Stephanie Verni's Blog, page 82

Smashing Pumpkins: A Story

Originally posted on steph's scribe:
Smashing Pumpkins: A Short Story I posted this short story last year for a brief period of time. This story’s always been near and dear to my heart and is probably one of my favorite things I’ve written. If you like it, why not consider reading “Beneath The Mimosa…

Answering the Question: Where Is Home?

Travel writer Pico Iyer’s Ted Talk is one of my absolute favorites. Presently, my students in feature writing are embarking on writing a travel feature. We’ve talked about travel writing and what it takes to construct a meaningful piece, the elements to include, and the amount of yourself you must put into it to engage […]

Overworked? Overweary? Overstressed? Take A Day Trip. It Does Wonders.

There are a plethora of reasons why we need to get away from it all, if only for a few hours. We are overworked, overstressed, overweary, overextended, overtaxed, overstimulated—just plain over it. And thus, the good “doctor,” whomever that may be—a friend, a spouse, a mother, a father, a child, a healthcare provider—tells us to […]

You Are What You Read

I’ve experienced World War II. After my plane went down in the Pacific, I floated on a raft for 47 days, with only rain water to sustain me along with an occasional albatross I’ve killed and eaten and then used as bait to snag fish to skin and eat. I’ve been captured by the Japanese, […]

Baseball, Baltimore & Boisterous Real Fans: Well Worth the Wait

As I sat in the Club Level at Camden Yards on Thursday night, excited for Game One of the ALDS to begin between the hometown Baltimore Orioles and the visiting Detroit Tigers, I basked in the atmosphere. The ballpark hummed. Why, it was only a few years ago when it was devoid of Orioles fans […]

If You Want to Cry, Give These A Try

I’ve found myself in a somewhat melancholy mood over the last week. I learned that a friend of mine—more of an acquaintance, really—passed away unexpectedly. She was close in age to me, but still, news like this has that power to rock your world. It is an all-too vivid reminder that none of us will […]

Once Upon A Time, There Was Stevie Wonder and 8-Track Tapes

In my room as a teen, I had a stereo. It consisted of a receiver with a turntable, two speakers, and an 8-Track tape player. I’ve always loved music, and my weekends were often spent writing down each of the songs Casey Kasem played during the American Top 40 Countdown. And when that was over, […]

Seriously. What Have I Been Missing?

I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. As a reader and writer of stories, as one who loves live theatre and movies on screen, as one who enjoys hearing a compelling story…what the heck has taken me so long to “read” in the car? Seriously, audiobooks are making my life even more […]

Keep Your Mouth Shut

An interesting title of my blog post today, but hang with me, and I’ll tell you what I’ve uncovered. The word “mystery” comes from the Greek verb meaning “keep your mouth shut.” Sometimes to be effective, we need to keep our mouths shut. I’m doing some research on “listening” for our textbook, and this is […]

Make Us Care

While there are so many insightful tips on how to tell a good story, at the core of it all is to make the reader care. In a 17-minute speech on TED, Mr. Andrew Stanton, Academy Award winning screenwriter for such films as “Finding Nemo,” “Toy Story,” and “Wall-E” who also voices the character “Crush” […]