On Feb. 9, 1971, The San Frernando Earthquake occurred.
Have you ever experienced a traumatic event? Lived through a natural disaster? Write about this happening as though you are re-experiencing it for the very first time. Place your reader there, with all of your senses, thoughts and feelings. Slow-down-the-moment for maximum suspense.
After you have written about this, take stock. What possible outcomes did this have on your life? Remember the positive. How did this tragedy cause you to grow and change. What happened to others around you?
You may choose to take what you’ve written and use it to create a poem, a short story, or some other art work.
In 1926, Trausch Bakery from Dubuque, Iowa, launched the first doughnut making machine.
What is the VERY FIRST thing you think of when you read that sentence? I thought of the scene from the children’s book, Homer Price, by Robert McCloskey. The second thing I thought of was the OTHER Homer, Homer Simpson, whose survival depends on this sugary confection.
Writing exercises to choose from: 1. Write your favorite doughnut memory. Describe it, the circumstances, the actions, your feelings, the characters surrounding it. 2. Write a short story or poem featuring a doughnut or a bakery as an important element. 3. Create a new doughnut recipe! Think of a fabulous new name. Describe it! Create an ad campaign! Give the recipe. What makes your doughnut special?
Happy Birthday Reader’s Digest! Feb. 5, 1922
Reader’s Digest is so well-known, we even use its name in slang. “Give me the Reader’s Digest version,” tells us to shorten the tale into the most meaningful parts rather than ramble on and on.
Do you have a favorite magazine? Or did you have a favorite magazine from years ago that you remember?
Create a magazine of your own. What will be in your table of contents? What will be your theme? Your title? Will you have fiction and nonfiction, games and puzzles? Art and poems? Perhaps your writer’s group or class can create a magazine together and vote on a theme and title.
Or . . . choose a favorite magazine and read it very carefully. Study it like you would a textbook. How do writers write each piece? Who are the readers? Now come up with an idea for an article or story for this magazine. Research your piece and write it, modeling it after the original magazine. Share it with your writing partner or writer’s group. Then try to sell it to the magazine. Write a cover letter pitching your piece to the managing editor. Good luck!