A picture is worth . . . you know. . . lotsa words. Redwood Writers, a Branch of the California Writers Club, is sponsoring The 2016 Prompt Contest. Write a fictional story inspired by this “Highway through the Redwoods” photo by Tim May. The connection between the story and the photo must be apparent to the judges. The words “redwood” and “highway” must be somewhere in the story. DUE DATE: October 16, 9:00 p.m. Fiction only. Contest submissions are open to all California Writers Club members and to non-member residents of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin, Lake, Humboldt and Solano counties. $8 for California Writers Club members; $12 for non-members 1,000 words or less 1st place: $100, a certificate suitable for framing, and a signed photo by Tim May 2nd place: $50 and a certificate suitable for framing 3rd place: $25 and a certificate suitable for framing
Tag: writing prompts
Paint Colors . . . Prompt #291
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…
Movies as inspiration for writing. Prompt #289
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 favorite movie. . . OR . . . Prompt #287
Write about a favorite movie. Why do you like it? OR . . . write about a movie you really didn’t like. Did you watch it to the end? Why? Why didn’t you walk away? A note about freewrites: You don’t have to write on the prompt exactly as it’s written. You can write about “Why didn’t you walk away?” Write freely, with no attachment to the final product. Just write.
Let’s go to the movies. Prompt #286
Write about going to the movies . . . either as a child, teenager or adult.
Detour . . . Prompt #282
Write about a detour you have taken. Or write about a detour someone you know has taken.
Saved . . . Prompt #281
Write about saving a life. Someone’s life you saved, or someone who saved your life. The save could be literal: CPR was performed, pulled from water, put out a fire, rescued from a snarling animal or a threatening situation. The save could be inspirational: Something read in a book, a magazine, a placard, a wall hanging; a mental shift; a realization; an epiphany; something that was said; a behavior change; a belief change. You get the idea . . . Saved. However you interpret this. Just write!
Food For Thought . . . Prompt #280
A friend delivered a gift wrapped in black and white paper with sayings on canning jars. Today’s prompts are inspired from that gift wrapping paper. Choose one to write about. Or choose several: Food for thought. Foodies are the best people. Season everything with Love. Just beet it. Stay hungry – Stay foolish! Eat. Drink. And be amazing. Eat more greens. Farm to table & table to soul.
Imagery and sensory detail ala Adair Lara Prompt #277
“Write five images every day, for seven days, using as many of the senses as possible.”— Adair Lara From Adair’s book, Naked, Drunk, and Writing: “Writing is turning your thoughts, abstractions, generalizations, and opinions back into the experiences you got them from.” Adair’s example: “Not ‘women my age become invisible,’ but ‘they handed drinks around and forgot me, again.’” Using imagery involves the details about what happened. Show what happened so that readers can see the scene, hear the sounds, feel the sensations, taste the elements, and smell the aroma. Adair advises, “. . . every time you write a sentence, ask yourself, How can I show this? Try to get image and detail into every sentence. ” Tidbits from Chapter Six, Using Images and Details: “We want experience, not information. ‘Joan was distressed’ is information. ‘Joan looked away’ is an image. The reader notices Joan looking away, and has…
Vegetables – Not Just For Eating . . . Prompt # 276
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.