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 detour you have taken.

Or write about a detour someone you know has taken.

Excerpt from I Could Do Anything . . .  If I only knew what it was, by Barbara Sher

Rescuing Your Past

Something inside you is too loyal to permit you to turn your back on everything you loved and simply walk away. No matter how many times people tell you to let the past go, it’s never possible. You’ll never  move wholeheartedly into the future unless you take your beloved past with you.  And that’s exactly as it should be.

There’s no reason to turn your back on a happy past. Sometimes we try to turn away from the past because we feel it somehow betrayed us. It’s as though we loved our past, but our past didn’t love us. So we go on strike and pretend we don’t care, as if to punish fate for being unkind. Fate never cares, of course, so we only hurt ourselves.

Prompt:  What do you pretend to not care about?

I’m thinking about our connections with one another. This excerpt seems timely.

Excerpt from Your Mythic Journey by Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox

“Pre-modern people didn’t think of themselves as individuals — they were members of a tribe as well as of a family. Ancient philosophers knew that human dignity begins with ‘We are a people, therefore I am.’ Modern people are tribal too but we call our tribes by different names —  churches, corporations, states, nations. Each of us was nurtured within and shaped by several corporate bodies, voluntary organizations and professional corporations that molded our values and behavior — schools, athletic teams businesses, clubs, temples, and local, national, and international governments.”

Prompt:  I am from . . .

Or: What uniforms or emblems have you worn?

Or: What groups have you been a member of?  Brownies, Blue Birds, Daisies, Girl Scouts, athletic groups, sorority, secret clubs.