Hit the Yellow Brick Road

Today has all the makings of a magical day!

Many of my favorite writing peeps will be heading off to the Northwest Washington SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference.

While there, they will experience that certain thrill that comes from discussing zombies, fairies, talking animals, and vampires without fear of being hauled off in straitjackets.

No doubt about it, children’s book conferences are the BEST!

Trust me, I would know.

As a former psychologist, I attended PLENTY of psychology conferences back in the day. While the people in attendance were always wonderful, the sad (but important) topics we discussed made some of us want to be hauled off in straitjackets.

So, as a nod to all of my past, present, and future conference buddies –

and as a test of the Raffi Theory that the more we get together the happier we’ll be –

I’d like to offer this very special lineup suggestion…

9:00 – 10:00    Big Bad Wolf: Malevolent or Misunderstood?

10:00 – 11:00  Red Riding Hood’s Remorse: Cross-Dressers Need

                           Compassion, Not the Ax

11:00 – 12:00  Case Study: Alice in Wonderland’s Rehab Success

12:00 – 1:00     Lunch at the Witch’s Brew

1:00 – 2:00       Mirror, Mirror: Tackling Client Narcissism

2:00 – 3:00       Enabling No More: Tips From the Little Red Hen

3:00 – 4:00       Gingerbread Man: The Ugly Downside of Compulsive

                             Exercise

4:00 – 5:00       Guest Speaker: Hermione Granger Discusses Magical

                            Thinking – No Need to Medicate!

PROMPT: Yes, a daily writing habit will take you to many wondrous and faraway lands. But to stir things up in a magical way – sign up for a workshop or conference today!

Heroes

Every great story’s got a hero.

Sure, there’s usually a bad guy, too –

That’s what makes it a story, after all.

In other words…

Story World = 1 Bad Guy + 1 Hero

Thankfully, we don’t live in Story World…

Real World = 1 Bad Guy + 1,000,000,000 Heroes

PROMPT: Got a hero? If not, get off your butt and find one, create one, or be one. It’s all about heroes today. Write on!

Choose Love

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

PROMPT: I think LOVE is the only verb we’ll need today. 

Kid Stuff

Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

~ Pablo Picasso

So true, Mr. P. So true.

Obviously, immaturity is the answer!

And because it’s still National Poetry Month, I’m thinking a good limerick is just the ticket…

There once was a mustache I knew,

That wiggled with each chomping chew.

This fine facial hair

Caused people to stare

‘Cause it lived on the lip of Aunt Sue.

Yep, that totally worked.

I’m feeling, like, loads more creative…

And I have a strange desire to shake up all the soda cans down at the quickie-mart.

PROMPT: Save your artist self! Get juvenile for a while and have a limerick do the trick. 

Do Not Try This at Home…

Try it in a café with your favorite half-caf triple mocha latte macchiato in hand...

• Buy five postcards.

• Address them all to yourself.

• Write some deliciously intriguing missives from five different characters.

• Drop them in the mail on a series of random days or weeks.

• Postcard’s arrival = Instant writing prompt!

Absolutely, positively guaranteed to be entertaining…

Especially for your postal carrier.

PROMPT: Have some fun with this! If you’re really, really lucky, you may receive one of your brilliantly-written gems 70 years from now, as did sisters Pauline and Theresa Leisenring of Elmira, New York. Of course, postal officials say that their postcard was likely found by someone outside the postal service and recently placed in the mail. Yeah, right. I know a good story when I see one.