The 2009 movie, Invictus, featuring Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman is about how Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. As you probably know, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. After he was released and elected as South Africa’s first black president, he preached reconciliation. When he decided to support the country’s rugby team — long a symbol of white oppression — his countrymen were stunned. “Forgiveness liberates the soul,” Mandela explains to a crowd. “That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” — Parade Magazine, December 2009 Prompt: Forgiveness. Write about the concept of forgiveness, or write about someone you could forgive, or someone who might forgive you.
Tag: writing prompt
My mother always said . . . Prompt #24
My Mother always said . . . Set your timer for 12, 15 or 20 minutes and Just Write!
I want to tell you how . . . .Prompt #16
I want to tell you how ______________changed my life. Prompt inspired by Susan Bono. Fill in the blank. Write for 12-15 minutes about how something or someone changed your life.
Physical location and action to describe emotional state – Prompt #12
“Setting says something about character, says Rhodes,” in “Location Location” by Elfrieda Abbe, October 2013 issue of The Writer magazine. David Rhodes, author of Driftless and Jewelweed, goes on to say, “A person walking along an empty beach is thinking deeply. . . If a couple sits at a high place overlooking an open valley, they are in love and the future of that love extends before them. A character running through the forest is happy; one lying down is sick or sad. These associations are not hard-fixed symbols, but rather associative colorings that come to life in that split second between emergent images and first thoughts. In stories, such descriptive asides can be used to add depth to the passions and to suggest both strong and ambiguous states of mind.” Prompt: Put yourself, or your fictional character, in a emotional frame of mind. Write, using physical location and action…
Favorite place from childhood – Prompt #11
Picture a house you grew up in. If you grew up in more than one house, just choose one. It doesn’t matter which one. Stand back from the house, across the street, or across a yard, and look at your house. Notice the size, shape and color of your house. Walk a little closer. What do you see? Take a look around. Perhaps you notice some trees, or plants, a yard or a fence. Perhaps a sidewalk. Look at the side of the house that you usually first walked into. Maybe a front door, or a side door, or a back door. Walk towards that door. Open the door and step inside. Take a look around. Even though it may have been awhile, this room is so familiar. Walk towards your favorite room in the house. If you don’t have a favorite room in this house, go to your favorite…
Location, or place as a character – Prompt #8
Photo by Colby Drake, fine arts photographer who enjoys the adventure of going to scenic areas and trying to capture those places to share with others. Prompt: Write about a city . . . where you live now, or used to live, or have visited, or from your imagination. Here are examples from the NaNoWriMo Blog. It is Sunday in Hamburg. Six o’clock in the morning and everything is quiet. Most people are sleeping peacefully in their beds, but not me. I’ve been awake all night. Waiting for this special moment. I feel tired but push on: there is nothing better than the beauty of a new dawn and the breeze of freedom it holds. Soon, I will go to the one place where people who lived through the night can meet those who are first to welcome the morning. Entering downtown Montreal is like stepping through a time machine….
Interview character – Prompt #6
Inspired from “Character Profile” by Patrick Scalisi in the November issue of The Writer magazine. Interview your main character or supporting characters. If you have a fictional character, you can work with that. If you are writing about something that really happened, you can use those people as your characters. If neither of those work, use a photo . . . develop a picture into flesh and blood characters. For your fictional character: Interview him or her as a journalist would. . . but not at the age they are in your story. If they are older . . . interview the younger version of your character. If they are young. . . imagine what they might be like as an older person. For your real-life person: Same thing. . . have an imaginary interview of him or her. . . you can pick the age. . . younger if…
I don’t remember – Prompt #5
This is the place to write freely, using the suggested prompts. Write on the prompt for 12-15 minutes. Today’s Prompt: I don’t remember . . .
Develop Character . . . Prompt #4
I’ve been thinking about characters lately. If you are going to participate in NaNoWriMo, how about doing some freewrites now, set the stage for the “real” writing in November. And if you aren’t part of NaNoWriMo . . . today’s prompt will work for you, also. If you have a fictional character you work with, put your character in a setting he or she wouldn’t normally be in. For example, put your conservative character in an improv situation where he/she has to rap. Have your wild character volunteer to help with bingo in an assisted facility. Today’s prompt: See what your character does in unusual situations.
The trouble started when . . . Prompt #3
Like the Tina Turner song, we’ve been taking it nice and easy with the writing prompts. Let’s speed it up . . Today’s writing prompt: The trouble started when . . . Write for 15 minutes . . . longer if you get on a roll. No worries about how long you write. Just write! Writing Prompt: The trouble started when . . .