Today’s writing prompt Interview yourself or your fictional character, by answering these questions: How did you get started in your line of work? How did you become interested in your hobby? What did you desire at age 12? What did you desire at age 18? What did you desire at age 25? What did you desire at age 26 or older? What do you desire now? More ideas on Interviewing Character . . . Prompt #6
Tag: just write
Mini memoirs unfold naturally
Remember the joke: “How do you eat an elephant?” “One bite at a time.” Same with writing memoir . . . one incident at a time. “Whether your life story has an over-arching motif or you plan to cobble together a montage of more diverse meditations, the project can seem less overwhelming if you approach it as a series of mini memoirs—two-to three-page essays . . . pivotal points. . . in the broader portrait of your life.” Richard Campbell, January 2017 Writers Digest “The beauty in approaching your life story in terms of mini memoirs is that when it comes to themes, you don’t have to pick just one. Write scenes or vignettes on each theme that speaks to you. You may find that mini memoirs unfold more naturally than the more unwieldy, longer story you have to tell—and that they build momentum strong enough to carry you through…
Smaller stories within larger stories – set the scene. Prompt #319
Whether you are writing memoir or fiction, it’s all composed of people and things that happened. It’s smaller stories within larger stories. Today’s prompt is in two parts. Part 1: Make a list of people and factors that shaped you, during your childhood, teen years, young adult years. What has happened in your life that makes you who you are? We’ll be using these lists later. During your childhood/early years: Who helped shaped you? Who was influential in your life? Who was important in your young life? Family, family friends, teachers, your friends. Where did you grow up? Did you walk to/from school? What did you do after school? Who was home when you got there? What were weekends like? Be brief. You can expand later. Anything else you want to add – important people and events in your childhood. During your teen years. Who was important during your teen years? …
The missing piece. . . Prompt #318
Write about . . . The missing piece.
Success in writing means . . .
If you have attended a Jumpstart Writing Workshop, you may have heard me say, “There are two kinds of writing I like. One is when the writing speaks to universal truths—something we can all relate to. The other is when the writing speaks to me personally.” This excerpt from “The Review Rat Race,” a “5-Minute Memoir” by Barbara Solomon Josselsohn expands upon that thought. “To me, success meant having readers who felt that my novel articulated something important, something they had felt deeply inside but had never been able to express or fully understand before my book came along.” —Barbara Solomon Josselsohn * That often happens in Jumpstart . . . the writing touches us deeply as the writer articulates in ways that we hadn’t been able to express or understand prior to hearing their freewrite. * Excerpt from January 2017 issue of Writer’s Digest Magazine.
What comforts me . . . Prompt #317
Today’s writing prompt: What Comforts Me.
Relax To Enhance Your Creativity
The Write Spot Blog is all about writing: Writing Prompts to inspire you; Just Write tidbits to motivate you; Quotes to let you know others are in the same boat as you; Places to Submit to get your work out there; Book Reviews to share authors’ work; Guest Posts for all kinds of writing-related things. Today’s Guest Blog Post by Suzanne Murray talks about increasing your creativity by relaxing. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? But what about cortisol, adrenaline, and epigenetics? Factor those in, and it becomes apparent that relaxation isn’t as easy as drifting in a hammock. Fortunately, Suzanne Murray offers strategies to help us learn to relax. HOW CREATIVITY CAN HELP US RELAX We all know that relaxation makes us and our bodies feel good whereas stress causes us to tense up and feel less that optimum. New scientific research shows just how important relaxing our bodies and minds is….
No matter how hard I tried . . . Prompt #316
The best way to respond to a writing prompt is to just write. You can set a timer for 12 or 15 minutes. Twenty minutes, if you have that much time to write. The length of time isn’t important. The important part is to let go of your inhibitions, your fears and your worries. Just write. Today’s writing prompt: No matter how hard I tried . . .
The bigger the issue, the smaller you write.
“The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don’t write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid’s burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.” —Richard Price
The thing that bugged me . . . Prompt #315
Today’s Prompt: The thing that bugged me. Set your timer for 15 minutes. Write whatever comes up for you. Just write!