Snow day! Here on Salt Spring our first significant snowfall has occurred, on the first day of vacation! I decided to give the old car a break and not drive down the mountain into town for our last Writing Club meeting (awwww!). Here are the fun exercises we were going to do…
5-minute prompt: FUNNY
(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)
What’s funny? What makes you laugh? Who makes you laugh? How many different words for ‘laugh’ can you think of?
Who Am I? Game
A little character-invention fun. For each of these faces answer the following:
1. What’s my name?
2. What’s my nickname?
3. What’s my favourite food?
4. What’s my job/favourite hobby?
5. Give me a favourite expression, or catchphrase.
6. Now imagine me as a superhero… what’s my superhero name and superpower?
Okay? Here are your faces:
photo by Jeff Cruz
photo by David Maurice Smith
photo by Simon Hoegsberg
photo by Christopher Perry
Do this with any interesting face you come across – cut them out of magazines and keep them in a file as character inspirations.
Fill in the Blanks
You’ve probably done this one before. First some review:
noun = person, place or thing
verb = action word
adjective = describes a noun, ie. beautiful, gigantic, exciting
adverb = describes a verb, usually ends in “-ly”, ie. clumsily, cheerfully, lazily
(There, I just sneaked in your moment of Grammar Zen!)
Okay, now write down a word for each of the following. Any word you think of.
1. noun
2. noun
3. animal
4. object
5. a first name
6. noun
7. food
8. item of clothing
9. item of clothing
10. place
11. a sound
12. verb
13. noun
14. verb
15. noun
16. noun
17. noun
18. animal
19. adjective
20. adjective
21. animal
22. verb
23. verb
24. verb
25-32. eight nicknames
33. verb
Okay? Once you’ve got your words, scroll to the bottom of this post and pop your words into the blanks, in order.
New Word
My word of the week is:
divine: (adj.) 1. of, from, or like God or a god, “heroes with divine powers”; 2. (informal) excellent, delightful
The Monday group did meet this week, and here are the words they shared:
mutant: a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism
rational: (adj) based on or in accordance with reason or logic
irrational: (adj) not thinking clearly : not able to use reason or good judgment
superstition: (noun) an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome
Fill in the Blanks HERE:
A Visit from St. Nicholas, by Clement Clarke Moore
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the (1)___________
Not a (2)_____________ was stirring, not even a (3)___________;
The (4)______________ were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. (5)_______________ soon would be there;
The (6)_______________ were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of (7)___________________ danced in their heads;
And mamma in her (8)_______________, and I in my (9)_____________,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap–
When out on the (10)_____________ there arose such a (11)___________
I (12)______________ from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the (13)________________ I (14)______________ like a flash,
Tore open the (15)_______________, and threw up the (16)__________.
The moon, on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the luster of midday to objects below;
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature (17)____________, and eight tiny (18)______________,
With a little old driver, so (19)___________ and (20)______________,
I knew in a moment it must be St. (5 again)_________________.
More rapid than (21)___________ his coursers they (22)__________,
And he (23)__________ and (24)___________, and called them by name:
“Now, (25)________! now, (26)_________! now, (27)________ and (28)_______!
On, (29)_________! on, (30)__________! on, (31)_________ and (32)________!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now (33)______ away! (33)______ away! (33)______ away all!”
Merry Christmas everyone, and happy holidays!