SAVINGS TIP -- Amazon.com offers the books with free shipping on orders of $25 or more!   
                                    
Step 3. Consider joining our InasPawprints.com Virtual Writing Clubs! You'll receive special members-only prompts by e-mail, plus you can send Ina up to 3 questions per month on how to coax creative ideas out of each other, how to motivate yourself and others in your group to stay with it, and other valuable tips. You'll also be eligible to have your stories reviewed for posting, and inclusion in a Pawpress book. Wow your friends!Three month trial period just $10 per person!  Use this button to sign on with a secure payment by check or credit card:

Special for Pawprints Creative/fiction and memoir Writing Club founders: Just send us confirmation that your group has bought at least 6 copies of Pawprints or How to Write Your Memoirs, and you'll receive a free copy of Diving Boards, the really fun-to-use book of titles and first lines for stories!  Scroll down to see how.*

Step 4.  Your first Creative Writing meeting: Go through the Pawprints Table of Contents, and read a few of the stories that appeal to the majority aloud. Have everyone close their eyes, and take a moment to picture what the stories bring up from personal experiences. Then jump into talking about what you just visualized.  Get as vivid as possible. Use these discussions as prompts to begin writing your own recollections of real-life events.

Step 4 alternative - fiction/FAntasy writing.  Get crazy and invent adventures!  No holds barred -- this is your opportunity to create and start a whole new adventure! And by the way, the stories don't have to be limited to being funny -- sometimes poignant or sad moments will also come up, begging you to record them on paper (or computer).  Allow 15-20 minutes to write your tale in the meeting.

STEP 5.  Share stories aloud, as many as you have time for during the rest of the meeting.  Allow each reader to read through the entire piece.  Then, offer questions and suggestions, rather than criticisms, if something doesn't seem to work when you're listening.  Sometimes you will want to work as a group to figure out how to make a sentence or phrase clearer or more compelling.  If you do not have time to finish all stories, continue with the unread pieces the following week.

Step 6, and on A continuing basis:  If you're a member of our Pawprints Writing Club group, you'll get further tips on next steps for your group or individual writing project, plus ideas for insuring the groups' continuing involvement and creativity. 

Anytime inspiration:  Buy the books or read excerpts from Stories From The Heart, Vols. 1 and 2.  You'll see lively, funny, and often off-the wall stories from Pawprints Writing Club members.  And try Diving Boards by Ina, the book of first lines and titles to get you and your group going.  (See pictures on right).  We dare you to not write after going into these short story and creative books!

FREE STUFF:  We have other special creativity enhancers you or your group may also want to use to jump start stories.  Try our free weird prompts on for size, picking one per meeting and seeing where they lead the group.  Get more on a regular basis as a Pawprints Writing Club Member.

*ATTN: PAWPRINTS WRITING CLUB AND MEMOIR WRITING CLUB FOUNDERS:  To get your free book, send us a copy of your groups' book receipts by fax, or scan and paste into an email.  Our email address is annap@InasPawprints.com.  Our fax number is 310-471-5048.  Add country code 001 prefix if you are outside the U.S.A.  If you don't mind a wait, use snail mail.  Our address is InasPawprints.com, Brentwood Village, PO Box 492213, Los Angeles, CA 90049.

If you live in Los Angeles, come to our free class Monday mornings. Click for de-tails.

New! We offer Fiction/Non-Fiction Writing Classes, Training for Groups! 

FOR SENIOR CENTERS/ COMMUNITY GROUPS/ CORPORATE ORGANIZATIONS:  Ina Hillebrandt, founder and Executive Director of Pawprints Literacy Plus, is available to train your staff. Unique, easy to learn creativity and motivation tips and tools that make it easy to help your adult and senior members and staff to get all the benefits of writing their memoirs -- a heightened sense of well being, enthusiasm for living, knowledge they are creating a valuable gift for themselves and their families. 

Classes also available for your members, residents.