Small Town Writing

Two years ago I made a huge change in my life: I left my hometown (the only city I’d ever lived in) and moved clear across the country to a small town that I’d never even visited before.

I haven’t regretted the move at all. Even so, after two full years now, I’m still finding myself periodically marveling at the differences between the big city east coast life I grew up with, and the small-town north-west life I live now.

It’s great fodder for stories, for sure. Even though my current WIP does not take place in a small rural town, I’m filing away my observations for potential future writing use. And now, I’m sharing these little observations with you! So if you’ve never lived in a small rural town, then feel free to take some of these tidbits and use them to inspire your own writing!

A Town of “The”

My town is small enough that it’s a town where many things are “the.” As in, “the post office,” “the Chinese restaurant,” and “the gas station.” It used to be a town of “the traffic light,” but then the light was removed. There is only one other traffic light in the entire county, just past the north edge of town; so my town is officially now a no-light town. Continue reading

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Story Prompt Pictures

Sometimes you just need a good picture to jolt your creativity or give you some ideas. Whether it’s a landscape, a city scene, a fantastical image, or some little detail that often goes unnoticed, studying pictures can help us bring richness and details into our writing.

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Solar Eclipse 2017

Like most of North America, I watched the solar eclipse on Monday, and am now posting about it on social media. And why not? Even though eclipses (partial, total, lunar, solar) are not rare occurrences, a total eclipse happening across a highly populated area is a bigger deal.

I was in an area of about 80% totality, and two things stood out to me about this event: one, how dark it got, and two, how dark it didn’t get.

The daylight changed, and everything faded – but not the way it does at sunset or as clouds roll in. To me, the outdoors simply looked like a computer monitor with the dimmer on – still clear, colors still the same, just not as bright. And at the same time, as I was marveling at the dimness, I also marveled at how well-lit everything still was. The sun was 80% covered by the moon, and yet was still powerful enough to illuminate the world. The birds did not go to sleep, the street lights did not come on. Continue reading

Inspiration for the Week: Music to Write By – Color the Sky #MondayMotivation

This week I’m sharing a short but inspiring piece of instrumental music that I hope inspires you as much as it inspires me. If you’re writing, creating art of any kind, or just beginning another week at your day job, let this music take you away!

Let me know how this music inspires you this week!