Woo-hoo! Last day on the road (until next week :)) AND a Summer Short & Sweet Day!
 |
| Badge created by Loni Edwards |
Did I tell you my GPS’s name is Jill? I’ve taken to calling her Jo-Jilly thanks to my niece 🙂 But let me tell you, after this week? 1500 plus miles later? she and I need a little time apart! She gets extremely snippy whenever I depart from the route to refuel (Susanna runs on Dunkin’ – the coffee, not the donuts… most of the time… :), Princess Blue Kitty runs on anything she can get except BP which I am morally opposed to!) I always promise Jo-Jilly that we’ll get right back on the road, but you know, I don’t think she believes me! It’s this lack of trust I find hard to live with. Lucky I get a break for a few days 🙂
ANYway, are you ready to be Short & Sweet?
Alrighty then.
Pick a letter – any letter! – the first letter of your name, a letter you like the shape of, a letter you like the sound of – any letter!
Got one?
Now, pick a name that starts with that letter. This will be your character.
Now, write us 50 – 100 words (more if you like, but 50 – 100 will do :)) of a story about this character. But here’s the challenge: you have to use as many words as possible that start with the letter you chose! Nouns, verbs, adjectives, people, places, descriptions, actions, and things – see how many words that start with your letter you can work into your story. It does not have to be a complete story (although it can be if you want), just get started and see where it goes. You might be surprised at the directions you go trying to use words that begin with your letter!
Here’s my example, using D (which is for dogs because I miss mine!)
Delilah dreamed of dogs.
Dogs were devoted. Dogs were delightful. In fact, they were downright dynamite!
“Daddy,” Delilah declared, “I’m desperate for a dog. Dalmatian or Dachshund, Doberman or Dingo, anything doggy will do.”
“Darling Delilah,” Daddy said, “how about a donkey or a duck? A dragonfly or a dolphin?”
“Don’t you like dogs, Daddy?”
“Dearest, I do! But I’m dreadfully delicate. Dogs make me sneeze dangerously.”
Delilah despaired.
But dreams don’t die easily.
Delilah was determined.
She developed a dog dander destruction device.
“Now a dog will be no danger, Daddy!”
Daddy drove Delilah downtown.
Delilah named her dog Daisy.
Daisy is devoted. Daisy is delightful. In fact, Daisy is downright dynamite!
Delilah is delirious.
And Daddy dotes on them doubly!
(122 words)
Get the idea? Mine’s a bit pathetic, I know. I’m drained from driving 🙂 But now no one should be afraid to give it a shot 🙂
I hope you’ll find this fun! Perhaps yours or someone else’s will spark a story idea that you can then write normally, without using all the same-letter words. Either way, it’s a good exercise to make you think very carefully about every word you write. I think you’ll be surprised at how much stronger nouns and verbs you’ll think up! And at how your ideas take off in bizarre directions in order to accommodate your letter – I personally would have been unlikely to think up a dog dander destruction device under other circumstances 🙂
Have fun with this! I can’t wait to see what you come up with – y’all amaze me every week!
Happy writing and happy weekend 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Absolutely amazing, Tina! Awe-inspiring! Astounding! Thanks for joining the fun! 🙂 Love Annie's solution! 🙂
Aardvarks are adorable and so is your story
Thanks, Romelle. And your baboon story, beautiful!
Thank you, Susanna for not only affirming my writing, but for caring so much about every other entry which are absolutely awesome!
I've also been taking advantage of Summer Short & Sweets by posting your challenge on my blog.
I'm a little nervous as to what's coming next.
Of all the letters to pick I picked G! Here goes! 🙂
George was a giant giraffe.
He loved galloping across the green grasslands.
The grayish water of the grand river greatly amused him.
With his friends Ginger, Godwin, and Garrett, he was part of the Grazing Giraffes.
Their grandparents gave them the nickname for they grazed the green grasslands constantly.
Gobbling grass was great!
(53 words)
I chose K. That was hard! I enjoyed using K words and hard C words to keep the K sound going. Of course K also makes the Nnn sound… Here it is!
Kindly Kylie craves a kite.
Knowing she’ll dream of kites tonight.
Kites with kittens, kangaroos.
Kites that catch the wind and cruise.
Knifing through the gusty abyss
Knitting clouds into a kiss.
Kites that climb over the knoll
Kites that keel and start to roll.
Keening Kylie catches a draft
Kneeling Kylie holds the craft.
Kites kaleidoscoping down.
Kites that lead us into town.
Knocking on the bedroom door
Keeps Kind Kylie from dreaming more.
Great, Jennifer! Gorgeous! Grand! So fun to see a new letter making it's way into the comments. I love your story about George and his grazing giraffe friends 🙂 Thanks for joining in the fun!
OMG! Laura! This is amazing! I'm impressed. All those Ks, and a story, and RHYME. Wow! Thanks for joining the fun!
Well thank you so much for joining in, and for sharing Short & Sweets on your blog – I really appreciate it! As to what's coming next, I'm a little nervous too – I haven't thought it up yet! 🙂
Tracy Campbell wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Thank you, Susanna for not only affirming my writing, but for caring so much about every other entry which are absolutely awesome! I've also been taking advantage of Summer Short & Sweets by posting your challenge on my blog. I'm a little nervous as to what's coming next.
User's website
Link to comment
IP address: 24.138.105.219
I hope no one has done “O” since I read through the last entries!
Oscar Otter always hoped to go over the ocean to Oslo. Today was the big day. He opened his suitcase, and organized his odds and ends. He packed onions, okra, olives, oranges and oatmeal cookies. “Oh my, I almost forgot my oboe!” he exclaimed. Oscar added his top hat, planning to wear it at the opening gala at the opulent Oslo Opera House. “Oh Oscar!” called Olivia Ostrich, “Are you ready to head to the airport?” Olivia was his oldest friend, she she had offered to oversee his outing. “Much obliged,” Oscar answered, stepping out his door and onward to his adventure.
Please be gentle, LOL
Ack, I'm very late to this party, but I'm working on a deadline and had NO TIME to develop my idea. But that's okay – I don't mind sharing the first thing that popped into my head, so here it is:
Letter: L / Name: Lollo
Lollo loved licking lollipops. He’d lick lollipops all day long, until his tongue lolled out and turned a hundred colors.
But no matter how many lollipops Lollo licked, he could not get enough.
On Monday, he strolled down Limpole Lane singing
La-tra-la
Loo-troo-loo
I’m licking a lollipop
Now I’d like TWO.
***
And so on, as a counting book perhaps. Not enough L's, but again, NO TIME this week. Love this exercise, though, Susanna – gave me lots of ideas!
And by the way, your delightful doggy story and the dog dander destruction device is da bomb!
Love it, Lori!
Pat, that's pea-utifully impressive!
Fabulous!
Outstanding, Cathy! 🙂 And you were the first to do O 🙂 What an excellent job you did of telling a complete story with all those Os 🙂 Thanks for joining in the fun!
LOVE this, Renee! LOTS of fun 🙂 And I know exactly how you feel about not enough time – I'm feeling more than frantic myself these days! 🙂 Good luck on your deadline!
🙂
Tracy Campbell wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Please be gentle, LOL
User's website
Link to comment
IP address: 24.138.105.219
Here's my entry…”J” was tough!
Just as Josie was jumping over the juniper bush, Jake joked, “Josie, I'm going to drink your Jamba Juice if you don't stop jiggling your jagged jaw chewing jujubes.”
Josie joined in jubilantly, “Jeepers, Jake! Jellybeans and jingle bells in July just don't justify the jade jello in your jagged jaw. I'll send you to Jupiter in a jiffy on a jet if you don't join the junior jellyfish in a jig,” Josie said in jest. “And I'll just juggle the jam in the jar, and let Judy be the judge!”
I'm fresh out of suitable J adjectives, Jarm, but WOW! Excellent job! Thanks for joining in 🙂
Well S came to mind…Here goes…I think…I write…I suppose…
Stella was supposed to be sleeping…She simply shuns those supposed to, should, shouldn't words…They absolutely suck…Staring at the silent darkness she prays for sleep…Count sheep she could hear Mother saying…She sees stars…Sparkling stars…so spectacular…She starts to sink slowly to sleep…Ahhh sweet…so sweet…
You're on a roll, Karen! Great Ss 🙂
My husband was roped into helping me come up with Q words for this one so I should only get half of a point!
Queen Quenby Quail was in a quandary. The day had become a quagmire of queer events; her quick quill quit working, her quince pie burned and her quaint quilt ripped right down the middle.
“This qualifies as a quintessential disaster!” she quipped as a quartet of quarrelsome, quacking ducks disturbed the quiescent castle. After a quaff of tea, she set off on a quest to quell the quantity of chaos.
Without a qualm she placed the castle under quarantine and enjoyed the resulting quiet.
I love this, Heather! And you certainly picked a hard letter and brought it off well! Thanks for joining in the fun and adding to ours 🙂
Wilmerton Whimhouse
Of Wombaly Way
Was a wacky but
Whimsical fellow
He whistled. He whirled
He tumbled. He twirled
While wading in wiggly jello.
So much fun, Susanna!
Oceans separate the lover and her skill
__Pamela Courtney
Love this, Pam! So catchy and cute and entertaining – and lots of Ws 🙂
My husband was roped into helping me come up with Q words for this one so I should only get half of a point!
Queen Quenby Quail was in a quandary. The day had become a quagmire of queer events; her quick quill quit working, her quince pie burned and her quaint quilt ripped right down the middle.
“This qualifies as a quintessential disaster!” she quipped as a quartet of quarrelsome, quacking ducks disturbed the quiescent castle. After a quaff of tea, she set off on a quest to quell the quantity of chaos.
Without a qualm she placed the castle under quarantine and enjoyed the resulting quiet.