Welcome to Wild Mind Monday! This is a virtual writing group in which we are going to be working our way through Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind. The link each writing assignment will be posted here the first Monday of each month and will remain up for the duration of the month. If you are interested in joining in, leave a comment with your email address and I will send you this month's assignment. I also ask that you go to each linked blog and make comments on each other's work. When critiquing and making comments, please remember there is a person on the other side of the computer and we need to be kind and respectful while helping each other develop our writing skills. So let's have fun!
This week we were prompted to play with the idea of returning home. Either return physically or mentally. We were asked to write about home in detail and try not to become sentimental. If need be, we were encouraged to write from a different perspective such as a pet, parent or friend.
"Let me see. Where to start. I would like to start with the concept of home. What is home? How do you know that you have found it?
The majority of the population has a clear cut understanding of home. But I am different. Home is usually where your family resides and where you grew up. Well...most of my family lives in a town I've never been to and in a house I've never seen.
The one place that I return to in my mind as home is my grandmother's house in Oklahoma.
I can talk about the many road trips we took to go 'home' in my childhood.
We would usually arrive in the wee hours of the morning. We would stumble out of the van or the car groggily. Since it was summer in Oklahoma it was hot and humid even in the dead of night. We wouldn't be wearing any shoes.
We would walk up the few stairs onto the porch. A blue glow would be shining on us from the bug zapper as the sound of mosquitoes being zapped filled the air.
The front door was always open but the screen door was locked. My grandma would be sleeping on the couch. A crisp white sheet would cover her makeshift bed.
Through the front door, looking to the left was a squat bookshelf. I believe it was under a window. Next to the book shelf was a tree-like plant. In the corner a little further from the plant was a desk. I'm sure there was a chair at the desk but I don't remember what it looked like.
Next to the desk was the old school television complete with knobs. I do believe it had a remote control to it though. On top of the television I remember there being the shell shaped ash tray that housed my grandpa's pipe and tobacco.
Next to the television was a chair. It was true upholstery. Almost like a tweed fabric. Plain. Boxy. Wooden legs.
Across from the television was the couch. In front of the couch was the coffee table. There was almost always a glass dish of candy on that table. Either lemon drops or jelly beans.
Next to the couch was an end table then my grandpa's leather recliner. He almost always had his jelly beans on the table next to the recliner. Black were his favorite.
A small open area separated the living room from the formal dining room. To the right of the open area was the kitchen; to the left, the hallway with the three bedrooms and the one bathroom.
The open area had a black grate in the floor. It had to have been about 2 1/2 to 3 feet long and 1 1/2 to 2 feet wide. It was rectangular in shape and when the heat was on it would get hot. A gate had to be put around it to prevent little feet from getting burned on that vent.
In the dining room was the formal dining table along the left wall. It was never used but for holidays and remained pushed against the wall. Straight back was a window and an air conditioning unit. On the right wall was a wall unit or curio cabinet.
Walking through the door to the right of the open area was the kitchen. A phone hung on the wall to the left of the doorway. The kitchen table was there to the left, the refrigerator to the right. It was a normal kitchen; fridge and oven along the right wall. Sink and counters/cabinets on the back wall with a window above the sink. There was a door leading outside in the back left corner of that back wall. Along the left wall was a window, a metal rack and a wooden box that housed potatoes.
Back out to the open area and across to the hallway. Enter the hallway, my mother's bedroom to the left. That bedroom was pink and white and never changed. I don't remember a lot of detail about it. The pink and white quilt that was on the white bed. The octopus yarn doll that sat on the bed. Small deer figurines that adorned the bookshelf like headboard. In this room there was also a ceramic washing basin and pitcher. I remember loving that.
Walk out of that room and the guest room was along the left wall. Dark cherry wood furniture with a green comforter. All my grandma's clothes and nice church dresses hung in that closet. The bed was so tall we had to climb up onto it.
Further down the hallway on the right side was the bathroom. Tub to the left with a small window high up on the wall. Rag doll tissue box covers. That's about all I can remember about that room.
Finally, at the end of the hall was my grandpa's bedroom. There was a small bed that the holiday pies used to hide underneath. A small television was in this room and it had an air conditioning unit.
Oh. There was also a built in bookshelf in the hallway on the right wall when you entered the hallway and turned right.
The bedroom windows were all on the left side of the house. There was a fence around the yard and tons of weeds and tall grass on that side. The windows were left open at night and the bugs would chirp and sing their nightly songs.
There was a doghouse in the back yard, a shed and a clothes line. My grandma's huge garden was fenced off from the rest of the yard. There was a coffee can buried into the ground right inside the garden gate where they dumped coffee grounds, egg shells and fruit peels. In the garden were vegetables and fruit trees.
And that's about as much detail as I can remember about that place. There have been so many houses and states over the years. That was my one constant."
Thanks for reading my writing prompt for this week. I look forward to getting comments from you all and I hope to read all about your homes soon!
Showing posts with label wild mind monday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wild mind monday. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Wild Mind Monday #1
Welcome to Wild Mind Monday! This is a virtual writing group in which we are going to be working our way through Natalie Goldberg's Wild Mind. The link each writing assignment will be posted here the first Monday of each month and will remain up for the duration of the month. If you are interested in joining in, leave a comment with your email address and I will send you this month's assignment. I also ask that you go to each linked blog and make comments on each other's work. When critiquing and making comments, please remember there is a person on the other side of the computer and we need to be kind and respectful while helping each other develop our writing skills. So let's have fun!
This week we are supposed to write for 10 minutes using the prompt "I remember." Walk around for a few minutes without talking then sit back down and write for another 10 minutes using the prompt "I don't remember." Here's mine:
"I remember when things were easier. I remember that life didn't just take over. I remember happiness and playing and just having fun. I remember. I remember. I remember summers at my grandma's house. I remember my older sister. I remember seeing pictures of us just being kids. I remember one picture where we are on my grandma's front porch and we are laughing our butts off because one of us, I think it was me, was barely flipping off the camera. I remember the field across the street with the huge ditch. I remember it was so hot and humid that you could barely stand to be outside. I remember laying in front of the air conditioner in the dining room next to the long formal table that was never used...unless it was a holiday of course. I remember Thanksgiving. I remember all the kids would go into my mom's old room and watch television or play the Nintendo. I remember my mom's room. I remember it was pink. I remember the bedspread was a pink and white quilt that my grandma made. I remember the middle room had this dark furniture in it that was really tall and the room was green. I remember the garage. I remember the garage was always clean. I remember the red rubber ball that hung by a string from the ceiling. I remember my grandma and grandpa always gingerly driving the car into the garage until the red ball touched the windshield of the car. I remember my grandpa's tools. I remember that each tool had its place and that the peg board the tools hung on had each tool outlined in masking tape. That way there could be no confusion as to which tool went where. I remember their dog. I think her name was Susie but I'm not sure. I remember one summer my grandpas introduced me to a little girl. I remember he told me he had met her when she was walking her dog past their yard. I remember we played that summer until she had to go visit her own family. I remember sitting on the steep hill on the side of my grandparent's yard. I remember the hill was on the outside of the fence and it was fun to roll down. I remember sitting on that hill wearing my black Debbie Gibson shirt with the lime green plastic shirt tie thing. I remember those used to be so awesome. I remember we would always buy our t-shirts a size or two too big so we could tie them off to the side with those plastic circles with the line in the middle. I remember the hair wave. I remember trying so hard to get my hair as high as possible. I remember a school picture I took one year. I remember I had a piece of gum in my mouth. I remember thinking that if I just pushed the gum to the side of my mouth no one would notice it and it wouldn't mess up the picture. I remember getting the pictures back and wishing I had spit out the gum. I remember my cheek looked pretty lumpy because of the gum. I remember hating almost every school picture and wishing I didn't have to do them. I remember. I remember. I remember high school. I remember getting someone else to do my homework sometimes. I remember. I remember being with psycho boy."
............................................................................
"I don't remember. I don't remember much of my childhood. I don't remember feeling loved. I don't remember what it was to live in my house. I don't remember much. I don't remember. I don't remember. How can you write about what you don't remember? I don't remember a lot of what I read and I think it's annoying. I don't remember people's names. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember last year sometimes. I actually sometimes find myself thinking about last year and realizing I was alone the entire year. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember the guy's name in high school that I kissed. I wish I did. But I don't. I don't remember how we started talking. Maybe it was gym? I don't remember why I felt the need to stay with psycho boy after he found out about that kiss and went and jumped the guy. I don't remember. I don't remember. Wow this one is hard. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember most of my friend's names over the years. I don't remember all of the childhood boyfriends I had. I don't remember some of my best friend's names. The only reason I remember the name of my first kiss is because he had the same name as psycho boy. I don't remember seeing the truth of all the crazy stories I hear about my father. I don't remember ever feeling loved. My father recently gave me a scrapbook with a bunch of letters and drawing I had done for him when I was little. I was shocked because I absolutely do NOT remember writing or drawing them. I've always said I don't remember anything (except my grandma's house) up until around the age of twelve or so...but that scrapbook blew me away. Seeing my handwriting and reading those letters and knowing how much I really don't remember scared the crap out of me. I don't know why. I've always thought it was no big deal that I don't remember. But that brought it home. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember how my sisters and I used to be. I don't remember my younger sister as a baby. My mom says I used to want everything my older sister had. Even if it was the exact same toy I would always want hers...I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember where the time goes. I don't remember details of a lot of things. Often, when I would leave a classroom, I didn't remember what the professor had said. I don't remember half of the things I learned while earning my bachelor's degree. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember what happened to The Hubble's car registration. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. Man this sucks. I don't remember. I don't remember. I may have to write this sentence for another full minute. I don't remember. I don't remember all the friends I had in high school. I honestly figure they don't remember me either. I don't remember. I don't remember. Boo! I don't remember. I don't remember."
This week we are supposed to write for 10 minutes using the prompt "I remember." Walk around for a few minutes without talking then sit back down and write for another 10 minutes using the prompt "I don't remember." Here's mine:
"I remember when things were easier. I remember that life didn't just take over. I remember happiness and playing and just having fun. I remember. I remember. I remember summers at my grandma's house. I remember my older sister. I remember seeing pictures of us just being kids. I remember one picture where we are on my grandma's front porch and we are laughing our butts off because one of us, I think it was me, was barely flipping off the camera. I remember the field across the street with the huge ditch. I remember it was so hot and humid that you could barely stand to be outside. I remember laying in front of the air conditioner in the dining room next to the long formal table that was never used...unless it was a holiday of course. I remember Thanksgiving. I remember all the kids would go into my mom's old room and watch television or play the Nintendo. I remember my mom's room. I remember it was pink. I remember the bedspread was a pink and white quilt that my grandma made. I remember the middle room had this dark furniture in it that was really tall and the room was green. I remember the garage. I remember the garage was always clean. I remember the red rubber ball that hung by a string from the ceiling. I remember my grandma and grandpa always gingerly driving the car into the garage until the red ball touched the windshield of the car. I remember my grandpa's tools. I remember that each tool had its place and that the peg board the tools hung on had each tool outlined in masking tape. That way there could be no confusion as to which tool went where. I remember their dog. I think her name was Susie but I'm not sure. I remember one summer my grandpas introduced me to a little girl. I remember he told me he had met her when she was walking her dog past their yard. I remember we played that summer until she had to go visit her own family. I remember sitting on the steep hill on the side of my grandparent's yard. I remember the hill was on the outside of the fence and it was fun to roll down. I remember sitting on that hill wearing my black Debbie Gibson shirt with the lime green plastic shirt tie thing. I remember those used to be so awesome. I remember we would always buy our t-shirts a size or two too big so we could tie them off to the side with those plastic circles with the line in the middle. I remember the hair wave. I remember trying so hard to get my hair as high as possible. I remember a school picture I took one year. I remember I had a piece of gum in my mouth. I remember thinking that if I just pushed the gum to the side of my mouth no one would notice it and it wouldn't mess up the picture. I remember getting the pictures back and wishing I had spit out the gum. I remember my cheek looked pretty lumpy because of the gum. I remember hating almost every school picture and wishing I didn't have to do them. I remember. I remember. I remember high school. I remember getting someone else to do my homework sometimes. I remember. I remember being with psycho boy."
............................................................................
"I don't remember. I don't remember much of my childhood. I don't remember feeling loved. I don't remember what it was to live in my house. I don't remember much. I don't remember. I don't remember. How can you write about what you don't remember? I don't remember a lot of what I read and I think it's annoying. I don't remember people's names. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember last year sometimes. I actually sometimes find myself thinking about last year and realizing I was alone the entire year. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember the guy's name in high school that I kissed. I wish I did. But I don't. I don't remember how we started talking. Maybe it was gym? I don't remember why I felt the need to stay with psycho boy after he found out about that kiss and went and jumped the guy. I don't remember. I don't remember. Wow this one is hard. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember most of my friend's names over the years. I don't remember all of the childhood boyfriends I had. I don't remember some of my best friend's names. The only reason I remember the name of my first kiss is because he had the same name as psycho boy. I don't remember seeing the truth of all the crazy stories I hear about my father. I don't remember ever feeling loved. My father recently gave me a scrapbook with a bunch of letters and drawing I had done for him when I was little. I was shocked because I absolutely do NOT remember writing or drawing them. I've always said I don't remember anything (except my grandma's house) up until around the age of twelve or so...but that scrapbook blew me away. Seeing my handwriting and reading those letters and knowing how much I really don't remember scared the crap out of me. I don't know why. I've always thought it was no big deal that I don't remember. But that brought it home. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember how my sisters and I used to be. I don't remember my younger sister as a baby. My mom says I used to want everything my older sister had. Even if it was the exact same toy I would always want hers...I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember where the time goes. I don't remember details of a lot of things. Often, when I would leave a classroom, I didn't remember what the professor had said. I don't remember half of the things I learned while earning my bachelor's degree. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember what happened to The Hubble's car registration. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. I don't remember. Man this sucks. I don't remember. I don't remember. I may have to write this sentence for another full minute. I don't remember. I don't remember all the friends I had in high school. I honestly figure they don't remember me either. I don't remember. I don't remember. Boo! I don't remember. I don't remember."
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A Question for You
I have a question for you. Yes you. My dear reader.
Let me start off by saying that I am the type of person who has many varied interests. I enjoy drawing, knitting and scrapbooking. I've been interested in photography lately. I also love to cook and bake.
I enjoy learning and developing new skills. Whether they be creative, academic or any other. If it's new, I like to learn more about it. I just love to learn.
About a year ago I decided that I wanted to hone my writing skills. I bought a book called Wild Mind on the recommendation from a friend. This book has many writing prompts and ideas scattered throughout the book for the reader/writer to try out.
One of the suggestions in the book is to have a writing group where you each exchange your work and critique one another's writing.
So...I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing this through our blogs. We could call it Wild Mind Mondays. I was thinking we could do one writing exercise from the book each month, maybe on the first Monday of the month. I could set up a Mr. Linky so we could all link up and go read and critique each other's writing. Almost like exchanging papers but virtually.
The only thing is that either everyone would have to purchase a copy of the book or I could set up an email list to send out the writing exercise of the month.
Does this make sense? Is anyone interested in this type of writing group? Let me know what you all think.
Also! Please don't forget to post your Wordless Wednesday: The Boots Edition tomorrow and link it up here! I can't wait to see all of your pictures! If you missed the announcement about this you can find it HERE.
Let me start off by saying that I am the type of person who has many varied interests. I enjoy drawing, knitting and scrapbooking. I've been interested in photography lately. I also love to cook and bake.
I enjoy learning and developing new skills. Whether they be creative, academic or any other. If it's new, I like to learn more about it. I just love to learn.
About a year ago I decided that I wanted to hone my writing skills. I bought a book called Wild Mind on the recommendation from a friend. This book has many writing prompts and ideas scattered throughout the book for the reader/writer to try out.
One of the suggestions in the book is to have a writing group where you each exchange your work and critique one another's writing.
So...I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing this through our blogs. We could call it Wild Mind Mondays. I was thinking we could do one writing exercise from the book each month, maybe on the first Monday of the month. I could set up a Mr. Linky so we could all link up and go read and critique each other's writing. Almost like exchanging papers but virtually.
The only thing is that either everyone would have to purchase a copy of the book or I could set up an email list to send out the writing exercise of the month.
Does this make sense? Is anyone interested in this type of writing group? Let me know what you all think.
Also! Please don't forget to post your Wordless Wednesday: The Boots Edition tomorrow and link it up here! I can't wait to see all of your pictures! If you missed the announcement about this you can find it HERE.
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