Remember self-care when writing about difficult topics: Get up, walk around. Take a sip of water or herbal tea. Choose something in your surroundings to look at when the writing gets difficult. Look at that focal point as a reminder to breathe. Take a deep breath in. Hold. And release. Take a few more calming breaths. Write this in your notebook or on a piece of paper. What I really want to say . . . I remember . . . I don’t remember . . . If you are stuck with writing, you can use one of these phrases and go from there. Writing Prompt: Birth Day Think about your Birth Day. Maybe you had many birthday parties. Maybe you had a handful of parties, or one or two. Maybe your Birth Day is a big deal and you wildly celebrate. Or, maybe you are the quiet type, preferring…
Tag: Marlene Cullen
If . . . Prompt #725
Writing Prompts inspired from “The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing: Connections.” If I had my life to do over . . . What I Know Now . . . Note To Self . . . Notes To My Younger Self . . . Choose one or more and Just Write!
Shaman Heart, Turning Pain Into Passion and Purpose
“Shaman Heart, Turning Pain Into Passion and Purpose”, a Brave Healer Production, invites readers to develop a shaman heart — one that can only be obtained by coming through our darkest moments more healed and whole and then lighting the way for others. As the anthology’s lead author, singer-songwriter, recording artist, and teacher Stephanie Urbina Jones writes, “Whether it’s a death of a loved one, divorce, illness or depression, we can turn our pain into an initiation and be a sacred witness or messenger in these bittersweet, crossroad moments in life. From this place of humbled, broken-open wisdom and grace, we can then walk with others and assist them as they journey through their own darkness to the dawn of a new beginning.” The genesis for Shaman Heart occurred on January 5, 2022, when Urbina Jones and 25 other leading spiritual teachers, preachers, and healers spent a week together at the Dreaming House in the heart of Mexico. “Each author…
Fortunes I Did Not Get In Cookies
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Fortunes I Did Not Get In Cookies By DSBriggs A wise man marries a wiser woman. You will get good news; and you will recognize it. If you miss your bus, start walking. A book returned is a friendship kept. Get a dog, it will save you. Blood is thicker than water but only Vampires should care. Delight in today; for tomorrow is no guarantee. Buy a car for its usefulness; not for its beauty. The One that got away is not the One for You. A blind man cannot see beyond his fingers. Asking for help is a sign of strength but ignoring it can be a weakness. A half full glass can be emptied and refilled. A wise animal is better than a noisy friend. Luck is knowing when to walk away. Keep a…
“Tis the season . . . NaNoWriMo
‘Tis the season for NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month is held during the month of November. Have you ever done it? Have you thought about it and wondered if you could or should do it? I say: Go for it! What do you have to lose? And, you might gain some excellent writing. “National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel in thirty days.” Sharon Oard Warner says “A work of fiction that logs in at 50,000 words is actually a novella . . .” So, if the idea of writing a novel is overwhelming, consider writing a novella. Prepare for NaNoWriMo Julie Artz writes about her NaNoWriMo experience on Jane Friedman’s blog, “Want to Win NaNoWriMo? The Secret is Preparation.” Learn from her mistakes to get “that coveted NaNoWriMo win.” Prolific author Bella Andre wrote about her struggles…
The Write Spot: Musings and Ravings From a Pandemic Year
Reviews of The Write Spot: Musings and Ravings From a Pandemic Year Review by Sande Anfang: The Write Spot founder and writing coach Marlene Cullen has been guiding writers through her Jumpstart workshops. I’ve been lucky to participate in some of them. Marlene’s motto is “Just Write,” as in don’t stop to evaluate what you’ve written during the drafting process—just keep the pen moving until the timer rings. In this collection, she has gathered a wide variety of poetry and short prose pieces from sixteen writers. If there’s a common thread that binds this anthology, it’s a grappling with the surreal nature of 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic. Being forced to upend our “normal” lives and adapt to changing threats, both medical and socio-political, has created an opportunity for deep investigation that finds catharsis, much-needed humor, and rich forays into family memories. There are inviting dips into the pool of…
One Wish Now, or Three In Ten?
Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. One Wish Now, or Three In Ten? By Patricia Morris Patricia’s response to the writing prompt: Would you rather have one wish granted today, or three wishes granted ten years from now? Given that my dear friend of forty years died last week after a fast and furious 6-week illness, I will take my one wish today, please. No waiting for ten years for anything anymore. There are no ten years guaranteed, especially when, in ten years, I will be six months shy of 70 years old. That is a shocking thing to write, but that is my reality. Having only one wish, the pressure is on. To make it the “right” wish, the “best” wish, the “greatest good for the greatest number” wish. I could game it. I could make my one wish be to…
If you knew . . . Prompt #561
If you knew then what you know now, what would you do differently?
The Strongbox
“I do most of my pleasure reading in bed, and I found myself eager to pick up The Strongbox, night after night, as the story unfolded. I knew from the book description that author Terry Sue Harms would come out okay in the end—despite setbacks that would have broken many: neglectful parents, a stepdad who called her a bastard, the death of her mother when she was sixteen, running away from home, dropping out of high school, and exposure to drugs. But how? I kept reading to find out. She wrote honestly about her vulnerabilities but kept me feeling safe along the way. “The author’s smooth, almost conversational story-telling drew me in and compelled me to read on. I marveled each time she pulled herself up: by completing beauty school, landing a steady job, teaching herself to read, taking college courses, graduating from Mills College. I cheered with her along…
Telling Your Truth
“Telling your truths—the difficult ones and the joyful ones and all the ones between—is a big part of what makes for good writing. It is also what brings you pleasure in the process of writing. Most people who create and tend a garden don’t spend time on their knees pulling weeds just for the perfect end result—the gorgeous display of flowers that others will exclaim over. They pore over gardening books, order bulbs, water a sickly shrub, arrange the flagstones to make a pleasing path, all because they enjoy the doing of it. So, too, it should be with your writing. You want to see your writing grow, to find your daily work absorbing, to discover you can do better on the page than you could three years ago. None of this will happen if you shy away from the truth. The rewards that you seek are the rewards that…