Prompts

“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…

Prompts

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….

Just Write

Write Memoir in Voice of Narrator

Whether you tell your story chronologically, or with flashbacks, or with intercutting, it’s important to write your memoir in the voice of the narrator. Examples of these different ways of telling a story are used in The Write Spot Anthology: Discoveries. “Maintaining a solid narrative structure is critical to ensure readers move in step with the sequence of life events. . . When they [readers] can follow your progression as a character, they can also fully enter your story.” —Dorit Sasson, “Refresher Course,” The Writer, February 2016 Note from Marlene: When writing about something that happened in childhood, use appropriate age-based language. Show character growth by using adult language when writing about the character as an adult. Examples of narrative structure, character growth and details on how to use intercutting in your writing can be found in The Write Spot Anthology: Discoveries.