Writing Prompt: Power Outage

Winter has begun here in upstate NY.  We had 4″ of snowfall on Tuesday.  A bit early for snow.  This wet, thick snow downed trees, and power lines.  We were one of the thousands without power.  The power outage from 9pm on Tuesday, to 11:30am on Wednesday.  My sister’s won’t be up until this afternoon.   Since my sister’s husband is a farmer, and has to milk cows…. they have a generator. 

Write about a time when your power went out, for a long period of time.  Were you prepared?  What did you do while the power was out… besides wait for it to come back on?  What was your over all experience?

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The night of our power outage, we were just settling for the night.  We have a pellet stove for our down stairs, normally when you shut it down the fans continue to run to cool the pellet stove slowly.  Without power those fans did not work, which made the house smell like it was on fire… smoke through out the house.  Our fireplace insert, works whether the power is on or off.  Advantage, it also has a lip on the top for warming water in a pan, or to cook a light meal. 

The hard part of the day started at 6:30am, when it was time to wake the boys for school.  Without water, they had to skip the shower.  It was pitch black still in the house and outdoors, so I fumbled around lighting a couple of candles.  The boys used a flashlight to get their clothes on.  Not knowing how long the power would be off, I really didn’t want to open the refrigerator more than necessary.  Cereal requires milk, so it had to be opened.  Then again, to get out their snack drinks.

Without running water, I was at a loss for how to get a cup of coffee.  We only buy whole bean coffee, and use a hand held electric coffee grinder.  No power, no way to grind beans.  Well I didn’t give in so easy, and I was not going to drive 30 minutes for a cup at the convenient store.  So I went out doors, gathered some clean white snow in a sauce pan, and let it heat up on the fireplace lip.  While warming, I took the whole beans and crushed them in a bowl with a big spoon.  TOUGH to do!  After getting them as crushed as possible, I stuck them in the filter of the coffee pot.  Of course, no power to run the coffee pot.  Sure that it would drip even without power.

When the water on the insert felt hot, I poured enough for one cup in the filter over the crushed beans.  It wasn’t dripping… shoot.  All that for nothing…. till I shut the lid to the coffee maker.  It was working.  I was out of cremora, and opening the fridge again to get the milk, out of the question.  Luckily, I used a substitute… Milk Chocolate Carnation Instant Breakfast.  Not a bad cup of coffee, but way too time consuming. 

I spent the rest of the time trying not to use the bathroom. Keeping busy with handwriting my novel, and praying for the power to come back on.  According to the electric company were weren’t supposed to have power until 2pm, but they had it up by 11:30am.  Glad it is over, but winter has just begun, so more power outages to come.  I will be sure to have some bottled water on hand, and already ground coffee beans (not so good, better than doing it the old fashioned way).

Writing Prompt: Presidential Decision

We are a little less than two weeks from the Presidential Election.  Have you made a choice or not, for the party you will vote for?  How much research have you done to make the most informed choice, for your presidential vote?  Have you crossed both party lines, to get the information?  All valid questions to ask yourself, as a voting citizen of our country.  Every vote counts, make sure you have all the facts!  

Today’s writing prompt:  In what ways, have the presidential campaign ads swayed your opinion of a candidate?  Have the presidential debates, helped you understand what they both plan to do, if elected the next president?  Talking politics with family, friends, and strangers can be a touchy subject, and some people can be down right vicious, if you have a different opinion than their own.  Have people you spoken with about the election, acted a bit crazy when you tell them you don’t agree with them; or do they calmly try to explain, why they have made their choice?  Do they listen to your point of view, without telling you how dumb or wrong you are?

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This blog is for all writers, and I will not put my personal political views on this site.  I have asked in the past if the media was bias, and it is.  Which is why I am pro across the board information, for all parties.  I am not afraid to vote across party lines, when I feel one candidate stands for what I believe is right for our country.  If the media stood for unbias across the board information, we may all be better informed about both candidates.  For me personally, I will not make my final decision, until Election Day.  I want all the information up to the minute, before I choose which hole to punch in the ballot.

Writing Prompt: Solitude or Noise

Writing prompt….. What is your view of solitude and noise while in the writing process?  When you are writing do you need to be in a place of solitude?  No interruptions.  Finding a spot to write without distractions can be difficult, for some writers.  Other writers, enjoy background noises when they write.  Write about your place of solitude, and how it inspires you to write?  If you like noise in the background when you write, how does the noise help you with the process? 

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I enjoy writing in both environments.  When I am writing I can tune out the world, no matter what.  In the noise I can get interrupted more often, but sometimes those interruptions will lead my writing down a better path.  As I write around my family, they know what I mean when I put up my index finger.  WAIT! I am on a roll.  It usually doesn’t take me too long, to give them my full attention. 

My favorite place of solitude, has to be my home office.  I can sit all day hammering away at my keyboard, producing more written works.  However, the problem I find in solitude is the wondering thoughts.  I tend to distract myself with the problems affecting my family, or friends.  Although I find it frustrating, when I am trying to focus on writing…. I think it is an invisible gift.  Those problems can eventually become something I write about.  Whether it is a health problem, or a personal relationship squabble it can inspire the way I introduce a new character to a book. 

Solitude over noise, beneficial some days.  Noise over solitude, benefical other days.  Where ever I chose to write, it is an intuitive part of…. why I am inspired to write for the day.

Writing Prompt for Children: Games

I’ve seen an increase in the number of search inquires for children’s writing prompts.  So today, I thought I would post one just for them. 

Write about a favorite game or sport you play.  Here are some questions that can assist you with the writing process.  What is the game or sport?  Is this an indoor or outdoor activity?  Why do you like this game?  How often do you play?  Do you play with friends, or do you play it alone?  Why would you recommend this game or sport to others?  For those who have never played the game, can you explain how it is played?

Writing Prompt: Hunting

Today’s prompt focuses on hunting.  If you are a hunter, write about your first time out hunting or a memorable time you went out.  On the other hand if you are against hunting, then write about your dislike of the sport.

Whether you are a hunter or not, hunting is a sport that feeds those who do so.  My husband has been a hunter for years, getting our freezer full of some venison is always a treat.  Now more than ever with the increasing cost of food, having a vegetable garden and hunting for meat comes in handy and costs very little.  That low cost does come at the price of time spent.  Hunting season is now in it’s beginning stretch… small game season has been open for a couple of weeks.  Bow season starts this week, and my husband is all ready to go out.  Bow season happens to be the time of year that my husband shows pride in the sport.  I think it is because it is a greater challenge to get a deer this way.  The pride I notice is that, he spends more time out hunting during bow season than shotgun season.  Not to mention the bragging rights of stabbing one, over shooting one. 

This past Sunday, our young boys (6 & 8) learned how to shoot their youth bows.  A dear friend of ours set up a wonderful target for them to practice.  I was pretty impressed with my six year old’s accuracy… considering it takes a little less than half his body weight to pull back the string (20 pounds).  Both boys are very excited about going hunting when they are old enough to do so.  Personally, I am not into the killing of anything… but, I sure do like to eat the kill.  I’m glad that my boys have a future interest in hunting to provide food for their families, especially in reflection with our current economy.  I’d rather have them know how to get food from nature than starve.  If they were like me… squimish about killing… they would starve if anything catastrophic where to happen, and there was no food available.  Our 18 year old son doesn’t have a strong stomach for it, nor is he into any sports… which means we’d both starve if left to ourselves.