Hope all of you are doing well, during these trying times. I’m doing well, but haven’t written since my last Blog.

First, last clichés:

Fraught with Danger — Very risky. Fraught with means “full of” and is rarely used today except in the sense of something undesirable. A cliché since the 19th century. It first appeared in print in 1576 as “fraught with difficulties;” this cliché was first cited by the OED as appearing in 1864 in H. Ainsworth’s Tower of London.

Teach an Old Dog new Tricks — The elderly will not or can not change their ways. This dates from the 16th century. It first appeared with a literal meaning in a book of Husbandry (1523) and then in John Heywood’s 1546 proverb collection. It’s still current.

Count our Blessings — Appreciate what one has, or one’s good fortune. This Pollyanna-like phrase is often used to help avoid worrying about what one lacks or one’s bad luck. By the way, Polyanna is a children’s book from the early 1900s by Eleanor H. Porter. It’s a story of an orphan girl who remains resolutely cheerful and sweet-tempered in the face of considerable adversity. A modern version of the cliché is Think Positive!

So, how many clichés did you find from last post? Let me know in comments.

I haven’t been able to write during this pandemic. No, I’ve not been a couch potato, but I couldn’t read or write. I played tennis, watched or attended church services, and watched TV. I’m not going to cry over spilled milk, but I have started reading a lot lately. And am going to my critique group now that we’re meeting again. I explained how I can’t write and one of the ladies challenged me to bring at least a new paragraph for next week. So, here I am, writing on my blog.

I’m also going to try a prompt that I did when I wrote children’s stories. My first publication for children was a short story I wrote from an exercise. So, nothing ventured, nothing gained, I’m going to try it to get me writing again.

Pick 5 nouns and 1 verb and write a story around those words.

If you’re not writing, I challenge you to try this exercise along with me. Contact me and let me know how it’s going. I’ll do the same with you.

In the meantime, stay healthy and safe, and

Keep Writing,

Julie