Precise body language can often enliven dialogue. For example, a character might say, "No, I cannot do that." If she says that while "hunched over and cupping a hand over the receiver" the effect is dramatically different from, say, "glaring down from the top of the steps, with arms akimbo." In three different scenes, take the same dialogue and add tags* and body language--- but, as these tend to be overused, try to avoid "shrugging," "nodding" or "sipping." (1) In a cafe: (2) In an office: (3) On a hiking trail: "It's impossible, you don't want that" "Why not?" "Can't you see?" "Quiet." "Why should I be quiet?" "Shshsh."   *For example, "he said" or "she asked".    1, 2, 3, GO!!

My fascination with Eastern culture has been a long-standing one, even to the point where I tried to teach myself Chinese in 5th or 6th grade (a massive failure, but I still remember a few phrases!). There's just something so mysterious about it. History spanning hundreds of years, the long standing traditions, the unfamiliar culture... It's all so foreign to me that I want to know everything about it. Plus, they have an entire language system that completely differs from my own. How cool is that???    I guess if I was to pinpoint when my love for the East began, it was most likely back when I was in elementary school, and my sister happened to stumble upon anime and manga. Juju was older and cooler than me (I don't care what anyone says, all little sisters look up to their older sisters despite what they may say), so I strove to emulate her, reading the same books, writing in journals, drawing (albeit much more dismally than her), and just being all around artsy fartsy.

Preach, Coco. Preach . I have found that movies, books, and the media in general have gotten into the habit of praising dogged perseverance. "Oh, some guy finally got what he wanted after he did this for 10 years? Wow! That's amazing! It's so nice to see when a little hard work and perseverance pays off!" Don't get me wrong. I'm as much of a sucker for those type of stories as the next person, but I'm afraid that the other side to that coin isn't getting that much airtime. Albert Einstein defined insanity as follows: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." There's a reason why this man is heralded as one of the greatest minds of all time, folks. Take it from him and Coco Chanel; you cannot make a door out of a concrete wall (unless you have a wrecking ball, I suppose). Thanks, Miles. If things seem dismal and trapped in dead end land, then take a moment to step outside of

Guys, I have an announcement. And it's a big one. Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook already know, but on the off chance that the people who follow this blog even after months of radio silence still, in fact, read it (bless you), let me be the first to tell you that in 1 year's time, I will be packing up everything I own and a) selling it, b) storing it, or c) taking it with me across the world on an adventure to teach English in South Korea for 1+ years. A perfect depiction of how I feel at the moment. That's right. South Korea. Teaching English. Me. I may be a bit gif-happy right now. Shhh... I'm happy, ok?

And so we come to Flashy Fridays where I attempt to write something complete in less than 1,000 words. I'm mad, you say? Why no! Just eccentric! Absolutement. If only the rest of the world realized and accepted this as fact. Today's prompt was brought to you by the lovely folks over at Flash! Friday . Click here to see the prompt details and rules if you want to participate. I'd post my own little diddy, but it seems that I overbooked myself this week. No time for Friday Flash, unfortunately. However, if you wrote something this week (even if it wasn't for Friday Flash), please feel free to put links in the comments below. I would love to read whatever you have, and I'm sure the rest of my readers here at 52 Weeks would greatly enjoy the read as well. Peace. Stef.

Right now, from right where you are, very precisely describe all the shadows you see. 1,2,3, GO!!!

Today is the first installment of Meaty Mondays, a weekly post where I give you something to ponder for the week, something to give you purpose and hope, something uplifting. To see a full detailing of all of the changes happening over here at 52 Weeks of Wordage, please click here . I am currently making a lot of changes not only on this blog but in my personal life, and it's all because of Mark Twain. Well... that may be a bit hyperbolic, but he was definitely the reason I chose to make these much needed changes. Back in late December, I came across a quote by him that I had read before, but for whatever reason it really resonated with me this time. See below for the quote in full.

Let's all take a moment to recognize that I haven't posted a blog since, oh... August 26th of 2013. Shameful... Life takes you through ebbs and flows, and 2013... well, it was definitely an ebb in the life of Stefers the Great, and I am more than ready to put it behind me. I talked at length over the last couple of posts from August why everything in the world was was awful last year (feel free to browse back over there by clicking here and here ), so I don't really feel compelled to dwell on it any longer. 2013 was a bitch. But it's over now. Let's move on, shall we? I took the first several weeks of 2014 to reassess my life, consider where I'm heading versus where I want to be heading, what I want to do with this blog, etc... and I think I've come up with some pretty exciting prospects, all of which I will be detailing over the next week. I'm sure you've already noticed some visual changes, but I've also decided to make some conte