What do you need? Right now. What do you need? Other prompts relating to need: What do you need to hear? Lin Manuel Miranda pondered this question and the result is surprising. Want vs need. Discovering wants versus needs.
Help Your Creativity Blossom
Guest Blogger Suzanne Murray shares why freewrites inspire writing: I have taught the creative writing process for more than twenty years, working in part with a technique known as “freewriting” where I encourage participants to “just let it rip”. We don’t worry about punctuation, spelling, grammar or whether it is good. We suspend the censor and let our first thoughts spill out onto the page. People new to the class are always nervous about this kind of letting go. Since I write and share my own raw writing with the group, I was rather nervous when I first started teaching the classes but found that by maintaining a safe and sacred atmosphere of unconditional acceptance for whatever wanted to come forth it really calmed the fear for everyone. We learn quite early to fear making mistakes. We all have a well-developed censor that confines us within the limiting parameters of…
Always . . . Prompt #541
I will always have . . .
Control? Let go! Prompt #540
What can you control? What can you let go of?
Share a meal. Prompt #539
If you could invite anyone to share a meal with, dead or alive, who would you invite and why?
Transport readers
“Your main job as a writer is to transport the reader to a fictional world, as in a dream. ” — “The Geyser Approach to Revision,” James Scott Bell, July/August 2011 Writer’s Digest Magazine You probably know this, but perhaps you’re stuck with knowing how to achieve that. A big part is the revision process. The following steps for revision are based on the Writer’s Digest article. Write Hot. Revise cool. Wait two weeks after writing to begin the revision process. Then, read fast as if you were a first-time reader. Take notes about what needs fixing. Capture original emotions you felt when writing. Listen to music that evokes the mood of your story. “Music reaches a part of your mind that you usually have inactive when analyzing. Wake it up and put it to work with tunes.” Create a collage to capture a visual representation of your work to…
Learn a foreign language. Prompt #538
If you, or your fictional character, could learn a foreign language, what would it be and why? Or: Write about your experience with learning another language.
I’ll Be Seeing You
People magazine described Elizabeth Berg’s latest book, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” as “a memoir of dementia’s ravages.” And therein lies the decision whether or not to read this book. I chose to read this book because I’m a huge Elizabeth Berg fan. I have read all of her books and like most of them. But I wasn’t straining at the bit to read this one because I wasn’t sure about Elizabeth as a memoirist and wasn’t sure I wanted to read about anyone’s decline into Alzheimer’s. Elizabeth is an amazing writer, able to get to the heart of her characters. I think that’s because she is so authentic, so genuine, and so lovely. Her writing in this book does not disappoint. However, a caution: If someone you care about is experiencing Alzheimer’s, or if you are worried that you are, this book might not be for you. On the other…
What makes you smile? Prompt #537
What is the one thing that makes you smile every time you think about it or him/her/them? Every time you remember this, you smile. Every time.
Are You Starving Your Soul?
An honest evaluation by Guest Blogger Nina Amir: I had to get really honest with myself. And then I had to get honest with others . . . I have been unhappy. I have not been successful. I have given away my power. I have not followed my own path. I have lived up to other people’s expectations. I have not lived the life I wanted to live or done the work that is my purpose in this lifetime—my life’s work. And something had to change. I had to change. My life had to change. I’d been starving my soul. Now, I am feeding it. I am creating, day by day, a life that feeds my soul. And every day I’m a bit happier and fulfilled. I’m starting to recognize myself again. I’m making little changes that put me back on the path I want to walk. People have asked…