freewrite – Page 7 – The Write Spot

Set your time and write for 20 minutes. Set it aside for twenty minutes. Then read. Tweak, make a few changes, but not too many. The energy from that first and fast writing is usually spot-on.

Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on this prompt and enter Writer’s Digest Contest #60.

Send your story using the online form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or send via email to yourstorycontest@fmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened).

DEADLINE: August 25, 2014

Marlene C

August 11, 2014

Prompts

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What do you do if . . . Prompt #95

You are in a bookstore in another city:

~ You see something you can’t live without, but you don’t have enough money to pay for it. What do you do?

~ You see a neighbor, alone, weeping. What do you do?

~ You see an acquaintance shoplift. What do you do?

~ You see two married acquaintances, without their spouses, heads and bodies close together, in a suggestive position. What do you do?

~ You are a young child and smile up at the grown-up whose hand you are holding but you don’t recognize the grown-up. What do you do?

Pick one and write for 20 minutes.

Note from Marlene: You can tweak prompts however you want. For example, with this prompt, the setting could be a deserted walkway near water, in a park, at a crowded Saturday market. You choose the setting and Just Write!

Photo by Sasha Oaks Photo by Jim C. March Photo by Kent Sorensen

Marlene C

August 6, 2014

Prompts

freewrite, freewrites, just write, The Write Spot, writing freely, writing prompt, writing prompts

Something you are wearing right now. Prompt #94

Write about an article of clothing, shoes, or jewelry. . . something you are wearing right now.

Photo by Breana Marie

Marlene C

August 4, 2014

Prompts

freewrite, freewrites, just write, The Write Spot, writing freely, writing prompt, writing prompts

Books on writing

There are more how-to-write books than we have time to read. IF we tried, we would spend all our time reading about writing and not writing. But there are a few especially good how-to write books. Here are some of my favorites. What are your favorite writing books?

Dorothea Brande was an early proponent of freewriting. In her book Becoming a Writer (1934), she advises writers to sit and write for 30 minutes every morning, as fast as they can.

Peter Elbow advanced freewriting in his books Writing with Power and Writing Without Teachers (1975), and freewriting has been popularized by Julia Cameron through her books The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write.

A few more writing books:

Aronie, Nancy Slonim – Writing From the Heart

Baldwin, Christina – Storycatcher

Barrington, Judith – Writing the Memoir, From Truth to Art

Baty, Chris – No Plot? No Problem!

Bennet, Hal Zina – Write From The Heart

Clegg, Eileen M. – Claiming Your Creative Self

DeSalvo, Louise – Writing As A Way of Healing

Epel, Naomi – Writers Dreaming

George, Elizabeth – Write Away

Goldberg, Natalie: Living Color, Long Quiet Highway, Wild Mind, Writing Down the Bones, The Great Failure

Heffron, Jack – The Writer’s Idea Book

Kabat-Zinn, Jon – Wherever You Go, There You Are

Keene, Sam and Anne Valley-Fox – Your Mythic Journey

Kelton, Nancy Davidoff – Writing From Personal Experience

King, Stephen – On Writing

Lauber, Lynn – Listen to Me

Lamott, Anne – Bird by Bird

Lara, Adair – Naked, Drunk and Writing

Nelson, Sara – So Many Books, So Little Time

Rosenfeld, Jordan – Make a Scene

Saltzman, Joel – If You Can Talk, You Can Write

Schneider, Pat – Writing Alone And With Others

Smith, Michael C. and Suzanne Greenberg – Everyday Creative Writing

Ueland, Brenda – If You Want to Write

Walker, Christine – A Painter’s Garden

Walton, Todd & Toomay, Mindy – The Writer’s Path

Zimmerman, Susan – Writing to Heal The Soul

Just a few of my books on writing. Yes, I have two copies of Jordan’s Make A Scene: One for my personal use and one for lending.

Marlene C

July 29, 2014

Just Write

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Jiffy Pop! . . . Prompt #92

Today’s prompt. . . look at the photo and write whatever comes up for you.

Jiffy Pop!

Marlene C

July 28, 2014

Prompts

freewrite, freewrites, just write, The Write Spot, The Write Spot Blog, writing prompt, writing prompts

Writing and editing is like sculpting a garden

I love to work in the garden, pulling weeds, and occasionally being creative with new plantings. I love tugging at weeds and hearing the slrrp as they surrender their grip and let go. Writing is a lot like weeding . . . letting go and enjoying the moment. Not always worrying about the end product; just enjoying the moment of complete surrender.

Later, after the writing seedlings have sprouted, it’s time for editing, which is a lot like pruning. When I’m pruning a fruit tree or a rose bush, I make a few snips, stand back to see how it looks and how it’s shaping up. It’s the same with editing. . . . make a few changes, then re-read. Keep what’s good and continue pruning until the piece has shaped to satisfaction.