Friday, September 6, 2013

The Power of Poems and Photos To Inspire Writing




The Power of Photographs to Inspire Writing

Words and pictures can work together to communicate more powerfully than either alone.”                                                                                                William Albert Allard
  American Photographer


Show a photograph to a child, and the youngster will point to it, trace its image, and respond with a variety of emotions. Show another to an adult, and you get a frown, a smile, or a gesture—rarely will you draw a blank. Then show a photo, or a series of photos, to people at any level, and they’ll respond with many different ideas that will lead to the creation of many interesting poems, essays, and other works.
Why do students respond so enthusiastically to graphic images? Here’s one theory. Early humans drew pictures on the walls of caves. That’s visual orientation, the kind of communication that doesn’t depend on the written word. Then along came paper and ink, and with them, word orientation. Meticulously copying texts, monks labored for centuries with this kind of mindset. True, they also embellished these works with colorful designs and images—the illuminated manuscript— but the text prevailed and the visual orientation of the cave was slowly being edged out by attention to the written word.
Then came the printing press followed by machines that could set type and reproduce images that would have astounded the medieval monks who labored in their cells. Later, during the 19th Century, innovators discovered how to capture images on film, and still photographs and motion pictures were born. During the 20th Century, children in schools found themselves in groups called “Bluebirds” and “Robins,” where they were encouraged to master the printed word. Frozen in time, little Johnny and Betty roamed the pages of primary readers or scratched out weekly compositions on topics like “My Vacation” or “My Favorite Pet.”
Today the pendulum of history is swinging back toward an emphasis on visual images. The explosion that began with the invention of photography recalled our early attempts to communicate by drawing on the walls of caves. From still photography came motion pictures. Then came television, and what was a trickle burst into a torrent. It was, in a sense, a return to the cave. Finally, the digital revolution has converted the torrent of images into a tsunami that floods the senses and is virtually impossible to ignore.
    Often maligned but never out of sight, these visual images captivate us. Show students a simple photograph of waves beating against the shore and you’ll be amazed by their responses. Some will recall memories of seaside childhoods; others will visualize sea stories, shipwrecks, mysteries of the deep, and more. Still others will venture into the abstract—the world of simile, metaphor, and personification—perhaps transcribing a bit of themselves into their writing.
     For teachers who recognize the power of photographic images to inspire writing, the rewards are great. No longer will students complain, “I don’t know what to write about.” Why is this so? Perhaps it is because there is something magical about photographs; something that causes students to respond spontaneously and creatively; something that reaches into the subconscious and triggers responses.

A Light Bulb

One of the many good things about using photos to inspire writing in the classroom is that you do not have to look very far to discover suitable images. Consider, for example, a simple photo of a light bulb and the ideas it triggered in the mind of Becky Brown, a student at Peak To Peak Charter School, Lafayette, Colorado.

Inspiration 

So cheerful
Yet so grim
The inspiration hits.                                                 
The pencil caresses paper
Turning dreams into realities.

The words flow freely,
Unhindered.                                                                                                       
Simply written as thought,
As fragments pieced together
From disorganization to art.

The pencil writes still,
As if it has a mind of its own.
The words just keep coming                                                     
And you sit, helpless to stem the flow
Like the mouse versus the mountain.

You keep your head down
Oblivious to the world
Until the poem is done
And the inspiration trickles away
Like the stream in the desert.

     It could be that digging into students for personal responses, abstract notions, creative concepts, and subconscious ideas is the real value of using photographs to inspire writing. But that is not the end. Photographs can also be used to teach such writing skills as sense impressions, cause and effect, and analysis.

A Simple Photo
 
     No photograph is too simple or mundane to stimulate writing. Take, for example, a picture of the exterior of a deserted house. Gloomy and low-keyed, it lends itself to many interpretations. But it also makes possible the teaching of many skills. “What’s the difference,” you might ask, “between the appearance of the structure shown in the photo and the way it must have been when it was new? What do you think happened to the people who once lived in this house?” Responses will vary, of course, but quite often a student will come up with a gem like the following by Eve Milrod, a student at Baldwin Senior High School, Baldwin, New York.

Scarred and Pitted 


The old house is scarred
And pitted. It once
was smooth and shiny.

Its windows are two eyes
Gazing out at nowhere
Devoid of glass.

Shadows lurk inside
Reminders, it would seem
Of long forgotten occupants.

Man's Best Friend

     Even a simple photo of a dog painted on a doorway can serve as inspiration for writing. A student of psychology, astronomy, and philosophy at Massbay College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, Rose Scherlis responded to this image with the following poem.

 The Dog With No Name

Your furry head peeked out at me
So I dropped some fried plantain for you to enjoy.
You lived on a banana field in Costa Rica,
And it was beautiful, but the pesticides
For years underneath your delicate paws
Had twisted them until they grew like poison ivy
Bent in the wrong directions.
Your ear was tattered, a page in a book
With the corner folded down,
Signs of an ongoing war
With a world so menacing
When seen from way down there.
But still your tail wagged
Like a stick in the hand of a drummer,
And your fur shone
Mottled with brown splotches,
Just puddles of mud
Surrounding your two copper eyes.

     Paired with such keywords as dogs, loyalty, friend, and dedication, this photo—or one that is similar—will trigger ideas leading to student writing, either poetry or prose. What’s more you can always add a quotation like this one by Gilda Radner to encourage even more creative thinking: “I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role models for being alive.”

Different Points of View

     And how about an exercise in point of view? Using the photo of the protester shown here, divide the class into groups of twos, and ask the members of each group to respond in writing from the point of view of either the woman holding the sign or an observer who disagrees with the sign’s message. Some students may choose to do this in the form of a dialogue. If you really like to organize things, arrange other appropriate photographs into such opposing themes as children and senior citizens, urban and rural, handcrafting and mass production, leisure and industry—whatever will elicit responses from student writers.
     Perhaps by now you are thinking of other ways in which you can inspire writing by using photographs as stimuli. Here are just a few. (1) Use family photos to encourage writing about parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, (2) Use photographs to trigger the writing of haiku, (3) Create an anthology containing student photos and the written works the photos inspired, (4) Use photographs to encourage students to act out what they see in the photos before they write about them, (5) Simply project several photographs on a screen without comment and let the students take it from there.
     In the long run, what approach you take really doesn’t matter. When you use photographs to inspire writing, the images speak for themselves. What’s more, the poetry or prose your students will create will be more honest and meaningful than most other student writing you have read. 



About the Author

A veteran of the Korean War, Hank Kellner is a retired Associate Professor of English currently based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is the author of 125 Photos for English Composition Classes  (J. Weston Walch, 1978); How to Be a Better Photographer (J. Weston Walch, 1980); Write What You See: 99 Photos To Inspire Writing (Prufrock Press, 2009); and, with Elizabeth Guy, the co-author of Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing (Prufrock Press, 2013). His other writings and photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications nationwide. Visit his blog at hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com, and read more about using photographs to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/.
 See also Hank Kellner’s e-books  at https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=hank+kellner





Monday, June 17, 2013

Don't Miss This New Satirical Novel


   In this blog I usually write about  using photographs to inspire writing in the classroom. Please visit the archives for more information on this topic.
   In this installment of English Education, however, I want to introduce you to my newest novel, The Lucky Star House of Celestial Pleasures. Please read the book information shown below to find out more about this work, which is available as an eBook or pdf for just $1.99. Ordering information follows the text.
The Amazing Journey of Winston Finn and Liberty Belle
Politically incorrect in every way, this satirical novel pokes fun at just about every aspect of our society. Reminiscent of the writings of Voltaire and other great satirists, The Lucky Star House of Celestial Pleasures takes the reader on a rollicking journey that spares no person or institution as it satirizes both men and women with all of their warts and blemishes.
After Winston Finn's wife of many years leaves him to live with her girlfriend in Mississippi, the distraught retired stockbroker decides to travel and see the world. Early on, he meets Liberty Belle, a young former army nurse and airline flight attendant. Because Winston and Liberty have similar interests, they decide to embark on their journey together.
During their travels, they encounter such characters as Father Flanagan and his conversion extraordinaire, Olivia Stockton and the Society for the Prevention of Erotic Relationships with Men (SPERM); Captain Fung Goo and the Chinese pirates; Alandra the Moon Goddess; Willa Catheter and Captain Hashimototo; and a host of others
At one point in the novel, Liberty—or Libby as she prefers to be called—relates how she was captured by Captain Fung Goo; sold into slavery at the Lucky Star House of Celestial Pleasures in Thailand; and eventually escaped while at the same time taking revenge on her nemesis, General Mortimer (Kickass) Shostakapulski.
At the conclusion of the novel, three terrorists from Paducastan who are guest students at a community college in New York kidnap our hero and heroine, spirit them away to a remote cabin in the woods, and plan to train them to become suicide bombers. But when Libby outwits Abdul bin Pasquelante, Mohammed bin Rashid, and Mahmud bin Pudendum; the two travelers are able to escape.
The Lucky Star House of Celestial Pleasure  $1.99 Download as an eBook or pdf at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/325849
About the Author: Hank Kellner is a retired associate professor of English. He is the author of 125 Photos for English Composition Classes (J. Weston Walch, 1978); Terror at Mirror Lake (Smashwords, 2013); I Don’t Wanna Be an Orange Anymore (Smashwords, 2013); The Taste of Appalachia (Smashwords 2013); How to Be a Better Photographer (J. Weston Walch, 1980), Write What You See (Prufrock Press, 2010), and, with Elizabeth Guy Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing Prufrock Press, 2013). His other writings and photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications nationwide.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

A Photo and a Poem




Guest Blog


This week I'm delighted to present a guest blog by poet, avid gardener, mother of four, and prolific reader Elizabeth Guy. Impressed by the power of photographs to inspire writing, Guy often uses them to trigger ideas that lead to the creation of poems and other forms of writing. 

Every Photo Tells a Story 

More and more often in my travels here and abroad, I see young couples entangled in a romantic embrace, lip-locked like barnacles to the hull of a ship.  It’s sometimes quite bemusing.  Often I wonder, “What does she see in him?”

My co-author, Hank Kellner,  loves to do street photography and has amassed albums of his work.  I enjoy leafing through those images and choosing one or another to inspire a poem or a story.

Take for example this couple, caught by Kellner’s lens exchanging a kiss along one of the river walks that edges the shores of New York City.  The following photo and poem combination was first published in our book, Reflect & Write:300 Poems and Photographs to Inspire Writing  (Prufrock Press 2013). 

For anyone not familiar with the name Zac Efron, feel free to substitute the name of any man whose mere physical countenance makes women sigh with longing and get all starry-eyed.


Anyone who’s a kisser I’m always interested in.”  - Cher

No Zac Efron

He’s no Zac Efron
I’m sure you’d agree,
But he’s kind of cute I think.
With a slow easy smile
That’s part of his style
And a little “come here” wink.

His tattoos cover much that’s not seen
But at least there’s no ring in his nose.
‘Though his brain’s not too keen,
If you know what I mean,
And he favors the oddest of clothes,
Yet, he’s the one I chose.

I don’t understand it myself.

I guess the answer is this—
‘Though he belches and scratches and snores,                                                  
Often sucks his teeth with a hiss,
When he takes me in his arms
I simply cannot resist,
As he lowers his lips to mine—
Oh my!  He can certainly kiss!

                        ~Elizabeth Guy
  
Ah yes, when Spring is in the air, the pheromones fly everywhere!  Even old codgers are not immune.  

I remember several years ago when a widowed friend became romantically involved with a gentleman and their relationship turned serious.  Her son asked her, “Why him, Mom?”  She told me afterwards in confidence, “I really couldn’t explain it at the time.  I mean, you can’t tell your son something like, ‘Well, when he kisses me I melt like an ice cream pop in a steam room!’”

Do you have any photos that inspire you to write?

          Coming to http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com                 


What is this boy thinking?

Also, visit my co-author's blog at http://hank-englisheducation.blogspot.com  See his ten-part series on photo prompts to inspire writing at http://www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/ 

And Don’t Miss… 
 
            English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “White and White” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of Hank Kellner’s  twelve-part series THE POWER OF PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at the Creativity Portal  website http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"
            Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/



A Helpful Source for Inspiration
For more photos and information not included in this blog, please visit http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy (Prufrock Press, 2013), 153 pages, $24.95.


Saturday, May 18, 2013

Every Photograph Tells a Story


Every Photograph Tells a Story

Creative Concepts # 10

             What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?
            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

Visit the “Power of Photos to Inspire Writing” Archives 
 
        Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the past weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.
            Sometimes direct quotations accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions present challenges. From time to time, keywords stimulate ideas.
            For more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/  and  http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com.
            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hankpix-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates.

Finding Your Muse

          Student writer Becky Brown uses a photo of an incandescent light bulb as motivation for writing a six-paragraph poem dealing with finding inspiration for writing. In her poem she concludes that the writing process is a solitary one.

“You simply sit down at the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.”
                                                      –Walter Wellesley “Red” Smith

 Inspiration  


So cheerful
Yet so grim
The inspiration hits
And the pencil caresses the paper
Turning dreams to realities.

The words flow freely
Unhindered by the conscious mind
Simply written as thought
As fragments piecing themselves together
From disorganization to art.

The pencil writes
As if it has a mind of its own.
The words keep coming
And you sit, helpless to stem the flow
Like a mouse versus a mountain.

You keep your head down
Oblivious to the world
Until the poem is done
And the inspiration trickles away
Like a stream in the desert.

Keywords: writing, poetry, create, author

Questions to Consider: (1) When you write, do you find the words “flow freely” until the inspiration trickles away? (2) Do you often find yourself inspired to write? (3) How does it feel when you do? (4) How does it feel when you don’t? Think of imagery and metaphors to describe these sensations.

Possible Opening Lines:  (1) I really enjoy writing. When my ideas flow freely, I…
                                          (2) I’d rather play video games that try to write just about anything.

And Don’t Miss…

         English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “White and White” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of my twelve-part series USING PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"
          Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

New Book Presents Recollections of a Boy’s Childhood During World War II

Growing up in the fictional town of Meadowview, young Willie Watson objects to being required to play the part of an orange in the school play when he is nine and in the fourth grade. But that's just the beginning of his problems. As he continues through elementary school, Willie has to deal with the town bully; Christmas with his relatives; the death of a schoolmate; the loss of his girlfriend; the theft of a fountain pen; his broken eyeglasses, and much more.
Included in this book are such chapters as "There Is No Santa Claus," "Oh Captain, My Captain," "The Dog in the Rhinestone Collar," "A Bird's Just a Bird," and "Hey Brucie, Your Sister Wears Long Underwear."
Readers will enjoy these humorous and often touching descriptions of a young boy's experiences as he grows up in a small town many years ago. See sample pages and buy this eBook at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312279

Exciting, Spine-Tingling, and Difficult, to Put Down

       For a psychological thriller that will keep you turning pages long after everyone else has fallen asleep, don't miss Terror at Mirror Lake.
        Terror lurks in the shadows of Mirror Lake. Secrets of sex, lies, and death are all patiently waiting to surface from its murky depths.
       The small, sleepy town of Hamptonville seems the last place you would find sadistic sex, drugs, blackmail, and murder. But that's exactly what Bruce Orum and his girlfriend Cindy Garvey encounter when they flee from New York City after having killed another girl.
       In Hamptonville they meet Luke Downing, a psychopath who soon uses drugs to control Cindy and make her his sex slave. A cruel, vicious character, Downing showed all the classic symptoms of a cold-blooded killer from the time he was a boy growing up with an imaginary friend who encourages him in his perversions until he became and adult.
       Having dominated Cindy, Downing uses her to seduce two fishermen, Pete Engstrom and Hal Bonnacker, when they visit Mirror Lake, after which he plans to blackmail them. Although Cindy seduces the men, she double crosses Downing, disappears, and the men get away.
       For the next few months Engstrom and Bonnacker express guilt over what happened at the lake. They decide to return to the scene to find Cindy. Sensing a problem, their wives decide to accompany them.
       At Mirror Lake Downing takes the two couples prisoner and plans to torture and humiliate them before killing them. But he does not know that Sheriff Jeff Parker and Molly Hutchison are on his trail and determined to stop him.
       From page one all the way to the breathtaking ending, you will find yourself on pins and needles waiting to see what happens on the next page.
        See sample pages and buy this eBook at https:www.smashwords.com/books/view/309191 

Two Books That Will Help to Inspire Writing

         Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.  Includes CD with photos and poems from the book.
        Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy , ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. 

          Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is a collection of photographs and writing prompts designed to inspire writing. In addition to the many photos and ideas it presents, this collection includes a section that cites “Ten Ways to Use Reflect and Write” as well as a second section titled “How Some Teachers Use Photos to Inspire Writing” An added bonus is a CD with photos and writing prompts.
        Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner, Prufrock Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2, 118 pages, includes CD, $24.95.  See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Write-What-You-See-P791.aspx.
    



Saturday, May 11, 2013

The Power of Photographs to Inspire Writing # 9


Every Photograph Tells a Story

Creative Concepts # 9

             What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?
            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

A New Photo Every Week

        Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.
            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas.
            For more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/  and  http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com.
            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hankpix-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates.

         Bell, thou soundest solemnly,/When, on Sabbath morning,/ Fields deserted lie!
                                                     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

         Student writer Christiana Pontier’s  poem “Still the Bells” begins with a question, asks several more questions, and concludes with a final question. Is it possible to answer these questions? What might the bells represent? Why is the poet so concerned with them? The answers to these and other questions will provide inspiration for many different kinds of writing.

     Still the Bells 

Why do your bells ring?
Why do they ringle and jingle?
Jingle and jangle?
Why do they ring?
Is there no hand to stop them?
Is there not a hand
   escorted by the sun’s valiant rays,
   reaching out to still them?
To stop them?
To stop them altogether?
To still them
Forever?

Keywords: bells, alarm, sunlight, disturbance

Challenge: Write two or more paragraphs in which you describe the ringing of a bell from the point of view of at least two different people.

Possible Opening Lines:
    
    As a student sitting in class waiting for the bell, sometimes I feel that a minute can seem like an hour. For example, …
or
    On the other hand, as teacher, I’ve found that the bell that signals the end of class sometimes seems to ring too soon. I remember one time when…

Coming Next Week

Finding Your Muse

And Don’t Miss…

        English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “White and White” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of my twelve-part series USING PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"
       Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

New Book Presents Recollections 
of a Boy's Childhood 
During World War II

Growing up in the fictional town of Meadowview, young Willie Watson objects to being required to play the part of an orange in the school play when he is nine and in the fourth grade. But that's just the beginning of his problems. As he continues through elementary school, Willie has to deal with the town bully; Christmas with his relatives; the death of a schoolmate; the loss of his girlfriend; the theft of a fountain pen; his broken eyeglasses, and much more.
Included in this book are such chapters as "There Is No Santa Claus," "Oh Captain, My Captain," "The Dog in the Rhinestone Collar," "A Bird's Just a Bird," and "Hey Brucie, Your Sister Wears Long Underwear."
Readers will enjoy these humorous and often touching descriptions of a young boy's experiences as he grows up in a small town many years ago. See sample pages and buy this eBook at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312279

Exciting, Spine-Tingling, and Difficult, to Put Down

       For an adult psychological thriller that will keep you turning pages long after everyone else has fallen 
asleep, don't miss Terror at Mirror Lake.
       Terror lurks in the shadows of Mirror Lake. Secrets of sex, lies, and death are all patiently waiting to surface from its murky depths.
       The small, sleepy town of Hamptonville seems the last place you would find sadistic sex, drugs, blackmail, and murder. But that's exactly what Bruce Orum and his girlfriend Cindy Garvey encounter when they flee from New York City after having killed another girl.
       In Hamptonville they meet Luke Downing, a psychopath who soon uses drugs to control Cindy and make her his sex slave. A cruel, vicious character, Downing showed all the classic symptoms of a cold-blooded killer from the time he was a boy growing up with an imaginary friend who encourages him in his perversions until he became and adult.
       Having dominated Cindy, Downing uses her to seduce two fishermen, Pete Engstrom and Hal Bonnacker, when they visit Mirror Lake, after which he plans to blackmail them. Although Cindy seduces the men, she double crosses Downing, disappears, and the men get away.
       For the next few months Engstrom and Bonnacker express guilt over what happened at the lake. They decide to return to the scene to find Cindy. Sensing a problem, their wives decide to accompany them.
       At Mirror Lake Downing takes the two couples prisoner and plans to torture and humiliate them before killing them. But he does not know that Sheriff Jeff Parker and Molly Hutchison are on his trail and determined to stop him.
       From page one all the way to the breathtaking ending, you will find yourself on pins and needles waiting to see what happens on the next page.
        See sample pages and buy this ebook at https:www.smashwords.com/books/view/309191 

Two Books That Will Help to Inspire Writing 
in the Classroom

         Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.  Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. 
      Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy , ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx.



          Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is a collection of photographs and writing prompts designed to inspire writing. In addition to the many photos and ideas it presents, this collection includes a section that cites “Ten Ways to Use Reflect and Write” as well as a second section titled “How Some Teachers Use Photos to Inspire Writing” An added bonus is a CD with photos and writing prompts.
        Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner, Prufrock Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2, 118 pages, includes CD, $24.95.  See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Write-What-You-See-P791.aspx.
    


Saturday, May 4, 2013

The Power of Photographs to Inspire Writing



If one picture is worth a thousand words, can one picture inspire a thousand words?

Creative Concepts #8 

             What do you do when your brain becomes oatmeal, your fingers become lead, and you watch the cursor on your monitor blink endlessly without moving even one millimeter? Brew another cup of coffee? Vacuum the rugs? Take the dog out for a walk? Pray for inspiration?
            “I wasn’t born to vacuum rugs,” writes Elizabeth Guy, poet, storyteller, and co-author of Reflect and Write.  “That’s why, when my brain turns to stone while I struggle for new ideas, I use photographs for inspiration.”

A New Photo Every Week

        Whether you’re a teacher, a student, an aspiring writer, a professional writer, or a poet, you’ll discover that the photos and ideas posted here during the coming weeks will help you overcome the dreaded “writer’s block,” while at the same time inspiring you to create new and exciting works of prose and poetry.
            Sometimes direct quotations will accompany the photos. At other times, suggested first lines will serve as motivation for writing. Occasionally, specific suggestions will present challenges. From time to time, keywords will stimulate ideas.
            For more information about using photos to inspire writing, click on these links: www.creativity-portal.com/prompts/kellner/  and  http://ebowmanguy.blogspot.com.
            Please note: feel free to download the photos for your personal use as inspiration; for use in classrooms or workshops; or for use in your blog with credit to Hank Kellner and a link to hankpix-englisheducation.blogspot.com. For commercial use please contact the author for rates. 

Flower Power
  
         Adjunct Professor of English Laura Pastuszek teaches a course titled Writing and Communications for Teachers. In her nature-related poem “Continuity,” a flower speaks as if it were human. At the same time, the poet identifies with the flower and uses its qualities to express appreciation for her place in the world around her.

Continuity 


I am full of life
as my presence
 fills the air with
sweetness.
Others delight in my beauty
and I am grateful for the
branches that undergird me.
For without them
I would not be
A place of refuge
For others to know
and feel welcomed to
create new life
placing an imprint of the process
on my safe and supple petals.

            Class discussion based on this poem-photo combination can help students think of the elements of nature they might compare themselves to. Then, using personification, some students may choose to write poems in the same style as “Continuity.”  Others may choose to create prose that reflects their relationship with or understanding of nature. Still others may find inspiration in the words of the poet John Greenleaf Whittier: “The continuity of life is never broken; the river flows onward and is lost to our sight.”

Keywords: refuge, life, nature, reproduction

Challenge:  Write a poem or story in which you describe your existence from the point of view of an inanimate object.

Possible Opening Line: You can believe me when I say that the life of a cell phone isn’t an easy one. All day long and even into the night…

                                         Coming Next Week
 
Can you hear the bells?

And Don’t Miss…

        English teacher Mara Dukats and writer-photographer Cynthia Staples’ poems “White and White” and “The Absence of Color.” They’re in Part Four of my twelve-part series USING PHOTOS TO INSPIRE WRITING at http://gazette.teachers.net/gazette/wordpress/hank-kellner/using-poems-and-photos-to-inspire-writing-part-4/,  as well as Anna J. Small’s writing assignment in "Viewing and Writing about Photos from Around the World"
       Also, read more about Reflect and Write in the SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL http://www.slj.com/2013/03/curriculum-connections/meeting-the-ccss-through-poetry-professional-shelf/

Exciting, Spine-Tingling, and Difficult, to Put Down

       For a psychological thriller that will keep you turning pages long after everyone else has fallen asleep, don't miss Terror at Mirror Lake.
       Terror lurks in the shadows of Mirror Lake. Secrets of sex, lies, and death are all patiently waiting to surface from its murky depths.
       The small, sleepy town of Hamptonville seems the last place you would find sadistic sex, drugs, blackmail, and murder. But that's exactly what Bruce Orum and his girlfriend Cindy Garvey encounter when they flee from New York City after having killed another girl.
       In Hamptonville they meet Luke Downing, a psychopath who soon uses drugs to control Cindy and make her his sex slave. A cruel, vicious character, Downing showed all the classic symptoms of a cold-blooded killer from the time he was a boy growing up with an imaginary friend who encourages him in his perversions until he became and adult.
       Having dominated Cindy, Downing uses her to seduce two fishermen, Pete Engstrom and Hal Bonnacker, when they visit Mirror Lake, after which he plans to blackmail them. Although Cindy seduces the men, she double crosses Downing, disappears, and the men get away.
       For the next few months Engstrom and Bonnacker express guilt over what happened at the lake. They decide to return to the scene to find Cindy. Sensing a problem, their wives decide to accompany them.
       At Mirror Lake Downing takes the two couples prisoner and plans to torture and humiliate them before killing them. But he does not know that Sheriff Jeff Parker and Molly Hutchison are on his trail and determined to stop him.
       From page one all the way to the breathtaking ending, you will find yourself on pins and needles waiting to see what happens on the next page.
        See sample pages and buy this ebook at https:www.smashwords.com/books/view/309191 

Two Books That Will Help to Inspire Writing


         Reflect and Write contains more than 300 poems and photos; keywords; quotations; either “Inspiration” or “Challenge” prompts; a “Themes to Explore” section; a “Twelve Ways to Inspire Your Students” section; a special “Internet Resources” section, and more. This collection will help stimulate discussion that will trigger meaningful writing at many levels.  Includes CD with photos and poems from the book. 
     Reflect and Write: 300 Poems and Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner and Elizabeth Guy , ISBN 978-1-61821-023-4, Prufrock Press, 2013, 153 pages, $24.95. See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Reflect-and-Write-P1752.aspx. 
  
          Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing is a collection of photographs and writing prompts designed to inspire writing. In addition to the many photos and ideas it presents, this collection includes a section that cites “Ten Ways to Use Reflect and Write” as well as a second section titled “How Some Teachers Use Photos to Inspire Writing” An added bonus is a CD with photos and writing prompts.
        Write What You See: 99 Photos to Inspire Writing by Hank Kellner, Prufrock Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-877673-83-2, 118 pages, includes CD, $24.95.  See more and order at http://www.prufrock.com/Write-What-You-See-P791.aspx.