Just Write

Get started – how to use writing prompts

Get out some paper and a fast moving pen or set up your computer. Set the timer for ten minutes. Look at something  in your room, anything, it doesn’t matter. Now write. Just write whatever enters your head. Or, open your dictionary to a random page, run your finger down a column. Stop on a word and freewrite, using that word as your prompt. Or, use one of the prompts in this blog. Think of this as practice writing, just as a badminton player practices before an actual meet. Follow Natalie Goldberg’s six rules of writing listed in a previous post. Try it right now. Paper and pen or computer ready? Glance at your clock. Note the time.  Or set your timer for ten minutes. Write for ten minutes about “trees.” After that, write for ten minutes, using “I remember” as your prompt. Now go with, “What I really want…