"Keeping a journal will absolutely change your life in ways you've never imagined."
Oprah Winfrey
I can't believe it's Saturday and more importantly that I haven't posted anything since Tuesday! While I didn't do very well on my desire to post every day in February, I did post more than I usually do so I'll give myself a little bit of credit. Sitting down to write everyday is a commitment whether you're writing a novel, a short story, or a collection of poetry. Finding the time isn't usually the problem, I think we all can carve out 15 minutes a day to write, it's more about making writing a priority in your life if you want to be published. Having a plan, scheduling the time and creating a positive writing habit will result in publication if you set your mind to it. It's persistence that creates published writers.
Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink: Everyday Creative Writing
Although this book was published more than 14 years ago, it has become one of my favorite for writing prompts and general instruction on the tools a writer needs to establish a creative writing habit.
For a beginning writer there are valuable tools to learn such as focused free-writing, brainstorming, listing, free association i.e. clustering and using a thesaurus. Filled with prompts and instruction on every part of the creative writing life chapters include ideas from "Around The House," "Down The Street," "In The Gold Mine," and ends with "Assaying: How Do You Know It's Gold?" Is there freshness and originality in your writing? Written by professional educators Michael C. Smith and Suzanne Greenberg, this book really bring the fun back into the creative writing process. Using both student examples and examples from published writers and poets they show the range of creativity a good starting point can generate.
For todays prompt let's use "listing" and Oprah's quote as a jumping off point.
Prompt: Reasons I keep a journal (or a blog) List every reason you blog or journal. After you write your list, brainstorm on the one reason that seems the strongest. Start a poem or an essay on why blogging or writing in a journal will "change your life." Or maybe you think it won't. Answer Oprah back in a poem or an essay on why blogging or writing in a journal is a waste of time. Now get back to work!
Lovingly,
The Writing Nag
for food and food/photography lovers: 
presents a book that will help the beginning and seasoned writer to create more engaging text. With examples from contemporary text Plotnik encourages the writer "to loot a thesaurus", use "words with music and sploosh" (onomatopoeia) and break many of the writing rules you've been taught.
"Morning In Denver" 
, Bonni Goldberg has a writing prompt entitled Bathrooms You've Known. I want to change that a little bit and title today's prompt, Bedrooms You've Known, mostly because going back to bed this morning sounds lovely. Write about bedrooms you've encountered in your travels, hotel rooms, hostels, friend's houses, or write about your bedroom...is it a relaxing, energizing space? What would you do if you could change your bedroom. What does your ideal bedroom look like? Where is it located? What is the view from the window? Now get back to 
I stopped when I got to the suggestion, "resolve to take one full day off each week during which you do not touch your computer, check your BlackBerry (or in my case my 
,) or make any attempt to keep in touch with the world of technology." I do remember a time before email and computers...did we get more done? were we more relaxed? did I procrastinate less? 
and wish I had kept mine from grade school.
for mouth delivering my Valentine, without excessive slobber on the envelope. 
. The ghost chili pepper had won the contest for John's arch rival, Mark Saunders, in the Chili Fest last year, but this year John was sure he would take the golden chili cauldron home as he spent six months in Bangladesh researching the pepper's intensity and working with different blends until he was confident that the Hot as Hades cauldron would accompany him home. Mark Saunders wouldn't make the front page of the paper this year! John thought and then wondered if he had let the paper subscription expire. Money was tight and the local paper was an easy item to drop from his budget.
are the best," John said out loud to the new kitchen and his new cat, Kenny, who he rescued just a few weeks earlier. Kenny jumped on the kitchen table and meowed loudly. Kenny was a Russian Blue cat who loved to jump on the kitchen table and meow loudly. 
yet, but it may be in your city. Have you heard of 
