writing excercises – Page 3

Finding her courage

Published on October 26, 2015October 22, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Her smiled wavered and her finger trembled as she pointed.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes.”

One word was all she could manage, anymore might reveal the fear and doubt racing through her mind.

Before he could ask more questions, Casey stretched out on the cot. She closed her eyes and braced herself.

The ink darkened her skin and with this one little defiant act she began life anew. The butterfly freed of its cocoon settled on her hip. Fear lifted from her heart. Her hand no longer trembled. She was free.

Casey walked out into the bright sun a new skip in her step, and felt time roll back to the confident, strong woman she was before Trent. She vowed no one would control or abuse her again.

This was my contribution to Prompt 88 – Ink

Want to join in the fun?

Check out Mum Turned Mom website for this weeks prompt.

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Time to resurrect writing prompts

Published on October 15, 2015October 15, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell13 Comments

Time to get back in the saddle.

Writing prompts help my imagination as well as my writing skills, so time to do a few.

First up is from Julia’s Place

100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups = Week#170 “but she saw”

Resurrection

Faye stopped in mid-stride. It wasn’t possible, but she saw her. She just saw her dead mother in Macy’s. On feet weighted by lead, and legs made of rubber, she retraced her steps. Faye stared at the fall sweaters and leather boots. No one moved among the display. Sun glinted off the glass and there she stood, her mother. Faye gasped, and covered her mouth. She smoothed her skirt and brushed at invisible wrinkles. Her mother matched Faye’s movements. When did this happen? When had she morphed into the old woman reflected in the glass?

Have some fun. Take five and see where 100 words take you.

You’ve made it this far so give me just two more seconds and hit Facebook and Twitter and share.
Thank you!
If you’re not already, I’d be much obliged if you would follow me @jeancogdell on Twitter or jean.cogdell on Facebook!

Do you want to join me and write short burst of creativity?

Published on September 12, 2015June 20, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell10 Comments

Are you up for a challenge?

What can you say in 140 characters?

Not words, but characters. That includes spaces.

Flash Fiction is one of my favorite story forms. The constraints of 100 – 1000 words require me to judge each and every word.

But how about Twitter stories?

Can I paint a vivid picture in 140 characters? Can you? Let’s find out.

There are several hashtags to follow writers who love the quick, down and dirty writing in 140 characters.

#140story
#140
#140tale
#twittertales
#storyin140

And now mine: #JW140

(#JW140 kinda sounds like that oil we spray on squeaky hinges) Now that just gave me an idea. LOL

I’m sure there are more, but this should get us started.

So here is my challenge:

Tweet a tale in 140 characters, use the #JW140 plus any of the others listed above, and then link to your tweet in the comments section. Tweet and retweet!

To find mine, find my story go to Twitter and search for #JW140.

Let’s have some fun. No telling where your story might lead. A new book, maybe? Hmm.

Use a story in progress, or one already written.

Tweet your story once a day, twice a day, or whenever. Doesn’t matter, you are in charge.

But if you need ideas to jump-start your muse, check out Mashable Readers.

Doesn’t matter when you join in, today, tomorrow or next week. No pressure and if you miss a day, pssft! Who cares. This is going to be fun. Start and stop when you want.

How many hours to finish?

Published on August 6, 2015August 5, 2015 by Jean M. Cogdell2 Comments

And I thought National Novel Writing Month – or NaNoWriMo was hard.

This endeavor makes me seem like an all time slacker.

On August 8, 2015 a group of people will write a book.

Want to write a book? You can if you’ve got 75 minutes spare

Not sure what the book will look like, but this article made me think.

What if I could write a chapter in 75 minutes?

Just how long would it take me to finish my manuscript?

Based on the premise of author Chris Farnell, I’d multiply the number of chapters by 75 minutes.

30 chapters X 75 minutes = 2250 min

2250 min = 37.5 hours

Okay, a writer needs time to eat and sleep so we couldn’t write around the clock. Besides, I’d need a back brace and something to get rid of finger cramps.

Based on this theory, writing an average of 4 hours a day, a rough draft could be completed in less than two weeks. So now I’m thinking this November, NaNoWriMo project is not so crazy after all. Except for the holidays putting a kink in those plans.

But, I’m gonna give my writing process some serious thought.

For more information on this project, head over to “NaNoSessionMo”.

What do you think? Tell me in the comments section. Please pass my blog on to your Facebook and Twitter friends.
If you’re not already, I’d be much obliged if you would follow me @jeancogdell on Twitter or jean.cogdell on Facebook!