Today’s prompt is from To Have Not, a fascinating memoir by Frances Lefkowitz. When us kids used to walk down 16th Street to the schoolyard or across Sanchez to the corner store, we’d keep a lookout for cool cars. When one drove by – a red mustang convertible, a tiny MG, a black Jag with the silver cat ready to pounce off the hood – whoever saw it first would point and say, “That’s my car!” We could play this game anywhere, my brothers and their buddies and I, shouting the words loud and fast to drown out anyone else who might be thinking about claiming the same car. You could even play it alone, whispering the three magic words while walking home from school or sitting in a window seat on the bus, leaning your drowsy head against the sun-warmed glass. Then the car would speed through traffic, carrying…
Category: Prompts
An illusion . . . Prompt #31
Write about an illusion you had, or maybe something that you know is an illusion but want to believe anyway.
Forgiveness – Prompt #30
The 2009 movie, Invictus, featuring Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman is about how Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. As you probably know, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. After he was released and elected as South Africa’s first black president, he preached reconciliation. When he decided to support the country’s rugby team — long a symbol of white oppression — his countrymen were stunned. “Forgiveness liberates the soul,” Mandela explains to a crowd. “That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” — Parade Magazine, December 2009 Prompt: Forgiveness. Write about the concept of forgiveness, or write about someone you could forgive, or someone who might forgive you.
Memories – Prompt #29
Today’s prompt: Memories
Your best gift or your all-time favorite gift. — Prompt #28
You can use these prompts to write memoir, fiction, poetry, or to just write. It doesn’t matter what your genre is, you can use these prompts to develop the craft of writing. You can respond to the prompt from your personal experience or as a fictional character would respond. Here we go: There are tacky gifts, insulting gifts, selfish gifts the giver secretly wants, cheap gifts and re-gifted gifts. But some gifts are transcendent. Have you ever received such a perfect gift? One that amazed you with its imagination? Perhaps it was a gift that completely touched your heart, changed your life, opened a new world? Maybe it was a gift so dear you held onto it for a lifetime. What was it and why was it so special to you? Prompt: Your best gift or your all-time favorite gift.
Photo prompt — Prompt #27
With a photo prompt, write whatever comes up for you. Photo prompt by Colby Drake. One of the things that Colby enjoys about photography is the adventure of going out to scenic areas and trying to capture those places to share with others. He believes that there is no better feeling than sharing his experiences with others when they weren’t able to be there in person. Now living in northwest Oregon, Colby has the opportunity to see some of the most beautiful places in the world (at least in his opinion). He hopes that he is able to share these places and experiences with many people that are not able to enjoy them for themselves. Enjoy!
Something you keep, but . . . Prompt #26
Today’s prompt: Something you keep but have no use for, why do you keep it?
A place where you find satisfaction — Prompt #25
How to write riveting scenery description — shown below by Elizabeth Berg, in an excerpt from her book, Escaping into the Open. The summer when I was nine years old, we lived beside a huge gully. I used to go there nearly every day. Agates and wildflowers were plentiful and free for the taking — you were limited only by the size of your hands and pockets. Near the center of the gully was a secluded embankment covered by blades of grass the length and texture of girls’ hair. Willow trees surrounded it, and the sunlight coming through their leaves created a lacy pattern of shadow that I always wished I could pick up and lay over my head like a mantilla. Day after day, I lay on that small hill and watched the shifting patterns of clouds and listened to the birds. I could not identify the birds themselves,…
My mother always said . . . Prompt #24
My Mother always said . . . Set your timer for 12, 15 or 20 minutes and Just Write!
What happened here? #23
What can you do with this photo prompt? Write whatever comes up for you.