Now if you do not have any children in your life-borrow one from a family member or neighbor. Not literally, but talk to the parents and see what appeals to their child and see what you could create. There are many software programs that let a person read a story to a child. See if you might be able to do the same thing. Write then record the story you want to test on the child and let them listen to it. Get the feedback about their response to the story line.

While you might not be interested in childrens writing as a long time project, it can give you some connections to the stories that appealed to you when you were younger and help you unravel what about those stories that you liked that still makes you remember them.  Adding that insight to your writing can change how your reader will connect with you and your stories. Besides it can be fun once in a while to get nostalgic and remember the romance of those old stories and some of the other things that were happening to you and your family during that time that were positive influences on you that still impact you today.

I recently saw a movie and the teacher was contrasting the way fairy tales started and ended and how that often was different than in real life. However, I have had some of those happily ever after results and I’d guess if you really put on your thinking cap you might be able to connect with some of those results too.

Hey, it’s just a bit of time and a few sheets of paper if you are writing manually or a few pages of copy in your word processor. Give it a shot.  It could be great fun and the benefit to your reader will be huge because it makes your writing more believable.

No limits here to things to write about so get those pencils sharpened-do finger exercises so your fingers can fly across the keyboard as you type and if that doesn’t work-look into voice recognition software so you talk and it types what you are saying. You have got to get these ideas floating around in your head down on paper. You can do it!

If you need help, the resources area in the navigation bar is packed with tools to assist you at any place you need extra help or how to information.

Thanksgiving means many different things to many different people. For some it is a time to reach out to ones that don’t have or aren’t able to visit with their family. For others, it is a time of service, giving time at a homeless shelter or helping an elderly neighbor.

I think for most of us in the USA, it is a time for family and friends: Sitting with the kids (big and small) to watch the Macy’s Day Parade, cheering on your favorite football team, or taking a nap after that “one last piece” of pie. It’s a true moment to express our gratitude and thanks for everything that happened during the year.

Write about the traditions in the country where you live and how you spend this time of year expressing thanks to all of those around you.

Five Fun Turkey Facts
1. It is NOT the turkey that makes you sleepy after a Thanksgiving feast. Tryptophan can only make you sleepy if taken on an empty stomach without protein – hardly the case on Thanksgiving! It’s the carbohydrates in the other foods we eat with our meal that make us sleepy – neither of which are traditional from the original pilgrim’s diet.
2. Ben Franklin liked the Turkey so much he thought it should be the official bird of the US.
3. A wild turkey has excellent vision and hearing. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees and they see in color.
4. Commercially raised turkeys cannot fly due to their weight.
5. The average American eats 18 lbs. of turkey a year. The average person consumes 4500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.

Happy Thanksgiving and thanks for stopping by my writing blog. I hope I have inspired you to begin to write.

In order to be a successful and effective communicator, you’ve GOT to be a highly effective listener.  As a leader, LISTENING skills are MORE IMPORTANT than your speaking or writing skills …. No question

1. Quiet your mind and make a space for you to listen.
2. Resist the need to be in charge of the conversation.
3. Listen for ideas and central themes. A great listener should be able to mine at least one great great idea from every conversation.
4. Pay attention only to content, not delivery. Teach yourself to focus on what a speaker is saying and keep the message above the manner or method that the message is being delivered in at the time.
5. Be engaged and engaging. Use your skills to keep alert and aware of the conversation so you do not tune out the speaker.
6. Avoid getting your exercise by jumping to conclusions. It’s easy to assume that you know the rest of a sentence or message after hearing the beginning. Much of the time we are formulating our come-backs in our minds before someone has completed their full sentence. Get the whole message then respond.
7. Take notes if you are in an environment that will allow you to do that. This way you can stay engaged and the benefits are it will also enhance your memory, recollection skills, sharpen your reception, understanding and retention of the information.
8. Concentrate and resist distraction. Internal as well as external things going on around you.
9. Summarize the message being received. Chunk down the ideas into smaller bits of information you can apply to what you could use in your life.
10. Control your emotions. Learn your emotional triggers and be alert. Try not to take what you are hearing personally unless, of course, it is content that impacts you directly and was meant to be directed to you personally.
11. Stretch and exercise your mind. I have heard it said that the mind can only take on and comprehend one new thought a day.
12. Be an active listener. Practice, practice,practice.

Then take what you are hearing or have heard and begin to see how you can use it to write or improve your writing.

Since writing is another form of speaking, learning to listen will give you a place to start to improve your skills as a  writer.

Time to get your writing instruments ready to go and start recording all of the happenings around you. There are so many things going on that it would be very difficult not to be able to find something you could write about. Remember, even those authors who now have best sellers started somewhere. Make today your day to begin.

It was a beautiful summer day and I was enjoying the day contemplating the wind in the grass while listening to the family laugh while mom finished getting the picnic ready.

This was a happy memory of spending time with the family and the fun we had that day. It would make a great beginning to a story that could be shared with the family.

Memories of events have great value for your documentation of your family history. When you have a memory, start to write about it as if you were still there experiencing it.

When and where might you have a memory from the past that you can begin to write about?

I remember hearing that the hot dog eating champion won again by eating over 50 hot dogs on buns in just a very short time.  Wow, I wonder how that competition got started? Now there is a story!

From eating competitions to parades in all of that activity, there are things to write about. So get those writing instruments out and enjoy jotting down the details of your favorite holiday and the things that make it special to you.

We are always looking for a good story, and who knows, maybe your favorite will become a favorite of others as well.

It would be fun to take a topic and look back to see how it was communicated say 5 years ago, 10 years ago and contrast that with today. Who knew we would have email rather than regular mail and how that has changed our lives or just being able to use the internet to share information with others around the world.

I’m just as happy riding across country in a car rather than on a horse, for  example. Can’t imagine not having some of these conveniences in my life.  How about you?

If you are talking about writing that book you feel is inside you but have not made a commitment to getting started you are just talking.  It is time to get started.  You have many tools in the resource area on the navigation bar to help you and by not if you have been visiting this blog about writing you have found many, many tips and how tos.

“Knowledge is not power…applied knowledge is power.”   Debra Thompson Roedl

This week see what you can apply so you can start writing.