My Favorite Things -- Simple Stuff

Hi, folks,

Last week I offered some conference kernels that are my favorite things. This week I'm at the KidLitCon in Austin, TX. There is some simple stuff that moves me to tears. I think these moments are part of why I am a writer.  Jerry Spinelli once said at a conference I attended that you should write down a hundred sensory memories. He said your novel is in there somewhere. He was right.

The moon in the daytime.
The sun shining like a disk on a foggy morning.
Bare feet on hot sand.
The smell of mint.
The taste of water when I'm thirsty.
Stretching out on a soft bed when I'm tired.
Watching giant snowflakes fall.
The sound thunder in the middle of the night.
The sound of a purring cat.
The feel of a dog licking my face.
The sensation of falling when swooshing on a slide.
Fall light in the afternoon.
Hugging my children.
The brown of my husband's eyes.
My father's laughter.
My mother's voice when she was reading me a story. 

I know all so simple but the core of me is in here. I hope you try writing your sensory memories.

See you next week.

Here's this week's doodle. "Stack of Farm Animals"

A quote for the week.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come 'round right.'    Elder Joseph Brackett