WRITE DAILY

If you want to become a better pianist, cellist, harpist, or vocalist, you have to spend a significant amount of time practicing. The same is true with writing. If you want to become a better writer, YOU MUST WRITE! Spend some time writing every day. Write in a journal or diary. Find random topics online that you’re interested in and research them fully and then write about them as if you were telling this newly found knowledge to a good friend. Instead of surfing around on Facebook or playing random games online, doodle and brainstorm ideas in a notebook. Everybody has a story to tell. Write yours. Even if it’s as simple as describing the cotton candy clouds that billow over a mountain range at sunrise, the sound of crunchy autumn leaves that crackle under your feet as you walk along a tree-lined lane, or the sweet dialogue or experiences you have with a special person in your life. Any amount of time you spend writing and describing the random details in your life will help you become a better writer.

STUDY THE MASTERS

I have also found that a way to improve your writing is to study other people’s writing. I like to include descriptive phrases, imagery, similes, metaphors, etc. in my writing. So, I search out writers who are particularly good at that and I study their work. I make notes of things that I like and I try to incorporate these ideas into my own writing. One of my favorite authors is Lucy Maud Montgomery. Her descriptions, her imagery, her word choice is delightful and by reading her words I feel inspired to use her mastered techniques in my own writing as well. So, think about your own style and the types of authors you really admire and start studying their works. As you read, jot down things you really like so you’ll remember them later on when you write your next entry in your writing journal.

Because of my great love for Highlights and the Foundation Workshops, I was so excited in January 2013 when I was called by one of the editors at Highlights and asked to be a member of the faculty for a workshop in October 2013. I have happily anticipated this workshop all year! Now, October is in just a few days and my debut as a workshop leader is right around the corner. I’m super excited to be part of this dynamic team and hope that those who attend A “Short” Cut to Success have as much fun at this workshop as I have had at all the ones I have attended.

To find out more about what this workshop has to offer and see if there are still spaces available, check out the Highlights Foundation Workshop website in the following link. Also, there are MANY other workshops offered by the foundation. So, if this particular one doesn’t sound of interest to you, check out their other listings. They schedule workshops all year long and even have what they call “un-workshops” where you can just come to NE PA, hang out in your own private cabin in the woods, eat great food, and write. Yeah, that’s pretty much a writer’s dream come true!

http://www.highlightsfoundation.org/workshops/a-shortcut-to-success/

Two years ago, I had the opportunity of being in Philadelphia during the second week of September. I wanted to come here at this time of the year for very specific reasons. I wanted to really feel what it was like in Philadelphia when the Constitution was signed. I wanted to tour Independence Hall and see how the sunlight shone through the windows and cast shadows on the walls. I wanted to feel the slight fall chill in the air and stroll through lanes covered in crunchy leaves. I felt that by doing so, I might be able to have a slight inkling of what it must have felt like to be one of the delegates. I love American history and everything about it, especially the opportunity of being able to visit places that have played a very pivotal role in our nation’s founding.

Recently, I wrote a book on the Constitution. It was one of my most favorite books to research and write because I felt like I was literally transported back in time as I worked on it. I spent hours and hours reading the minutes of the Convention which were laboriously scribed by James Madison. It was fascinating to see what really happened each day of the Convention and to get a better idea of what the delegates were really like and what was important to them as founders of a new nation. The minutes are available to anyone to read. They’re found on Yale’s website at this link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/subject_menus/debcont.asp

Happy Constitution Day everyone! I’m flying my flag today in honor of the sacrifices made by our Founding Fathers in establishing such a great nation some 226 years ago today.

So, exactly what is Independence Rock? Well, according to a guide at a nearby historical monument, this rock was a landmark that the pioneers would have looked for on their westward trek. They knew that they had to be to this rock by at least Independence Day (July 4th) if they wanted to make it all the way to Oregon or California before winter hit. Many Independence Day celebrations occurred at this rock. And, many “half-way” celebrations also occurred since this spot really did mark the halfway point in most of the migrants’ journeys. Apparently, people would carve their names onto the rock! I didn’t realize this until I got home and did some more research because oh how cool that would have been to see that for myself. Some of the names and dates inscribed on the rock go all the way back to the 1820s! Father Peter J. DeSmet is credited to have dubbed the rock “The Great Register of the Desert” because it contained thousands and thousands of names of people who had made the great westward migration. Many of my ancestors were part of this courageous group of people who traveled thousands of miles across the plains to help forge settlements in the great American West. I wonder if any of them took the time to carve their names into this giant rock!?

Just near Independence Rock are many markers that designate the spot where the Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail, and Pony Express crossed this desolate western landscape. You can still see the wagon ruts in the trail and as you look out over the landscape can sense that this area holds a very significant can place in our nation’s history. It’s estimated that more than 550,000 people made their way along this trail towards their new homes in the west. I’m so glad I had the chance to see this place for myself! And, I’m even more grateful that I was able to get back into a car and drive home instead of having to walk or ride in a wagon for weeks or months ahead.

Here’s a cool link to find out even more information about Independence Rock!

Independence Rock and More

South Dakota was an amazingly beautiful place–much prettier than I expected. The Black Hills region–with its dense forests and winding mountain roads–is an absolute delight. I pictured South Dakota being just flat prairie land (which I’m sure most of the state actually is), but this area of the state is very mountainous with lush green pine forests, beautiful sparkling blue reservoirs, and interesting jagged mountain formations that made the perfect canvas for Gutzon Borglum’s famous presidential sculptures.

A few people I have known who have visited Mount Rushmore have said that they really weren’t that impressed with monument. They felt that it just seemed so much smaller and insignificant than they expected it would be. Well, my experience couldn’t have been more the opposite. I loved Mount Rushmore the second I laid eyes on it. The workmanship is so amazing. I mean, just think about it. The people who worked on Mount Rushmore dangled over the cliffs on wooden swings and blasted away the rock with dynamite. Then, they chiseled the fine features until they had transformed the jagged rocks into the exact likenesses of four of our beloved presidents. It’s absolutely phenomenal that they were able to do this. I never tired of looking at the monument and wanted to stay there for as long as I could. So did my nephew and my sister!

Some fun facts that I learned while visiting Mount Rushmore:

• The rubble from blasting the sculptures is still found at the base of the monument. Look at the picture and you can see the pile of rocks below the presidents’ faces.
• Originally, the sculptures were supposed to be of the presidents from their waists up. However, Borglum died before they were finished. So, the crew decided to leave the sculpture just as it was when he passed.
• The big Independence Day fireworks display over Mount Rushmore every year usually occurs on the 3^rd of July.
• Borglum had specific reasons for choosing each of the presidents: George Washington represented the birth of the nation; Thomas Jefferson represented the expansion of the nation; Abraham Lincoln represented the preservation of the nation; Theodore Roosevelt represented the development of the nation.

Some of our week’s highlights included:

Tower Bridge

Buckingham Palace

London Eye

Hampton Court Palace

It’s the biographical account of Christian missionaries in China at the advent of World War II. These missionaries would later become the parents of a man named P. Graham Dunn who is the founder of this cool woodworking company in Dalton, Ohio–right outside of Amish Country.

P. Graham Dunn

I’ll report more on the book when I finish it.

Check out the full review at the following link:

Mrs Palmer’s Readers: The Declaration of Independence in Translation What I Really Means by Amie Jane Leavitt

At first, this book was a very difficult one to research and write. For some reason, I was having a lot of difficulty finding the information I needed for each chapter opener. Then, something clicked. I was able to locate a bunch of FANTASTIC primary sources that made the research process SO much fun.

For example, in the first chapter I describe a special debate between two politicians who end up later being revealed as (spoiler alert) Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. In order to write this, I wanted everything just right. I wanted to know how they were dressed, what the weather was like that day, and where the debate actually took place. Well…I found all of that information in a newspaper account written by a journalist who was actually there and described precisely what he saw and heard that day.

Every other chapter opener in this book was written using similar firsthand accounts. For instance, for the chapter on President Eisenhower, I actually found the official military report that he was asked to make about his experience on the Truck Convoy. It was a scanned in document that I found on the Eisenhower Library’s website.

Eisenhower’s Report

It was during this process of researching this book that I gained a true love and appreciation for primary source material. It is SO fascinating to read the accounts of people who actually witnessed an event. It just helps you feel like you have stepped back in time and are witnessing it right there by their side. SO amazing!

Along with the primary source info, it was also fun finding the party’s platform information for the various election years. It was interesting to see how much things have changed over time with both of the parties. If you’re interested in checking this out for yourself, head on over to this link:

The American Presidency Project

There is such an amazing amount of fabulous information available online. With a few keystrokes on a keyboard and a click or two of a mouse, we have the ability to find treasure troves of information on just about every subject.  We truly live in a fascinating time in the history of the world!

Here are some of my pics in a video I just made. I made the video and uploaded it onto my new Youtube station. There’s even music!