this frequently and places them at various places in the building. Then she leaves a note for the students to write the story and turn it into her. I don’t know if she rewards them if they do, but I thought, “This is a great way to help writers block!”

So I moved on to the world wide web to see what was out there. I had no doubt I would find some wonderful resources, and I was not disappointed. One place was called “Writers Block 911”. You can “dial in” what you need help with such as: settings, characters, dramatic entrances and my favorite “kill a character”. You can also ask the “Webook” community for help with your story. I am going to explore this site and hope to find some creative jogs to get my writing more.

One suggestion is to use a photograph as a jumpstart for freewriting. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I wonder if that is true. So many pictures out there that can actually leave you speechless too! Will explore this a little more and see how it goes. Might be nice to post the beginnings of a story instead of just my own thoughts.

Life moves on

I found out my uncle passed away yesterday. It is my father’s brother. They were actually 13 years apart, so they grew up in a distant way. My cousins are all older than I am, although my cousin Lisa came late in life for them and she is closer to my age.

Death sure makes you reflect on things. I wish things could go back to the way they were, and that nothing would change. But I appreciate how life goes on and how families grow and bond.

I remember when we were little and had to go visit my Dad’s parents at Christmas. I reflect now on how hard it would have been for them. My grandparents were so much older, and I realize now how much they enjoyed our visits, but we were so bored!! My other grandparents were younger and took us everywhere and did so many things with us. We would be playing at their house with my cousins (who were just our age) and we would have to stop in the middle and go visit my Dads parents. Oh, the whining and kicking and screaming they had to endure. It was not bad at their house. They always gave us nice gifts (I’m sure purchased by my mom ;-), but they lived in a tiny house and we were expected to “visit”. How I wish I could go back and “visit” now!!

I remember how outspoken my uncles wife was. We were kind of afraid of her! But I loved my uncle. He and my dad would get together and it was like looking at twins. Their voices even sounded the same. And my uncle had a great sense of humor. I really appreciated him. I am glad he is in a better place now. No more suffering. Again, wishing he were here, but glad he could let go.

Pintrest!

AS IF the internet wasn’t already so addicting, along comes Pintrest! What an idea! A place to pin our ideas that we learned on the internet, store them all, sort them all and then share them with our friends! How cool is this? And it is so neat when someone actually “repins” one of your thoughts, like HEY!, they thought my idea was cool! (Even though it wasn’t your idea in the first place!)

Pintrest is a virtual bulletin board where you can find ideas on the internet and then “pin” them on your bulletin board in an orderly fashion. You can organize your bulletin board in any categories that you want. I have places for recipes, desserts, organizational ideas, fun sayings, Christmas and so on. Then I go out on the Internet and find things that look good. My cooking is not desirable to my family, so I am always looking for new dinner ideas to try. If I find something, I can always print it out, but then I have to remember where I put the piece of paper. With PIntrest, I can just pin it in my “dinners” category and when I need it, just click!

The cool thing about this, is that you can invite friends and family to join you. You can then see what they are pinning on their bulletin boards and use it on your own! This has been a great way to share ideas with my cousin who I never usually see and to see what kinds of things are interesting to her. And if you try a recipe, you can post what you thought of it, or if you needed to change the recipe a little, and then share it so others can try it!