Today’s prompt: Standing in a doorway . . .
Photo by Jim C. March
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Write short? Write long? Write strong!
The following is an excerpt from “When every letter counts,” by Kevin Cullen (no relation to me that I know of). — March 2014 issue of The Writer Magazine.
Kevin writes:
I have been in the newspaper game for more than 30 years, which qualifies me as a card-carrying old fart.
I have tried to embrace new technologies and platforms pushed upon us by enthusiastic, young tech geeks who talk about Facebook and Twitter with the zeal of evangelicals. Online is where it’s at, even though we still make most of our money from the dead tree version.
But what has all this meant for writing? Because, let’s face it, the biggest advantage all forms of written journalism have over the immediacy of TV and radio is the ability to deliver depth and strong, evocative writing.
Writing short and writing long require different disciplines. It’s the differences between writing a poem and writing a short story. When you tweet, every letter counts. When you write for the web, enjoy the freedom.
Note from Marlene: Ideas for strong and evocative writing posted on The Write Spot Blog. Click on titles below for inspiration for strong and evocative writing.
Crafting scenes a reader can see — and sense
What to do? Just write!
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A room from your childhood. Prompt # 62
Sit back, relax. Take a few deep breaths. Relax into your breathing.
Think about rooms from your childhood. Let your mind wander around various rooms:
Your bedroom
Your parents’ bedroom
Your grandparents’ bedroom
The room where you ate your meals . . . kitchen or dining room
Your grandparents’ dining room.
Here’s an excerpt from Lynn Henriksen‘s book, Give The Gift of Story, TellTale Souls’ Essential Guide*, page 58, excerpt written by Robin.
Jamie and I would crawl into our cozy little bed between the softest apple-green sheets that matched the apple-green carpet and the apple-green walls. We took turns as to who had to be squished against the wall and who was to be on the outside nearest Grandma. We always took turns with everything at Grandma’s house, I figure that’s how she kept the peace.
Now, settle into a room from your childhood. Look around. Really look around. Start from the doorway and move around the room. . . write about what you see, what you remember. Include color, smell, texture. What did this room feel like? Who decorated this room? What influenced the decorator?
Prompt: Write about a room from your childhood.
* Give The Gift of Story, TellTale Souls’ Essential Guide is now out of print. Lynn’s latest book, the “new and improved model,” as she writes, TellTale Souls Writing the Mother Memoir: How to Tap Memory and Write Your Story Capturing Character & Spirit is available at Amazon and Book Passage in Corte Madera, California.
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How are you? No, really . . . Prompt #61
How are you? No, really . . . How. Are. You.
Not the usual, “I’m fine. Thank you.” That just won’t do right now.
Take a deep breath . . . in through your nose. Exhale through your mouth.
A couple more deep breaths.
Now, how are you? Scan your body. . . start with your head. How is your hair? How are your eyes? How is your throat? Your stomach? Anything talking to you? Any body part want attention?
Write how you are. How you really are. Go deep. Take a big breath. Go deeper. Excavate. Dig in and grab those shadowy feelings. Give them words. Give them names. Translate the murky feelings into words.
Let your inner self guide you through new doorways.
Now, really. How are you?
Photo by Breana Marie
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Short may be the new long game.
Jessica Strawser, editor of The Writer’s Digest magazine, writes about the benefits of writing short pieces in the March/April 2014 issue of the Writer’s Digest magazine.
“Writing short is a too-often overlooked way to break out in any field of writing. Even if —perhaps especially if —your ultimate goal is to publish a book one day.”
She continues, “. . . a diverse approach to getting your name ‘out there’ —whether through personal essays on popular websites, feature articles in leading glossies, or short stories in respected literary journals—is far smarter than focusing your efforts in one place.”
So, if you want to write short pieces . . . go ahead! Follow the prompts in this blog and post your writing here!
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Write about a time you were lost. Prompt #60
Write about a time you were lost.
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Something that gets you in trouble . . . Prompt #59
Write about something that always get you, or your fictional character, in trouble.
Photo by Breana Marie -
All Fools Day . . . Prompt #58
The roots of All Fools Day date back to at least the 1500s as an occasion to perpetrate tomfoolery, possibly in reaction to spring’s mercurial weather. It’s observed on April 1 in many Western countries.
In Italy, France, Belgium, and French-speaking areas of Switzerland and Canada, pranksters cry “April fish” as they tape paper fish to people’s backs.
In 1957, the BBC pulled a prank, known as the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest prank, where they broadcast a fake film of Swiss farmers picking freshly-grown spaghetti. The BBC were later flooded with requests to purchase a spaghetti plant, forcing them to declare the film a prank on the news the next day.
Source: Wikipedia
Prompt: Write about pranks you used to play on April Fool’s Day, a prank pulled on you, or make up a story about how April Fool’s Day started.
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Watershed moment . . . Prompt #57
This prompt is inspired by Ianthe Brautigan from her Writers Forum workshop.
Draw a circle with radiating arms, ending in circles (see below).
In the center circle, write a note about a watershed moment where nothing was the same after that: A pivotal moment.
Write details on the radiating circles. Include as many circles as you want for details.
Write into the questions . . . how did this moment shape me? How did this affect the rest of my life?
Use this prompt to spark a freewrite.
When you are finished with freewriting on this prompt, if you keep a journal, use that for details to flesh out the story.
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See your story and tell it.
Tips to writing deeply and comfortably.
Stretch – either standing or sitting in a chair. Do whatever whatever stretching feels good to you.
Sit easily in a comfortable chair.
Take a deep breath in through your nose, exhale out through your mouth, like you are blowing out a candle.
Take several deep breaths and whoosh out on the exhalations.
Relax into your chair. Smile. Escort your inner critic out the door.
Shed your ideas about what perfect writing means.
Give yourself permission to write the worst stuff possible.
Writing isn’t about talent, it’s about practice and going into another dimension.
Creative writing is an act of discovery.
Take another deep breath. Relax into your breathing. Exhale with a satisfying sigh.
Rather than write for an audience, write from an instinctual level.
Immerse yourself in writing. Let go of your worries and write. Just 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 the 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.
When you are writing, if you run out of things to say, write “I remember. . .” and see where that takes you.
Or write, “What I really want to say . . .”
You can use the prompts on this blog to jumpstart your writing.
Photo by Jeff Cullen. Click here to see Jeff’s portfolio on fotolia.
