They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it is up to the author to write those thousand words. (Richard Petracca) Will you be the one to write those thousand words? When you look at a picture, do you only see what is right in front of your eyes? Or do you see…
Have you ever walked around in Alabama with an ice cream cone in your back pocket? I hope you’ve not put salt on a railroad track while there either. When you were flying over Alaska, were you caught staring at a moose out of your plane window? Would you be brave enough—or stupid enough—to wake…
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but it is up to the author to write those thousand words. (Richard Petracca) Will you be the one to write those thousand words? When you look at a picture, do you only see what is right in front of your eyes? Or do you see…
How mysterious and scary is your monster? If your monster were to come to life and get lost in your town, would people’s hair stand on end when they saw it? Would they stop whatever they were doing and run from it? Would it cause them to fear for their lives? How do you make…
How much pain would you be willing to endure to be thought of as beautiful? To what lengths would you be willing to go to ensure that you were thought of as sexy? How much trauma would you be willing to put your feet and your body through? For me, wearing high heels isn’t safe…
Snow is beautiful when it first falls. When its pristine whiteness covers everything, it creates a gorgeous winter wonderland. Unfortunately, it has to melt, and when it does, the beautiful winter wonderland turns into a dirty mess that is not pleasing to look at. Sposh, soft slushy mud or snow, is one of the words…
Like any writer of horror, I have a desire to create a monster that will have people trembling in their seats. I have been researching how to do that. Thinking up a monster should be easy, right? Well, in a way it is, but if the readers don’t think your monster is believable, you will…
What does the sparkly glitter that covers a lot of Christmas cards and various arts-and-crafts projects have in common with kudzu, an invasive ornamental plant? We can thank Henry Ruschmann, a New Jersey cattle rancher, for the invention of glitter in 1934. When not working his ranch, he dabbled as a machinist and discovered a…
There is a word for every condition under the sun. What word describes the inability to feel pleasure? How much do you love books? Are you a bibliophile, bibliomaniac, or a biblioholic? Do you have bibliomania? Have you ever had the desire to eat grass like an ox? Have you ever gone temporarily insane? Been…
What words do you use to describe your character’s habits or traits? Does your character enjoy good food, drink, and other luxuries? Or maybe your character is a mean, sneaking coward. Even though your character is an adult, does he act like a spoiled brat? A bon viveur is a person who lives high and…
