Someone took care of you when you were little. A mother, father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling. Hopefully there was someone you could rely on. Someone who helped you learn things, how to navigate life. Most of us had someone we could count on. And if we didn’t have that, we learned to make-do, to take care of ourselves. Who helped you learn about life? Who gave you advice? Who could you turn to? Write a letter to that person. Something to think about when writing this letter: You can heal your life. Just Write!
A mother figure . . . Prompt #839
Maybe you have biological children, or adopted children, maybe you were, or are, a mother figure to someone. Maybe you have taken care of, or are still, taking care of someone. Write about someone you are caring for . . . either as mother, grandmother, aunt, sister, spouse, partner, sibling, friend. Someone you are responsible for. Or someone you do things for. It could be big things: Cook, take to doctor visits, oversee finances. It could be little things. Write about a person who trusts you, who calls on you, who looks forward to being with you. A friend. Write about being a mother, a mother figure, a caretaker, or someone who other people depend on. If that doesn’t work, write about dreams you had . . . when you were a teenager, when you were dreaming of your future, what did you envision? Just write!
You Can Heal Your Life
“How did we go from being a tiny baby who knows the perfection of itself and of life to being a person who has problems and feels unworthy and unlovable to one degree or another? People who already love themselves can love themselves even more. Think of a rose from the time it is a tiny bud. As it opens to full flower, till the last petal falls, it is always beautiful, always perfect, always changing. So it is with us. We are always perfect, always beautiful and ever changing. We are doing the best we can with the understanding, awareness and knowledge we have. As we gain more understanding, awareness and knowledge, then we will do things differently.” Excerpted from You Can Heal Your Life, by Louise L. Hay.
See The Scene
Kasey Butcher Santana describes a scene about her “outdoor classroom.” “My science teacher uses a ruler and twine to mark a square-foot box in the damp blanket of leaves covering the ‘outdoor classroom.’ My task today is to observe this small patch. Part of a log has fallen within the boundaries, and I note the moss that grows on it and the bugs that seek shelter under its flaking bark. We return once a month to note how this woodland square changes with the seasons and maybe even write a poem. I do not remember completing this assignment, but I recall the crisp smell of forest floor, the slip of mud beneath my shoes, and the surprise of a roly-poly beneath the log.” Excerpted from How a Box in the Woods Taught Me to Write About Nature by Kasey Butcher Santana on the April 2, 2025 Brevity Blog. Can you…
Literary Transference
Inspiration to Just Write by Maureen Stanton: “Most readers know that sensation when immersed in a book of being transported from their couches or chairs into another world, where a film unspools in the mind’s eye. The engines that power this transport are the smallest components of craft: sensory details. Concrete sensory details paint a story so compelling and vivid that as readers, through the awesome power of our imaginations, see, hear, smell and feel the story. This process is a bilateral exchange that I think of as literary transference: the story enters the reader’s mind, and thus the reader enters the story, as if through a magic portal. It is during this transference process when mere black and white words—hieroglyphs–are alchemized into the images, smells, sounds, and sensations that transport readers deeply into stories. This exchange yields more than the pleasure of being whisked into another realm; it allows us to flex our powers…
A Place in the Sun
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. A Place in the Sun By CM Riddle I often find myself writing about the past. It’s easy to remember and type the facts. But today I am writing about the future. Instead of facts, I’ll define the future and bring it into reality. My vision of the future is inspired by a song from the past. Tuning to Spotify I hear Stevie Wonder belt, “There’s a place in the sun where there’s room for everyone, gonna find me a place in the sun.” The lyrical line weaves its way through my thoughts and soon I imagine the most amazing place. A place without pain or suffering. A place filled with hope and everyday joy. That’s where I want to be. Suddenly an esoteric feeling hits deep within my bones. Not knowing if I will live…
How you became who you are . . . Prompt #838
Write about how you became who you are. Why you are the way you are. Is it genetics, epigenetics, nature, nurture, not nurtured? Remember a pivotal event. Something happened that changed the trajectory of your life. You may not have known it at the time. But looking back, you might discover the “aha” moment. How to find that pivotal event, that “aha” moment: You might not find a pivotal event during this writing. However, if you keep writing, it might pop up. Just Write!
Write about yourself . . . Prompt #837
Write about yourself. Ideas on how to start: Basically I am [optimistic], sometimes I am [pessimistic]. When no one is listening, I [sing out oud]. When no one is watching, I [dance]. I am slow to [warm up to people]. I quickly [form opinions]. You can use these sentence starts: I am determined . . . Basically I am . . . Sometimes I am . . . When no one is listening, I . . . When no one is watching, I . . . I am slow to . . . I quickly . . . I am determined . . . Marlene’s Musings: I have often thought about how to “show” body language when writing. When we interact with others, there is much about body language that conveys our mood, emotions, reactions. How to show these things? The Emotion Thesaurus to our rescue!
I was going to . . . Prompt #836
I was going to . . . and then . . . OR: I planned to . . . but then . . . OR: I thought I would . . . but then . . .
A favorite area . . . Prompt #835
Write about a favorite area: in your home in your workplace in your town Or your favorite place on earth.