Prompts

Write What Is True

“Don’t write what sounds clever, write what’s true.” —Ethan Canin Excerpted from “Novelist Curtis Sittenfeld Thinks Middle Age is Underrated,” by Lane Florsheim, The Wall Street Journal, March 1-2, 2025 Sittenfeld continued with, “That’s good advice for writing, but it’s also good advice for how to be a person. It can be hard to be sincere, but I think you have a much greater chance of connection with others if you are.” Note From Marlene: You know what I say . . . Just Write! But, what if you can’t remember what’s true? “Write as honestly as you can about whatever it is.” Abigail Thomas “Perhaps” is another blog post that might help when you can’t quite remember exactly what happened. You know what to do . . .Just Write!

Prompts

Break-up Letter . . . Prompt #828

Writing Prompt: Write a break-up letter to something, or someone who brings tension into your life. Prompt from Rebecca Evans and Gayle Brandeis, Musings & Movement Workshop. Rebecca will be the Writers Forum Presenter on April 15 and April 22. Free on Zoom 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm Pacific Topic: Crafting Flash in Creative Nonfiction “Unlock your superpower through conveying deep truths and universal human emotions in just a few short paragraphs.”

Prompts

Contranyms . . . Prompt #826

A contranym is a word with two opposite meanings.   Or: Two meanings that contradict one another. Use contranyms in your writing. Bill: payment or an invoice Bolt: leave quickly or fix/immobilize Bound: confined/tied or going Buckle: connect or break or collapse Cleave: cling or split apart Clip: attach or cut off Dust: clean something or dust with powdered sugar Fast: move rapidly or fixed in place Finished: completed or destroyed Hold up: support or impede Left: gone or remaining Original: authentic/traditional or novel never done before Overlook: supervise or failing to oversee Peer: person of nobility or an equal Presently: now or soon Put out: extinguish or generate Sanction: approve or penalize Table: discuss a topic or postpone discussion #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting