“The personal essay begins as an act of exploration. We write in order to figure out where we’re going and make sense of where we’ve been.” — Susan Bono Susan Bono is an extraordinary writer whose words go right to the heart. You can read her excellent writing in her collection of short essays in What Have We Here: Essays about Keeping House and Finding Home. Susan is a writing teacher and freelance editor specializing in memoir. She facilitates writing workshops at Copperfield’s Books in Petaluma. California.
Author: mcullen
Marlene Cullen is enthusiastic about encouraging people to write, even those who think they can’t write. Her series of books, The Write Spot anthologies, features writing that entertains as well as inspires writing. Every story, vignette, and poem in The Write Spot books include writing prompts motivating readers to become writers.
Marlene hosts The Write Spot Blog, a treasure chest of inspirational gems for writers.
Fulfilling her passion for writing and sharing with others, Marlene has created unique writing environments such as Jumpstart Writing Workshops, where participants often experience transformational changes. Her workshops provide essential elements for successful writing.
Marlene is the founder of Writers Forum of Petaluma, a monthly literary event featuring presenters talking about the craft and business of writing.
Marlene's awarding winning short stories and essays have been published in literary journals, anthologies, and newspapers, including Tiny Lights, Building Bridges, More Bridges, Redwood Writers anthologies, and The Write Spot anthologies.
She is a member of the California Writer's Club.
You can be your own genie.
What is it about your life that isn’t satisfying right now? Can you change that? Brad Yates, one of the top teachers of Emotional Freedom Techniques® (EFT), is today’s guest blogger. He wrote about “Granting Wishes Incrementally” in his November 2017 free monthly newsletter. Brad: Just for a moment, close your eyes, and imagine walking along a beach. Imagine that you come across a lamp in the sand, and as you brush the sand off it, a puff of smoke emits from the opening, eventually growing and taking the form of a genie. “I will grant you any wish you desire. What is your command?” the genie says. So… if you could have a wish granted in this way, what would you ask for? A huge sum of money? A killer body? A dream vacation? Give it some thought. Is that what you really want? Now consider this . . . Would…
Pretend . . . Prompt #407
Today’s prompt: Pretend. With this type of prompt, you can also write about the opposite . . . Let’s not pretend.
Use these words . . . Prompt #406
Use these words in your freewrite: Instinct, illustration, melt, eighteenth, obligation, plunge, immune.
Your path . . . Prompt #405
Write about a path you took, or a path you didn’t take. Write about a choice you made.
How do others see you? Prompt #404
What do you look like to someone who doesn’t know you? Do you react, and then act differently because of some input you received from someone? How important is it to you how others see you? Write from your well of deep thinking or respond how your fictional character would respond.
Your dream of safety. Prompt #403
What is your dream of safety? Inspired by “Leap Before You Look” by W. H. Auden The sense of danger must not disappear: The way is certainly both short and steep, However gradual it looks from here; Look if you like, but you will have to leap. Tough-minded men get mushy in their sleep And break the by-laws any fool can keep; It is not the convention but the fear That has a tendency to disappear. The worried efforts of the busy heap, The dirt, the imprecision, and the beer Produce a few smart wisecracks every year; Laugh if you can, but you will have to leap. The clothes that are considered right to wear Will not be either sensible or cheap, So long as we consent to live like sheep And never mention those who disappear. Much can be said for social savior-faire, But to rejoice when no one…
Someone you were drawn to. Prompt #402
Write about a person you were drawn to. It could be a real person or a fictional character.
A Special Gift
Today’s guest post is by Nancy Julien Kopp. I have been enjoying Nancy’s posts on her blog, Writer Granny’s World. Nancy writes: Here we are in the last month of the year and one of the busiest. I went to a Christmas party Friday evening and a Christmas Tea at my church Saturday. Definitely getting me in the mood for the season. One of the things the hostess of the tea did was ask each person to tell about a Christmas gift that was very special. What a delight it was to listen to the 25-30 women share details about the time and circumstance of their gifts. Stories ranged from engagement rings to dolls to pets and a few other things. Many prefaced the story by mentioning that there were very few presents given in their family when they were children because money was short. One woman told us about…
This happened . . . Prompt #402
Today’s prompt is inspired by a talk Ianthe Brautigan gave on March 5, 2001. Memoir is a journey. Just because it’s your life, don’t think you know the end. A beeper could go off and change everything. Life is like a box of chocolates . . . you don’t know what you got until you bite into it. Sometimes your life makes sense after you write and digest your findings. Ianthe suggests writing a memoir in an unusual way, not “this happened and then that happened.” To start: Write excerpts from your past. Write your stories. Don’t worry about where they will go. Tell your story as if sitting around a campfire. If you need inspiration: Make a collage from magazine articles/photos about what you want to write about. Look at these when you need a nudge to write. Once you start writing, let go of how you should write….