[stylist] writing exercise

[Chris Kuell]

Okay, since there seems to be a spark of interest, let's give this a try. 
Your assignment is to write a poem, essay, story, song, grocery 
list--whatever form you choose, that has the open-ended theme of 
Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/ Winter Solstice--whichever holiday works for you. 
It can be happy, sad, personal, disenchanted--just let the topic stew in 
your brain for a few days and see what surfaces. If that is too generic for 
you, choice B is to write something about the best/worst Christmas ever. 
Don't sweat it, this isn't a competition, it's an attempt to get those 
creative juices flowing and to get people writing.
Post what you have written on or before December 30th. Please read and 
comment on others posts, asking yourself what you liked about the post, what 
in the post didn't work for you, and why? What suggestions do you have to 
make the piece better? Please don't make your comments personal, and 
remember that writing is different from content. For example, if I write a 
story about a guy poisoning his entire family on Christmas morning, telling 
me that it was a horrible story doesn't help my writing. Perhaps my writing 
was excellent, and that was why you were so horrified by my story--see what 
I mean? Put on your editor's hat and analyze the writing itself.

Okay, start your engines...
Go!

chris