Today’s Writing Prompt: Hands
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Tweak, form, shape and sculpt . . . Prompt #161
Choose one topic from below, these are prompts that have recently been posted here on the Write Spot Blog:
Prompt #158: If pets could talk
Prompt #159: Unforgettable
Also Prompt #159: Strange But True
Prompt #160: Only in America
Also Prompt #160: Happy Endings
Today’s writing prompt: After you have written a freewrite (from above list), write one line for every four sentences from that freewrite. Take out all unnecessary words.
Condense or distill your writing to the most important aspects.
Tweak, form, shape and sculpt until you have a poem. Then . . .
Submit to The Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest.
No fee to enter. You don’t have to be a resident of Lincoln to submit. Send by July 25, 2o14 Go for it! -
What is a freewrite and what is a writing prompt?
So. . . what is all this talk about freewrites and writing prompts? What does it all mean?
A freewrite is a style of writing that is . . . well. . . freeing. The writer hears or reads a word, or a phrase, and just starts writing. Often a timer is set, so there is the “under the gun” feel of a deadline, a limited time to write.
Click here for more information about freewrites.
I post writing prompts writing prompts, on The Write Spot Blog. Sometimes the writing prompts are fun and playful. Sometimes they inspire memoir type writing. Other times they work well for fiction writing.
Mostly the prompts are what you make of them. . . you can go light and stay on the surface, skating on the edge, or you can go deep.
This type of writing is an opportunity to explore and perhaps come up with ideas for writing or . . . for solutions to situations. . . or for personal growth and transformation.
Shed your ideas about what perfect writing means. Give yourself permission to be open to whatever comes up. Writing isn’t always about talent, it’s about practice and going into another dimension. Rather than write for an audience, write from an instinctual level.
Creative writing is an act of discovery. Immerse yourself in writing. Let go of your worries and write. Write to a satisfying inner desire to go to a meaningful place.
Go deeper into the recesses of your mind and really write. Write from the well that stores the fears. Let the tears come, let your stomach tie up in knots. It’s okay to write the story that is difficult to tell.
Get through the barriers to go to a deeper level. See your story and tell it.
Want to practice this freewrite type of writing? Right now? Ready? Here ya go:
Take an imaginary walk through your hometown and see what people and what places pop up. Take a few minutes to remember the smells, and notice what feelings come up as you walk through your town.
Write what you remember about your town. Just write.
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Broken . . . Prompt #156
Broken . . .
Today’s Writing Prompt: Broken
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If you have built castles in the air . . .
“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. He will put some things behind, will pass an invisible boundary; . . . If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” — Henry Thoreau, Walden or Life In the Woods
Marlene’s Musings: In order to advance confidently as a writer. . . you need to think like a person who is in the business of writing. It’s one thing to be a writer, it’s another thing to be a published author. And if you don’t care about being published. . . then I hope you are enjoying your writing.
Build those castles with word pictures, include a moat, a forlorn prince or princess, a formidable problem to overcome. Throw in a fire-breathing dragon, a jealous cousin. . . Just Write! -
The Language of Your Childhood is Poetry. Prompt #155
April is Poetry Month. Let’s talk about poetry.
The following is inspired from a workshop with Pat Schneider.
Poetry is about music of language and comes in all forms: Music, nursery rhymes, hymns, jump rope rhymes.
Look in anthologies for different kinds of poetry, different styles, different authors as poets.
Guess what . . . You don’t have to like all poetry.
Think about the language of your childhood. Imagine sitting around your kitchen table, or the living room couch or sofa . . . depending on where you grew up, you might call this item of furniture ” the davenport.”
Remember your family’s way of talking. Hear poetry in music that was spoken around the kitchen table. Remember the language of your childhood.
When writing poetry, don’t strain the language. Use normal words. Fall into the poetic playground.
One way to write poetry: Take the melody from a song that you know and sing new words to make up your own song.
Prompt: Write a short poem – using a theme running in your head – a song you like, a rhyme, hymn, nursery rhyme, jump rope rhyme. Or, don’t even worry about a rhythm. Just go with whatever comes up.Write a poem about a time at the kitchen table when you were little.
Or a poem about night time.
Or a summer memory. Just Write!
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Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not . . .
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not, it’s not the end.” — John Paul DeJoria, Co-founder of Paul Mitchell hair products and Patron Spirits companies.
John is referring to his early life knocks, but he could also be referring to writers, especially when he says, “Be prepared for rejection.”
Writers are given rejection advice all the time.
“Don’t take it personally.”
“Rejection slips means you are submitting.”
“At least you’re trying.”
All these words . . . do they really help when you receive a rejection notice?
I worked hard a few months ago refining a piece I’ve been working on for a long time. I felt confident and satisfied when I hit the “submit” button.
And then waited. And waited. Waited some more. You probably know this story. Finally, the notice arrived that although my piece was well-written, it wasn’t accepted. I felt . . . rejected. Yes, I felt personally rejected. “Buck up,” I told myself. “You did the best you could.”
Later that day, I read John Paul DeJoria’s story. . . “From Foster Care Kid to Billionaire,” in the April 23, 2015 issue of People magazine. I realized that things could be worse and a publication’s non-acceptance of my writing is only one rejection and their lack of interest isn’t a reflection of me nor my writing.
As John Paul says, “Open yourself up to what is possible.”And I say: Because you never know . . . sometimes great things happen in the unlikeliest places!
So, keep trying. Keep writing and continue submitting. Good things are bound to happen. Click here for Places to Submit.
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What did you steal? Prompt #153
Today’s writing prompt: What did you steal?
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Who would you like to chat with? Prompt #152
Who would you like to chat with? If you could converse with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would you like to sit down and yak with? Or, maybe you would rather lean against a bar or a counter and chew the fat, or drive and talk, or ride and shoot the breeze. Who would you like to have a conversation with . . . a one-to-one, a heart-to-heart, a tête-à-tête, a rap session, a discussion.Hmmmm ???