Winter storm Jonas is coming tonight.  I’m one of those lucky people whose area is likely to received more than a foot — quite possibly two feet — of snow, if the forecasters are correct.

I’m looking forward to sitting by the fire, sipping martinis, and plotting out my next novel.  I’ve also got a “snow to-do list” to tackle:

1.  Build my first snowman of 2016
2. Try out my new snow shoes
3. Bean the Husband of Awesome™ with a snowball before he gets me
4. Get in some snowy-wildlife photography
5. Build an igloo

Okay, that last item on the list is pure dreamery. It’s possible—my siblings and I built a HUGE one when we were kids. But there were three of us, and I don’t think I can scrounge up that many willing folks in the neighborhood to lend me a hand this weekend.

Still, I can hope. That long-ago igloo takes up a lot of real estate in my fond memories.

Here’s Your Prompt:

• The obligatory easy prompt: write an essay — My Favorite Snow Memories, My Least Favorite Snow Memories, etc.
• Write about a snow-related accident: avalanche, skiing accident, fifty-car pile up on the highway–even getting lost in the snow. Write how the snow makes things worse. Is there a way the snow ameliorates the problem? Can you use this sketch in your current WIP? Or write a short story based on it? How about a poem?
• Will you be in the snowfall area today? If you can, find a protected area where you will be out of harm’s way. Watch and listen to the snow fall. How does it sound? What other things do you hear, or not hear? What do you observe about how snowfall changes nature? Write your observations and your feelings.
• Will you be alone and isolated this weekend? (If not, can you pretend?) During your isolation, write your Personal Manifesto for 2016. If you’re not feeling that ambitious, take the time to jot down goals and aspirations for the year. (It’s proven that people who write down their goals are more likely to achieve them!)

Good luck!

It’s still early enough in the new year to be thinking about new beginnings. I don’t know if its my innate love (obsession?) for office supplies, but new beginnings make me think of sharpened pencils and blank spiral notebooks. Or, blank, pristine papers waiting for me to desecrate them with words.

I try to do my organizing in December:

• clearing off the desk to start the year fresh
• reviewing all the notebooks page by page:
  • making to do lists for things which never got done
  • copying ideas into my Ideas Folder (adding as much detail as possible, so I’m not left with cryptic phrases later)
  • Adding phone numbers and addresses to my Contacts
  • etc.
• Organizing the to-do lists
• Creating a “master plan” of what I want to accomplish for the year
• Scheduling the time on the calendar now, so I can’t complain about not having time for it later.

Here’s Your Prompt:

1. Write the “new year” scene of the main character in your book. Or, write the “new year” scene of a brand new character you intend to use in a story. How does the new year affect him or her? Does he buy fresh stationery? Does she regret the passing of another year and nothing to show for it? Does your character have some annoying (or meaningful, silly, prolonged, secret) ritual he must accomplish before the new year starts?
2. Write your own new year scene. How does the new year affect you? Did you accomplish what you set out to do? Are you wondering how you’ll make this year better than last? Are you chomping at the bit for a fresh start?
3. Write a poem: Ode to the New Year, or, Good Riddance to the Past.

Enjoy!