Month: July 2024

In many of my articles, I’ve shared how you can create a writing life in your 60s and beyond. My intention now is to inspire you by providing some starting points for deciding what to write.

Are you wondering how to begin? Are you asking yourself if you even have anything interesting to say? I want to model for you how something ordinary can become inspiration for your creative writing.

Your life story is in everything that you see and do. For example, I used “gardening” as the starting point for a personal essay.

How Gardening Inspires Me to Write

For me, gardening offers experiences just asking to be described. The act of gardening touches the physical senses but also emotional and spiritual senses as well. You can tell a story of your life through the multi-faceted lens of gardening. Here are some tips for transforming the gardening experience into a story.

Use Evocative Adjectives!

Be as specific and descriptive as possible. It’s not the bird; it’s the brown sparrow. It’s not an old car, it’s the vintage black Ford.

Examine Your Feelings

Explore what you feel physically when you step into the garden. Is your skin sun-kissed by the warmth of the sun? Is it a cloudy day good for weeding? Does that feel cool on your arms? Do you want to put on a cozy sweater? Does the air feel hot and dry or humid and thick? Do your knees hurt? Does your body feel strong?

Open Your Eyes

What do you see when you start gardening? Are your eyes drawn to green shoots pushing up through the rich soil? Or maybe you see the hard cracked earth? Are there sweet red ladybugs or colorful butterflies? Does what you see in your garden bring back a memory?

Listen to Your Surroundings

What do you hear when you begin your gardening? Are there sounds of someone mowing their lawn down the street? Can you hear children playing? Does the sound of birds singing make you smile? Do you hear traffic, car horns or sirens? Do you tune out the sounds around you or are they part of your gardening?

Engage All Senses

Don’t forget the power of fragrance. What are the smells in the garden? Does the soil tickle your nostrils with a decaying earth kind of smell? Are there sweet smells of flowers near by? Are you aware of the aroma of sun-block on your skin?

Taste the Beauty

What about tastes? I have a barrel full of snap peas in my garden that never make it to the table in my house. Why? Because I pop them into my mouth while I am working. Maybe you carry lemon water or iced ginger tea into your garden. Describing the sensation of drinking something refreshing as you work. It can inspire creativity.

What does gardening make you think about? What is your own personal psycho-spiritual philosophy about gardening? I’ve had periods in my life where it felt like all I was doing was pulling weeds.

Often I’ve thought about how things struggle to grow from the dark earth. I’ve thought about how new growth pushes its way to the light. Life’s a lot like that. There’s the big push, the struggle and eventually we find the light. That’s worth writing about!

Use Memories to Stimulate Creativity

What memories rise to greet you when you garden? Does gardening remind you of someone, or of someplace? Here’s an example of a memory for me.

“I often think about my grandmother Julia when I am in the garden. She braided her long white hair and twisted it into a bun at the nape of her neck. Wisps and strands would dance around her face in the afternoon sun. Around her fenced plot of land that grew berries, herbs and vegetables. She placed little plastic and porcelain statues of Mary, Jesus and St. Francis. Gardening was for her, synonymous with prayer and her garden was filled with altars tucked between rows tomatoes.”

The tips I have listed are short writing prompts that will help you construct an extraordinary story. You might ask how can such common things be extraordinary. My answer is this. All life lived fully and gratefully is extraordinary.

To capture it through your written words is to create a gift for posterity. It shares something special with the people who know something of how you view life and the world. This is true even if it is just a touchstone for your own life and not for anyone else to see. Your words can provide a life map of the places the journey has taken you.

In this piece I have used the example of gardening as a starting point for creative writing. You could easily translate this other “ordinary” life activities. For example, you could write about sewing or cooking or whatever interests you.

I hope my own experience provides you with a guide for using your daily life as inspiration for creative writing.

If you’re looking for more ideas, here is an article that offers 70 creative writing prompts organized by genre.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What day-to-day life experiences inspire your creative writing? Are you inspired by working in the garden? Please join the conversation and share your comments.

For most women, shopping is an inherited or possibly even genetic characteristic. We don’t need to take classes because most of us are born with a shopping degree. But we do need to follow certain guidelines if we are to be awarded a postgraduate degree.

7 Lifestyle Questions to Ask Yourself

So before you grab your bag and head out on a spending spree, I offer some advice. I’d like you to analyse your life and style preferences as you are now. Ask yourself the following questions:

• How do you spend your time during the day?
• Do you go out a lot? Are you a social butterfly?
• Do you spend a lot of time at home?
• How often do you go out in the evening?
• Do you have dinner with friends or family at home or at a restaurant?
• With whom do you spend most of your time – family, friends or work colleagues?
• Do you work? If so, do you spend a lot of time at work?

The way you present yourself everyday matters. This is true whether you work or not. If you work, what type of job do you have? Is it a job that requires corporate clothing or a uniform? Or is it a job that allows for casual dressing?

If you’ve answered the questions honestly, you should have a much better idea of what you need on your shopping list. This is a good time in your life to abandon ‘High Street’ or ‘Mall’ fashion and find your own unique shopping style instead.

When you find something that suits you, stick to it. And if you love it, buy it in three colours.

When I lived in Florence, Italy, I noticed – and fell in love with – the effortless chic and style of the average woman. Italian women wear clothes that are smart, stylish and colourful. They are experts at creating a great combination with the right accessories. They are all very good with accessories!

There are also some major Designer Outlets in Florence. I saw many women of our age group shopping there. They also just go to look and stimulate their own creativity.

Establish Your Budget

We don’t like to think about budgets when we shop for clothes. Today, we are setting the rules by which we will live and love for the next 30 or more years. In that case, it’s probably a good idea to start as we mean to continue. This does not mean we need to become frugal; just less impulsive.

Make sure the budget you decide on is adequate for the clothing you are going to buy. Do a little window shopping first. Look through online shops for what is available and decide on the price you’re likely to pay for each type of item.

Don’t forget, you may be looking for scarves and bags and socks and all sorts of things other than clothing! Budget for everything.

Before you go off to the shops you should have done your wardrobe makeover. You already know what you can still wear. You’ve discarded anything that’s too old, tight, big, ill-fitting or plain ugly.

You’ve answered all the life and style questions. You know what you’re after. Is it a short jacket, a fitted pair of pants or a pair of colourful shoes? Now plan your campaign and dress comfortably as you head off on a successful shopping trip!

Let’s Have a Conversation:

Do you have a good understanding of your shopping style? Have you asked yourself the 7 questions to help understand your life and style? Do you establish a budget when you go shopping or do you shop impulsively? Please join the conversation below.