Upcoming Events for the week of December the 1st

Comedy for Cats
December 4, 2008,
Presented by Bovine Metropolis Theater
As part of the "Comedy for a Cause" series, Bovine Metropolis is hosting an evening of laughs to benefit Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance. Come experience Denver's premier improv theater while supporting RMACA.


The SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris
December 4th-22nd
Presented by The Bug Theatre.
Adapted by Joe Mantello and directed by Donna Morrison, “The SantaLand Diaries” chronicles author and NPR host David Sedaris' stint as a disgruntled Christmas elf at Macy's in New York.
Now in its tenth year, “The SantaLand Diaries” is the perfect antidote to all the holiday schmaltz.

9NEWS Parade of Lights
December 5th, at 8:00 and December 6th at 6:00
The 9NEWS Parade of Lights is presented by Southwest Airlines and the Downtown Denver Partnership. The Parade starts in front of Civic Center Park and the City & County Building on Bannock Street at 14th Avenue.Watch the Parade along the two-mile route, as Downtown Denver's skyline provides a stunning background for the lights and sounds of the parade.Purchase A Grandstand seat convenient Grandstand seating is available at the start of the parade route across from the beautifully lit City & County Building.

Winter Wonder Lights at the Wildlife Experience
November 28th- December 28th 5:30-9:00 P.M.
This holiday season, take a magical journey to the North Pole for a whimsical light display. Enjoy: sparkling light displays along the museum's Nature Trail, Festive holiday crafts, The Merry Winter Wonder Ville, How the Grinch Stole Christmas on the Extreme Screen, Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The Wildlife Experience is also having Santa breakfast December 6th, 13th, 20th, and 24th.

writing prompt-- A box and a discussion

I got this at the writers' conference I did a few months ago. Funny, my friend Amanda and I actually did this one without having it as an exercise.
write a scene that begins with 'What's in the box?' Make sure you have at least two characters in the scene and that your reader knows the relationship, the age, the gender, etc. of the characters through the discussion that they have.

writing prompt-- amnesia in an igloo

(From Writer's Digest website):
You awaken with amnesia in what looks to be an igloo. You have $4 and a rock in one pocket, and a toothbrush in the other. Someone is staring at you. Write this scene.

Writing prompt--What I want to write

(Think this one comes from Natalie Goldberg's Writing in the Bones but I'm not sure)
Free write for 10 minutes starting with the pharse "I want to write..." brain storm everything it can vage like 'I want to write about truth.' or something that's very particular like "I want to write about our first camping trip when I was five.' If you get stuck just start again with 'I want to write' or you might want to do 'I don't want to write...'

Writing prompt-- A different type of writer

Every writer I know has their special type of writing. So lets try and branch out get out of those old comfort zones. So if you write non-fiction articles try poetry. If you write poetry craft something for a short story. If you write romance novels try your hand at a crime story. The results might surprise you.

Writing prompt--Your personal island

I awake up to Mix 100 hosted by Dom and Jane. Dom Testa is not only a radio star, but also a published author of young adult books and an advocate for young people striving to be their best. He has even created a website named Big Brain Club. This site has articles that Testa has written on peer pressure, a teacher forum, and writing exercises for budding authors.

lifted from the Big Brain Club website:
For many people, the idea of getting away - or escaping - is a powerful emotion. That's why the concept of being stranded on a deserted island is so powerful in literature and film. This month you're going to be that castaway. Here's what you'll do...
Gulliver, Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson...they all told stories of people who found themselves stranded in a far-away location. For many people the fantasy involves a tropical paradise, with sandy beaches, palm trees, and perfect weather.
But what would that life really be like? This month's exercise will have you living alone on an island, and you'll write a two-page journal entry (or longer if you get caught up!). Perhaps your island is different; maybe it's cold, or maybe it's inhabited by fierce animals. With the Big Brain Club we always ask that you use your imagination and think of settings - and situations - that nobody else has thought of. Your journal will describe what life is really like.
Will it be dangerous and haunting? Will it be rather funny? Will it be suspenseful, perhaps with a mystery involved? Your journal is a blank slate, and the finished product will be going into a bottle and into the sea, ready for the rest of us to read when it washes ashore.
Have fun!

Writing Prompt-- Personal Ad

So of late my mom has been really pushing for me to start dating again. And one of the new suggestion she has is going an online dating service. I've played around with the idea but, lets face it how do you present yourself to complete strangers with just a picture, a list of interest, and a written paragraph about who you think you are? So this exercises is all about writing an interesting, fun, and truthful personal ad about yourself in 700 words are less. Avoid boring verbs and helping verbs and think of a creative way to present yourself. This is all about tooting your own horn-- so lets make some beautiful music.

Writing Prompt-- Writer's Block

There are hundreds of books out there telling people how to begin a story, what to do when you have a blank page in fornt of you. But to tell you my opintion, the blank page is the easiest part of the whole writing process. You don't have to worry about if your voice is the same through out the piece, you don't have to worry about if what your character said goes with their personality and you don't have to worry about tone or little details about characters, events, etc that has already happen. But what do you do when you're mid-story and even through you know your ending you just don't know how to connect the dots?
Yeah, Natalie Goldberg suggest stepping aside and getting a big glass of water and thinking about it. Stephen King goes on long walks. But really that's the only advice I've received on this little problem... until I read What If? A great little book. One of the authors points out that most writers-block is due to either not having enough information, just plain old confidence issues, or you just don't know what happens next. If you're having problems with the last one, the book suggest that when you get stuck think of three ways to get out of the scene or problem. For example, say your main child hero just stole candy from the store. What are some ways to move the scene forward
a.) the clerk catches him and they have a conflict.
b.) our hero's starts feeling bad about stealing the candy and tries to return it.
c) our hero doesn't get catch and this starts his life of crime.
write on each path for at least 10 minute and see which one jumps out at you. so brush off some dust on an old scene and see if this method works for you.

Writing Prompt-- Scrabble Anyone?

Grab some friends and play a game of Scrabble. Make sure to write down all the words that are used in the game. Write a short story using all of the words on the list.

This writing prompt has been brought to you by Mrs. O'Connal's advance creative writing class. I did this prompt when I was in high school and I had to admit that it will changelle you it figure out how to place non-related words together.

NaNoWriMo is finally here!!

That's right, November is National Novel Writing Month. Although I've known about this little holiday for a few years I've never attempted it. I mean you have to be a die hard writer to even think you could possibly write 50,000 in a month. Of late I've been reading Jack Kerouac's journals (Windblown World) where he writes about his daily life and more important about his writings and how much he does in a day. He calls 2,000 words a day pitiful-- wow I feel achieved when I write half that in a couple of days.

But I figure this year I'll try it... with alterations. I bought a blank book and the goal is to complete it by the end of the month.

So what am I going to write about? Originally I just figured I would write on random things: my series of one acts, making Dirty Virgin into a novel, writing an update screen play of If a Man Answers. I realized that I've never really finished anything longer than twenty pages and a part of this experience is to have something completed by the end. So instead I've combined a few of my ideas into one story about 'finding love' after a divorces. I know, it kind of smells like Open House by Elizabeth Berg (great book by the way), but I'm planning on following both characters (the divorce couple) and they're search for happiness. I'm also adding in an idea I had a few years ago about a robber falling for a women due to the content of her house. But instead of a robber-- it will be a maintenance man at the apartment building she's renting from. Yep I'm writing a romance novel, folks.

So what are you writing for NaNoWritMo?
I'll be posting writing prompts that I found useful in the past or one's that I've read and thought were interesting to help you if you get a stuck.