Sweet, Silly & Sad

How fun was that? Thanks for all the sweet, silly, sad, heartwarming, dramatic & melodramatic stories. A first stolen kiss during the pledge of allegiance (followed by a death threat!), a serendipitous meeting in the desert in Israel, romance in a Bohemian bedsit in London, a crush on Robert Redford, ditching church with a cute boy, chaperoning French school kids in Wales, a lifelong passion for music, a heartbreaking murder, love for one's children, and learning the difference between first infatuation and true love. And a lot more. Another great week. Thanks, all!

Sunday Scribblings #9: First Love

That's it: first love.

I can't wait to read what you all will write about it. Truth or fiction, the choice is yours. Post your full permalink in the comments when you're ready. Have fun!

1. julie (rarely home mom)
2. gkgirl
3. the bold soul
4. ~kathryn~
5. deirdre
6. jessie
7. aim claim
8. chest of drawers
9. colorsonmymind
10. papyrus
11. hundred and one
12. bohemian girl
13. epersonae
14. mardougrrl
15. cookie
16. lucky candice
17. laini
18. john tran
19. ascender rises above
20. susan lavonne
21. journey through life
22. paris parfait
23. maggie
24. ali la loca
25. annie elf
26. megg
27. hobess
28. jeanne
29. becca
30. mikim
31. supa anhanh
32. nutster
33. mary jane
34. brittany
35. jill
36. ang
37. carolb
38. alexandra
39. little miss flora
40. melba
41. melissa
42. diana
43. bella
44. catherine
45. brad
46. tongue in cheek antiques
47. meredith
48. marilyn
49. tinker
50. susannah
51. c. delia
52. gogo
53. eeekat
54. joy eliz
55. yolanda
56. tarakuanyin
57. chelle
58. bb
59. alexandra seraphine
60. jvs
61. dani
62. kristine
63. verity
64. liz elayne
65. beansprout
66. la vie en rose
67. kerry
68. michelle
69. amber
70. kim g.
71. ian russell
72. susan
73. teresa
74. geosomin
75. boliyou
76. madness rivera
77. rebekah
78. m
79. jess
80. kerstin
81. rebecca
82. duhhhblond
83. me
84. introspective holdman
85. papyrus (part II)
86. justinotherday
87. judy scott
88. shannon (sentimental)

Be Brave!

I am writing this round-up post a little earlier this week. I'm writing it now because I can't believe how many of us are frightened of wishing. When did we learn that it wasn't okay to want things? When did we learn that wanting something just for ourselves was a bad thing? Some of you don't believe in wishes. Some of you said you didn't believe in wishes - but then you wished! Some of you (like me) were worried about the consequences of wishing. It was a much scarier prompt than I initially thought. Some of your wishes were heart-warming, some of them were heart-breaking, but all of them were heart-felt. I just loved reading your words.

But I would like to make a suggestion for another special bit of writing. This is a suggestion for you if you like. (This is not for Sunday Scribblings, this is just for you!) I would like to suggest that you really think about what your three wishes would be if you were sure that they would come true, if you were sure that the only consequences would be good ones, and if you were told that they had to be just for you - no more wishing for world peace. What would your deepest, sincerest, most selfish wishes be? What do you WANT? It is completely safe to want things in your heart. Don't tell us what your wishes are: this is just a bit of post-Sunday homework that you don't have to hand in.

Whether or not you choose to do this, thank you so much for sharing with us again this week.

I need to answer some questions that have been asked:

1. About buttons: We don't have the code to give you the button. People have been clever and created their own without our (technically challenged) help. So we can't give it to you yet, I'm sorry!

2. We will try very hard to post the prompts on Friday night or Saturday morning so that you'll have time to do the writing by Sunday. (And thank you everyone for your helpful comments, we'll keep you all posted on what if any changes we will make!)

See you next week!!

Sunday Scribblings #8: Three Wishes

This week's prompt for Sunday Scribblings is: Three Wishes. I decided on this prompt because I have had this poem in my head most of this week. I'm not sure why I can't stop thinking about it, but I do know that that usually means something needs attention. Here is the poem that caused this commotion:

Three Wishes

I keep three wishes ready,
Least I should chance to meet,
Any day a fairy
Coming down the street.

I'd hate to have to stammer,
Or have to think them out,
For it's very hard to think things up
When a fairy is about.

And I'd hate to lose my wishes,
For fairies fly away,
And perhaps I'd never have a chance
On any other day.

So I keep three wishes ready,
Lest I should chance to meet,
Any day a fairy
Coming down the street.

Annette Wynne

So there it is. You could write about what your three wishes would be (and don't go and use one up for more wishes - that's cheating - you really need to think about this one!) Or you could write a story about what happens when someone gets three wishes. You could write about what happens when those wishes don't come true, or when they do, or when you just can't decide on what they should be. But be warned: there is a lot of power in wishing. Use it wisely!

As always, please leave your perma-link in the comments. (That's the link to THAT post, not just to your blog.)

And a short plea - if anyone knows how to create an automatic linking system like Illustration Friday has, please direct us to where we might find that on blogger. With Sunday Scribblings becoming so popular (YAY!!), we find that we are spending a lot of time linking on the weekends. We want to make sure that everyone who wants to can play, so we are looking at new ways of making this work for everyone!

Happy Scribbling!

1. ott
2. megg
3. tinker
4. ally bean
5. susanlavonne
6. nutster
7. cate
8. chihiro
9. supa anhanh
10. we is
11. becca
12. writinganamcara
13. the bold soul
14. jennifer (life's snapshots)
15. duhhhblond
16. ian russell
17. paris parfait
18. granny flo
19. mary jane
20. flora
21. hundred and one
22. catherine
23. tammy
24. melissa
25. lisrobbe
26. tara dawn
27. kim g
28. amber
29. tongue in cheek antiques
30. introspective holdman
31. chest of drawers
32. caroline
33. bb
34. journeythroughlife
35. gogo
36. susannah
37. ascenderrisesabove
38. joy eliz
39. cookie
40. jvs
41. bella
42. eeekat
43. verity
44. marilyn
45. mab
46. lunar musings
47. rebecca
48. cheripop
49. rebekah
50. maggie
51. chell
52. kara
53. bohemian girl
54. kristine
55. ali la loca
56. carolb
57. letha
58. brittany
59. patry francis
60. jill
57. john tran
58. jess
59. ann marie simard
60. madeleine
61. art and soul
62. alexia
63. boliyou
64. susan
65. kerstin
66. laini
67. liz elayne
68. javacurls
69. rani
70. kristy
71. michelle
72. la vie en rose
73. teresa
74. mardougrrl
75. yolanda
76. beansprout
77. melba
78. hobess
79. papyrus
80. geosomin
81. m (creative stumblings)
82. cee
83. leah k in india
84. felicity
85. kate
86. -kathryn-

Daydream, then follow through.

Great job again, everyone! It was such fun reading about all those imaginary books swimming around in people's brains. I hope that many of us will find our ways to writing those books, one paragraph at a time, our travelogues and memoirs and romances and mysteries and book of photographs and poems and recipes and histories. Thanks for playing along! It was interesting to me how many people expressed that this one was difficult for them, or that they were going to opt out -- because I know the idea of writing a book can put a big roadblock down in one's imagination. It's too big, too looming, it blots out the sun. Some people have no desire to write a book at all. But for others, I think just the notion of it freezes the brain, and I want to put forth this exercise in visualization as a way of learning about what you really love about books and stories, or also illustrations or paintings or other kinds of artwork, so that you can figure out what you'd like to be working towards in your own creative life.

For me, I need to keep myself focused on what I love the most in books, and remind myself of what kind of story I want to tell. I do it with paintings too. I imagine showing my portfolio at a conference and picture what, in the best of all possible worlds, would be in that portfolio. What would I draw and paint? And once I know that, I try to accomplish it.

Daydream, then follow through.

Try this some time to keep yourself centered on your own creative path. Thanks again for another great week!

Sunday Scribblings #7: "The books I would write..."

Complete this sentence: "The books I would write..."

Notice it isn't "the books I WILL write." That would be too much pressure. No, this is a daydreaming exercise, pure and simple: Ask yourself, if you were to write books, what kind of books would they be? What genre, and what would they look like, and how would they make people feel? Is there a particular kind of character you would explore, or a world, or a period in history? You don't have to unfold any plots here, but you can if you want. Even if you have no ambition to write books, play along.

For me, this is a fun stress-free brainstorming exercise. I dreamily imagine I'm a hardworking & productive writer, and then I ponder what sorts of books I'll one day write. It's a way of coming at creativity sideways, and it's always fun. But then, I'm a massive daydreamer so it's just my cup of tea. I'm betting you're all massive daydreamers too. So have daydreamy fun!

As a special added challenge for the intrepid: write the first paragraph of your first imaginary book!

When you've written, leave a comment here with the PERMALINK to your post, and we'll link it up. (We're working on getting automatic linking now that there are so many participants - yay! - but for now we're doing the links by hand so make it easy for us by listing your permalink clearly in your comment. Thanks!!!)

1. the bold soul
2. laini
3. carolb
4. ali la loca
5. megg
6. ink on my fingers
7. paris parfait
8. susanlavonne
9. alexia
10. javacurls
11. jennifer (she said)
12. bb
13. jennifer (life's snapshots)
14. patry francis
15. melissa
16. diana
17. in otter space
18. cee
19. cheripop
20. michael
21. catherine
22. lucky candice
23. nutster
24. rebecca
25. kathryn
26. tongue in cheek antiques
27. liz elayne
28. melissa
29. chest of drawers
30. kristy
31. c delia scarpitti
32. maggie
33. hundred and one
34. boliyou
35. susan
36. eeekat
37. a*pril
38. amber
39. brittany
40. brad
41. ian russell
42. melba
43. caroline
44. kate
45. yummyteece
46. nichole
47. marilyn
48. deirdre
49. la yen
50. kerstin
51. ang
52. tinker
53. lunar musings
54. chelle
55. geosomin
56. hobess
57. justjohanna
58. rebekah
59. kristine
60. tara dawn
61. joy eliz
62. m
63. leah k in india
64. mardougrrl
65. john tran
66. little miss flora
67. the scarlet I
68. gk girl
69. lindsey
70. becca
71. verity
72. k
73. yak attack
74. papyrus

Double Wow!

... and I'll write it again - WOW. When Laini and I started Sunday Scribblings we wondered if anyone would be interested. I guess we have our answer now! We had over twenty MORE responses this week again. So many of you have said that you were looking for something, "just like this." Thank-you so much for coming here and responding so well! It's been wonderful to go to your sites. I feel like I am watching a real writer's support group forming! Someday I would love for you to let us know where you found us or how you found us. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are so many writers out there looking for creative inspiration.

Laini's got something great cooking up for next week! Now that we know you are enjoying this, we are going to start pushing you a little more. We are going to start giving you a little more or a little less direction. We're going to keep on inspiring you to write. Thank you again for this week and we'll see you on Sunday!

Sunday Scribblings #6: my shoes

Inspired by one of Laini's posts, this week's Sunday Scribblings prompt is: "My Shoes." You could write about your favorite pair of shoes, or the shoes that have taken you to exciting places. You could write about the pair of shoes that you never get to wear, the shoes you only wore once, or the bronzed baby shoes that sit on your dresser. Whichever shoes you choose to write about, I can't wait to read your Scribblings!

PLEASE READ THIS:
As always, when you have written, please leave a comment with the perma-link to this post (not just to your blog. To give us your perma-link, select the specific post from your sidebar. When it has come up on the page you will be able to just copy the post's url from the navigation window at the top of the page (where the web address is) and then paste that into your comment. See how deirdre and carolb have done it in the comments. Thank you!)

1. the bold soul
2. carolb
3. writinganamcara
4. caroline
5. megg
6. ally bean
7. laini
8. nutster
9. gk girl
10. becca's byline
11. ascender rises above
12. julie (rarely home mom)
13. jennifer (life's snapshots)
14. kay
15. harmony in line
16. shuku
17. paris parfait
18. bb
19. mary jane
20. ian russell
21. angi
22. hundred and one
23. jvs
24. kara
25. granny flo
26. maggie
27. cate
28. smitten
29. alexia
30. journey through life
31. annieelf
32. cee
33. caley
34. mardougrrl
35. melissa
36. kerstin
37. shannon (sentimental)
38. gogo
39. chest of drawers
40. amber
41. tongue in cheek antiques
42. susannah
43. isobel
44. beansprout
45. c. delia
46. melissa
47. eeekat
48. tongue tied muse
49. verity
50. boliyou
51. i heart to blog
52. bella
53. eliza
54. cheripop
55. cat
56. tammy
57. gnomey g
58. brittany
59. ali la loca
60. kate
61. letha
62. tara dawn
63. Sarah
64. soozphotoz
65. tinker
66. javacurls
67. marvelous madness
68. bacontogo
69. kerry
70. tomanyshoe
71. jeffrey yamaguchi
72. marilyn
73. kristine (notes from the laundromat)
74. jennifer (she said)
75. supa_anhanh
76. bohemian girl
77. krista (the silent k)
80. nichole
81. rebecca
82. la vie en rose
83. samantha
84. earth monkey
85. rebekah
86. chelle
87. john tran
88. justjohanna
89. brad
90. liz elayne
91. leah k in india
92. greenish lady
93. joy eliz
94. ann marie simard
95. kim g
96. teresa
97. miss meep
98. right brained gal
99. m
100. geosomin
101. loralee choate
102. meegan
103. alexandra seraphine
104. melba
105. yak attack
106. lindsey
107. la yen
108. vicky knitorious
109. lady bling

Wow!

Wow. I guess that prompt inspired you! We had over twenty more responses this week than the previous weeks, and lots of new names. Welcome to everyone, thanks for sharing your stories, and we hope you'll be back this weekend for the next prompt. And thanks again to Jeffrey Yamaguchi, author of 52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity for the idea!