What characterizes this writers' group?

These are key principles for what makes Unlocking Words a place that inspires and encourages writers! Come join us (fourth Sundays, but not holiday weekends). 

We are a safe place. Fear is not allowed. We are free to share what God is leading us to write and produce.

We are led by the Holy Spirit. We believe that God has created us in the likeness of our Creator, therefore we ARE as creative as He has created us to be. We know that the Holy Spirit drops ideas into our hearts and minds and we boldly ask him for new ideas.

As writers and creative people, we work individually but also collaboratively. We show up. We are friends. We encourage each other. We speak life. We welcome others.

Want more info? Email writers at ournewsong.org. 

It's That Season Again (Betsy Herman)

At most of our writers' group meetings we do a writing exercise. We're given a topic to write about and after about ten minutes of writing, we share what we've come up with. In August our assignment was to personify an item in the room. Here's one story:

It's that season again, that cold season when my insides are freezing. No, not winter, it's summertime, and it's so cold here in the library - especially on Sundays.

I feel so lonely. For most months of the year I am doing what I was created to do - writing. Warm hands wrap around me, sometimes sticky, sweaty, warm hands of a student, nervous about a class presentation. I hear so much and learn so much here in the library as books are read out loud and classes are taught.

When the kids come back from summer break, the teacher always has them write about their favorite summer activity. Do you want to hear about the highlight of my summer?

Once a month, my room goes from cold and quiet and book-scented to suddenly feeling warm and alive, filled with the sound of conversation and the smells of lunch. The writers' group is in the house and I get to eavesdrop on their conversation all afternoon, sometimes for hours and hours! I get to hear about their lives, the books they're writing, and I learn about so much more. And I LOVE it when they sing for me.

That's what I would write about if the teacher gave me an assignment to tell about my summertime. But I won't be writing such a paper. After all, I'm just a dry-erase marker.

Do you ever feel like this?

Check Out These Spoken Words by Landa Loring

We love having Landa Loring in our Unlocking Words writers' group!



Check out Landa's YouTube channel here.

Words from Bananagrams (by Daniel)

Today we played a round of Bananagrams. Each took seven tiles, made a word and played it. Then we wrote for 15 minutes using one word as a theme for our writing or seeing how many words we could tie together. This is one sample - a catchy poem with rhythm!   

When it comes to stress
I'll take the mess
Turn it into glee
I like strawberries and brie
If you're lost in a maze
It doesn't hurt to bathe
While you're stuck don't stink
Don't wanna miss out,
  afraid to blink
Sometimes things get seedy
Pardon me if I'm needy
Take a trip to outer space
until everything's back in place
Desperate panting like a deer
as everything feels so queer
Don't give up, you're a gem
For now, don't worry about them
Think I'll swing on a trapeze
Sip some lemonaide, fresh squeeze
As the remainder of the grime
tries to turn me into slime
I won't allow the old ties
to rob me of my prize

Here We Are!

Here we are!

Some of us, at least. :)

At our March meeting we used some fun props during our writing exercise, and had to get a picture with them.

The Park Ranger (by Suzanne)

It was the rookie park ranger who first noticed the orange car with Michigan license plates as it slowed near the entrance of the state park. In the dead of night, the ranger could hear the tire go over a rock then onto gravel at crawling sped. As a matter of course, the ranger put on his coat and gloves, grabbed his keys, and walked out to inspect the matter.

I’m the rookie – gotta pay my dues. They told me you see the strangest things on the night shift.

As he was saying this to himself, he knew this wasn’t a routine matter. He turned on his flashlight, walked into the road, and motioned for the car to stop. When he approached the car, his suspicions were confirmed. The license plate was tied to the bumper with a child’s jump rope. But getting a good look at the driver made the ranger think he should have called for backup. The man was wearing sunglasses and a tiara, held around his neck with pipe cleaners.

"Sir, I need you to get out of the vehicle, please."

The man grunted and slowly opened the door. A cork, a book of matches, and a shoehorn fell out of his lap. A coaster was stuck to the bottom of his shoes. When he took off his sunglasses, the ranger could see how bloodshot his eyes were.

"Please put your hands against the vehicle."

The ranger frisked him and took out from his pocket a jar of buttons.

"What’s this for?"

"In case I find a needle and thread?" The man doubled over laughing at his own joke.

Not amused, the ranger looked into the backseat of the car and saw it was strewn with leaves. His flashlight found a bucket with brushes, wallpaper, paint chips, sponge sticks. And seashells. Stuck to the mat was a lollypop piercing a stale doughnut. But no empty bottle of alcohol.

Well, according to everything I learned in training, there’s nothing more for me to do, he thought.

"You do know the park is closed. Please state your purpose."

"I was hoping to catch a bear – make some bear jerky." Again, the man doubled over laughing.

"OK, I’m going to have to call the police to take you into the station."

Four more months of the graveyard shift, he thought, as he called the police station.
 

(This story is from today's writing exercise at Unlocking Words. Suzanne was using the same word list as Betsy's post based on the writing prompts displayed on our table today: bear hat, tiara, license plate, tie, sunglasses, shoe horn, jump rope, coaster, pipe cleaners, leaf, toy car, stone, lollipop, key, cork, seashells, matches, wallpaper, paint, sponge paintbrush, glove, button jar. It's fascinating how two stories using the same words can be so different!)

Treasures at Grandma's House (by Betsy Herman)

"Hey kids. Hey, Suzy and Alex, I'd like you to put your tablets away."

Reluctantly, Suzy, age 7, and Alex, age 5, put their tablets on the car seat between them.

"Look out the windows, kids. We're almost to Grandma's house. And like we said, you're not allowed to play with your tablets this weekend. I'm sure you'll find plenty of interesting things at Grandma's."

Sullenly, the two children handed the tablets to their parents and looked out of the window at the mountain roads.

"Why is there a picture of a bear on that sign?" Alex asked. His father replied that in the mountains lived bears, and that was a bear crossing sign. "Look out the window, you might even see a bear!"

The family soon arrived at Grandma's house, a home they hadn't visited since the children were younger, so the kids barely remembered it. They parked near the open garage and Alex immediately noticed the collection of old license plates Grandpa had once nailed to the wall inside the garage. Suzy first noticed the colorful jump ropes.

Dad pushed back his sunglasses and removed the key from the car. Grandma was coming out of the house, wearing a hat and gloves, even though it was only September. It does get cool in the mountains.

The children walked up the stone path toward Grandma's house and they noticed the huge leaves on the ground. Suzy asked, "Why are those leaves so big?" Grandma replied, "They're sycamore leaves, from that tree over there."

Although the outside of Grandma's house had some white paint peeling from it, when the kids walked inside they saw colorful wallpaper on the walls. However, the thing that grabbed their attention most was the jar of lollipops on the kitchen counter. After greeting their grandma, the first thing Alex asked was, "Can we have lollipops?"

"You may each have one," Grandma replied. After finishing their candy, the little ones began to grow restless. "Grandma, do you have any toys?" asked Alex.

"Oh, I do have some toys," she replied. "But before I show you the toy cabinet, you need to make a costume from my treasure box."

Curiously Suzy and Alex followed their grandmother out into her warm sun room. She opened an old trunk and said, "This is my treasure box!"

The children began removing items, Alex immediately put on a big fuzzy bear cap and Suzy donned the sparkly tiara.

"What's this?" Suzy asked.

"A shoe horn," Grandma replied, explaining how it was used. Then she noticed five packs of matches from various restaurants in a bowl near the treasure chest. She moved them out of reach so that the kids wouldn't be tempted to play with them.

Then the two children began creating costumes from the treasures they found: a clip-on tie, a coaster (worn like a Sherriff's badge, held on with pipe cleaners), toy cars peeking out of pockets, a cork, sea shells, and buttons became necklaces with some string from the box, and Alex stuck a sponge paintbrush in his back pocket, trying to look like a builder.

It's going to be a good weekend at Grandma's!

~

(This small story was a written during a writing exercise at today's Unlocking Words. We were presented with a table full of visual aids, and we were asked to include every word/item in our writing. It's fascinating to see that when 8 people are using the same list of words, our stories or essays usually turn out very different from one another. For example, here is Suzanne's story, using the same key words. Here's the word list we used: bear hat, tiara, license plate, tie, sunglasses, shoe horn, jump rope, coaster, pipe cleaners, leaf, toy car, stone, lollipop, key, cork, seashells, matches, wallpaper, paint, sponge paintbrush, glove, button jar.  -Betsy Herman)

The Bridegroom Proposes (by All of Us)

Today at Unlocking Words we were reminiscing about a writing exercise we did together last June. One person wrote several sentences, then folded the paper so that the next person could only see the last line. The next person wrote several sentences, then again folded the paper so the next person could only see the last part. We passed the paper around the circle, and in the end we had an amusing story! Enjoy:

 

 

Ray and his girlfriend, Misty, drove all night to arrive in Chicago by dawn to see the sun rise. Ray had been planning this trip for months down to the last detail of how he was going to drop to his knee and ask Misty the question she had been wanting to hear forever.

"Are you a writer?"

"Well, I like to write..." Misty said.

"Do you write? Is there something deep inside you that just wants to put words on paper?"

"Yes!" she replied.

"Then you are a writer."

"I am a writer," Misty said. "I am a writer!"

"Really? That is strange. I figured you to be a singer. You've got such a smooth, refreshing voice. I don't know, it's just something I saw. Do you like music?"

"I love to sing to His songs, dance to His rhythm, and His flow. Listening to His spirit on where to go. His words are life and I sing them, so that others may know... the song in my heart when joined with others is free of melody and harmony, but often when I sing alone, it sounds off key! The most beautiful sound is when we all know and do our part! That sounds great!"

"Let's swim with the dolphins, they'll protect us from Jaws."

"And then we'll swim back to land, eat coconuts, and run barefoot through the forest!"

As our feet hit the soft forest trail, and our lungs take in the crisp, clean air, our souls imbibe the greenness of life in the forest, as it makes glad the temple of God that is our body. The river of life flows forth from the throne room and imparts life to THE Body, in preparation for what our Bridegroom is readying to pour out through us to heal a broken world.

Winter Storm of 2016 (by Kathy Laughlin)

by Kathy Laughlin, January 2016

photo credit Kathy Laughlin

News flashes, dire warnings, cautionary tales
of impending mega storm as it moves across the U.S.
East coast preparing for bleak weather conditions,
snow measurements predicted to be in feet not in inches.
A blizzard is forecast with high bitter winds and low visibility,
causing snowdrifts, road closures, flooding and power outages.
“The deadline is nearing,”  quote local news channels.
Time to hurry and prepare: buy salt, batteries and shovels,
shop for groceries and snow melt, wine, books and movies
popcorn, soda, soup, pizza and cookies.
Snack food and family favorites are what we all crave
whenever mother nature begins to misbehave.
Fill up your gas tank, put chains on your tires,
pick up some bread, toilet paper, milk and bottled water.
Charge up your phones, tablets, ipods and ipads
pay all on line bills now, later you’ll be glad.
Catch up on your laundry, the pile grows with the snow;
cook a few meals should you later lose power,
now you are ready to face whatever the storm brings!
With wind blowing sideways snow falls lightly at first;
shovel the driveway early before it gets too deep,
there will be many opportunities to keep it cleared this week.
Work, school, appointments have all been cancelled
you cannot get out now, even if you want to.
So snuggle warmly inside with book, blanket or TV
hunker down, relax, enjoy the quiet evening!
The simple things are always best enjoyed when unexpected.
Choose to see this time as a blessing, a time of relaxing and reflection.
Busy work - filled days are always here, but these times are too few.
So make the most of it - leave cares behind - and you may discover a new you!

The Words Became a Story (by Kim Baker)

By Kim Baker, June 5, 2015

{Originally posted here: http://www.radicalwonder.com/2015/06/the-words-became-story.html
Photo credits: Kim Baker}

The writing assignment began with writing down five words. All six writers weaved and crafted these words (marked in bold) together in whatever way we desired. Because "we are already as creative as He's created us to be." So here's mine:

Take My hand.

There is no fear in love.
My heart for you,
My love for you 
is deep,
containing grace, beauty and peace.

Ropes of doubt and unbelief 
suffocate you.
Throw them out the window,
because on My keychain,
are the keys of hope and truth.
Feel My power flow through you as you write;
A triangle of Father, Son and Holy Spirit - 
Your words going forth as the lark sings its song.

Walk with Me.
Run with Me.
In this journey of writing,
you may feel as if you're barely at the sunrise,
a butterfly not yet emerged,
but I've surrounded you with friendship and laughter,
times of habit to write.
Let the flow of writing be like a rushing water
a miracle to you,
Blessings restored like Job, double portion.

Trusting God (by Dennis Crowley)

by Dennis Crowley, January 20th, 2016

At 8:30 this morning, (Wednesday, January 20th), I decided I had better get to Safeway up the street on Courthouse Plaza, to stock up for the big snow. I don't have that much food in the house, since I have to eat dinner at work because of my schedule.

I threw some clothes in the washer and got in the car and drove up the street. I picked up the basics for survival (sloppy joe mix, breakfast stuff etc), and came home.

I then proceeded to have a quiet time reading the books of Galatians and Ephesians, waiting on the clothes to dry.

I looked for my wallet, and couldn't find it anywhere. I searched the apartment very carefully, as it is a black wallet, and I have a rather dark apartment. Still no wallet. I went outside, looked in the car. nothing.

Panic begins to set in. I have my entire life in this wallet. Not only do I have no way to get to work, but no cash other than what I have in the wallet as well as my ATM,credit cards and drivers license in this wallet.

I go from calm to super stressed. I finally asked Jesus "I really need you help! "

I drive back to the store. I make a quick check of the parking lot to see if I dropped it. Nothing.

I go inside the store, and asked the clerk who rang me out if she has seen a wallet. She speaks very little English and asks the next clerk.

The other clerk says, "We put it in the safe." He asks me, "Is it black? " I said YES!

The assistant manager goes to the retrieves my wallet, and I am SPAZZING out with joy! Thank you I yell, to the entire store. You people are great!

The ride home was a "praise the Lord" time I will never forget.

I would like to share what I believe I learned in that one-long-stressful hour.

1) Christ is made perfect in our weaknesses (Second Corinthians 12:9) says  My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. I have never lost my wallet before. I have misplaced it at times but know where it was. I don't know how I left it in the store. But, I had no other choice but to call upon the name of the Lord and asked for help. He came through!

2) It is important to remain calm in the midst of a storm. When Jesus and the disciples were on a boat they were terrified when a storm came (Matt 8 23-27) and (Mark 4 35-41), Jesus was asleep and he calmed the storm. He can do the same thing in our lives when we are "in a storm." Had I not found the wallet, I would not have been able to get to work, and would have had to go to the bank get cash, and cancel all my cards (quite a few), get new ones, as well as a new drivers license. I am totally relieved that I don't have to do this. It would indeed have been "a storm."

3) God sometimes allows us to do "dumb" things to build our character. I don't lose things, especially wallets. But I called upon the name of the Lord (Psalm 50:15), and he answered me clearly. Not only did I find my wallet, but the cash I had in my wallet was intact. Wow! nothing missing! I had to humble myself before the Lord (Micah 6:8), and admit my need for God.

4) When we are in a crisis, this is an opportunity for God to show his power and glory. For God to do this, I had to take the step of faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and call on him in prayer.

5) Answered prayer in our lives strengthens our faith. Not even the upcoming snowstorm can take away my joy. The folks at Panera Bread noticed how much joy and happiness I had after making my way into Arlington.

6) God can use the victories in our lives as a testimony and witness to others. I shared this story with everyone at the office. I told everyone I know for sure now, that everything in the Bible is true! and that God answers prayer.

7) God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude: In Luke 17, the story of Jesus healing ten lepers is told. Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? Instead of going to work this afternoon stressing out over the snow, I came to work with joy and thankfulness to God.