The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

Category: Prompts

  • Obsessions . . . Prompt #352

    What are you obsessed with?

    Write about your obsessions.

     

     

     

    Photo by Christina Gleason

  • Favorite time of year. Prompt #351

    Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter.

    In-between seasons.

    Write about your favorite time of year.

  • You think you know them . . . Prompt #350

    “You think you know them,

    these creatures robed

    in your parent’s skins.”

     

    Writing Prompt: Read the excerpt. Copy it in your notebook, if you want. Then see what comes up for you and Just Write!

    Excerpt from the poem, At the Lake House by Jon Loomis

     

  • “At the Ice Rink” by Alison Luterman . . . Prompt #349

     

    Today’s writing prompt is a poem by Alison Luterman. When the prompt is a poem, you can write on the theme or the mood of the poem. Or use a stanza, a line, or a word to inspire your writing. Just Write!

    At the Ice Rink

    I came here to fail
    and to fall
    but not so well
    as that man careening over the ice
    sliding into the wall
    as if into second base
    shambling up, grinning, like a great bear,
    and taking off again,

    saying, over his shoulder,
    “You’ve got it backwards.
    Learn to fall first,
    then  skate.”

    I end up clinging
    barnacle-like to the sides,
    inching around the perimeter like a caterpillar.
    Wall-hugger. Nothing has changed since I was eight
    and my parents paid for skating lessons
    in hopes I would become more balanced.

    Now as then I am wobbling, terrified,
    feet frozen like blocks of wood at the ankles.
    Not loose-limbed and easy like Hilary
    who rides the ice like a North wind scouring the plains,
    nor deft and graceful like Ruth
    picking up her feet and kick-gliding
    in time to the ’70’s pop muzak.

    But what can we do
    when fear throws its rustiest pickaxe
    dead ahead in our path?

    Mince. Inch. Stumble. Pray
    for the grace to fall
    and not be rescued, pray for the scramble-up

    for the liberating laughter that knowsit is not in our control.
    There is the center, gleaming like a fish-eye.
    Little girls spin on it, twirling their bright skirts.
    It shines under its white scars like a destiny.

    —Alison Luterman

    Alison Luterman:

    As a child, I used to creep onto the stairs when my parents had guests over and eavesdrop on the grown-ups. A creak of the stairs would invariably give away my position and I’d be chased back to bed, only to reappear at the next opportunity, hiding and listening. I wanted to be where the interesting conversations were happening. I still want that. Only now the conversations happen all over the country, all over the world, with friends, friends of friends, and complete strangers. Our stories rub up against each other and expand and change in ways I could never have imagined when I was young, and they now include rocks, weeds, fruit trees, cats, stars, and myths from all over the world, as well as all kinds of people.

  • What’s the latest? Prompt #348

    Things are settling down at Cullen Corner after the Holidaze. I hope everything is going well for you.

    It’s been quiet here on The Write Spot Blog on account of the holidays: Decorating, undecorating, traveling to be with family, having family here, watching Hallmark holiday movies, watching Doc Martin and The Amazing Mrs. Maisel  ( highly recommend), the usual December-January busyness.

    Since I last posted, I changed the title on the recently published The Write Spot: Discoveries to better reflect the contents.

    New title, same contents:  The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries.

    Now, I’m working on the next anthology. I hope you are active with a project that you enjoy.

    Today’s prompt:  What’s the latest?

    I’m loving all the wonderful reviews of Discoveries. Here’s the latest review of Discoveries.

    Review by Diana McCurdy in The Sonoma County Gazette, founded by Vesta Copestakes.

    Book Review: The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Discoveries

    Book groups proliferate so why not writing groups? That old beatnik, pre-hippie poet, Kenneth Rexroth said, “Against the ruin of the world, there is only one defense: the creative act.” And with so much unease in our society, with threats of war, polarization of political ideologies, hurricanes and fires why not diffuse some of that negativity by creating? Let us write stories, and poems, and essays, perhaps to stave off some ruin and stay semi-sane at least.

    Marlene Cullen is the creator of Jumpstart Writing Workshop. In a comfortable, non-threatening atmosphere, participants write and write and write. Their products turned out be so compelling that she wanted to share them with all of us. She has assembled a charming anthology entitled Discoveries. Discoveries is a compendium of all different kinds of creative acts and for each selection the creative process is described in detail.

    Writers are given a “prompt.” At the end of each piece we are told exactly what the inspiration was. For example, one writer recounts a comic interlude with a recalcitrant Weber BBQ. The impetus for this was, “write about a leap you have taken.” At the end of each author’s section there is a mini-biography and some words of encouragement that describes their process.

    Part of the delight elicited by this collection is the disparate range of topics. This little book includes something for everyone’s preferences. Subjects include old-fashioned laundry rituals, the great hot lunch, cold lunch school dilemma, hormones, romance, gloves and soap.

    The ending segment reads like a lesson plan to start a writing group of one’s own. There are hints on what to do if your creative juices are stuck, a list of prompts and a generous bibliography. Entries are short and in our busy, very busy lives it is easy to pick up the book and read a few inclusive selections and then put it down for another day to discover a different author’s work. Available on Amazon.com,

    Diane McCurdy was born in Santa Rosa.  Her dad had ranches so she learned the value of hard work at an early age.  She has a BA from SF State and an MA from SSU in English Literature and several teaching credentials, two grown children and three cats. She’s been  all over Europe, Mexico, Hawaii and visited schools in Japan and China and stayed with relatives in Brazil.  Diane has a lifelong interest in film.  Her mother met her father when she was selling tickets at the box office of her father’s theater, the first motion picture house in Sonoma County.  

     

  • Strongly affected. . . Prompt #347

    Today’s writing prompt is a visualization . . . then the prompt. Set yourself up for an uninterrupted twenty minutes. Get comfortable. Have your writing implements nearby . . . paper and pen or computer.

    Settle into your chair. Feet flat on floor. Hands relaxed.

    Rotate shoulders in a circle. Reverse direction.

    Stretch arms out in front. Arms overhead. Arms to the side.

    Take a deep breath in. Hold. Let go.

    Feel your feet connected to the floor. And that connection goes down into the earth, way down, deep down, to the center of the earth.

    Firmly planted, deeply rooted.

    Feel the connection up your legs, through your calves, into your knees.

    Feeling connected up into your thighs.

    Completely relax into your chair, letting go of all tension that might be in your legs and thighs.

    Just let go.

    Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

    Let your hands go limp. Feel the relaxation travel up your arms and into your shoulders.

    Take a nice deep breath in and bring your shoulders up to your ears. And then let them down with a loud hrumph sound. Another deep breath in, shoulders up and down with the outward breath.

    Relax deeper into your chair. Let your stomach muscles relax. Let your shoulder relax.

    Feeling completely supported in your chair, feel the connection to the earth. Feeling connected to the center . . . the core of the earth. Your connection goes deep.

    Relax your neck muscles. Loosen your jaw. Just hang loose.

    Let your head drop forward on your chest. Just rest there a moment.

    Rotate your head in a circle. Opposite direction.

    Deep breath in. And deep breath out.

    We’re going to do a bit of exploration now . . . scanning memories.

    Sitting comfortably in your chair, scan your relatives for the person who affected you the least.

    Next, a relative who affected you the most.

    Now, a friend who strongly affected you.

    What are some of the emotions that came up for you?

    Go a level deeper.

    Which friend or relative affected you in a way that surprised you?

    Prompt: Write about that time.

  • Family Motto . . . Prompt #346

    If you had a family motto, what would it be?

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Un-do, un-see, un-know. Prompt #345

     

    Write about something you wish you could un-do or un-see or un-know.

    You can use this prompt to write about yourself, someone you know, or write how your fictional character would respond.

    Just write!

  • Promises not kept. Prompt #344

    Write about promises not kept.

  • Someday . . . Prompt #343

    Today’s Writing Prompt:  Someday . . .

    I like the possibilities this prompt suggests, perhaps an opportunity for reflection.

    Note from Marlene: Write whatever comes up for you. Trust the process of free writing. Write with no worries about the outcome. Write for yourself with no cares about the end product. Just Write!

    Photo by Christina Gleason.