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February 6, 2014

Punxsutawney Phil, Super Bowl, Winter Olympics in Sochi and Writing


By Annette Cole Mastron, Communications Director for Southern Writers Magazine



This week a trifecta for a writers imagination, if you are plugged into the current-event writing opportunities.

It started with the annual question asked on February 2nd in the United States, "Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow?" For 128 years, the tradition has occurred in Gobbler's Knob, PA to let a well cared for groundhog predict six more weeks of winter, if he sees his shadow. Yes, he saw his shadow. Approximately 25,000 people attended the event to celebrate Punxsutawney Phil's 2014 Groundhog Day prediction. 
Phil spoke in "groundhogese" translated to English his prediction was: "A Super Bowl winner I will not predict, but my weather forecast you cannot contradict. Why that's not a football but my shadow I see, It's six more weeks of winter it must be!"

What does this have to do with writing? If Punxsutawney Phil was right, it's time to hibernate to write, write and write some more. It's more fun to write than complain about the weather.


Also on February 2nd, the NFL Super Bowl XLVIII occurred, and the Seahawks won. Like so many others, I enjoy watching the Super Bowl not necessarily for the game but for the commercials. So what does this have to do writing? Pick a commercial you didn't like and rewrite it. Then submit it to the product company. What do you have to lose? Who knows? Perhaps your rewrite will become the next best commercial with you as the author.

Tomorrow I will be watching with the world, the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics at Sochi. I look forward to learning more about Sochi and Russia. Opening ceremonies are traditionally a way for the host country to introduce themselves to the watching world. The London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremonies highlighted their history of writers. You can check out my blog post, Olympic Gold Writer about my observations of that event.


As a writer, this week provides fuel for my imagination, and it can for you, too!

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