The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Category: Prompts

  • Perseverance . . . Prompt #562

    Today’s prompt is inspired from the Perseverance Rover landing on Mars.

    What do you think about the Mars landing?

    Is this as impactful as man’s first walk on the moon?

    OR:

    Where were you on July 20, 1969 when Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin landed on the moon?

    OR: Write about perseverance.

    About the parachute that helped land Perseverance:

    The parachute that helped NASA’s Perseverance rover land on Mars unfurled to reveal a seemingly random pattern of colors in video clips of the rover’s landing. NASA officials said it contained a hidden message written in binary computer code. The red and white pattern spelled out “Dare Mighty Things” in concentric rings. The saying is the Perseverance team’s motto, and it is also emblazoned on the walls of Mission Control at NASA’s Jet Propulsion. “The Verge”

  • If you knew . . . Prompt #561

    If you knew then what you know now, what would you do differently?

  • Winter Thoughts . . . Prompt #560

    Winter.

    What is the best thing about winter? 

    What is your earliest winter memory?

    Or:

    Most memorable thing that happened in winter.

  • Time Travel . . . Prompt #559

    Think about a relative or an ancestor who you know very little about. You can jot down names or how the person is related to you if you don’t know their names. Take about two minutes for this.

    Choose one person to focus on. Time travel to when that person lived.

    Write about that person in a “take me back” way . . . using location or place, date, other characters or people who lived then as details to learn about this person.

    You can make things up, imagine conversation, imagine circumstances.  

    There are no wrong answers. Have fun exploring the possibilities of “what if?”

    What if you lived during this time, what would you be doing? Where are you in this scene?

    The Free February 18, 2021 Writers Forum event features Kate Farrell, Waights Taylor, Jr., and Bev Scott chatting about how to research family history and shape your story.

    Writers Forum Details and Zoom URL

  • Poem by Dawna Markova . . . Prompt #558

     I Will Not Die an Unlived Life by Dawna Markova

    I will not die an unlived life.
    I will not live in fear
    of falling or catching fire.
    I choose to inhabit my days,
    to allow my living to open me,
    to make me less afraid,
    more accessible:
    to loosen my heart
    until it becomes a wing,
    a torch, a promise.
    I choose to risk my significance,
    to live so that which came to me as seed
    goes to the next as blossom,
    and that which came to me as blossom,
    goes on as fruit.

    Prompt: You can write on the mood or the theme of the poem. Or use a line or a word as a springboard for your writing.

    Dawna Markova followed her precious grandmother’s footsteps to become a midwife, but rather than babies, she helps birth possibilities within and between people. 

    She has lived many incarnations in the past seven decades as an author, teacher, psychotherapist, researcher, executive advisor, and organizational fairy godmother.

    One of the creators of the best-selling Random Acts of Kindness series, Dawna is the author of many other inspirational books, including: Living A Loved Life: Awakening Wisdom Through Stories of Inspiration, Challenge and Possibility; I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion; Reconcilable Differences: Connecting In a Disconnected World; Collaborative Intelligence: Thinking With People Who Think Differently; A Spot of Grace: Remarkable Stories of How You DO Make a Difference.

    Reprinted with Dawna’s permission.

  • Explore Characters . . . Prompt #557

    Create a character, or develop a character.

    ~ The character could be you . . . when you were younger, or looking ahead, you in the future.

    ~ Someone you know, dead or alive.

    ~ A fictional character you created.

    Give your character a name: 

    Younger Me.

    Older Me.

    Someone you know.

    Your fictional character.

    Woman in 1940s.

    Man on a Mission.

    Person in a foreign country.

    Get up and walk around your space, looking at things, touching things, as if you were that character. Look through the eyes of the character you are writing about. Say, or think, the name of your character as you walk around.

    Walk in your character’s shoes.

    Spend 3-5 minutes on this.

    When you return to your chair, respond to the prompt from your character’s point of view.

    Use one of these prompts as a springboard to write about a character of your choice.

    What did your character see that interested them?

    What does your character want to know more about?

    Write from your character’s point of view:

    I think . . .

    I suppose . . . I remember

    Thank you to B. Lynn Goodwin for the inspiration for this prompt.

  • Ideas . . . Prompt #556

    Write about an idea you have. Something you have thought about doing.

    You can also write from your fictional character’s point of view.

    Perhaps something on your wish list. A dream.

    I want to . . .

    ~ write about . . .

    ~ create an art project about . . .

    ~ a gardening project . . .

    ~ something that will help me . . .

    ~ help my community . . .

    ~ help the world . . .

    ~ this is what I want to accomplish . . .

    ~ my dream is . . .

  • Character Sketch . . . Prompt #556

    Prompt #554, Character Idiosyncrasies, on The Write Spot Blog, suggests ideas to write about a fictional character, or someone you know. You can do all that for this prompt. Plus, you can fill out the answers for yourself, as if filling out a questionnaire.

    Character Sketch . . . fill in the details about your character.

    5 positive traits

    5 opposite traits

    3 least favorite things

    3 favorite things

    What does this person love?

    What is this person looking for?

    What is this person afraid of?

    What is most important to this person?

    What is this person’s secret?


    Prompt inspired by Stefanie Freele’s June 2012 Writers Forum talk, “Developing Character.”

    Please join us on February 10 and February 18 for Zoom Writers Forum talks about story telling by Kate Farrell, editor of Story Power.

  • Photos Develop Characters . . . Prompt #555

    You can use photos to develop ideas for creating characters.

    Turn your imaginary characters into believable characters.

    Use photos to establish physical characteristics

    Look at images in magazines or in photo albums or online.

    Choose an image for a character you want to develop.

    Write a character sketch, just as an artist would draw with charcoal. Flesh out what your character looks like.

    Add details that make your character unique and memorable: body shape, statuesque, angular, plump, scars, tattoos, piercings, lanky, a hulk, petite, piercing violet eyes, honey brown eyes, disarming smile, large ears, moles, hair style.

    Craft your character’s personality

    Analyze photos to build a personality for this character.

    Is your character touching anyone in the photos?

    Are they leaning towards anyone?

    Note how their looks imply character traits: stoic, friendly, menacing, open-minded, pleasant, formidable, playful, serious.

    A furrowed brow might indicate stress. Crow’s feet at the sides of the eyes could indicate someone who laughs often, or is frequently outdoors in the sun.

    Expand your analysis

    What feelings do you get when you look at your character in the photo?

    Does their facial expression match their physical posture?

    Imagine what happened right before the picture was taken.

    Conjure up what happened right after photo was taken.

    Who took the photo?

    What is the photographer’s relationship to the person in the photo?

    Images in school yearbooks

    What do their photos and captions in their yearbooks say about them?

    What is revealed in these photos? Is your character in any clubs or active in sports?

    On the debate team? The newspaper or yearbook staff?

    Bring your character to life

    Look into the eyes of the character in the photo. What is the story behind the story?

    What do their clothes say about them? Where did they shop for clothes? Did they make their own clothes?

    Of course, jobs and hobbies are also important to invent a character.

    How do they spend their time?

    How do they spend their free days?

    If they had a million dollars, how would they spend it?

    Speculate

    How much schooling did they have?
    What did they have for breakfast?

    Favorite snack?

    Favorite color?

    Use these ideas for starting points to produce original characters.

    More prompts on character development.

  • Character idiosyncrasies . . . Prompt #554

    How do writers develop characters? How do writers get to know their characters beyond their looks, their desires, and where they went to school?

    For this prompt, you can write about your main character, a supporting character, or you can write about someone you know.

    If you are writing about something that really happened, you can use that incident and those involved as your characters. When you write about real people, they become “characters” in your story.

    Here’s how it works:

    Interview your fictional character as a journalist would, but not at the age they are in your story. If they are older, interview a younger version of your character.

    If your character is young, imagine what he or she might be like as an older person.

    For your real-life person, have an actual interview, if you can.  If not, imagine what they were like as a child, a pre-teen, a teenager.

    Activities

    Here’s a trick to really get to know your fictional characters: Write about how they spend their time. Did they undergo training or schooling for their job? Do they go out with friends? How did they meet these friends? What does their family do when they get together?

    Write about how your characters spend their time. Do they collect odd items? Did they join clubs in school? What does your character do when she or he is alone?

    Give your character an unusual job or hobby. Either something you know about, or something you can research. An internet search reveals thousands of job and hobby possibilities for your characters.

    Ideas for jobs and hobbies at Happy DIY Home.

    An example of an unusual activity: Parkour.

    “Parkour can be defined as an activity involving movement through an area, typically urban in nature, in an efficient and creative way. Those who practice it are known as traceurs (French for ‘trace’) and will jump, climb and vault over obstacles in their path in order to get from A to B as quickly as possible.” — Parkour: The Ultimate Guide For Beginners, Sport Fitness Advisor

    Describing an activity is a way to add the sensory detail of kinesthetics to your writing—motion in writing.

    Prompt: Interview your fictional characters to discover their idiosyncrasies.

    For more about character development and adding sensory detail to writing:

    Flesh out your characters. Prompt #131

    Character development – discovering characters. Prompt #132

    Sensory Details – Kinesthetic, motion in writing.