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What Is It About Boxes? Writing Challenge

I am rather sure I was a cat in a previous life. Don’t all cats love boxes? box. noun: a container with a flat base and sides, typically square or rectangular and having a lid. I love boxes—all sorts of boxes. Big cardboard appliance boxes, the kind we made into forts or houses or castles. […]

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Fill a Jar: Writing Challenge

This challenge is designed for those who haven’t written before or are convinced they don’t have time to write, or that they must be polished writers in order to write. It has several different variations so feel free to adapt it to suit

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Hands in the Mud: Writing Challenge

I was daydreaming about mud which led to this piece of writing. I will have some writing suggestions at the end. “Learn to humble yourself, you are but earth and clay.” Thomas a Kempis When I was a kid we made mud pies. The best mud was made from dirt with lots of clay in […]

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Catch & Release, Word Fishing: Writing Challenge

“Every man is a quotation from all his ancestors.” Ralph Waldo Emerson If fishing is a metaphor for writing, the title is the bait. I often start with the title. It’s setting the hook, attracting the reader, but it has another purpose. It sets the scope and determines what it is I am hoping to write […]

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Writing the Tough Stuff: Writing Challenge

After writing several of the last few blog posts I had to ask myself—what’s this with all this writing about loss? And I don’t have an answer, but I suspect the impetus to handle the tough topics has to do with the war in Ukraine. Seeing death and destruction causes me to wonder about all […]

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No More Favorites! Plus a New Writing Challenge

It is asked constantly in Genealogy circles: Who is your favorite ancestor? What us your favorite heirloom? What is your favorite story about…? Everytime I hear the word “favorite” I cringe. I immediately react negatively even though I may like all other parts of the question. Even a slight change to the question such as […]

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Writing Challenge: What Reminds you of your Grandmother

What is something that always reminds you of your grandma? This was a question that was asked by Connections-Experiment in a Twitter post. My first reaction was instantaneous. Grandma’s Trinket Chest. Before I tell you more about this former candy box, as we all know we have at least two grandmothers. I only had the […]

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What Got you Started in Genealogy?: Writing Challenge

This gets asked periodically, especially on Twitter and I usually reply with my true, but fairly rote answer. But thinking about what got you into Genealogy might be a good  exercise for all of us, whether beginning or seasoned, genealogists. It does not matter how well you write or whether you plan to share this. You […]

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