Un-Journaling 22

Brent told a joke.  All five people in the room thought it was funny, though each one reacted differently.  Describe the reactions of all five people.

Brent told a really awesome funny joke.  Actually, let's say I told a really funny joke.  Brent (I have no idea who he is but...) anyways, they all laughed.
Chloe started laughing so hard she had to be brought to the hospital to get her to stop laughing.
Mom did her double-sigh-thing and started silently laughing.
Dad laughed so hard his face looked like ketchup, and he kept asking me to tell another one.
Gavin kissed the floor beneath my feet and pronounced how awesome I am.
Brent (I still don't know who he is or how he got in our house) chuckled to himself and then fell over and sneezed for ten minutes straight.

 Don't you wanna hear the joke I told?

Un-Journaling 21

Instructions:  Here is the last part of a newspaper story.  Neighbors called the police when they noticed the pink gooey substance oozing from all the doors and windows of the modest ranch home.  Now write the first part of that story.

Joe saw the penguin.  The penguin saw Joe.  And then the penguin hiccuped a pink gooey substance from his mouth.  "Awesome!  Liquid bubble-gum!" said Joe.  He ran towards the penguin in his living room and started eating the "bubble gum".  To bad for Joe, he was to stupid to realize that most penguins don't just appear in your living room, and then give you bubble-gum while hiccuping.  What Joe thought was bubble-gum turned out to be acid and the penguin turned out to be a psycho-killing-penguin-holding-a-laser-gun.  Joe ended up dissolving by the acid.  The neighbors next door heard the racket.  Neighbors called the police when they noticed the pink gooey substance oozing from all the doors and windows of the modest ranch home

Un-Journaling 20

Tell a bit of a story using only two and three-word sentences and phrases.

Fitz laughed.  Gerald laughed.
Fitzgerald was laughing.
Why were they
laughing?
Fitz told jokes.
Jokes about butterflies.
They laughed again.

Un-Journaling 19

Instructions:  Like looking for a needle in a haystack is a descriptive phrase that we have all heard.  Create five different descriptive phrases that all mean the same thing.

1.  Like finding a cherry Twizzler in a box of strawberry Twizzlers.

2.  Like fining an iPhone 5s in a store of iPhone 5c's.

3.  Looking for an electron in an atom.

4.  Looking for a misspelled word in a dictionary of words you don't know.

5.  Looking for a Lego in an ocean.

Un-Journaling 18

Instructions:  Here's what the artist called her painting: Polar Bear Eating Vanilla Ice Cream in a Blizzard.  To viewers, it looked like a plain white piece of canvas.  How might the artist describe what looks like a plain black canvas?  How about a plain blue canvas?

Black canvas:  A Crow Pecking at Black Licorice Falling Down an Endless Black Hole.

Blue canvas:  A Blue-whale Swimming in the Ocean When the Sky is Raining Blue M&M's. 

Un-Journaling 17

Instructions: Create a much more interesting version of this sentence: The dog barked.  What kind of dog was it?  Where was it?  Why was it barking? How would you describe the barking?  Make the sentence as interesting as possible by choosing your words and details carefully.


Perro, a husky, barking because he didn't get his food yet.  His bark bark was a very husky bark, very deep.  Perro was in his kennel staring at the food box, barking, waiting for someone to give him some.  Finally, the owner, Mr. Dude came down and saw the kennel ripped in half and saw Perro eating out of the food box.  Perro broke out of his kennel!

Un-Journaling 16

Instructions: Try your hand at telling something about a character through his words, and how he says them.  Imagine each of the character below and write out what each might say in turning down an offer to go on a fishing trip.

A teenaged boy turns down his grandpa.

A businessman eager for a promotion turns down his boss.

A wife just got back from her weekly trip to the spa for a styling and manicure turns down her husband.

"Hey grandson!  How 'ya been?  I was wondering if you wanted to go on a fishing trip with me this weekend?"  The kid replied, "No, I just got a new I-phone and I want to play around with it.  I also don't like fishing."  How rude.

"Hey Joe.  I know you were thinking about getting a promotion.  Well you might have the chance.  We have been friends for a while and so I was wondering if you wanted to go fishing this weekend."  "Why would I do that boss?  I have a lot of work to do and no time to go fishing.  Guess who made me have all the work?"  Rude as well.

"Barbra!  Get down here, I need to ask you something."  He waited until Barbra got down.  "My buddies and I want to go fishing and were wondering if you want to go too.  Will you?"  "No, I would like it with just the two of us but I got back from my manicure so I don't want to get all dirty.  I could make you guys some food though."

Un-Journaling 15

Instructions: As the writer for a clothing catalog, you must describe a sweater that is brown, beige, red-orange and purple.  Describe the sweater, but use new, two-word descriptions for each color.

At Sue's Sweet Sweater Shop, they have amazing sweaters!  We have one on sale right now.  It is my favorite.  It is a chocolate brown all over with fiery red-orange triangles in the middle of the sweater.  There are some smaller bark-colored beige diamonds beneath that.  Then they have some rich velvet-purple swirls mixed with the chocolate brown background. 

Un-Journaling 14

Instructions:  Write a sentence that makes sense reading either from left to right or right to left.

Bennett and Dad think basketball is fun.  Fun is basketball think Dad and Bennett.

Un-Journaling 13

Instructions:  Write one sentence consisting entirely of three-syllable words (not counting the articles a, an, and, the).

Tomorrow, basketball is generally at, twelve-thirty.

Seriously it is.  I have a basketball camp tomorrow starting at 12:30.  :)

Un-Journaling 12

Instructions: Describe someone who looks bored.  Don't use any form of the word yawned, stared or sighed.

I was in the mall one day, when I saw someone who looked incredibly bored.  He had a name-tag on that said, Hi!  I'm Bob.  I walked up to Bob and said, "Hi Bob.  You look bored."  He didn't respond.  He just gave me a blank gaze.  He had the most boring clothes on too.  He was wearing all brown.  He was standing still and wasn't moving.  That was when I walked behind him and saw that he was just a life-size cardboard poster.  No wonder he didn't respond.

Un-Journaling 11

Instructions:  In one paragraph, describe a scene from any sport.  Use these words somewhere in the paragraph: bounced, struggled, spied, roared, collapsed, giggled.

The basketball game was tied: 55 to 55.  The Tigers had the ball.  The point-guard bounced the ball.  They passed around, but struggled to find a nice shot.  Suddenly, the point-guard spied an open shot and took it.  SWISH!  The Tigers won!  55 to 57.  The crowd roared, collapsed, and giggled at their victory.