Category: Prompts

  • Change . . . Scary or exciting?    Prompt #748

    Is change scary or exciting for you?

    With a palpitating heart, sweaty palms, and a fluttering stomach, I changed the name of my Facebook/Meta Writing Page from “Writers Forum” to:

    “Marlene Cullen’s Write Spot,”

    to better reflect what this Facebook page is about.

    But, I wonder, why was I nervous . . . okay . . . scared to do this?

    I think the answer is: Consequences.

    I didn’t know if it would trigger an avalanche of problems.

    I was willing to take my changes.

    Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and make a change.

    Writing Prompt:

    Is change scary or exciting?

    Or:

    Sometimes you have to take the plunge.

    Write about a time you took a chance and made a change. What happened?

    #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting

    Marlene C

    ,

  • Start with a list . . . Prompt #747

    A freewrite is . . . writing freely with no thoughts nor worries about the outcome.

    When you write in this unrestricted style, brush off the editor that sits on your shoulder. Let go of your worries and fears. Just write.

    Our big stories come from our little stories.

    Sometimes the big story is too much to write about.

    So, break it down into bite-sized pieces.

    Making lists might help organize your thoughts.

    Lowlights . . . Highlights

    Our normal, everyday lives contain lowlights and highlights.

    Spend a few minutes making some lists.

    List #1 Lowlights

    Regrets

    Things you wish hadn’t happened

    What you would like to do over

    List #2  Highlights

    Warm memories

    Happy thoughts

    What you would like to do again

    List #3 Just Weird

    Weird things that happened

    Writing Prompt #1:

    Choose an item from one of your lists.

    Write about what happened.

    Who? What? When? Where?

    Writing Prompt #2:

    Choose a topic from Lowlights List.

    What would you do differently?

    To-do

    Choose another item from your list and Just Write.

    #iamawriter #iamwriting #justwrite

    Marlene C

  • Hop, skip, jump . . . Prompt #746                 

    Below is a list of things you may have experienced.

    As you read the list, when a word causes a reaction . . . when you notice a feeling in your body . . . use that word or phrase as a writing prompt and start writing.

    Write about where you were and who was with you.

    If you ate it, played with it, read it, or wore it, write about it.

    Add sensory detail of texture . . . what did these things feel like?

    Add your memory of taste, smell, sound, and what the item looked like.

    And, of course, you may have also experienced these things as a teen-ager and as an adult.

    Just Write!

    Jello salad

    Hot Wheels

    Roller Skates

    Sugar Frosted Flakes

    Poodle skirt

    Hopscotch

    Petticoats

    Barbie dolls

    Marbles

    Jacks

    Skipping

    Nancy Drew books

    Jump rope

    Little League

    Drive-in movies

    Hula hoop

    Trampoline Parks

    Used a manual typewriter

    Watched dance shows on TV

    Sunday nights: Ed Sullivan, The Magical World of Disney

    Marlene C

  • Childhood Stories . . . Prompt #745

    Stories from our childhood can be rich material to write about.

    Let’s start with going back in time.

    See yourself at 6 years of age, five years, 4 years.

    See yourself at the kitchen table where you ate breakfast.

    Maybe swinging your legs because your feet couldn’t reach the floor.

    Listen. Hear the adult chatter. 

    Maybe there was no ‘round the kitchen table time for you.

    Maybe it was a picnic table, or a dining room table.

    Perhaps there was no table.

    Maybe family time was in the family room, or the TV room, the den, or the rumpus room.

    Possibly there was no family time. Friends might have been significant in your child life.

    Maybe most of your childhood was spent outside.

    Take a deep breath in. Let it out.

    See the room or the place where you spent a lot of time as a child.

    Write about that place.

    Describe the place.

    Why did you go there?

    When did you go there?

    What happened there?

    Step into it. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you notice?

    Just write!

    #amwriting #iamawriter #justwrite

    Marlene C

    , ,

  • Outside the Norm . . . Prompt #744

    “Totem of Confessions” by Michael Garlington at Burning Man

    What have you done that is “outside the norm?”

    Been to Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert?

    “Burning Man is all about self-expression and the rejection of corporatism and capitalism. The experience of creating and viewing art and living in the moment is Burning Man’s purpose.” —Reno Gazette Journal, Aug. 31, 2022

    Or,  perhaps something like seeing the musical Hair, “where friends struggle to balance their young lives, loves and the sexual revolution, with their rebellion against the war, their conservative parents, and society.”

    Writing Prompt:

    Write about an experience you have had that is “outside the norm.”

    #justwrite  #amwriting  #iamawriter

    Marlene C

  • Neuroplasticity & Character Development . . .  Prompt #743

    Neuroplasticity

    We have well-worn neural pathways that help us get through routine activities without having to think about the details of each one.

    For example: Driving to a destination and arriving without having remembered every detail on the route.

    When that neural pathway gets interrupted, there is an opportunity for:

    Neuroplasticity: The brain’s ability to form new connections and neural pathways. 

    That change of habit can enrich perspectives:

    The way we look at our world, the way we meet challenges, and problem solve.

    Prompt #1

    Set the scene.

    Choose a fairytale character, a fictional character you create, or someone from your life (this could be you):

    Finish the sentences:

    A character wants ___________________________

    To get it, character needs to ____________________

    But (obstacles) ______________________________

    What if: Neural pathway gets interrupted. An opportunity for neuroplasticity? _________

    Prompt #2

    Choose one path to follow

    Path One: Fractured Fairytales: Start with a well-known fairytale and mix it up.

    Give the character another obstacle, or add on to existing obstacle.

    Embellish the details, be as unrealistic and as crazy as you want.


    Path Two: The main character is the person you just wrote about or someone from your life, (could be you).

    Path Three: Main character is a fictional character created by you.

    Whatever path you choose, use these questions to develop character and situation:

    What does the character want?

    What are the obstacles?

    If you choose to write about person from the first prompt, use “add-ons” to flesh out the story.

    Add-ons: For every sentence you wrote in Prompt #1, add three more sentences.

    For example:

    Original sentence; Little Red Riding Hood wants to deliver tasty morsels to Grandmother.

    Add-ons: She carries the muffins in a basket. She made the muffins that morning. She’s worried about Grandma’s health.

    Prompt #3

    What does the character need to do to get what they want?

    How does character solve problem? Able to form new connections and new neural pathways?

    This could be a brainstorming session where any and all solutions are possibilities.

    You can be creative in how character solves problems. Anything goes!

    Or, you can be realistic, overcome obstacles in a reasonable way.

    More on character development

    Character development – discovering characters

    What does your character want? What gets in the way?

    Marlene C

  • Grandparents . . . Prompt #742

    What did you call your grandparents? Great-grandparents?

    If you didn’t know your grandparents, why is that?

    Do you know stories about them during their young years?

    Write about your grandparents and/or your great-grandparents.

    #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter

    Marlene C

  • Intuition . . . Prompt #741

    Writing Prompt:

    Write about a time you paid attention to your intuition.

    Or, a time you didn’t pay attention.

    Just Write!

    More on Intuition: Calm Your Brain.

    #justwrite #imawriter #iamwriting

    Marlene C

  • State fairs, county fairs, bazaars . . . Prompt #740

    Photo by Denisse Leon

    Writing Prompt: State fairs, county fairs, bazaars

    Where you . . .

    Tried your luck at winning prizes.

    Threw a dart to win a stuffed animal, tossed a ring to win a goldfish.

    Went on a dizzy, scary, gravity-defying ride.

    Ate fair food:  Fried food, caramel covered apples, cotton candy, funnel cakes, soft-serve cones.

    Were entertained: Music, hypnotist, magicians, stilt-walkers.

    Inhaled a variety of smells: Barnyard animals, food.

    Gazed at exhibits: 4-H crafts, fine art, photography, sculptures.

    Prompt: State fairs, county fairs, bazaars . . . an overabundance of sensory riches. 

    Marlene C

  • A building . . . Prompt #739

    Write about a building that has or had meaning to you.

    Describe the building.

    Where is it? Or, where was it?

    Write about the energy of the building or the place.

    Did you like being there, or going there?

    If you no longer go there, would you like to go back?

    If you continue to go there, what draws you to this place?

    In your mind’s eye, turn to the building. Wave good-bye.

    Tell it you will see it again, either in your imagination or for real.

    “A Building,” by Cheryl Moore, might offer inspiration.

    #justwrite #iamwriting #iamawriter

    Marlene C