Friday, November 23, 2012

A Unique Way to Spend or Write About Thanksgiving

Around Thanksgiving Day this year, someone told me a story about how a childhood Thanksgiving was spent. Besides the turkey dinner, some young friends spent the night "camping" in tents under the stars in the woods connected to one friend's home's property. They all sat by a fire, toasted marshmallows, told stories, and thought about what they wanted to be when they grew up or what they thought of life being like after they grew up. Imagine yourself (or a present day youngster) being in this situation. Write a short story on what you and your childhood friends (or your young characters) might tell stories about with reference to what you (or they) would like to be when you (or they)  grew up, or of what you (or they) think life might be like after you (or they) grow up. If you need more help with this idea, read the short story "Enchanted Bluff" by Willa Cather, written in the early 20th century on this topic. Read Willa's story online at http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wcather/bl-wcather-enchant.htm