Guest Blogger Elaine Silver: How to show your expertise in your writing. Think about any book that you have read that really grabbed you. Take some time to read parts of that book again with the idea in mind of writerly authority. Once you start looking for it, you will be dazzled at the facility with which the author commands the story. You can write like that too. Let’s examine the word authority. What feeling do you get reading the word “authority?” Do you feel rebellious, like you don’t want to listen to someone else? Do you feel like you want to immediately say “no” to a request? If you answered yes to these questions, then you think of authority as something that subjugates you. Or conversely, when you think of authority, do you feel secure knowing that someone else knows more than you do about something? Do you envision…
Here and There. Prompt #264
Today’s writing prompt comes in two parts. Before writing on this prompt, I have a suggestion. Do a little relaxation first. Just for a few minutes. Use your own method or follow this method: Relax into your chair. Feet flat on the floor. Hands loose, resting on your thighs. Take a big, deep breath in, feel your chest expand. Let it out like a deflated balloon. Another deep breath in. And release. This time, when you take a deep breath in, bring your shoulders up to your ears. Shrug them down hard with the out breath. Another one. Let your head drop forward on your chest. Rest there for a moment. Rotate your head in a circle. Opposite direction. As you read about the next prompt, please place the palm of your writing hand on any place in your body that calls for attention. If you can’t put your hand…
While you were out. Prompt # 263
If you are of a certain age, you might remember those little pink telephone message notepads, “While you were out.” Back in the days when executives had secretaries, and before answering machines, we would fill out these forms with information: Who the message was for. The date. Who called and why. There were little boxes to check: Telephoned. Came to See You. Returned your call. Please call. Will call again. Wants to see you. And my favorite, “Urgent.” I don’t know why it’s my favorite, perhaps it appeals to the dramatic aspect. And there is a larger space to write a message. Today’s Prompt: While you were out. A variation of this prompt: The red light is blinking on the telephone answering machine. Or “you have one new message” on your cell phone. You hit “play” or “voice mail” and listen. You are shocked to hear. . . I can…
Worst and Best . . . Prompt #262
Think about this past weekend . . . this past week . . . this past month. Take a few minutes to reflect how things have gone, are going. When you are ready, write about the worst thing that happened to you this past weekend, or week, or month. When you are done with that, write about the best thing that happened to you this past weekend, or week, or month. Worst and Best. Just write.
Force yourself . . . and don’t stop . . .
“Force yourself to begin putting words on the page immediately, and don’t stop until the timer goes off, even if you have to write about the weather.” — Jan Ellison, inspired by Ellen Sussman I read this quote in the 12/4/15 Writer’s Digest guest blog post, “9 Practical Tricks for Writing Your First Novel,” written by Jan Ellison. Since Ellen Sussman was scheduled to be a Writers Forum presenter and since I also believe this philosophy . . . my ears perked up. . . . Daydreaming about how “ears perked up” would look and could it really happen? I think so, in a Fred Flintstone kind of way, when he’s . . . Oops, I’m taking the writing advice to put words on the page too literally. And the timer is ticking. Brian Klems, host of The Writer’s Dig Blog where this post appears, gives this introduction to the…
Real Simple Life Lesson Essay Contest
What was the most dramatic change you have ever had to make? “Maybe you had to move cross-country after being relocated for a job, opening up new possibilities along with fears. Or maybe you needed to sell your house or leave an apartment before you expected to. How did that situation influence the rest of your life? If one unavoidable shift changed your world—for good and bad—in enduring ways, write it down and share it with Real Simple.” Send your typed, double-spaced submission to lifelessons@realsimple.com. 1,500 words maximum. Deadline: 11:50 pm, September 19, 2016. Read the 2016 Winning Essay How I Made My Best Friend During the Worst Tragedy of My Life, by Diane Penney.
Found . . . Prompt #261
Found. What do you think of when you hear the word “Found?” Some Thing you found somewhere? Something you discovered about yourself? You found you had . . . fill in the missing piece. Something you lost and then found? Today’s writing prompt: Found.
Ellen Sussman likes her world shaken.
Guest Blogger Ellen Sussman writes about the novelty of new places and how this opens interesting problems and possibilities for fictional characters. When I travel abroad I expect to be surprised. Life shouldn’t be the same in a foreign country. I want to shake up my world, to expose myself to new tastes and sounds and smells and voices. I want to see things that are so novel, so startling, that my eyes open wider. That experience – of expanding my horizons while traipsing across a new horizon – should not only transform me while I’m gone, but it should deliver me home again in some new, improved way. High demands for a little vacation. My sister travels to the same resort in Florida every year. She doesn’t want what I’m looking for. She wants food she’s familiar with, experiences that don’t challenge her, sheets with the same thread count…
Yard Sale Find, But . . . Prompt #260
What kind of writing prompts do you like? Let me know and I’ll see if I can create prompts to meet your desires. Today’s writing prompt is inspired by one of my all-time favorite authors, Hal Zina Bennett. What if . . . During a long car trip, you stop at a yard sale in a strange town and find an interesting picture frame. It holds the photo of a familiar face —your fiancé’s or fiancée’s! There’s a passionate inscription to a stranger, dated three weeks ago. Write about what happens next. From “40 Prompts To Get You Writing,” The Writer Magazine, February 2012. Hal Zina Bennett is the author of more than 30 books including: Write From the Heart: Unleashing the Power of Your Creativity; Write Starts: Prompts, Quotes & Exercise to Jumpstart Your Creativity; and Writing Spiritual Books: A Bestselling Writer’s Guide to Successful Publication. Hal has helped…
Weave journal discoveries into stories
If you “keep a journal,” you can weave some entries into stories. Give your fictional characters personality traits, attitudes or habits discovered in journal writing. Each day write about what surprised you, what moved you, what inspired you. Even if you think you have nothing to say, sit down and start writing. Write about the worst thing that happened to you and the best thing that happened to you each day. Just write! Inspired from an article in the December 2000 issue of Good Housekeeping, “The Question Journal,” by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of My Grandfather’s Blessings: Stories of Strength, Refuge, and Belonging.