Sparks

Halloween

Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. Halloween By Tina Deason This season holds mystery and thrill, as the sun fades and the fog clings to the earth. The darkness hides creatures and haunted beings. The empty trees have died for a bit, but plan to return in the spring. The thought of witches casting spells and making potions right out in the open after hiding away for the eleven other months of the year, intrigues me. The creaking bones of the dead and the soft sound of earth moving as the zombies unearth themselves to rise to life. . . And Dracula! I had the most fear of Dracula when I was a kid. I used to slam my hand against the light switch and run up the stairs as fast as my legs could get me to the top. In my…

Prompts

The thing about grief . . . Prompt #754

Inspired by an email from Susan Bono: I was at Dollar Tree the other day and didn’t have quite enough cash to cover my Halloween garlands. As I fumbled with my card, the cashier said, “I never carry cash anymore.” I said, “I don’t either, but I miss it sometimes.” She looked at me full in the face and said, “There are things I miss every single day about the way things used to be.” I saw such grief in her face before she smiled and urged me to have a nice day. Prompt: Write whatever comes up for you . . . Shopping at the Dollar Tree store Halloween Cash vs credit card I miss . . . The way things used to be . . . The thing about grief is . . . Susan Bono is the author of “What Have We Here: Essays about Keeping House…

Prompts

Birth Day . . . Prompt #749

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…

Guest Bloggers

The Seasons of Being A Writer

Guest Blogger Megan Aronson writes about the seasons and cycles of life and being a writer. “I’ve been lost and reclusive of late as I deal with the most recent iteration of my grief-growth cycle,” my friend Candace Cahill, author of Goodbye Again, wrote in an online writing group I belong to. “Learning—the hard way, mostly—new things about myself and the challenges still ahead.” My eyes hovered over her words as her thoughts echoed my own. I wasn’t the only one who’d stopped at the words “grief-growth cycle.” Soon the comments were flooded with replies like, “Grief-growth cycle. I feel that. Never thought of it that way before.” In two sentences, Candace had fully encapsulated the collective experience of being a writer. Continually turning ourselves inside out on the page and off, we each instantly recognized the “grief-growth cycle” as the intersection of life affecting our writing, and writing affecting our…

Sparks

One Cup At A Time

Memorable writing that sparks imagination. Lean in. Hear the writer’s voice on the page. One Cup At A Time By DSBriggs Judith saw her hand reaching out and towards her mug. She noticed since her brain injury, she had to mentally plan any movement step by step.  She closed one eye so that only one mug was in her vision. “OK. Lift the hand out of the lap. Make sure the arm isn’t taking a side trip of its own.  All right, aim for the mug on the right. Uncurl fingers. That’s progress. No one has to unbend and stretch ‘em.” The knuckles on her hand were swollen and she noticed she was thinking in third person.  “My knuckles, my knuckles are swollen. I have crooked fingers too.” She watched her arm and hand work in unison as she reached for her mug. She mentally told herself to grab as tight as she…

Prompts

Change . . . Scary or exciting?    Prompt #748

Is change scary or exciting for you? With a palpitating heart, sweaty palms, and a fluttering stomach, I changed the name of my Facebook/Meta Writing Page from “Writers Forum” to: “Marlene Cullen’s Write Spot,” to better reflect what this Facebook page is about. But, I wonder, why was I nervous . . . okay . . . scared to do this? I think the answer is: Consequences. I didn’t know if it would trigger an avalanche of problems. I was willing to take my changes. Sometimes you just have to take the plunge and make a change. Writing Prompt: Is change scary or exciting? Or: Sometimes you have to take the plunge. Write about a time you took a chance and made a change. What happened? #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting

Prompts

Hop, skip, jump . . . Prompt #746                 

Below is a list of things you may have experienced. As you read the list, when a word causes a reaction . . . when you notice a feeling in your body . . . use that word or phrase as a writing prompt and start writing. Write about where you were and who was with you. If you ate it, played with it, read it, or wore it, write about it. Add sensory detail of texture . . . what did these things feel like? Add your memory of taste, smell, sound, and what the item looked like. And, of course, you may have also experienced these things as a teen-ager and as an adult. Just Write! Jello salad Hot Wheels Roller Skates Sugar Frosted Flakes Poodle skirt Hopscotch Petticoats Barbie dolls Marbles Jacks Skipping Nancy Drew books Jump rope Little League Drive-in movies Hula hoop Trampoline Parks Used…