Category: Prompts

Hang out or hanging out.

Where did you hang out as a teenager?

As a young adult?

Favorite place to hang out now. Where do you like to spend some time?

#justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter

“The Mask Self is that part of ourselves that we dare to present to the world. It is a way of being that we have put together, frequently in a rather haphazard way, and often through the trials and errors of our lives.

For the most part, the Mask Self protects us from having to look more closely at the dream figures that lie behind it. It protects the more vulnerable creatures of our inner world.

As we struggle with our masks, there are often many different layers to be peeled away.

In the meantime, life becomes a melodrama, a soap opera, as we find ourselves drawn to this person or that, all in an effort to make our lives work and still hold onto our masks.” — Hal Zina Bennet, “Write From the Heart”

Visualization

Before the writing prompt, please enjoy this visualization.

Imagine you are in the mountains in the springtime.

Walking on a soft, earthy path, breathe in the fresh mountain air.

Regal trees reach up to a calm blue sky.

Birds are singing with no cares.

There is a lake, so crystal clear you can see rocks underwater.

See the reflections of the sun sparkling on the lake like diamonds.

There is a waterfall that feeds the lake.

The sun shines down through the falls, creating rainbows.

Imagine . . . the sounds of water . . . the smells of earth, trees, and fresh water . . . the dance of light.

The majesty of the mountains surrounds you, creating a feeling of safety, like a sanctuary.

Sitting comfortably on a rock, breathe in the profound beauty and stillness.

Taking a deep breath, you are ready to release what no longer serves you.

When you are ready, write . . .

What would you like to release, or let go of?

Or: What would happen if you took your mask off?

Or: If you have taken the mask off, how did that go?

More posts on the topic of release:

Writer Wounds and Scar Tissue

Qi Gong To Calm The Mind

Use Your Writing To Heal

From “Write From the Heart” by Hal Zina Bennett

During a trip to Disneyland, a priest became fascinated with the costumed figure of Mickey Mouse. Every time Father Sean turned around, there was Mickey Mouse shaking hands with people, talking with kids, keeping everyone’s spirits up. And Father Sean began asking himself, “I wonder who that person is under that costume? What are they like at the end of the day, when they take off their Mickey Mouse suit?”

Instead of being who we really can be, we take on masks like the Good Little Girl, or we become the Black Sheep of the Family or the Rebel. Early on, we learn that if we are to be loved and cared for, we’d better buckle under and be what is safe for us to be.

Writing Prompts

What role did you play as a child?

What is your role now?

#amwriting #justwrite #iamawriter

Write about a time, or an event, that flowed beautifully.

Maybe it was a trip or a visit that was perfect.

You could also write about music, art, or any creative endeavor that you cannot forget.

Or write about something you read, or something you wrote, that conveyed a message succinctly and engagingly.

Today’s writing prompt is inspired by the Writers Digest Review of “The Write Spot: Musings and Ravings From a Pandemic Year.”

“This book is exemplary in its voice and writing style. It has a unique voice, and the writing style is consistent throughout. The style and tone are also consistent with or will appeal to readers of a variety of genres. Because this is a collection of different voices, the styles and rhythms are unique to each author. Yet they all flow beautifully, conveying their message succinctly and engagingly.”

Note from Marlene: Why yes, I do find prompts in unusual and intriguing places!

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”  Viktor Frankl

Prompt: Write about the space between stimulus and response.

Write about a time you recognized it – or you didn’t – and how that impacted your life.

OR:  Explore the word or the concept of liminal:

Liminal specifically means relating to the point (or threshold) beyond which a sensation becomes too faint to be experienced.

Liminal: Related to or situated at a sensory threshold; barely perceptible or capable of eliciting a response, things that exist at the threshold (or border) between one thing and another.

Examples of liminal:

The liminal stage is the middle stage, the in-between period during which a person has not yet fully reached their new status in whatever rite of passage they are going through.

~ Being “the new kid” at school before being fully incorporated into a new group of friends.

~ After graduation, before being fully established in a workplace.

~ After retirement . . .

To be in a liminal space means to be on the precipice of something new but not quite there yet. You can be in a liminal space physically, emotionally, or metaphorically.

A liminal state of mind

A period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed — a situation which can lead to new perspectives.

Prompt: Write about a liminal space.

“Burgeoning” by Su Shafer shows a unique spin using this prompt.