Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Martin Wyall on Unsplash.

A person at the edge of a cliff prepared to base jump with a white parachute that says IMPOSSIBLE in big black letters with a white line through the middle.

Monday Muddle: metal, medal

Monday Muddle: metal: (n) a solid chemical element, such as gold, silver, or iron, or a combination of such elements, that conducts heat and electricity (adj) made of metal medal: (n) an award, often made of metal, that can be attached to clothing with a pin or hung about the neck with a ribbon; an award commonly given for athletic accomplishment or military honour (v) to win a medal

A metal detector works by creating an electromagnetic field that causes a reaction in metal objects. That reaction sends a signal to the metal detector that usually turns into some kind of beep so that you know metal has been found. I don’t know what a medal detector is, or what it does, but my guess is that it’s some kind of journalist looking for a story about an athletic event.

Tuesday Two

Write a story with only two sentences. Use the photo for inspiration if you wish.

Photo by Jorge Salazar on Unsplash.

Tall, light brown, multi-level buildings crowded together in New York.

Monday Muddle: lapse, laps

laps: (n. plural of lap) the horizontal area created by your thighs when you sit down; the circuit of a track; movement around a track (v. to lap) to move more quickly around a track than someone else so that you are a lap or more ahead of them

Lapse is a singular noun. The plural is lapses. A lapse of time is a length of time, usually used to indicate the amount of time that something happened differently than before, or the space of time between two events. The adjective “time-lapse” is used to describe a video or a series of still photographs in which some of the sequence is removed. This allows a slow process to be viewed more quickly. To time laps is to record how long it takes to move around the track. 

Wednesday Writing

What brings you joy as a writer?

One of the things that brings me joy is supporting other writers. The whole purpose of what I post on Mondays is to help writers to write more clearly. One of the other things I like to do is read advance copies of books to either give feedback or to be able to help promote books during launch week. This is launch week for Sarah Ray Schwarcz and her middle grade novel, “Game over, ShrinkWithers”.

“Game Over, ShrinkWithers” sounds like it might be just about a game, except that the future of the Earth is at stake. Jenny and Branch and their parents have to work together to solve dilemmas and get themselves out of precarious situations. If they lose, the Earth will lose too. But it isn’t easy, because as Terrence will tell you, “We don’t know everything about everything.” The book is packed with action and suspense, and the brilliant imagination of Sarah Ray Schwarcz. Your middle grade readers are sure to love it, but if you don’t have any of those, don’t let that stop you from enjoying it too.

The cover of a middle grade novel, "Game Over, ShrinkWithers", by Sarah Ray Schwarcz. The cover shows two children standing hand in hand on a grassy hillside overlooking hills and valleys filled with evergreen trees.