I’m very sorry to everyone that I’ve been radio silent after I post recently. Things at work are keeping me busy and I’ve been without my phone, so I couldn’t even comment during breaks in class. I’m hoping things slow down at the end of next week, so I’ll be back to join in the conversations. In the meantime, thank you for not abandoning my posts.
Welcome to the Picture it & Write creative writing exercise. I invite people to join in, comment with your paragraph of fiction to accompany the image. It doesn’t have to follow my story or reflect the same themes. It can be a poem or in a different language (please provide a translation). Anyone who wants to join in, is welcome. This photograph will be reblogged under Ermisenda on tumblr and added to the Picture it & Write gallery on Facebook and Pinterest.
Please continue to write however you’re inspired, but add a tag to the beginning of your post if there’s mature content in order to keep Picture it & Write an engaging event for all of our followers.
The van rocked back and forth, jostling the family inside. Camping gear knocked and clacked together. “Uhy-uhy-uhy-uhy,” the children chimed inside with each bump. That might have annoyed other parents, but there were smoother passages out of town. Mark and Jeff had chosen this path on purpose.
“Do you think we got rid of all the mini bears?” Jeff twisted around in the passenger seat to look at the children’s smiles. Two foster kids, an adopted son, a daughter from Mark’s previous marriage, and one of her friends. While the other kids nodded, the friend looked around, her brows knit and eyes narrowed in confusion. Her frown suggested concern that was not deep enough to be considered fear.
“Mini bears?”
Melissa chimed in to explain to her friend. “Squirrels,” she translated into the vernacular.
“There are two types,” Mark called from up front, having turned down the radio to listen to the conversation. “City mini bears are slender, fast, and stupid. Rural mini bears are fat, slow, and smart. If they were ever to breed, they would create a super mini bear that could enslave humanity. You’ve seen the YouTube videos of city mini bears running gauntlets to get to bird seed haven’t you? It’s already started.” Mark honked as someone cut him off, so Jeff picked up the story.
“Any time you travel between the city and the forest, you need to shake off any mini bears that may cling to the bottom of the car.”
The girl laughed. It sounded crazy, but this beat camping trips with her family. By now, everyone would be desperately clinging to the battery life on their cell phones, iPads, and MP3 players before a dead weekend.
–Eliabeth Hawthorne
Picture it & Write now supports The Girl Effect, a movement empowering girls to break the cycle of poverty in their communities, countries, and world. All profits from the publication are donated to this cause.
Everyone is welcome to use the button, just link them back to the Picture it & Write category or Ermiliablog! 
Share your love for Picture it & write on your blog with the image below. Be proud, and stylish 
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The Picture it & Write Publication had many hiccups, but we’re still proud of the final result. I’d love to be able to say we raised hundreds of dollars for The Girl Effect, but we’ve always said that every dollar counts. As we continue to be active in charity runs and other projects, I’m excited to see what we’ll be able to do in the years to come. Not counting our volunteer hours, we’ve donated $1646 USD since starting our company. In addition, we have $160 AUD circulating in Kiva loans .
The Picture it & Write Publication (ebook) is live! We’ve ordered a proof of the paperback and just need it to double check it before we set it live as well. If you had a piece make it into the publication, we’ll send you a free copy as a thank you, just leave a comment with your preferred file (PDF, Kindle, Nook).
Ermilia 