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Blog – Historical Geographic

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Hello Readers, Writers, Teachers, and Children!

I’d like to introduce a new series of educational articles that I call Historical Geographic. In this series, we will be covering a wide range of geographic locations, explaining geography terms, and learning a little about the history around each place.

This series will cover well-known locations, like the Nile River and Mount Everest, and introduce some places that may be new to you, such as Salar de Uyuni and the Giant’s Causeway. As always, each article will be written at around a Grade 5 reading level.

I hope you discover some new and exciting things about our amazing planet!

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Literature – Writing Roadblocks – I Can’t Finish Anything!

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Writing Roadblocks

Hello Readers, Writers, Teachers, and Children! Do you ever have trouble finishing projects? Do you have several good ideas but don’t know which to work on? If you are a writer, or any type of artist, you’ve most likely had these issues. I know I do, regularly!

Here are a few common complaints and some tips that have helped me. If you have some ideas, leave them in the comments below, and I’ll feature your tips in a future post.

I’ve been working on this story forever and it’s lagging.

Work on something else! No, not another lengthy project. Something short; something quick. This helps get those extra ideas out of your head so you can focus on your project. It’s kind of like weeding a garden. Once those pesky weeds are out of the way, your vegetables can grow. Try a word prompt or other writing exercise.

Here are a few that I use:

Go Dog Go Cafe – Writing prompt every Tuesday

Carrot Ranch Literary Community – Flash Fiction prompt every Thursday

Warmup Pages – Photo prompt every other Saturday

I also publish writing prompts daily:

5 Words – Writing prompt every day

The Nature of Writing – Photo prompt every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday

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I’ve tried writing short works, but I always feel like they need to be developed more. So, I never really finish those either!

Hey, it happens. After all, nobody wants to let go of a good idea! But consider this: when you tell a friend about something that happened to you today, do you develop the story from the time you woke up to the time you started talking to your friend? Of course not!

So, don’t feel like your work has to include the character’s life story. It can just be what happened to them in a 10-minute period. No, you didn’t tell the whole story, but you did tell an interesting one, and you can always build on it later!

Practice writing flash fiction using 1000 words or less. I usually write only 200-250. That’s about half a page! You can find some examples here: Zippy Flash Fiction

You could also try your hand at some quick poetry:

This brief verse from

Pen doth spawn.

I looked away,

and now it’s gone.

Or, you could try the famous 6-word story:

Here lies Jack. The cat attacked.

I can’t show other people my work unless it’s perfect!

This is a biggie. Take a deep breath. Let it out. Now, cut it out! Nobody has ever made anything perfect… ever! But you can make something that’s pretty good. Failure IS an option! In fact, you MUST fail so you can learn from your mistakes.

Stop second guessing yourself. If you have an idea, don’t think about it too long. Write it down or else you’ll start to think that it’s a dumb idea, and you’ll never create anything. Write spontaneous poems and silly flash fiction, goodness knows there’s enough of them on this site. It will help you get your ideas out, to feel more confident in sharing, and, believe it or not, some of those ideas will turn out to be pretty awesome!

Here’s to finishing something for once in my life! If you have any helpful tips, please share them in the comments below!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #86

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Today’s words are:

  • Directions
  • Showcase
  • Moldova
  • Hold
  • Boundary

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #85

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Today’s words are:

  • Lasting
  • Observe
  • Arabic
  • Dinosaurs
  • Helenite

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #84

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Today’s words are:

  • Service
  • Estates
  • Indication
  • Rus
  • Demand

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #83

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Today’s Words are:

  • Nubian
  • Fleshed
  • Limestone
  • Amber
  • Wreckage

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #82

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Today’s words are:

  • Leader
  • Takes
  • Object
  • Overpowering
  • Enterprise

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #81

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Today’s words are:

  • Versatile
  • Radiant
  • Reducing
  • Auxin
  • Supergiant

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Flash Fiction – Freeze Dried

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Zippy Flash Fiction

Inspired by: 5 Words #70

Galahad’s eyes flung open as he gasped back to life. He rolled onto his side, choking on the thick oxygen that burned his dormant lungs. Blearily, he looked around the room. Repair Wing 120 was painted in big, red letters above the door.

“Where am I?”

A nurse droid quickly wheeled across the room.

“Just relax now. You’re safe,” it said, nudging him back into bed with silicone tipped fingers. “What is the last thing that you remember?”

Galahad put a hand to his forehead. He rubbed his eyes, the fogginess beginning to lift.

“There was an explosion… I was getting off my shift at the osmium mine on Carpasia.”

“And what year was that?”

“What year?” Galahad said incredulously.

“Yes.”

Galahad stared into the robot’s dead mechanical eyes.

“416.” The droid seemed to be waiting for more information. “A.E…”

“Ah. And what is your species?”

“My spe…! Dasypus Sapiens,” Galahad said, despondent.

“Recorded. Thank you.”

“How… Exactly what happened? Why am I here?”

“Your remains were discovered on an osmium-rich asteroid in the Silactic Belt…”

“Remains?! I was dead?”

“Mummified, actually. Crushed beneath approximately 600 tons of salt.”

Galahad looked down at his scaly arms and tapped two long claws together. His stomach fell out from under him as he felt the rush of time passing him by.

“What… what year is it?”

“1437 T.C.E.”

“How long ago was 416 A.E.?”

“Approximately 53 million years.”

Galahad gulped. His throat felt dry.

“Yeah… that’s what I thought.”

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Writing Prompt – 5 Words #80

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Today’s words are:

  • Brought
  • Treasury
  • Obeisance
  • Business
  • Boat

The goal is to exercise your brain and split writer’s block. You can write anything! A story, a poem, a paragraph, a sentence, anything! The only rule is that it includes the words given or is inspired by the words given. If you post something, leave it or link it in the comments!

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Poem – Strange Bed Fellows

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Where should I

Sleep tonight?

Ant beds

Look soft,

But they’re full of

Crumbs.

Fish beds

Are cool,

But they always

Wet them.

Beds of rice,

Beds of lettuce,

Beds of quinoa even.

Beds of worms,

Beds of nails,

Flatbed trucks, and

Fossils with

Embedded snails.

Perhaps I won’t

Risk a fright,

And sleep in my

Bed tonight.

Hope the bed bugs

Don’t bite.

Goodnight. Goodnight.

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Photo Prompt – The Nature of Writing #11

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Hello Readers, Writers, Teachers, and Children! I often take inspiration from nature when I’m writing, and I love to photograph flowers, trees, insects, and anything else that will be still long enough. So, I’ve decided to combine the two with The Nature of Writing photo prompt.

Take this photo for inspiration and run with it! Whatever you happen to discover, leave it or link it in the comments below. And remember to stop and smell the garlic blossoms!

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