Birthday Weekend Coffee Share

I am excited you have joined me for coffee today. It is Father’s day in the US and my birthday. I think we will have some birthday cupcakes this morning to celebrate but no singing.

I am having a Butter Brew coffee with a shot of espresso for the occasion. What would you like today?

If we were having coffee, I would tell you this week has been full of ups and downs.

To read the rest of this post please click here. Please comment and clap (I believe you can clap up to 30 times).

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June 16, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, NANOWRIMO, Questions, Reading Life, Short Story, Slice of Life, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: weekendcoffeeshare 9 Comments

#WeekendCoffeeShare #Sunday June 9

I am so glad you are joining me for coffee today! This post is inspired by Eclectic Alli. My summer has officially started and I am feeling amazing! Let’s take our coffee and go for a little walk and then we can sit under the trees as the time stretches on.

You can read the rest of the post here. Please clap and comments if you enjoy what you read!

What will you tell me as we are having coffee?

June 9, 2019June 9, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, sarahselecky, Short Story, Slice of Life, storyaday, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: sarahselecky, storyaday, weekendcoffeeshare, writing, writinggroups Leave a comment

#WeekendCoffeeShare #Sunday June 2

I am so glad you are joining me for coffee today! Today feels special today because it is my second day of summer vacation. This does not mean that I am out of work completely. There are some workshops and training I will be going to but I do not have to drive into work every day. To be home is glorious. I appreciate this schedule change. It usually takes me a week to recalibrate myself but I do not think I will have that issue this year.

You can read the rest of the post here.

Please clap and comments if you enjoy what you read!

Happy Sunday! If you would like to support me additionally you are welcome to buy me a cup of coffee: http://ko-fi.com/tammybreitweiser

What will you tell me while we have coffee?

June 2, 2019June 2, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, sarahselecky, Short Story, Slice of Life, storyaday, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: sarahselecky, storyaday, weekendcoffeeshare, writing, writinggroups Leave a comment

#WeekendCoffeeShare #Sunday May 26th

Today please join me for a coffee. Click here to read and clap!!

May 25, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, sarahselecky, Short Story, Slice of Life, storyaday, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: sarahselecky, storyaday, weekendcoffeeshare, writing, writinggroups Leave a comment

#WeekendCoffeeShare #Sunday May 19th

Today please join me for a coffee. We have some catching up to do!

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I was a guest blogger on Teachwrite’s blog on Monday. If you missed that post you can read it here. It is called Ten Minutes of Truth.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am still writing everyday with Storyaday May. This week my stories got a little dark and a little emotional. It is not a bad thing, but it was surprising to me. Here are some of my favorite prompts this week:

Day 19: 3 Perspectives

2019 Day 17 -Aphorisms

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I am using Sarah Selecky’s writing prompts every day. It is pushing me to think differently about stories somehow and I am pleased with them. Some I will revise and submit and others I will expand. I am considering her Story Course for my birthday. I would love the benefit of mentors but the price point is not one I can swing right now.

If we were having coffee I would tell you I was a little disappointed I wasn’t able to earn a scholarship to a writing conference. It happens and I will still keep writing. I was hopeful this time. I threw my hat into the ring so I am pleased with the effort.

If we were having coffee I would tell you my students did their Living History event on Wednesday. Children from the elementary school come and learn how to dip candles at our station. There is a fire where we melt the wax and my 8th graders do a skit to explain the process. They really did a great job and led the little ones well.

While we are having coffee, I will tell you the Bradbury Trio challenge is going strong as well. I am hoping the input of great writer words will influence my writing and help me hone my craft. I need to make sure I am savoring the writing and not just ticking off the poem, essay, and short story for the day. I was doing that with the books I was reading just to get the number. It doesn’t make it satisfying if I do it that way.

Do you need a refill on your coffee? I am going to get another.

If we were having coffee, I would tell you I received my Small Beer Press publication on Saturday. If you have read my blog at all, you know I adore Kelly Link and her writing. One speech I watched she spoke about horoscope stories she had written for a friend’s Kickstarter. I found the booklet of stories for sale and have been reading them over and over. I will use it as a model to write my own.

If we were having coffee I would tell you I am nearing the end of the school year. The 31st is my last day. I have some training this summer but not too much. I am going to be teaching a workshop on Better Conversations at the end of July. I have a flash fiction writing class at the beginning of July I am super excited about as well. My birthday is in June too so that will mean a good dinner!

If we were having coffee I would tell you I finished reading a novel. I have not been ticking off the books like I have in the past since I am focusing on the Trio. I would recommend this book.

It was well written and there were some surprises at the end. It was a Book of the Month Club selection several months ago.

What will you tell me while we have coffee?

Here is the link to Eclectic Alli and her weekend coffee post and link up.

May 19, 2019May 19, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, sarahselecky, Short Story, Slice of Life, storyaday, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: sarahselecky, storyaday, weekendcoffeeshare, writing, writinggroups 8 Comments

A Trip Down Memory Lane…Kinda #SOL19

Every Tuesday I post a slice of life and share in the challenge at Two Writing Teachers.

Lately, I have noticed shadows of things that I thought were new to my life but actually are not. It is amazing what reflection can bring forth.

I think of myself as a reflective person, and not just at the end of the school year. I always want to learn and become better and reflection is a large part of this process in my opinion.

With my discovery of short stories and I being creative soul mates over the recent last couple of years, I did not think that I had that much experience with short stories before. I had no recollection of reading many of them in high school other than The Celestial Omnibus . I do have a special place in my heart for this story, which is why I suspect it stands out.

Yesterday, while looking for something else, I stumbled across my ELA folder from school. In my corporation, writing samples were saved in a district folder that followed you from elementary to senior year where it was given to you unceremoniously. I have kept it all these years.

Curious, I started thumbing through it and was reminded of papers I wrote for Macbeth and for Of Mice and Men…then I stumbled on papers in connection to short stories.

One is WINTER DREAMS by F Scott Fitzgerald. I printed it off and began reading. I don’t remember reading it at all! It was a trip down memory lane – slight skewed.

I wrote a paper about Judy Jones and her many personality aspects. It isn’t the most riveting paper I must say. I had strong opinions and did not like this character much at all!

I look forward to finding new stories to read that I have read before. It will be like the first time…again.

May 14, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, WritingLifeTags: solc19, TWTBLOG 4 Comments

#WeekendCoffeeShare #Mothersday

Today please join me for a coffee at a little diner that looks like we have gone back in time. The mugs are ceramic and thick. The booths are red pleather. There is a buzz in the air that is snippets of conversation from babies to retirement age and the smell of strong coffee.

While we are having coffee I will tell you this past week was full of testing, late nights, and writing.

While we are having coffee I would tell you Storyaday May is going strong. I have written everyday and it is going well. I am following the prompts from Julie and Sarah Selecky. Most days I am able to combine both into one story which makes me happy and satisfied for some reason. I also was able to come back to my manuscript and start to write some stories that will be embedded into the novel. At my writing retreat in Feb. I was able to outline the whole book and see where there were holes and alignment issues. my brain is starting to plug those holes as I write which is exciting.

While we are having coffee I would tell you I am enjoying my writing community. I am checking in with the group every day. I have a few people I talk to more often with email or private messages. Monday night was our video meeting and it was nice to do some timed writing sprints with people around the country. I was also able to check in with a small group on Friday as well which was a great vibe.

While we are having coffee, I will tell you the Bradbury Trio challenge is going strong as well. I cannot pinpoint works this week that have stayed with me. I did relisten to The Ormulu Clock by Muriel Spark.

While we are having coffee I will tell you testing has gone on all week. I had my regular group two days and then on all the off times I was doing make up tests. It gives me time to write by hand since I cannot be connected to technology. I welcome the tech vacation every year at this time.

While we are having coffee I will tell you I had a good coaches meeting with one of our consultants. She is always motivating. We talked about goals and reflecting. The year is not over for my building yet so I am not quite in the end of year mode.

While we are having coffee I will tell you I am back to running. I am having some complicated feelings about the activity to be honest. I was hard core before for various reasons but now the motivations for the runs are different. I had a glorious run at the national lakeshore on Friday and ran down a new trail which was beautiful and sandy. I even ran along the water which I have not done in years. the stairs took me to overlook the park too.

Trail 7

Do you need a refill on your coffee? I am going to get another.

While we are having coffee I will tell you I am tired but am not dwelling on it. Sunday is Mother’s Day. I have complicated feelings about this holiday. I will spend some time with one of my sons and enjoy that. The rest of the day I will deal with my memories. Maybe it will end up in a story.

What will you tell me while we have coffee?

Here is the link to Eclectic Alli and her weekend coffee post and link up.

May 11, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, sarahselecky, Short Story, Slice of Life, storyaday, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: sarahselecky, storyaday, weekendcoffeeshare, writing, writinggroups 7 Comments

What is Your Mantra? #10thingstotellyou

The podcast #10thingstotellyou is becoming one of my favorites.

This week’s question had me thinking that I have several mantras. Some are for work. Some are for general life. Some are for running.

My general life mantra is:

Everything is temporary.

The good in life is temporary as well as the bad. It is a phrase that keeps me grounded and from having my anxiety spiral out of control.

A mantra I use in teaching and coaching is:

I have chosen a word of the year that guides my thinking and is a mantra in a sense. This year’s word is:

For running the mantra in a race is:

This is what you have been training for. Or Just keep going.

Just keep going works for writing too!

What are your mantras?

May 8, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Coaching, Mywriting, Questions, Writing Challenge, Writing ExerciseTags: #10thingstotellyou 5 Comments

StoryTime Club #SOL19

Every Tuesday I write a slice of life and share it at Two Writing Teachers.

Meeting with my writing group is life giving for me and even as the end of the school year is upon us I am glad I am taking the time to do this project.

I had mentioned in my previous writing club post that the discussion process needed some work. I decided to pose a question to the group that they would have to answer individually and then we would popcorn after that to agree, disagree or pose a related question to what the rest of the group said. I will say that once the expectation of collaborative conversation was presented they did a much better job. My next step is to get them to talk more to each other rather than bouncing everything off me. I do not want to be the center of the conversation, only a part of it.

The question was “What is the perfect life?”

The story used for reading like a writer was Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver.

Here is the list of craft moves/ideas for their own writing they gleaned from the text and discussion:

+Use the title

+Write sentences that conjure strong visualization in the reader

+Write about fighting over an object or a picture that represents a bigger idea

+Write a story with 2 characters

+Write the story about what happens before this story

+Write the story of what happens after this story

+Start with action – dive right in with a big moment

+ Open with a  paragraph and talks about the weather to se the mood for the story

+Use a last line that leads to more than one conclusion

Photo by picjumbo.com on Pexels.com

We then finished the session with a 4 minute freewrite. The pencils were feverishly writing on their paper at my tables.

–One was a flash piece full of strong emotion and sadness.

–One was the before story – what happened to explain why the couple was fighting

They noticed lines I glazed over and had specific reflections with text evidence.

I was gifted with 45 minutes of time with these students. It went by quick. I sent them a link to storyaday and the challenge I participate in every May and September.

I think I am going to use some of Sandra Cisneros stories from The House on Mango street next.

May 7, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Coaching, Mywriting, Slice of Life, storyaday, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: solc19, storytimeclub 2 Comments

Weekend Coffee Share – May is HERE!

Today let’s have coffee at the table under the trees! I have a hammock for you and one for me for later if we want to move. I am having black coffee, as usual. What would you like from the cafe section of my kitchen?

Later today we are going to a White Sox game so I am very excited! The weather is supposed to be great.

While we are having coffee I will tell you this past week has been amazing for writing!

I wrote a breathless paragraph led by Kathy Fish in her Skillshare class. I am so glad I am able to learn from her now. If you have time, I would highly recommend the class. Skillshare is pretty easy to navigate. I have my longer class with her in July which I am anticipating happily but this is a good introduction.

I am writing a story a day. I have 5 including today. Today’s prompt is a 100 word story. This is harder than you think. I had 106 first and then I pared it down to 93. I worked it back up to 100!

I am writing 10 minutes a day with Sarah Selecky’s prompts which is stretching me in surprising ways.

I started on a specific writing manifesto.

While we are having coffee, I will tell you about some of the great reads from this past week’s Bradbury Trio.

Essay: To Grieve Is To Carry Another Time

Short story: Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver

Sarah Selecky’s short story: Go Manchura

While we are having coffee I will tell you I have had many creative sparks this week.

One is Jefferson Dinners.

Two is Ben Franklin circles.

Three is the NEW Moon.

Do you need a refill on your coffee? I am going to get another.

While we are having coffee I will tell you I am loving the Superstars community through storyaday.org. Getting involved with this group has been a great thing for my writing life! You can get involved in the challenge by commenting on each day’s prompt at the site.

What was the best thing about your week?

Here is the link to Eclectic Alli and her weekend coffee post and link up.

May 5, 2019May 6, 2019 by TammyB Categories: Gatherings, Justlife, Mywriting, Questions, Reading Life, Short Story, Slice of Life, Weekend coffee share, Writing Challenge, Writing Exercise, Writing Group, Writing Prompt, WritingLifeTags: weekendcoffeeshare 2 Comments