Did everyone have a nice 4th of July? I hope so!
I’m happy to report that we celebrated with homemade blueberry pie and vanilla ice cream (that’s white and blue, anyway, even if we a little short in the red department) and watching the fireworks above the valley from my parents’ back deck 🙂
And now, at last, it’s finally Friday and time to kick off Summer Short & Sweets!!!
First things first…..
Please help yourself to a beach cookie (or 2 or 5)…
…and some fresh lemonade 🙂
Ah! Summery 🙂
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for (or at least the moment I’ve all been waiting for :))
duhn duhn duhn…. the big unveiling!!!
TA-DA!
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| Badge created by the incomparable Loni Edwards |
Just look at this creation of beauty which you may all help yourselves to if you so desire!!! I hope you’re able to read the part that says “Writing For Kittens” 🙂 (I also hope that if you need any art work done for any reason you will contact Loni – she does such great art and is a joy to work with 🙂 Same goes for Heather… but more about that in a few weeks… I am all about the surprises up my sleeve :))
Let’s start with a brief explanation of SS&S because I’m not actually sure I wrote this down yet anywhere 🙂
The object of Summer Short & Sweets is to keep our writing oars in even as we are caught up in the happy, busy, outdoor fun of summer. We do not want our writing brains to go on luxury vacation because they are SO hard to jump start when school starts. The Short & Sweets will be little fun exercises we can do together and share to keep those writing sparks flying and to make sure we write a little even while we’re playing whiffle ball, backyard volleyball, and frisbee golf, making sure our toddlers don’t fall in the pool or get swept away by ocean waves or buried by their older siblings in the sandbox, taking our pre-teens to Little League or Lego Tournaments or tap lessons, teaching our 16-year-olds to drive (I personally am sporting a whole new streak of gray hair, and the imaginary brake on the passenger side of the car is getting quite a workout :)), and tending campfires while we watch the summer sun swim down below the western hills and the fireflies come out (and if you’re at my house, watch the marshmallows catch on fire and become charcoal covered goo on a stick :))
Short & Sweets will last for 8 weeks, each Friday from today through Friday August 24. For every Short & Sweet entry you write into the comments you will receive 1 point. You may of course write 2 entries, (or even 3 or 5 or 7 if you are feeling inspired!) At the end of Short & Sweets there will be prizes (which I am still working on) that will be based on the total points for the summer. The minimum number to qualify for a prize will be 8 points – 1 each week of Short & Sweets. If you choose to do more, you can rack up points and I’ll make sure you get something good! but you must do at least one each week to qualify. The more points you have, the better the prizes. I’m going to try to get you some critiques as well as signed books and other goodies 🙂 Feel free to let me know if there’s something in particular your little hearts desire as a prize.
The other advantage of Short & Sweets? We will all inspire each other’s creativity. Once you’ve put your challenge response in the comments, scroll through everyone else’s and see what they came up with. Maybe your own entry won’t spark a story idea for you, but maybe someone else’s will! (And don’t worry – everything will be vague enough that there’s no way 2 people will ever write the same story off the same prompt. It just doesn’t work that way :))
Now then. Are you ready for some Short & Sweet fun???
Here’s today’s challenge. We’ll start nice and easy 🙂
In the comment section below, list the first five nouns, the first five adjectives, and the first five verbs that come to mind when you think about either the beach, the town pool, or the local ice cream shop. (And when I say the first five, I just mean don’t spend forever on it – you can tweak the words that come to mind into more descriptive ones if you like – run into chase for example – but this whole exercise shouldn’t take more than about 2 or 3 minutes.) Then pick one each of your nouns, adjectives and verbs and write a sentence that could start a story!
Here’s an example for the beach:
Nouns: shells, waves, sun, seagulls, kite
Adjectives: windy, salty, bright, wet, sandy
Verbs: dig, chase, squeal, laugh, splash
Howard was digging down through the wet sand when his shovel hit something hard that glinted in the sun.
See how easy? Now you try!
And as an example of where you might go with this, if anyone wants to take Howard and run with him while you’re lifeguarding at the edge of the pool later or chauffeuring the littles around town, the obvious thing for his shovel to hit would be a pirate’s treasure chest, but what if it was something else? An old English car that had somehow crossed the ocean and wound up on Howard’s beach… A genie’s lamp… A silver medallion with a huge emerald in the center and words in a mysterious language around the edge… A dinosaur scale… that was still attached to the dinosaur!… A giant’s gold-capped tooth…! 🙂
I hope you will think this is Short, Sweet, and fun! I’m really looking forward to seeing what people come up with! And if anyone ends up getting a story idea out of this, please tell us! Any 12x12ers, this might be a great place to start thinking for your July manuscript 🙂
Have fun, have a great weekend, and please tune in Monday for Q&A with the fabulous editor, Erin Molta!
Susanna Leonard Hill 
shop/counter/chair/icecream/server…dim/cool/lsmall/quiet/heavenly….slip/ease/choose/relax/enjoy
The server leaned over the counter and in the dim light of the little ice cream shop whispered, with an evil lisp, “What flavour will you choothe today, witthe child?”
I love SS&S, S!!
Nouns: sea glass, sandcastle, lifeguard, towel, umbrella
Adjs: hot, salty, fishy, gritty, red
Verbs: sweat, splash, dig, laugh, squish
Meg dug through the sand, and what did she find? A piece of red sea glass – one of a kind!
I've never considered myself a writer, but here goes…
nouns: water, reflection, towels, lounge chair, book
adjective: blue, calm, quiet, refreshing, peaceful
verbs: relax, breathe, read, invite, aniticipate
When I looked out back, the pool invited me; its quiet reflection of the sky whispered, “Here, finally is a place you can breathe.”
I'm so excited! The first S&S entry! And I love it – so chilling 🙂
I'm so excited you like it! Love your entry – what are you, a habitual rhymer or something? 🙂
What a fun idea, Susanna. And I can actually handle this one. 🙂 Here's mine:
Nouns: rocks, sand, bucket, sandals, cookies
Adjectives: peaceful, scary, burning, cranky, dripping
Verbs: sift, scowl, pour, drench, hide
Cranky as a hermit crab, Ida stamped the burning sand out of her sandals and scowled.
Yes…speaking from personal experience…
This is lovely, Lynn! It might be time to start thinking of yourself as a writer 🙂
Is 'Ida' your pseudonym? Your phrase, Cranky as a hermit crab” sparked a rhyming story idea – can I borrow it?
or something 🙂
N: sand dollars, sea gulls, dolphins, kites, Newport Beach
adj: salty, breezy, sandy, fishy, warm
V: bury, jump, fly, visit, scavenge
Every time Anna visits Newport Beach, something fishy catches her eye.
(This is true. When we lived in CA, every time we'd see a new creature!)
That is the whole point, Renee – easy and fun 🙂 LOVE your entry! (And sorry if it means you burned the soles of your feet! :))
🙂 And how fun that Renee's sparked an idea for you – that's what this is all about!!! 🙂
Ldegman wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
or something 🙂
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Ooh! Love it! Great one, Tina. This is so much fun 🙂
For the local ice cream shop,
Nouns: waffles, containers, cones, sprinkles, chocolate
Adjectives: gooey, yummy, cool, refreshing, melting
Verbs: licking, tasting, biting, running, sharing
Bob started licking and biting his refreshing chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone, while still looking at the containers full of gooey, yummy flavors. His ice cream was melting like crazy. Ahhhh… The ice cream really cooled him off…
beach, waves, sandcastle, boat, boy – gentle, sunny, calm, large, beautiful – swim, relax, laugh, gulp, dig
The lapping waves suddenly thrashed and clawed their way up the beach as Tommy dug a sandcastle with his back to the water.
Let me give this a go with the local pool:
Nouns: teenagers, bikinis, swimming trunks, lifeguard, towels
Adjectives: loud, sunny, slippery, warm, chilly
Verbs: splashing, running, whistle-blowing, blushing, laughing
Missy blushed, her cheeks warming as she stole another glance at the cute lifeguard on duty.
Excellent, Erik! Thanks for joining the fun 🙂
Ooh, I love it, but I am worried for Tommy! 🙂
Love it, Angela! I think this one is a YA and haven't we all been in Missy's sandals (well, at least the girls among us :))
puppy, lifeguard, chair, water, toys
sat, dove, jumped, slid, barked
sunny, blue, clear, happy, warm
Muffin leapt from his lifeguard chair at the Puppy Pool and barked to the three puppies that were biting the water toys.
nouns: clams, hermit crabs, claws, children, rocks
verbs: swim, crawl, stand, surf, sail, dig
adjective: smooth, clear, sharp, decrepit, cloudy
Sharon's sharp claws pulled her through the cloudy water away from the children who were trying to dig up as many hermit crabs as they could.
Good one, Genevieve! And I have to wonder, with a name like Muffin, is this about one of Cupcakes relations? 🙂
Oh, I love this! One from the POV of the hermit crab instead of the child!
ocean, water, waves, sun, heat
salty,cold, deep, breezy, fun
wading, tasting,swimming, dive, bob
The cold ocean water slapped near my chin and I waded deeper tasting salt on my lips.
🙂
Well, Susanna, this is another winning idea…what fun!
towels/umbrella/beach/waves/sand…crashing/dark/hot/sunny/rough…hate/huddle/terrify/scratch/burn
Sarah huddled in a dark corner of her room while her family packed the car with towels, umbrella and cooler. “What will I do” she worried. “The rough sand scratches me, the hot sun burns me and the crashing waves terrify me…I hate the beach!”
woo-hoo, sounds like fun!
Noun: Seaweed, Seashells, Sandcastles, Seagulls, Ships
Adj: Salty, Sweltering, Breezy, Cold, Noisy
Verbs: Crash, Stroll, Build, Flying, Sailing
Marty the seagull crashed into the sandcastle, “Sorry mate, it was a little breezy.”
Nice! 🙂
This is great, Vivian! You've even got a problem right up front. Looks like the start of a great PB to me 🙂
Ooh! Crash landing by a seagull! I love it! 🙂
NOUNS: Umbrella, sandcastle, crabs, towel, kids
ADJ: Happy, sunny, joyful, balmy, carefree
VERBS: build, swim, surf, throw, giggle
What stared out as a carefree day at the beach building sandcastles, suddenly turned ugly when HE swam by.
Excellent! You've certainly got me wondering who “HE” is!
Nouns: clams, driftwood, tide, footprints, sandcastle
Adjectives: gnarled, elaborate, tiny, lazy, hot
Verbs: washed, led, burrowed, sank, burned
Tiny footprints began at the door of the sandcastle and led towards the water's edge, where the tide was advancing.
How fun! Short, easy writing exercises are great!
nouns: sand dollar/shovel/seaweed/waves/sand castle
adjectives: yellow/sunny/smooth/gritty/breezy
verbs: run/build/throw/dig/jump
Maddie jumped out of the waves and ran toward her mother's yellow beach umbrella.
Hi Susanna…just wanted to let you know that I've passed along several awards to you: http://viviankirkfield.wordpress.com/2012/07/07/and-the-winner-is-awards-and-a-giveaway/ Your blog inspires, educates and entertains!
Lovely, Jennifer! What will Maddie do when she gets there? Will her mother actually be behind the umbrella, or will she have disappeared…? 🙂 Thanks for joining in the fun!
Ooh, I love this, Beth! Whose tiny footprints? And why are they headed toward the advancing tide? And what will happen if they get too close to the water? Thanks for playing along 🙂
Thanks for the cookie and lemonade…love sweet treats!
cobblestone – summer – – ice cream cone – street
licked/lapping (ice cream), slurped, spiled, look,
hot, sticky, melt, delicious, excited
The sticky, pink trail of strawberry delight ice cream streamed down her arm. Thinking no one saw her, she quickly lapped up its summery goodness. She glanced toward the back of the line that had now spilled onto the cobblestone road and noticed Mrs. Flanagan, her etiquette sponsor.
I know you said one line, but…
I sure consider you a writer. This is good__poetic, even.
I only said one line so people would feel they could manage – more is fine 🙂 Love your story beginning, and dying to know what an etiquette sponsor is and why you would have one… 🙂
seagulls, sand, salt, towels, sandwich
breezy, playful, sunny, peaceful, relaxing
swim, sleep, eat, read, relax
She was looking forward to a relaxing lunch under the sun until a seagull swooped down and snatched the sandwich from her hand.
Nouns: sandcastle, wave, dunes, sunset, kayak
Adjectives: sandy, gritty, crowded, hot, wet
Verbs: splash, crash, paddle, jump, shells
With one swift pound from the giant wave, Spencer’s prize winning sandcastle came crashing down.
Aw, poor Spencer! What will he do now?! I like that you thought of the word kayak – it didn't pop to my mind but makes me think of a whole nother range of story ideas! Thanks for joining in the fun Lori!
Good one Ruth! Those seagulls are so brazen, aren't they? Bold as brass! They'll come right up to you and steal stuff. One year we had these awesome chocolate chip cookies from Something Natural and a seagull grabbed the whole bag! Luckily we got it back 🙂 Thanks for playing along 🙂
Noun: sun, shells, waves, beach, treasures
Adjective: sunny, random, warm, sharp, salty
Verb: walk, churn, uncover, swim, skip
Colby loved combing the beat up beach after a storm to uncover random treasures the churning waves placed on the sand for only the sharpest eye to find.
I hope I didn't break the rules by posting on Saturday. Am I late? Is this supposed to be a Friday-only deal?
Starfish, seaweed, pelican, pufferfish, party
Turquoise, spiky, foamy, shadowy, sunny
Balanced, flipped, flew, darted, dove
“I'm just a balloon to them,” thought Puffy, as he darted behind the seaweed and watched the party.
Oh, I love it, Penny! What a great opening sentence! Looking forward to reading the rest of the story…. 🙂
I love your opening sentence, Kim! And no worries about commenting day – any time is fine as long this exercise winds up on this post. I should probably make that clearer! Thanks for joining in the fun 🙂
I hope I'm not too late to join in the fun?
Nouns: Waves, seagull, rock, camera, bomb
Adjectives: glistening, licked, gooey, floppy, webbed
Verbs: splashed, squawked, clicked, flapped, skimmed
Waves splashed the glistening rock, licking Stevie seagull’s webbed feet. He swiveled his neck. Hey lady, one step closer—
A camera shutter clicked.
He squawked, flapped his wings, and skimmed the ladies head. A gooey bomb plopped on her floppy hat. Bulls-eye!
Love it, Tracy! And not too late 🙂 I have been pooped on by a bird twice. They say it's good luck but boy is it gross! 🙂
Tracy Campbell wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
I hope I'm not too late to join in the fun?
Nouns: Waves, seagull, rock, camera, bomb
Adjectives: glistening, licked, gooey, floppy, webbed
Verbs: splashed, squawked, clicked, flapped, skimmed
Waves splashed the glistening rock, licking Stevie seagull’s webbed feet. He swiveled his neck. Hey lady, one step closer— A camera shutter clicked.
He squawked, flapped his wings, and skimmed the ladies head. A gooey bomb plopped on her floppy hat. Bulls-eye!
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Wonderful! I'm glad you've let me join in. I'll be linking this on my blog later today. And Susanna, glad you loved my wacky piece.