shopped

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happy sunday, readers & writers! thanks to yesterdays writers (C Johnson, Josh Frank, Theresa Milstein, Amy, krowles1981 and FilmGuy - whose post disappeared into cyberspace forever) for your get well wishes and stories. 

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by the way, my friend josh frank recently lost his job (darn economy!) and is making a go of social media consulting and web design full time. so if you're in the market for a new website or graphic design for print or web, head on over to his site, Black Frame Media, for a visit. josh is also a great photographer. you'll soon see one of his photos here on a photog friday!

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today's photo prompt is going to prompt us to practice shopping for words. 

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in a keynote address, author barbara brown taylor (whom i was thrilled to hear in person) spoke about choosing words as carefully as if she were shopping for something important. like shopping for the perfect gift to share with a friend, just the right color of paint for your house, or the best ingredients to make up a holiday meal -- taking your time to shop around for just the right word is a worthy investment.  i love the idea of word choice as discernment...  searching for that word might nudge a sentence, paragraph, or poem into place. 

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i snapped this photo at a tile store recently while a friend struggled with the decision of what colors to use in her upcoming bathroom redesign. think about how much time we spend deciding what color to paint our walls or what shoes we're going to buy - and let's give it a whirl with writing: 

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1) visit the following website (www.thesaurus.com). 

2) look up a word and read all of the synonyms listed for it. 

3) then write the same sentence or paragraph three or four different times, each time using a different synonym for the word you chose. 

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you can write something fresh for today, or take the opportunity to go back to a work in progress. if you want to you can put a star by the one you think works the best.  here's what i mean:

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From a short story I'm working on:

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word: few (pronoun)

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A few stars toiled through the pollution of the capitol city

and a breeze cooled her face, bringing with it the scent of cherry blossoms.

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A scattering of stars toiled through the pollution of the capitol city

and a breeze cooled her face, carrying on it the scent of cherry blossoms.

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A smattering of stars toiled through the pollution of the capitol city

and a breeze cooled her face, carrying on it the scent of cherry blossoms.* 

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A sprinkling of stars toiled through the pollution of the capitol city

and a breeze cooled her face, delivering the scent of cherry blossoms. 

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it's been fun shopping with you! click on comments to share what word gems you discover on your shopping expedition.  come write with me!
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defined

welcome readers & writers. happy sunday!

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on sundays i usually share an excerpt from my novel. today i'd like to branch out (no pun intended!) and share more about one of my main characters. i've chosen this photo, which i took in a nearby park, because it's a great reminder that every character, fictional or not, is defined by straightforward or commonplace traits as well as the quirks and flaws that make him or her unique. 

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writers, i'd love for you to participate too! this is an exercise i've done to get to know the characters in my book better. choose a character (of your own design or a character from a favorite book) and imagine the character's answers to these questions. share them by clicking on comments below.

name of character: Keiko Ikura

occupation: au pair for the Hoffman family, unwilling & uncooperative spy for Hoffmans

three things the character would carry in a purse/wallet: a photo of herself and her sister at her sister's recent wedding, a shinto amulet for safe travel, travel sized burt's bees milk and honey lotion - her favorite new american toiletry.

favorite food: Japanese - homemade sushi; American - french fries

favorite type of music: American country music

typical dress/outfit: jeans, wraparound top decorated with delicate embroidered flowers 

nervous tic/mannerism: quirking her eyebrows together when confused or concerned

special skills/hobbies: batique (an art using fabric and dye), calligraphy, cooking

secret desire/wish: to find American friends who, despite the language barrier, will want to get to know her for who she is.

character flaw: can be very stubborn, sometimes inflexible. sometimes uses American hand gestures she doesn't fully understand. 

what your character is afraid of: being fired from her job and having to go back to Japan before getting to see more of the world.

come write with me!