Wordplay Challenge #23: Like a Prayer

Today I attended a prayer service celebrating the life and legacy of Father Damien, who will shortly become Saint Damien. One of the most beautiful parts of the service was the responsorial psalm, in which verses are sung and a refrain is repeated after each verse.

This led me to wonder whether the approach would work on a scrapbook page, and I think it will.

In the "verses," expand upon a chosen theme, but keep bringing the writing back to a single repeated line, the "refrain." Each time the line is repeated, it will become even more meaningful. Tell a story, express your feelings, celebrate someone, give thanks or praise. Whatever you choose to say, lift it up and set it free on your page.

Wordplay Challenge #22: I Vow

In honor of my mother's upcoming nuptials, this challenge is all about the promises we make. These are the promises that change our lives and give those lives focus. These could be wedding vows, vows to be a good parent, vows to accomplish a long-time goal, or vows to kick a nasty habit. Whatever your vows may be, put them in writing. Make it official.

Wordplay Challenge #21: Commit It to Memory

This week's challenge is based on an assignment that my eighth graders are working on this week. Inspired by Langston Hughes's poem "Aunt Sue's Stories," they are retelling family stories that they would like to continue to pass down through the generations. Some students are writing stories, while others have chosen to compose narrative poems.

Each day this week, we have heard stories about births and adoptions, escapes from war-torn countries and immigration to new countries, arranged marriages and romantic elopements, and moments that tore families apart and pulled them together. I've been amazed and overwhelmed to discover which stories these young people have identified as truly valuable, stories that they will no doubt share with their own children someday.

As storytellers and memory keepers, we are responsible for finding ways to ensure that our family histories survive. The oral tradition is one way of doing this, but by recording these stories in our scrapbooks, we "commit" them to memory.

This time around, our challenge is to find a way to document a story that you hope each generation of your family will remember. It is a chance for us to remember (and I know I've used this before) "what it would impoverish us to forget," as Frost once said

Even if you don't have a photo, tell the story. If you feel the need to include a photo, consider taking a photo of something symbolic -- something or someone that represents the story that you are documenting.

Wordplay Challenge #20: Take My Word For It

Because it talks about someone rather than to someone, writing from a third person point of view (she/he/it) can be distancing. This time around, our challenge is to make a connection. Use a combination of first person (I/we) and second person (you) pronouns, and share your own perspectives with the subject of your layout.

In the layout below, I addressed my journaling to my cousin Shelly, who just graduated from college and is about to embark on her nursing career. As a teacher, I am also in a service-oriented vocation, and so I shared what my experiences have taught me, making a connection between my vocation and hers.

The patterned paper reinforces the message, and vice-versa. I love text paper for this reason -- when it's well-chosen, it functions beautifully as subtext, extending the theme of the layout.

Wordplay Challenge 19: The Big But

There's much to be said about the power of word choice and its effect on our writing. However, this week's challenge is not about show-stopping, descriptive, or evocative words. It's about a three-letter word that we tend to overlook -- a word that, despite seeming visually insignificant, is more than a little blip in a sentence. It has the power to make meaning, to show contrast, to change the trajectory of an idea.

But.

Yes, but. The conjunction "but" is a tiny word that can pack some power, if used with intention in your journaling.

Consider a page that expresses your fears, doubts, or misgivings, and then think about what the addition of "but" could do to some of those sentences:

"Since I was a child, I have had a fear of deep water, but that is slowly changing."

"These days, I am a worrier, but I wasn't always that way."

The use of "but", in introducing contrast, invites the writer to elaborate further. In a page that documents change or the desire for change, the word "but" is a tiny key that open doors, releasing more words in the process.

You can also use the idea behind the conjunction "but" without using "but" at all. Transitions such as "despite," "however," "although," "nevertheless," and "regardless" can establish contrast as well.

Try jotting down a few sentences, experimenting with these words. Aim for statements that are true, and perhaps the idea for your next scrapbook page or mini-album will be the result of this "wordplay."

Wordplay Challenge 18: Pater Familias

What do you want to remember about your father?  

As someone who no longer celebrates Father's Day with her father, this day is sometimes more reflective for me than celebratory.  Still, my father's story is tied to my own story.  This week's challenge is to try to capture in words (and pictures, if you have them) your relationship with your father, for better or worse.  

Wordplay Challenge 17: In Other('s) Words

Sometimes it takes another's words to get your own words flowing. Quotations always make for easy journaling "substitutes" on layouts. However, remember that while quotations may serve as a stand-in for your sentiments, they cannot replace your own voice.

This week's challenge is to use a quote as a springboard for your own journaling.

For instance, consider the following:

"Life is the flower to which love is the honey." -- Victor Hugo

While this eloquent analogy is beautiful on its own, it also invites you to reflect on the "honey" in your life, and capture the sweetness of a special relationship.

So this week, take that quote a step further. Put it in context. Elaborate.