Sherry Morris's Blog, page 29

Writing Tip #10: Noisey

The ambient noise in the room has upset your character...

Is your character in a bar or tavern? At a concert? A sporting event? A rally? A parade?  A business meeting? Church? Nursery? Hospital? Jail? Is there a storm outside?

Why is your character upset by the noise? Is anyone else bothered by it?

What does he/she do to alleviate his/her discomfort?

Mom's Christmas List

Dear Santa,

Once again, I've been an awfully good girl. Here are some gift suggestions your might want to consider having your elves stock up on for the good moms, good writers, and all around good intentioned people:

Large Screen Laptop Computer. Fast. Big Memory. Microsoft Word a plus.

Thumb Drive Memory Stick

DVDs:
Perry Mason Season Six Vol. 2
Perry Mason Season Seven Vol. 1 & 2
Perry Mason Season Eight Vol. 1 (releasing November 27th)
Here's Lucy Season Five
The Lucy Show:  Seasons Three, Four and Five

Socks

Coach Purse

Scented Candle (Lavender or Rose or Hyacinth...some kind of flower, NOT food scented)

Amazon.com Gift Card

Panera Bread Gift Card

Lindt Lindor Truffles (Milk Chocolate or White Chocolate, NOT Dark Chocolate)

Hooded Wool Pea Coat

Love,
Sherry
P.S.
I've got snickerdoodles in the oven for you.

Writing Prompt #9: Boat

A boat is approaching the dock...

Is it a Naval ship? A freighter? Merchant Marine? The enemy? A Sailboat? A schooner? A dingy? A rowboat? A pontoon boat? A paper boat? A cruise ship? A submarine? A seaplane?

What does the arrival of this vessel mean to your character?

What emotions are enveloping your character?

Holiday Crisis Cleaning

Dear Happy Holiday Hostess or Host,

Oh my goodness! Company is coming and the house is a mess! No problem, you'll delegate and have it done in an hour on the day they arrive. Yeah, right.

First of all, pour your self a cuppa, walk from room to room and do an inspection. A state of the house address. Then calculate how long it will take to get the whole place (or the public spaces) shiny and clean. Be generous with your estimation, give yourself plenty of cleaning time. Then quadruple it. I guarantee it will take you much longer to clean it than you can wrap your head around.

How did you let things get this bad anyhow? Yes you were busy. Work, kids, volunteering, appointments, shopping, sports, and your spouse needed attention. Stop making excuses. It got this bad because you didn't have time to clean it the right way so you never bothered cleaning a little bit. Let me tell you, a little bit clean is much better than this colossal pigsty your family is living in.

And don't go getting all Mrs. Martyr on me. You nag and yell and threaten the kids and your spouse and they just won't clean up after themselves. Guess what? Your approach wasn't pleasant for anyone and it didn't work. Why? Nobody cares that they live in a pigsty. Except you.

So, you clean it up. Okay, yes, the kids should be responsible for their own rooms, and your spouse for his or her cave, but if you will have guests staying in any of those places, you'll have to suck it up and clean them yourself.

You can and will do this. No, your house might not be shiny and magazine perfect, but it will be presentable and good enough. Good enough is much better than making excuses why the house looks like crap. Good enough is calm and peaceful. Good enough will bless you and your family and guests.

Ready to begin? Wait. Get dressed. Not pajamas. Not holey old sweats. Decent weekend clothes. Jeans and a clean shirt. Your loosest ones if possible. The goal is comfort yet presentably in case somebody shows up early or unexpectedly or the cops knock on the door. Brush your hair. Pull it into a ponytail if you can. Loose. Comfort is the goal. Put on some clean comfy sneakers or other low heeled shoes so you don't stub your toes, smash into them with the vacuum and you can run the full trash bag out to the garage.

Figure out what kind of timer you have available. A kitchen timer, the timer on your phone or watch. The oven or microwave might have a timer you can use.

Assemble your supplies:

A trash bag or can you can move from room to room. Another box or bag clearly marked "Good Stuff" so you don't confuse it with the trash.

Vacuum or broom and dustpan. If you haven't vacuumed all year and have a pet that sheds, get the shop vac from the garage.

Dusting supplies:  a feather duster, a premoistened dusting cloth, a microfiber cloth or an old sock or rag and a can of furniture polish if you have it. Whatever you have, use it.

Glass/Mirror and Chrome cleaning supplies:  A rag and Windex or ammonia or vinegar or a premoistened cloth.

An old toothbrush, scrub brush and mop if you have it. If not don't worry.

Do not enlist the troops. You'll only upset everybody. You'll force them to clean when they don't want to. And after they do clean, it won't be good enough. You'll hurt their feelings again. Because they didn't do it your way. Because they can't see into your imagination.

Okay, say you do have someone who wants to help. Consider yourself blessed. Have he or she pick up the clutter from the floor so you can vacuum. Or have he/she vacuum. One rule:  DO NOT CRITICIZE THEIR EFFORTS. Thank them profusely and later go back and clean it the way you want.

Ready? Set your timer for 15 minutes. Start at your front door. Work for 15 minutes until the timer goes off. Stop. You may not be done. Move to the next room, clockwise. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Work until the timer goes off. You may not be done. Move to the next room, clockwise. Set the timer for 15 minutes. Work until the timer goes off. you may not be done. Set the timer for 15 minutes and take a break. Have a drink, check your messages, watch TV. Go potty. When the timer goes off, stop. Your break is over.

Throw trash away. Put things that don't belong in that room into the "Good Stuff" bag/box unless it belongs in an adjacent room, then quickly toss it in where it belongs. Do not take the time to separate the recyclables from the trash. It's all trash. We're in a hurry. You have a free pass today. If it really bothers your green heart, later, after the house is clean, you can sort through the trash and pull out the recycling.

Continue this 15 minute cleaning interval working in circles, returning to every room you need to until each room is good enough on one level. Start upstairs or downstairs, whatever you have after the main level is done.

Don't try to do laundry during all of this unless it's an absolute emergency. It will distract you and keep your from finishing.

Don't read things or handle anything more than necessary. Keep going.

Don't forget the interesting unique odor every house has that the inhabitants seem to overlook but it hits the guests as soon as they step inside. Taking out the trash helps. An old fashioned can of Lysol disinfectant does wonders sprayed in the air of every room after it's clean. Febreeze is wonderful. Open the windows and air out the stinkiest rooms if you can. Plug in air fresheners and scented candles are a last desperate resort, but do what you have to.

Don't skip your break at the end of every hour. You'll get burnt out and regret the whole thing.

Do not detail clean. We are only vacuuming the middle of the rooms, not under the furniture. Detail vacuum along the baseboards only where they are easily accessible.

Do not detail dust every collectible. Quickly remove them from the flat surface, onto the sofa or floor, quickly dust the table/shelf/mantel, then replace the happy objects. Don't replace junk. That goes in the trash bag or the "good stuff" bag.

Do not forget to look up! Get rid of the cobwebs.

Once you've scrubbed the shower and bathtub, dry it after every use. You'll never have to scrub it again. I am serious. I haven't cleaned my shower in years. I just dry it with my bath towel after I'm dry.

Whatever you do, don't decorate a dirty house!

You can do this. You will be happy once it's over.

Happy Holidays,
Sherry Silver

Writing Prompt #8: Chicken Lady

A lady with green hair wants to buy a chicken...

Why is her hair green? Is she an alien? Did she get a bad home dye job? Was it a chemical reaction? Is it green because she is being punished? Is she just making a statement? Is it attractive? Are your characters having a hard time not staring at her hair?

Does she want to buy a live chicken? Butchered chicken? Fried chicken? Rotisserie chicken? A timid human?

Is your character selling the chicken? Has a chicken but doesn't want to sell it? Is it the last chicken and your character is desperate to buy the chicken before Miss Green Hair does?

Is this green haired chicken lady a new character who is coming onto the canvass?

Writing Prompt #7: Shut the Door

The door won't close...

Is it warped?
Is it broken?
Is it hanging from the hinges?
Is it too heavy?
Is your character in a hurry to shut it because...
A bad guy is chasing him/her?
It's cold?
It's hot?
There are a swarm of wasps?

Retro General Hospital

Dear General Hospital,

I am thouroughly enjoying General Hospital these days. I love that you've brought back classic characters from my youth. I hope police commissioner Anna Devane stays long term. Finola Hughes is a consumate actress and I so enjoy her layers.

At a time when The Young and the Restless is letting actors go, citing budget reasons, you keep racheting up your cast of thousands, and I'm loving it! Duke Lavery, Cesar Faison, Robin Scorpio, Heather Weber, A.J. Quartermaine and I've read rumors of the imminent return of Robert Scorpio. Please keep 'em coming and keep them on camera as long as you can.

My husband dubbed the casting as 'retro General Hospital' and I can't help but notice him watching again from time to time.

Thank you from the bottom of my happy little heart.

Warm Regards,
Sherry Silver

Writing Prompt #6: Gunfire

A shot rings out...

Is your character startled? Was he/she expecting it?
Is he/she scared?
Is it something that happens all the time in this neighborhood?
Is the war getting closer?
Did your character fire the gun?
Did the bullet come close?
Did the bullet hit your character?

How does your character react?
Does he/she dial 911?
Grab his/her own fiream?
Roll over and go back to sleep?

YouTube: Cindarella's Castle Christmas Lights!

I was privileged to go to Disney World last December with my family and we and absolutely loved the Christmas Party. Hot Chocolate and sugar cookies all over the park. It snowed several times! I remember how cold it was watching the special Christmas Parade. I stood in the door of the candy shop to warm up in between floats.

General Hospital: Short Term Ladies?

Dear General Hospital,

I'm pleased with the influx of three new lovely ladies on staff:  Student Nurse Sabrina, Lab Technician Ellie and Dr. Britt. But they have no family ties, no old roots in Port Charles. I'm especially concerned with the doctor. You seem to have a track record of killing off/sending away your lady doctors after a few weeks. But that's okay with me, because she isn't likable. Wise little Emma and I don't like her one bit. She's bad. I can't stand her actually. And what kind of doctor is she? Emergency Medicine? Pediatrician?

I also have a problem with widower Patrick dating again. He hasn't had a new HIV test. Hello! He was married for how many years to HIV positive Robin? And does he really know for sure that he was only exposed the time that Emma was accidentally conceived? Doctor, doctor! Shame on you. And you're having the characters chatting about reviving the nurses' ball which was for AIDS research. Come on, please have a responsible story line.

Ethan is off camera now, but he had a long run as Luke and Holly's son. That was a fab storyline! Why not have some long lost daughters/nieces/sisters for some of the lonely Port Charles residents? Give the new hospital ladies some roots, please.

Hey...I know! You keep mentioning Lucy Coe. Obviously she'll be reappearing in Port Chuckles soon. So why not have her related to Sabrina, Ellie or Britt?

Thanks!

Warm Regards,
Sherry Silver