As a writer, I’ve always carried something with me to jot down notes and ideas. 
It might be as simple as a folded over sheet of paper in my fanny pack where I can make lists and write down ideas for blogging and stories. 
When in the hospital emergency room last year with my daughter, I found I didn’t have anything  to write on.  Her going to the hospital happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time even to grab my purse nor a book. 
As we waited, she having tests and wanting to rest, I wondered how I could use the time to write.  I spied …read more

Among some of the enjoyable creative work I’ve done during a writing career has been producing cooking columns for newspapers, magazines and online.  I’ve even contributed to cookbooks. 
 This career began rather unexpectedly after I finished a 2-year correspondence course in journalism (comparable to an online class today).  Many people ask me how they can get started, too.
 Study other columns and write some yourself.
 Take a column writing class.  As mentioned above, I did this via a correspondence course.  I now teach column writing classes online.
 Make sure you’re serious about column writing and have ideas enough to keep going.  Writing a weekly …read more

 When a friend received a hand written letter from me, she quickly responded by e-mail…“Mary, I didn’t know people sent letters by postal mail anymore!” She was so pleased to receive something in the mail besides bills and junk mail, she said.
 I still try to send postcards with hand written notes as bits of inspiration. As the cost of postage gets higher, my communications more frequently result in postcards, but I still like to send and receive these. I recall the pleasure, too, when I found letters and cards my grandmother had saved, some dating back nearly 150 years ago.
These …read more

In Bird Watching with Youngsters, I discussed birds and in another post, Keeping a Bird Watching Journal.  One of the journal activities I mentioned was writing a story or poem about the birds you and your youngsters see.  You/they may want to read some bird stories or poetry first to get an idea of the type of writing you’d like to do.
*Poetry – Your poem can be of any type, rhyming or free verse, about one bird or the numbers of birds you see around your home or on a trip.
*Nature Story – I often wrote these for children’s magazines.  …read more

Preserving your family heritage through art and crafts, along with writing, provides great enjoyment.  I’ve long been interested in learning my family stories and have developed workshops to teach others how to do this.
Along with writing them down you can:

Make quilts and wall hangings with photos, related scenes and activities, or fabrics from family clothing.
Develop scrapbooks about family events.
Preserve documents along with photos in collages, books, and on fabric.
Write books that relate family stories and add illustrations.  I’m working on a picture book about my Uncle William “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson.
Develop fiction stories inspired by those of your family.  The life …read more

We talked about April Fool’s Day at school, where I was substitute teaching in second grade.  The youngsters were writing in their journals and needed a writing prompt.
So here are some they could choose that involved April Fool’s Day:

Tell about an April Fool’s Day experience you remember from another year.
Write about a funny, but nice April Fool’s Day joke you plan.
Write about something nice you can do for someone on April Fool’s Day.
Tell about a gift you can make for someone on April Fool’s Day, one student suggested.
Older students could research the origin of  April Fool’s Day and write about it.

Do …read more

I’m posting today because I’m waffling on NaBloPaMo – doing a blog post every day for 30 days. I want to think about it for a few days before I commit completely.
On the one hand I’m working on Saying NO. There are a million good things I must choose not to participate in so I can be effective at the things I REALLY want to do most. More blog posts won’t necessarily lead to where I’m trying to go. A book deal, monthly column in Oprah Magazine, speaking at next year’s Women’s Conference, being actively recruited to write in …read more