Prompts

Discovering Epiphanies . . . Prompt #479

How to get to an epiphany in writing. One way to discover an epiphany: Start with: The problem began with wanting something. I wanted . . . I wanted it because (back story) . . . To get it, I . . . (action) However, something got in my way: (there may be several actions/reactions/sequences that got in the way) . . . I had to try something different, so I . . . At the time I was thinking that . . . The turning point came when . . . When that happened, I realized . . . Resolution: After that I . . . Another way to get to an epiphany: Write about a pivotal event in your life. Something happened and you weren’t the same after.  Narrow it down to the exact moment and location where it took place. It could be something wonderful or something…

Guest Bloggers

Finding Time to Write

Guest Blogger Bella Mahaya Carter writes about: A Cure for Writer’s Block: Write without “Writing” Many of my students and clients tell me that they have a hard time finding the time to write. This is totally understandable. Our lives are busy. We have obligations and commitments we must fulfill, or face tangible consequences. Writing is not like this. Nobody knows or cares if we don’t write.   But people who have the urge (calling) to write and don’t act on it often experience dissatisfaction, even angst. They feel like they have an itch they can’t scratch. Part of the problem—what keeps people from sitting down to write—is their own imagination. They’ve made up stories about what “writing” is supposed to look like. They assume they need to carve out huge chunks of time. They believe that they have to feel energized or inspired. They might envision their writing hurting people they love. They…

Just Write

Memoirs As Textbooks

Use a published memoir as a textbook to write your memoir. Read the memoir. Read it again to examine structure. Notice where author used narration vs. dialogue to tell the story. Notice the balance between fast-paced action scenes and slower, contemplative scenes. Note when and how backstory is used. Let’s use Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt as our textbook. McCourt’s ability to write as if experiencing events as they unfold, pacing, and his strong writing voice made Angela’s Ashes a New York Times beloved best seller. Angela’s Ashes takes the reader on an emotional journey. There is so much vulnerability in this book. McCourt reaches into our compassionate hearts as he tells his story, moving from childhood to adulthood. He weaves details into a story, similar to the Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. McCourt taps into universal messages and themes. Understanding your theme will help to write your memoir. Possible…

Book Reviews

How To Walk Away

Sometimes a person needs a story to help forget their worries. How to Walk Away by Katherine Center is a prescription for getting lost in a story, realizing that things could be worse. I enjoyed the character development, unraveling personalities like a box in a box as the story went deeper with complex issues. A memorable story. NEW YORK TIMES Bestselling Author Katherine Center wrote her first novel in the sixth grade (fan fiction about Duran Duran) and got hooked. From then on, she was doomed to want to be a writer—obsessively working on poems, essays, and stories, as well as memorizing lyrics, keeping countless journals, and reading constantly. Katherine won a creative writing scholarship in high school, and then went on to major in creative writing at Vassar College, where she won the Vassar College Fiction Prize. At 22, she won a fellowship to the University of Houston’s Creative Writing…

Prompts

Ekphrastic Writing . . . Prompt #477

Today’s writing prompt is inspired by Jumpstart Writing Facilitator Lakin Khan. From Lakin: Participants in the Jumpstart Writing Workshops that I facilitate have been doing some ekphrastic writing, which is descriptive writing about or a response to visual art. We have been having fun looking at paintings and photos, imaging stories and practicing writing visual descriptions. Lakin’s response to a postcard of Claude Monet’s painting “Wheat Stacks at Dawn.” “Frost is the frosting on these giant cupcakes of hay waiting in the pale pearly peachlight of dawn for the Giant of Alsace to stomp down the hill for his morning meal. At least so far, he’s been happy with hay. What might happen if he decides to go all keto on us and demand ostrich-eggs over easy and a side of humans to start his day?”   ~ Lakin Khan Another example is Anne Sexton’s poem “Starry Night” one of many ekphrastic responses to…

Guest Bloggers

Belinda Pollard: Personal Stories Enhance Your Writing

Inspiration from Belinda Pollard on how to use memoir writing in any of your writing. Excerpt from “Putting Your Self Into Your Writing, Exercise 1,” by Belinda: Memoir is a popular genre these days, as people tell their personal stories and inspire others to overcome obstacles, cope with life, or laugh at someone’s funny antics. But personal stories go much further than memoir. They are great additions to many types of non-fiction, especially self-help. They are wonderful in travel narratives. How-to can also become more engaging and effective if you tell about your own ups and downs as you learned a particular skill. And your fiction writing can improve as you learn to tell your personal stories well. I’ve edited biographies and memoirs, and other types of books that use personal story. One of the elements that work really well is when the author finds a way to give readers…