Tag: English teacher

HOW TO MAKE YOUR WRITING MORE ENGAGING

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Tags English teacher, great lines, personalnarrative, storytelling, that's hedley!, writer

Lifestyle

An Ankle Monitor – The New Fashion Rage

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date April 18, 2025
No Comments on An Ankle Monitor – The New Fashion Rage

ankle monitor 2 - 1

I got one of those under-the-desk bicycle pedal things.

I sit at my computer all day, so this will give me a little exercise.

A hard lesson learned is that it’s MUCH better to pedal backward than forward.

With forward pedaling, I tend to slide out of the chair.

Going backward keeps my rear end firmly planted in place.

I also learned that my office chair has a distracting squeak.

A shot of WD40 solved that problem.

I’m trying to keep track of my steps, so I’ve been wearing my Apple Watch on my leg.

It looks like an ankle monitor.

Which feels a bit like false advertising.

If I’m going to wear an ankle monitor, I should at least make an attempt to be a criminal.

However, I have no inclination toward drugs, burglary, or violence.

Also, I have absolutely no skills.

I would make a terrible criminal.

I’m going to ask the Grown Sons how I should approach this.

I bet they’ll have lots of great ideas for me.

Hahaha, seriously, the Apple Watch is the closest I’ll ever get to an ankle monitor.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

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EVERYONE HAS A STORY TO TELL

Tags ankle monitor, English teacher, personalnarrative, storytelling, writer

Lifestyle

The New Texas Chainsaw Lumberjack

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 31, 2025
No Comments on The New Texas Chainsaw Lumberjack

The other day, Bob trimmed some tree branches with the chainsaw.

Why do men always curse like a drunken sailor when they’re using power tools?

My darling husband denies that he does this, but seriously, it happens every time.

Anyway, when he was done, he told me that I could use the chainsaw to cut up the debris.

I was shocked.

He usually tells me to stay away from the power tools.

Far, far away.

There was that incident with the belt sander years ago…

But that’s a story for another time.

At any rate, none of the boys were around to help that day.

So I did it.

Bob hovered, worried that I might cut off an arm or a leg, or worse, sever the power cord.

I did none of those things.

And I didn’t curse either.

But I did sing Monty Python’s lumberjack song.

It’s still going through my head today.

“I’m a lumberjack and I’m OK…”

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

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Tags English teacher, lumberjack, personalnarrative, storytelling, writer

Lifestyle Work

Yes, There Are Still Lots Of Great Kids Out There

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 27, 2025
2 Comments on Yes, There Are Still Lots Of Great Kids Out There

Yes, there are still lots of great kids out there

I just binged Adolescence.

Oh. My. God.

Everyone is talking about how this generation is so messed up.

The thing is, though, we only ever hear the bad stories.

We never hear of a story going viral about some kid who took out the trash AND put a new liner in the can.

We never hear of a story going viral about a kid who found a dog, checked the tags, and made sure that it got home safely.

We never hear of a story going viral about kid who followed instructions and turned their homework in on time.

There are plenty of great kids out there.

I have a middle-school student who told me that he wrote a book.

It wasn’t an assignment, he just wanted to do it.

He very excitedly told me all about the plot, and he promised that he would upload it for me to read.

I can’t wait!

Another student, only ten years old, knew what a hyperbole was.

And if that wasn’t enough, a few days later, we were discussing idioms such as “the apple of my eye,” and “it’s raining cats and dogs,” and he said, “That’s like a hyperbole, right?”

Yes, you brilliant child, yes, it is.

Another time, we were discussing apostrophes, and I told the kids that it drives me absolutely crazy to see apostrophes in plurals.

You see it all the time, especially in restaurants with handwritten signs.

One girl asked timidly, “So what do we do when we see it?”

“Nothing!” I assured her, “it’s rude to randomly correct people.”

She giggled in relief.

I think that she was afraid that she would have to correct the sign.

Nope.

She can just be proud that she knows how to use an apostrophe correctly.

Mr. Rogers said that during times of crisis, look for the helpers.

To paraphrase Mr. Rogers, after you watch Adolescence, look for the great kids.

They’re out there.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

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Tags adolescence, English teacher, great kids, personalnarrative, storytelling

Lifestyle

How To Shatter the Sunday Morning Silence

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 23, 2025
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How to shatter the Sunday morning silence

I woke up really early on Sunday morning and decided to do some yard work at first light.

I tried really, really, really hard to be quiet so I wouldn’t wake the neighbors.

So, of course, it made sense that today of all days I knocked over the wall of rakes and shovels and equipment that we keep in the metal garden shed.

It made a resounding crash noise.

Over and over and over again, as each item fell.

Darn it!

Then I stabbed myself in the ribs on a wayward tree branch.

The stabbing didn’t make any noise at all, but my curse word sure did!

“Son of a $%*(@AX#IO!”

Then a train went by.

This was the loudest train I have ever heard.

It was squeaking and screeching and squawking and sounded like it could use a railroad-sized spray of WD40.

Blue did not like that noise and started howling.

So yeah, I made a huge racket very early on a Sunday morning.

And it was all for nothing because it quickly became way too windy to do any yard work anyway.

The next time I get the urge to do early morning chores, I’ll just pour myself another cup of coffee and read a book.

It’s quieter that way.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

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Tags English teacher, personalnarrative, storytelling, Sunday morning, writer

Family Lifestyle

Moms Know – Always Listen To The Moms

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 20, 2025
No Comments on Moms Know – Always Listen To The Moms

Saint Patrick’s Day is over, but I still have it on my mind.

Years ago, on Saint Patrick’s Day, it was Spring Break, and my husband and older son were going on a trip.

We had to drive to the airport for an early morning flight.

The younger son wanted to stay home and sleep.

However, he wasn’t old enough to stay home alone for the length of time I would be gone.

I assured him that he could roll into the car in his pajamas, sleep on the drive, and roll back to bed when we got home.

He complained and complained and complained and complained and complained.

This was unusual, because he was usually a very cheerful and pleasant child.

His griping was getting on everyone’s nerves, and the whole family was cranky and snappish.

As we were driving down the freeway, I turned to the back seat to tell him to pipe down, and to perhaps throw out a few random threats that I probably wouldn’t carry out, when I saw his face.

“Pull over,” I told Bob urgently, “He’s going to be sick.”

“No, he’s not,” Bob snarled back, “He’s just whining.”

Sure enough, just a few minutes later, the kid got carsick.

Violently carsick.

Moms know.

We had to pull over in a gas station to clean up as best as we could.

I didn’t say a word for the rest of the ride.

Neither did the kid, who now felt much better, and had cheerfully stopped his complaining.

However, after we dropped off the other two, I had a few questions for him.

“How many cupcakes did you eat at your Saint Patrick’s Day party at school yesterday?” I asked.

“The teacher said we could each have one,” he replied angelically.

“Yeah, but how many did you sneak after that?”

He looked at me sheepishly.

“How did you know?” he asked meekly.

“Moms know everything,” I told him.

Also, his vomit was green.

We spent that Saint Patrick’s Day steam cleaning the car.

From that point forward, Bob always pulled over when I asked.

And no one ever got carsick inside the car again.

Moms know.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS – YOUR STORY IS POWERFUL

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Tags English teacher, momsknow, personalnarrative, storytelling, writer

Lifestyle Work

Why It’s OK To Shenanigate Every Now And Then

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 18, 2025
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Why It's OK To Shenanigate Every Now And Then

It was Saint Patrick’s Day – a perfect day to shenanigate!

Is shenanigate a word?

Yes!

Well, maybe not in the dictionary.

But it’s obvious what it means.

Grammar may be the bones of any language.

But wordplay is the personality.

If we all spoke in perfect, formal English all the time, the world would be a dreary place.

Boring, and pompous, and tiresome.

Once, while teaching an online class, I told the group to hold on a second because my mouse wasn’t mousing.

Everyone burst out laughing.

They were surprised to hear an English teacher, a writer, and an editor speak like that.

But they understood me, didn’t they?

Even though “mousing” isn’t a word, in that context, it was perfectly logical.

The golden rule of playing with words is that you still have to make sense.

It’s OK to shenanigate on Saint Patrick’s Day.

You know what it means.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

HOW TO PLAY WITH WORDS TO EXPLORE THE HUMOR OF WORDPLAY

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Tags English teacher, grammar, shenanigate, storytelling, vocabulary

Lifestyle

It’s A Festivus Miracle In March!

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 11, 2025
No Comments on It’s A Festivus Miracle In March!

I was very surprised to find four unadorned, aluminum poles in the backyard under the kitchen window.

Are these Festivus poles?

It’s not even Festivus season.

What’s going on?

It turns out that Bob bought them to repair the fence section that fell in the storm last week.

These poles have a very high strength-to-weight ratio, which, apparently, our former fence poles did not.

Frank Costanza would be pleased.

I’m going to name this new section of our fence “Fenstivus.”

“…and at the festivus celebration, you gather your family around and tell them all the ways they have disappointed you over the past year.”

It’s a Festivus miracle!

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

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Tags #festivus, #funny, English teacher, storytelling, writingworkshops

Lifestyle Work

Why You Need To Write Conflict Into Your Stories

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 9, 2025
No Comments on Why You Need To Write Conflict Into Your Stories

Why you need to write conflict into your stories

A good story requires conflict.

Conflict is what drives the narrative forward.

Without conflict, all you’ve got is a list of things that happened.

And that’s not compelling.

Let’s take, for example, a story about a trip to your local coffee shop.

If you say that you met a friend, ordered your drinks, chatted with each other, and then left, that’s not a story.

It’s a list of things that happened.

Can you imagine how your story might be improved if you threw in some conflict?

What if you found yourself sitting next to your overbearing boss?

Awkward!

What if your friend gave you some devastating news?

Oof!

What if, at the table next to you, there were some teenagers dressed in chicken suits?

What?

Now you’ve got a good story.

Want to learn more about story development?

Join one of my writing workshops!

Seats are filling up fast.

Grab a seat while they’re still available.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.

IT’S YOURS! A FREE GUIDE – Four Easy Steps To Editing Your Perfect Social Media Post. All you’ve got to do is SUBSCRIBE!

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HOW TO FIND GREAT STORY ARC IDEAS

Tags conflict, English teacher, storytelling, writingworkshops

Family Lifestyle

The Planets All Lined Up – Did You See It?

Post author By Liz Brenner
Post date March 5, 2025
No Comments on The Planets All Lined Up – Did You See It?

The Planets - 1

Everyone happened to be home for dinner the night the planets all lined up.

I made the whole family march outside and take a look.

Everyone rolled their eyes, but they all followed me out.

It was amazing!

A discussion about Uranus ensued.

Of course it did.

I have boys.

A Mother of Boys comes to expect this.

The Uranus jokes kept us all outside just a little bit longer, taking in this fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.

With boys, it’s a trade off.

I have to listen to some off-colored remarks.

And they (usually) do what I ask of them.

It works for me.

Liz Brenner

Everyone has a story to tell.

Even you.

Especially you.