Writing in the Rain

         For me, and many I know, writing has always been a healthy catharsis to cope with whatever stresses come in life.  Of course we want this for our artistic kids right?  We want her to start now with a healthy way of expressing her thoughts and feelings when they may not be so easy to vocalize.  (Fingers crossed that when the teenage years hit this will help ease the pain for us all...)

         We all know that writing needs inspiration.   What better inspiration than a rainy spring day.   Here in a house full of windows to watch it drizzle sometimes and then pour while the birds scatter from raindrops and thunder.  Here inside where the music echoes throughout and there are so many nooks and crannies to discover.

        So her assignment was - write.  Fact or fiction.  Just write about this rainy day.  Of course that is daunting when you are eight, so after getting the story started on a topic she loves, Arrietty of the Borrowers.  I thought this would be the ticket.  She seemed so excited about writing this since I know she loves the book and is excited about going to see the Studio Ghibli film.   Still, she gets frustrated.  Lightbulb!  'Why don't you go and hide anywhere in the house?!  Don't tell me where you are, you just have to be INSIDE and write for the next 15 minutes.'  Excitement ensued!  I had a winner!  Three minutes later she returns with again, writers frustration.  She likes no hiding space and fears the page, but she is showing it with irritation at the project as a whole.

      So I have resorted to the most unartistic thing I can think of.  Forcing her to sit at a desk with no music and just write ANYTHING for the next 15 minutes.  This is what she came up with....