My Storytelling Mind

Happy Halloween! If you are anything like me, we'll all be binge-watching classic movies like Hocus Pocus , The Nightmare Before Christmas , Young Frankenstein , or even Rocky Horror Picture Show . But if you're looking for some binge-reading, try out the fantasy section - witches and magic may not be spooky or creepy, but they add even more fun to a holiday based on giving away free candy. Check out these 13 Whimsical Witches: Mary Poppins from Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers Illustrated by Mary Shepard It may be a stretch to call Mary Poppins a witch, considering her magic is subtle and she denies all magical events anyway. If anything, she's the kind of witch that tries not to use very much of their magic and that's the kind of witch we're more likely to come across in real life. We meet some of her magically inclined relatives through the series, like the giggly Uncle Albert; this only proves that she's a witch who chose to be incredibly responsible...

Where she walks, no flowers bloom,  and where she stops will be your tomb.  Fear not the witch upon her broom,  but the words she spits that spell your doom. Find this blurb on Pinterest !

Let's be honest: there is an endless list of horror stories you could find in any bookstore that could give you the required Halloween chills. But if you care to step outside of the horror genre just a bit, you'll find some classic fiction, some science fiction, some mystery, and even some fantasy. Check out these eight fiction stories for your Halloween weekend: The Vampyre "It happened that in the midst of the dissipations attendant upon a London winter, there appeared at the various parties of the leaders of the ton a nobleman, more remarkable for his singularities, than his rank." "His character was dreadfully vicious, for that the possession of irresistible powers of seduction, rendered his licentious habits more dangerous to society." Frankenstein "Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change." "The labours of men of genius, however erroneously directed, scarcely ever fail in ultimately turni...

164, that's what it said, printed with strong typewriting strokes, under the peeling corner of the bedroom wallpaper. Page 165 soon followed, apparently glazed on the back of said tarnished wallpaper, teasing her with novel possibilities. Curiously, however, she found no other pages in the vicinity.  Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: (c) Anett Holmvick, Flickr.

Abandoned places have their own stories, buried under years of dust, decay, and possible overgrown plantlife. As prompts, abandoned buildings provide valuable exercise: your writing must be the shovel to uncover those old, forgotten stories. For exercise this weekend, and to get into that creepy Halloween mood, try some of these photo prompts: A House and Its Car via Content in a Cottage An old house with an old car doesn't seem so unusual on its own until you consider the fact that most people take their cars with them when leaving their home. Even in emergencies, people tend to use their cars as fast transportation, as opposed to the slower transportation of their feet. The Old Fortune-Teller via mrscaptainmonkeypants , Flickr. Was it a machine? A person? Who sits behind the glass waiting to answer your questions about life, the universe, and everything? More importantly, what would happen if you slipped a few dollar bills through the pay slot? Even now, wit...

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: love letters (c)  Siréliss .

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This is the third post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. Again, the Baudelaires must relocate to the home of a new guardian, an Aunt Josephine. Aunt Josephine is in love with grammar and afraid of everything else, perhaps proving the mind-altering theory of solitary confinement. Her husband, Ike, was eaten by leeches in the lake, which is overlooked by Aunt Josephine's house literally on a cliff. Count Olaf pursues the Baudelaires yet again and the siblings display their incredible sense of ingenuity in the face of adults' willing ignorance. The Wide Window discusses themes and motifs like irrational fear, trauma, allergies, bad disguises, code-breaking, and how you shouldn't eat before traveling on a lake filled with leeches. Snicket suggest...

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"And you thought they wouldn't have anything to talk about," whispered Lady Rossvale. Lord Beresford smiled, turning his back to the girls.  "Does Helen know?" he asked. Lady Rossvale stopped smiling.  "Of course not," she replied, quietly. "We made an agreement; I honored it." Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Photo: DeviantArt Characters (c) Maude Roberts, Art (c) 2008.

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What a bird! So small and fragile, and yet it had come so very far. It hopped about her palm, finally settling on clutching to her fingers. It sang a short melody, making her smile, but then the melody was answered by another and another. Birds singing so close she hardly argued with her curiosity; she followed the song. Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Find the Hidden Wings storyboard ! Photo: @ tyler.w.doran, Instagram

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest ! Quote: Regina Spektor.

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This is the second post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. The Reptile Room , the second installment of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, continues the darker themes that will remain throughout the series and solidly cements Count Olaf's villainy. With Count Olaf having escaped in the first book, Mr. Poe finds a new guardian for the Baudelaire siblings. This time, although we know Mr. Poe does hardly any research into guardians or legal jargon, Mr. Poe seems successful in his attempt to find a proper guardian. Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a herpetologist (that's the study of reptiles), would indeed be the ideal guardian for the Baudelaires, valuing Klaus' love for books, Violet's talents as an inventor, and Sunny's interes...

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest . Photo: Hawaiian Rainbow Swimming Crab by DougMillerHawaii, Flickr.

You don't open it. You don't even get up. You know exactly who it is, why your heart is racing, and why you must not - on any account - open the door. Another knock sounds through the silence. You remind yourself to breathe. Find this blurb on Pinterest .

"You are sentenced to death. Upon entering the execution room, instead of being executed, you are given a new passport and identity. You are informed that the death sentence has been abolished and now exists as an empty threat to deter violent crime." Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest .

"Write about a character who wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. This character is visited by many people, all claiming to be family and friends - but are they really? Could it be the amnesia has simply given them a chance to 'start anew' with this character?" Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest .

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest . Photo: Our Endings Are Beginnings by ParadisiacPicture, DeviantArt.

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest . Photo: Diamonds by Bator Horvath, Flickr.

Blurb coming soon... Find this blurb on Pinterest .  See more of Meg Park's work here .

This is the first post in a series leading up to the premiere of Netflix's 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' on January 13, 2017. The series will cover each of the 13 books and 'Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography.' Be warned: there are spoilers ahead. Lemony Snicket (AKA Daniel Handler) has one of the most fascinating writing styles you will ever read. Somewhere on the spectrum between existentialism and realism, A Series of Unfortunate Events covers the surprisingly unsoftened story of the Baudelaire orphans: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. The first book, noticeably shorter and simpler than the following increments in the series, starts at the beginning, which is shockingly bad. When the orphans lose their parents, and home, in a house fire, their parents' executor, the coughing and inept Mr. Poe, sends them to live with odious and villainous Count Olaf.  The Bad Beginning focuses on a short span of time, from the orphans' introducti...