All In One Box

For this week’s writing challenge, shake the dust off something — a clothing item, a post draft, a toy — you haven’t touched in ages, but can’t bring yourself to throw away.

I can usually let go of old things, such as a worn-out cardigan, a tattered pair of flats, or an outdated dress. It’s also easy for me to dispose of objects that makes my space cluttered, such as furniture. However, if there’s one thing I can’t let go of, it’s my box of old letters dating back from my high school days.

 

That old cardboard box are full of letters from my friends giving me advice on boys, clothes, and dealing with the meanies. Not only that, some of them were replies to me whenever they’re the ones who run to me for advice. I’m glad to have lived my high school life in a time wherein there’s no social media sites. Instead of poking each other’s walls and chatting on Facebook or Gmail, we would exchange letters, doing the old fashioned way of secretly passing notes in class or during lunch break.

 

Whenever I want to reminisce, I’ll just take out that box and read through those old letters. It’s fun to see how far I’ve come. And I would end up laughing at our awkwardness and high school drama.

 

Nope, I won’t be blogging about those letters, because it’s a personal part of me, something I’d like to keep for myself.

 

 

Pingback: http://maggieliuu.wordpress.com/2014/07/07/nostalgia/

Wrong Turns

When was the last time you got lost? Was it an enjoyable experience, or a stressful one? Tell us all about it.

 

From: http://thesmilecollective.com.au/

 

Getting lost is something that I can deal with pretty easily. That’s because it rarely happens to me, as I have a knack for remembering landmarks from the places I’ve been to and new places I would visit. If ever I get lost in a new place, I would ask around for directions so I can return again to where I’ve been. If time permits me, I would explore the new place I got lost in.

 

One time, I got lost during a vacation in a scenic small town. I had to find a way to get back to my bed and breakfast hotel. I was about to ask a person for my route, when I looked around and realized that I was the midst of this street filled with thrift shops, a small bookshop, and a coffee shop down the road.

 

I did some exploring, went inside the thrift shop, and lost myself in the bookshop poring through the books. I ended up buying a novel I’ve always wanted to read for half the price. Then I went to the coffee shop, ordered coffee and cake, and spent a quiet time reading and thinking.

 

That was the best “me time” I ever had. Luckily, I did made it back to my hotel.

 

 

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“Sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.”

The Daily Post

“If you want to write, if you want to create, you must be the most sublime fool that God ever turned out and sent rambling. You must write every single day of your life. You must read dreadful dumb books and glorious books, and let them wrestle in beautiful fights inside your head, vulgar one moment, brilliant the next. You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads.

I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon you. May you live with hysteria, and out of it make fine stories — science fiction or otherwise. Which finally means, may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days. And out of that love, remake a world.”

– Ray…

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Scents of Summer

S’mores, salty ocean breezes, veggie burgers on the grill, sweaty people on the bus — what’s the smell you associate the most with summer? (prompt)

 

 

 

For some weird reason, I enjoy sniffing things. No, not when you sniff a joint, but rather, enjoying how things smell like, ranging from the sweet scent of strawberry muffins being baked in the oven, to that musty book smell I enjoy whenever I would browse through the pages of an old novel. It seems as if my sense of smell is heightened, like it’s my secret talent; the ability to smell clearly.

When it comes to summer, I think of the following scents: the salty sea breeze as I walk along the seashore, the scent of barbecues roasting on a 4th of July night, and that smoky scent of sparklers when it’s done with its amazing lights display.

Summer means the scent of sweat after a long day playing outside. It is also the dusty scent of the attic when you do the annual spring-cleaning, the kind of scent you really don’t want to inhale because it will make you cough.

Summer means being able to use your favorite body lotion of vanilla infused with sugar. I liked the fact that it stays with me 3 hours later, to the point that the sweat on my arms reeked of sugary vanilla essence.

These are the scents of summer to me.

 

 

Pingback: http://tuckedintoacorner.wordpress.com/2014/06/25/summer-in-the-city/

 

Do I Want To Be A Celebrity?

If you could be a famous person for a day, who would you be? Why?

 

 

I grew up in a household that doesn’t really think of celebrities as demigods. Which is good, I think. If you were to see my room as a teenager, there wouldn’t be any boy band posters. Well, I did wrote before about looking up to Wonder Woman, but not to the point that my bedroom wall was filled with her posters.

 

Later on, I did became a fan. but of people who only existed in books, TV shows, and movies. Princess Leia, Wonder Woman, Hermione Granger–they’re power females I look up to, sometimes almost obsessed. But no, I wouldn’t trade my life for theirs’.

 

It’s the same thought I have with real-life famous people. We all have problems, even the rich and famous. Most especially the rich and famous. No one’s spared from challenges in life, and so, it’s a matter of perspective and looking at the things you do have that makes you blessed, even if you don’t drive flashy cars or own the latest handbag.

 

Well, I do admire some celebrities now, because of their looks, talent, and personality. But that’s all there is. Still, I wouldn’t want to live their life.

 

But I do want a selfie with some of them. Preferably with Tom Hardy. He looks friendly with his fans, and I’ve seen good stories about him. ❤

 

Proof:

TH Selfie 1

TH Selfie 2

 

P.S. That girl with him was lucky!

 

Pingback: http://underthemonkeytree.com/2014/06/18/not-applicable/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rare Medium (Writing Prompt)

Describe a typical day in your life — but do it in a form or in a medium you’ve rarely — if ever – used before. If you’re a photoblogger, write a poem. If you’re a poet, write an open letter. If you’re a travel blogger, write a rant. (These are all examples — choose whatever form you feel like trying out!)

 

Okay, so let me write a haiku. I write lengthy posts quite often, so let me write my day in short.

 

Then Repeat

 

 

I wake up, eat, write,

Think, eat, walk around, and think,

Then sleep, and dream on.

 

 

Pingback:http://allthingscuteandbeautiful.wordpress.com/2014/06/17/daily-prompt-being-ranty/

 

 

Exhaustion

(I came upon this poem, and I can totally relate to it.)

 

 

From: http://atechnologyjobisnoexcuse.com/2013/04/exhaustion/

I’m glad I took my school essays seriously…

Seen on http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/lmmob/email_from_my_poli_sci_teacher_the_miniskirt_rule/

 

 

I remembered reading this writing rule back in high school: “Think of a mini skirt the next time you write your essays. Your writing must be long enough to cover the bases but short enough to keep it interesting.”

 

Honestly, writing essays isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. It’s no joke to write essays back when the Internet is still in its baby stages. You really have to go to the library and pore through all those books just to find good resources. Another thing, manual research work will take you a long time, usually about two to three weeks. You have to keep up at it if you don’t want to miss the deadline.

 

Kids today are so lucky with having the Internet and everything at their disposal.

 

But I also think that this is teaching them to be lazy with their schoolwork. Yet, it’s all a matter of discipline and adapting to whatever is available at the moment.

 

Writing isn’t about copy-pasting or browsing through Wikipedia just to get answers for your papers.

 

Essay writing in school teaches you to think deeply about the subject, to find the answers to your questions, and present it all on paper based on how you understand concepts and ideas.

 

Take it seriously, because this can help you long after you graduate from school. You won’t be writing all the time, but this can sharpen your wit and help you learn to analyze things. Most of all, you learn self expression in a formal manner.

 

What Makes Good Stories?

Lately, I’m thinking about the online stories I’ve chanced upon. They’re mostly written by young people ranging in their teens to college years. What I noticed is that some of them only write to keep up with the trend in online stories. But there are some who write really well, even if they’re not professionals.

I’m not much of a writer. But based from the books I’ve read, good stories always have the following:

 

 

1. Characters that come alive with every turn of the page.

Good fictional characters must not only be attractive and seem to have everything going on for them. Nor do they have to be lumped on with all the tragedies of the world. Readers always get ticked off with extremes, so your characters must be experiencing enough trials for them to make them grow and realize something. That realization will be answered after you finished reading the story.

2. Captivating plot and twists

The plot must be crucial in the story. It should be the foundation of the main idea that the story wishes to present. It should keep readers hooked on finishing the story.

3. Showing and not just telling

Descriptive writing may not be easy to pull off, but it’s a skill worth developing. Instead of saying how happy the character is, show the reason for their happiness and find the right words for it. Instead of describing a beautiful villa by the lake, tell about the climate, the surroundings, the colors, and the structure of the villa by the lake.

See what I mean? You describe as if you’re really there in the place.

4. Tying all the loose ends together

You’ll know when a story hits it well when it answers all the questions you have in mind as you read it. Plus, everything comes to a definite resolution.

Sometimes, I also like open endings, the type wherein you give your own interpretation as to how the story ended. But it should be done subtly, making sure that it’s pulled off perfectly.

5. Proper formatting

I usually notice that most Internet writers just hit off the keyboard without giving attention to capitalizing first letters of sentences and proper nouns, misuse of punctuation marks, and paragraph formatting that is an eyesore. Not that I’m a Grammar Nazi, but it’s a must that when you type for online consumption, whether it be for a blog or online series, you must do so in proper formatting. It’s what we learned in our writing and literary classes in school. Good formatting is always pleasant to the eyes.

Even if you’re in a hurry typing, still, please make your writing readable and well formatted.

These are just my two cents worth on how to write your own stories even if you’re not a pro writer. Hope you can add some to the discussion if you can.