image via giphy

Next to Christmas, Valentine’s Day is my favorite holiday. Actually, the day after Valentine’s Day is my favorite. Boatloads of Chocolate go on sale.

All kidding aside, I love Valentine’s Day because it allows us to recognize love. All too often, the focus leans toward the romantic, happily ever after love.  I have had a several happily ever afters and romance wasn’t involved. There are friend, family, and marriage milestone happily ever after stories. The key ingredients in all of them were: the struggle, the help, and the bond that resulted from the combination. When I look back on the defining moments in my life, some form of love was there…I just realized I have a bunch of blogs I could write from those lessons.

image via giphy.hellogiggles

Of course, Valentine’s Day is the theme for writing for the next few weeks.  I brought the topic up with my publications class.  Two students chose the cutest way to approach the topic. One person wrote an infographic about why she loved Valentine’s Day. It has hearts, flowers, and is pink and white. Another person wrote an accompanying one about why he didn’t like it. It has jagged lines, no images, and is teal and orange.  Several people helped with brainstorming ideas for the two authors. There were definite sides on the issue. Usually, I let keep my opinion on their topics to myself. My students have their stories to tell. I’m there to guide the process. But, come on! I write romance. I write about love.  I had to share my opinion on the topic. I believe in happily ever after. Some happily ever afters are novellas while others are epic journeys. In the vein of you’re writing something for your audience this is what I’m sharing with mine, I shared my writing prompt for the month.  I told them about a short story I wrote for my readers to give as Valentine’s Day present.

In less than a minute, I saw wrinkled brows followed by jaws dropping. A couple of people nodded their heads in appreciation. Finally, one student who swore vehemently that Valentine’s Day was the bane of her existence said, “I would pay to see that movie. When are you writing the book?”

I was at the Luke Bryan concert when the inspiration for a story hit. Napkins and a borrowed pen were involved in the creation of this story.

For the record, it still is a short story. You’ll see it here a couple days before Valentine’s Day. In the meantime, I’ll post a picture of when I got the idea to give you a hint of what it’s about.

And, this is where I’ll close for now. I wish you moments that warm your heart and stories that will make you smile. Until the next blog

xoxoxo
M.H.M