open invitation no. 42: writing space

Take space for writing.

Where do you take space for writing?

It can be literal…where do you write? At the kitchen table? On your couch? Out back when the sun is rising in the sky?

It can be figurative. What kind of mind space do you create so you can write? Deep breaths? Angry outbursts? Joy?

It can be topical. What kinds of topics take space in your writing? For me it tends to be: faith, adoption, writing, teaching.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve written, take some space to make it happen. We miss you…and your stories.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 41: fancy

Be a little fancy.

“Everybody wants to be someone fancy. Even if they’re just shy.”
—Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

If you’re looking for a writing topic, consider something fancy. Fancy, I am sure, conjures different ideas for all of us.

If you already know your topic and you’re looking for a way to write it, be fancy. Try fancy words. Try fancy paragraph breaks. Try a fancy genre.

If you’re having trouble getting in the writing mood, break out something fancy. Maybe you have a fancy hat, a fancy ring, a fancy tea cup, or fancy cheese. All of these things have the potential to make you feel writerly.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 41: breaks

Maybe it’s time to make a break.

One of my favorite craft moves is paragraphing. No joke. I like the way a simple break changes the sound and, sometimes, the meaning.

Naturally, I am also quite fond of line breaks in poetry
and in prose.

After you write, take time to reread and consider the paragraph breaks
and the line breaks
that could be arranged differently. Writers call this revising. Revising literally means to look again. Look again at the breaks in your writing.

To note, I think this is exceptional advice for all aspects of life. Look again and consider when or where you need a break.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 40: write

It’s okay if you don’t know what to think.

Sometimes writers don’t know what they think. Sometimes writers don’t know what to feel. There are lots of emotions and lots of confusing things that happen in the world. This is a reminder that it’s okay to write, even when you don’t know what to think.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 39: word

Write off of a word.

It is popular to select One Little Word in lieu of a resolution. Maybe you kept a word close during 2020. Maybe you didn’t. Perhaps you are thinking of One Little Word for 2021. Perhaps you aren’t.

The prompt today, if you are looking for inspiration, is to select a word and write about it. See where it leads you. As we know, because we are writers, words are magical.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 38: rituals

Rituals are comforting

“There is a comfort in rituals, and rituals provide a framework for stability when you are trying to find answers.” —Deborah Norville

Rituals are comforting. Every morning, since I was a little girl, I’ve opened my eyes and think, “It’s going to be a good day.” It’s a ritual that starts my day.

This year I decided I was going to drink the best cup of coffee or tea every day. It’s a ritual I love. I take a sip from my mug of steaming liquid and I think, “That is the best drink I’ve ever had.”

Some mornings I forgo the cup of warmth and have ice water instead. I think, “That is the crispest water I’ve ever tasted.”

It’s a ritual I relish—beginning every day with the best drink I’ve ever had.

What about you? What rituals in your life are comforting?

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 37: routines

Open your blog. Write.

The day is made up of routines. Whether intentional or not, each day has a rhythm and those rhythms are built through routines. I’ve come to believe that cues are the best ways to set routines in motion. A cue is a signal for something to happen.

I read scripture and write every morning. It’s because I have a cue of drinking the best cup of coffee to begin the day. I pour coffee. I open my bible. I write in my notebook.

I go for a walk each day because I have a cue of dropping the boys off at school. I pull out of the parking lot and drive to the park. I open the door for Luna and she waits while I pull on my hat and gloves. Then we walk.

I cook dinner most nights because I have a cue of shutting down my computer and turning on music. The music plays and I chop or sauté or mix.

If we want to be people who write and share our stories, then we must attune to a cue. Perhaps it is this invitation. Let it be your cue. Open your blog and write.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 36: dessert

Keep a cookie in your purse.

When I was in college, Nancy the librarian who worked with my mom and fed me books my entire life, sent me a card and a cookie. The card read, “When life is hard and getting worse, keep a cookie in your purse.”

It was a little jingle that has stayed with me for decades. Though simple, it is lovely life advice. Sometimes I drop a cookie in my purse, just as a reminder that even when life is heavy, I can still be lighthearted.

If you’re looking for a writing topic, tell us about a cookie.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic

open invitation no. 35: childhood loves

Take time to remember what you loved to do as a child.

What did you love to do as a child? Pause and remember. This isn’t something you need to race to do; linger. Consider different locations where you could be found as a child—what did you love? Consider food you ate—what did you love? Consider your hobbies—what did you love?

You can use these memories as a starting point to a story, but that isn’t the invitation. The invitation is to bring something you loved as a child back into your life. This is best if childhood love has been absent for a long time.

Savor the enjoyment and remember the bliss of childhood loves.

*Remember, you don’t have to accept this invitation…but I do hope you will accept the invitation to write. Sharing our stories is magical.

PS—I started a Facebook Group for the #sosmagic community. Join here.

write

Open your blog and write a post. Just write.

share

Reply to this post, jot a note and paste your URL.

comment

Comment on other blogs. Soak up the magic that will find you.

grab an image for your blog

Use one of these images so we can find each other…and you can invite others to share their stories with us!

Offer an invitation to others.

I’m joining an open community of writers over at Sharing Our Stories: Magic in a Blog. If you write (or want to write) just for the magic of it, consider this your invitation to join us. #sosmagic