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Describe the sounds surrounding this tree. Republished from Nooks & Cranberries, September 2010.

A chill runs up a secondary character’s spine as she sits on the bow of a boat listening to the gentle lapping of waves at dusk. Describe that sound in such a way that your reader will literally feel the same chill. Republished from Nooks & Cranberries, September 2010.

Photo Week Day 3

Today write about home. Write about your own home–from childhood or present–or where your character lives. Is it a quiet, peaceful place providing an escape from the busyness of daily life? Or do the sounds of the city–traffic, people, sirens–filter through the windows, filling it with urban energy?

Take your main character on a road trip. What’s on his or her playlist?

Get up close to your surroundings–literally for a non-fiction piece or with your imagination if you’re writing fiction. It’s obvious you’ll see things differently, but does this change they way things sound? Do you hear things you otherwise might have missed?

List five words you like because of how they sound. Now write a poem or paragraph using those words, paying attention to the overall music of the piece.

Your character takes one last trip to the beach before the sun sets on the final summery day of the year. Do the sounds of the waves make her lonely, pensive, happy, relaxed, or anxious? Why?

No shoppers laughing and talking on cell phones, no workers taking a smoke break, no cars honking at pedestrians. Why is this street silent and empty?