Write about something you traditionally go to . . . The Nutcracker, a sports event, a debate, a poetry slam, Grandma’s house, Japanese Tea Garden, Golden Gate Park, the beach, the mountains, skiing, Hawaii, the movies on Christmas Eve, out to dinner on an anniversary, watching fireworks at . . . , Disneyland, Friday night movies, family dinner on Sunday, the flea market, farmer’s market, bowling on New Year’s Eve.
Write about something you traditionally go to.
I refuse to ignore autumn. I refuse to go from Halloween straight to Christmas.
So let’s give a cheer for this wonderful time of year. . . Autumn.
Before the hectic holidays begin, savor this moment. The slant of the sun casts a soft glow, highlighting fall colors of yellows, burnt oranges, umber and browns.
Pause and enjoy the wonderful golden light of autumn.
Recently, I looked everywhere for a garland of fabric autumn leaves to decorate the archway between my kitchen and dining room. None of the usual suspects had them in stock. “Oh, you missed it by a week,” said a store clerk amidst Christmas decorations . . . on November first.
A friend told me about gluten-free oatmeal with quinoa at Raley’s. Sounded good, so I headed there. I strolled the seasonal section, as I had been doing in every store, looking for that elusive autumnal garland. I was drawn to the shelves filled with orange color. Could it be? Could my autumn garland be in Raley’s? Eureka! I bought four garlands of golden brown autumn leaves laced with twinkling lights. Twinkling lights! And autumn leaves. I’m in heaven.
It’s the small things that make life a big, wonderful, full event. Embrace life. Enjoy Autumn! Savor each special moment, no matter how small or big, how simple or wondrous. Embrace whatever or whoever brings you joy.
Prompt: Write about your favorite season.
Have you been following the writing prompts on The Write Spot Blog? Especially Prompt #293 and Prompt #294. If you have, you might have some ideas for The Writer magazine writing contest.
If you wrote true stories for these prompts, turn fact into fiction and enter the contest.
Write a 2,000 word fictional short story using any nuance, definition or understanding of the word “dark.”
“Our Darkest Hour” writing contest, sponsored by The Writer Magazine.
Deadline: November 15, 2016
Story starts from The Writer magazine:
After dark . . .
Deep, dark secrets . . .
A dark horse . . .
The dark side of the moon . . .
That line’s gone dark . . .
Don’t leave me in the dark . . .
Let’s do some relaxation exercises before writing.
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.
Big deep breath in. Hold. Let go.
Feel your feet connected to the floor. That connection goes down into the earth, way down, deep down, to the center of the earth. Firmly planted, deeply rooted.
Take a nice deep breath in and bring your shoulders up to your ears. And then let them down with a loud hrumph sound. Another deep breath in, shoulders up and down with the outward breath.
Completely supported in your chair. Feeling the connection to the earth. Feeling connected to the center . . . the core of the earth. Your connection goes deep.
We’re going to do a bit of exploration here. . . scanning memories.
Sitting comfortably in your chair, scan your relatives for the person who affected you the least.
Now, a relative who affected you the most.
What are some of the emotions that came up for you?
Which relative affected you in a way that surprised you?
Prompt: Write about that relative and a time that holds deep emotions for you.
How to write without adding trauma is a Write Spot Blog post from July 2013. You might want to read this before writing about difficult experiences.
Have you ever noticed the names of paint colors? They are so creative. . . they could be wonderful writing prompts.
Writing Idea: Keep a file folder of phrases to inspire your writing. These could be phrases that someone else wrote. They could be snippets you wrote to be used in future writing.
This folder can also contain lists like these names for paint colors. You never know when or how you might want to use them. You might find a unique name for a character.
Or a fabulous name for: a fictional town, a store, a street name, a pet.
My favorite: Amethyst reflection . . . I can imagine using this to refer to eye color.
Aqua Rapids
Bubble Turquoise
California Chamois
China White
Cloud Nine Blue
Crystal Clear White
Deco Red
Festival Green
Fiesta Rojo
Fire Roasted
Fitzgerald Smoke
Frank Llyod White
French Silver
Inness Sage
Innocent White
Jacobean Lace
Kissable Pink
Lime Freckle
Minstrel Rose
Moon Doggie
Moroccan Ruby
Orchid Blush
Prague Purple
Racy Red
Red Hot Jazz
Royal Cranberry
Salisbury Stone
Seville Scarlet
Silver Blue Sea
Spiced Berry
Movies can be a wonderful inspiration for writing. I recently saw the movie, Sully. Even though I knew how it ended, I was teary-eyed. I was filled with emotion at how people helped one another. Director Clint Eastwood did an amazing job of telling the right amount of backstory and the right amount of Sully’s personal life. The focus was on the people involved . . . the human interest story. There were lines of dialogue that were exquisite.
When using a movie as an inspiration for writing, you can write about the theme or mood of the story, a line of dialogue, a memorable scene, whatever interests you.
Write about:
A road trip. Thelma and Louise
How you learned to dance. Dirty Dancing
A time you were tricked, or you tricked someone. The Sting, two con men outcon a con.
Write about a dream you have or have had.
Could be a night time dream.
A day dream.
A dream of something you long for.
Turn your dream into a poem: haiku, pantoum, or any form of short piece that works for you.
Share your dreams. Writing them, posting them, might help shed light on questions you have.
Giving your dreams “air” . . . letting them see the light of day might help manifest them.
Go for it. Just write!
What are vegetables good for, besides eating?
Some gardens are bursting right about now with zucchini, green beans, summer squash, cucumbers, yellow squash, kale, rhubarb, patty pan squash, lettuce, have I mentioned squash?
Here in northern California, growing squash is easy and so abundant that we don’t leave our car doors unlocked, or we might find a bushel of zucchini on the seat.
Write about other things that vegetables can do.
Inspired from Adair Lara‘s writing workshop.
Write about new uses for vegetables.