by Cindy Beck
As writers, we’re sometimes prone to descriptive sentences which too often need trimming, and there’s a great warm-up exercise to help with that. It’s called the “six word novel,” and the idea behind it is for the writer to create a story in just six words.
Not long ago, I asked my husband, Russ, a question as he sat in his recliner watching football with Corky Porky Pie, the dog. The only response I got was a grunt. I’m thinking the fact that the TV was turned up to level 40 on the volume might have had something to do with it. I hate to say it, but he’s almost deaf in one ear and can’t hear out of the other—a condition that I’m certain is the result of playing his stereo at full blast as a teenager. So, to express it in six words:
Music Loud
Time Fades
Hearing Aids!
Got the idea? Good. Here are a few more to get you in the groove.
First date
Home late
Wedding date
Magician fired—nothing up his sleeve!
Much Money
Stocks Fall
Soup Kitchen
Cat scratches baby. Cries. Fur coat.
Dog bone
Chew Chew
Bone gone
Sale:
Log cabin with bloodstained floor.
Computer on
Program freezes
Computer gone
Sale: Scuba tank with shark bite.
Now that you have the idea, give it a try. It’s a great way to get the creative juices flowing while having a little fun.
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JUST A QUICK NOTE:
For those of you who are tracking what's happening with our book, Mormon Mishaps and Mischief, Nichole and I just received the proofs from our Cedar Fort editor, Heidi Doxey. We're so excited to be working with her, and looking forward to the book's release in December. Cedar Fort tells us the book will be in the CFI warehouse at the beginning of December and in the bookstores by the middle of the month. Think what a great Christmas gift Mormon Mishaps and Mischief will make for Aunt Persnickety and Uncle Lunkhead ... or anyone else on your Christmas list!
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Showing posts with label Corky Porky Pie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corky Porky Pie. Show all posts
Monday, November 2, 2009
The Six Word Novel
Monday, June 1, 2009
A Few Tidbits about Cindy Beck
By ... none other than Cindy Beck
For those who don't already know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Cindy Beck, and I'll be posting on the first Monday of the month. My most outstanding physical features are that I'm under-tall and mostly gray. (My hair, not my face.)
If you looked at the photo above—which was taken sometime in the last century—you might not have observed that I'm under-tall. Mostly because I'm kneeling. However, you probably did notice my cute dog, Corky Porky Pie, who pretty much looks the same today as he did then. I'm sure you'd like to know more about Corky Porky, but he can't type and I can, so you're stuck learning about me.
According to the census taker, my life officially started when I came into the world in Wisconsin. After that, because my dad served in the military, I grew up in several places in the United States.
In college, I majored in entomology (insects), graduating Sum Kinda Buggy from the University of Wyoming. However, I seldom share that information because then people want me to crawl under their homes to check for termites.
Although no one thought of me as funny in school—in fact, most people didn't even think of me at all—I fooled my classmates and grew up to write a humor column for a local Utah newspaper, the Sanpete Messenger.
Despite an irresistible inclination toward humor, my more serious articles and stories have appeared in the Ensign magazine, and in several national anthoglogies—Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers, Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors, and My Dad is My Hero.
My current project is a book called Mormon Mishaps and Mischief. It's co-authored with my good friend, Nichole Giles, and will be published by Cedar Fort in December 2009. The book contains anecdotes of the Saints at their funniest ... from an organist who falls alseep at the keyboard during Sacrament meeting, to a Father and Son Camp-out that accidentally includes lawn sprinklers.
(I'd like to interject here that Cedar Fort has some dynamite editors, who not only can edit half the world's manuscripts in a single bound, but also have a sense of humor.)
To read excerpts from my short stories, visit my website. Or, if you're in the mood for humor, visit my blog or the blog that Nichole and I co-author. You can also get updates on Mormon Mishaps and Mischief there.
For those who don't already know me, let me introduce myself. My name is Cindy Beck, and I'll be posting on the first Monday of the month. My most outstanding physical features are that I'm under-tall and mostly gray. (My hair, not my face.)
If you looked at the photo above—which was taken sometime in the last century—you might not have observed that I'm under-tall. Mostly because I'm kneeling. However, you probably did notice my cute dog, Corky Porky Pie, who pretty much looks the same today as he did then. I'm sure you'd like to know more about Corky Porky, but he can't type and I can, so you're stuck learning about me.
According to the census taker, my life officially started when I came into the world in Wisconsin. After that, because my dad served in the military, I grew up in several places in the United States.
In college, I majored in entomology (insects), graduating Sum Kinda Buggy from the University of Wyoming. However, I seldom share that information because then people want me to crawl under their homes to check for termites.
Although no one thought of me as funny in school—in fact, most people didn't even think of me at all—I fooled my classmates and grew up to write a humor column for a local Utah newspaper, the Sanpete Messenger.
Despite an irresistible inclination toward humor, my more serious articles and stories have appeared in the Ensign magazine, and in several national anthoglogies—Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers, Cup of Comfort for Breast Cancer Survivors, and My Dad is My Hero.
My current project is a book called Mormon Mishaps and Mischief. It's co-authored with my good friend, Nichole Giles, and will be published by Cedar Fort in December 2009. The book contains anecdotes of the Saints at their funniest ... from an organist who falls alseep at the keyboard during Sacrament meeting, to a Father and Son Camp-out that accidentally includes lawn sprinklers.
(I'd like to interject here that Cedar Fort has some dynamite editors, who not only can edit half the world's manuscripts in a single bound, but also have a sense of humor.)
To read excerpts from my short stories, visit my website. Or, if you're in the mood for humor, visit my blog or the blog that Nichole and I co-author. You can also get updates on Mormon Mishaps and Mischief there.
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