A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

  Graduation...in Kosovo This week  marks a special event in Europe.  And I'm not there to experience it.   Those of you who have followed my blog for a while, know that I received a message in 2017 from one of my former students at the University. A message that proved to be a gift. Heather graduated from the teacher education program where I taught and served as the head of the education department. I was one of Heather’s professors as well as her advisor when she studied at the private university in Cincinnati. Since graduation, Heather had married and now used her gift of teaching at a private school in Kosovo. Think “Southeastern Europe.” The message was simple. Heather let me know she and her husband were going to have a baby. It brought a smile to my face. The next part of the text explained she was returning to the United States to have her child. I remember thinking that was likely a good decision.  Finally, she noted that since she was going to be in t...

  Do You Have a Story to Tell? Tell It!   Someone asked me how I keep writing. “Aren’t there times when you just don’t feel like writing?” Sure. That’s when having a plan helps.   I was trying to think of a good metaphor to explain my writing schedule. I could compare it to exercise. You just do it on a regular basis, inspired or not.  Exercise Your Writing Muscle In fact, when I’m not particularly “inspired” to write, I engage in a writing exercise. There are story starters online or even books with suggestions to exercise your writing muscle.    I’m sure those are helpful, but for me, I will often turn to topics  Chicken Soup for the Soul  plans to publish and write stories for the next two or three titles. If I like what I wrote, I edit the story, read it out loud to make sure it says what I want it to say and submit it to the publishers. They are not all accepted, but I have had several stories published under various titles in the  ...

  The Train Ride We had a ticket to ride! If you read my post a couple of weeks ago called “Yay for May!” you already know my oldest grandson graduated from the University of Cincinnati in the field of cyber-technology. You may recall from that post I said Joshua has other interests, too. If you missed that post, I’ll put a link to it at the bottom of this one. The station had it's own Thomas the Tank Ever since he was a young child, Joshua  has had a fascination with trains. He was a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine. He loved the train under the Christmas tree. He collected all sorts of track and trains through the years.  Of course the big draw for us to travel to Ohio was to celebrate Joshua’s college graduation, a week or so before accepting that diploma, Josh graduated from “train school.” Seriously. He graduated as a Junior Brakeman. The first step in the train school in Connersville, Indiana.  So, while we were in the area, Joshua took us to Connersville to ...

True Confession:     “I am a paperphile.” There. I said it. I love paper. I’m addicted. They say the first step to recovery is confession.  So here it is: I am a paperphile. I don’t think I’ve ever met a blank piece of paper or a notebook or even a paper placemat at a restaurant that didn’t draw me in to retrieve a pen or pencil and start writing. Or drawing. My mom would send me to my room to clean it only to find me sitting in the middle of the floor an hour later, surrounded by paper, books, or half used notebooks, reading or writing. My paternal grandmother understood. She sent notebooks and calendars my way.  Even as I am typing this, I am surrounded by five notepads and two pads of post-it notes and four pens.  That is in addition to the legal pad on the other side of the computer where I’m working! This is not a set-up. This is my life! Poor Mike. I have a desk in our house that I regularly clean out. Actually I mostly stack the paper in neat piles a...