The Element of Surprise

by

Sign Up

For Wednesday, August 13

  DSCN0249 DSCN3684 IMG_0899    IMG_0441IMG_2651DSCN1380

Write a poem or prose piece inspired by a sign.

Over the next few weeks, be on the lookout for unusual, playful, or cautionary signs. Then, incorporate one of them into a written work.

Suggestions:

1. Write from the point-of-view of someone who passes the sign frequently. What goes through their head?

2. Write a short essay (first person) about your reaction to the sign. What stands out for you? Why?

3. If the sign is a warning, write from the point of view of someone who ignores its message. What happens next?

4. Try writing a poem that includes all the words in the sign, but reworks, remixes, or re-purposes them.

by

End of Day

For Thursday, August 7

IMG_2630

Write a poem or flash fiction piece that includes a sunset.

Playing off of yesterday’s post, try incorporating yesterday’s suggestions or work with some of these.

1. Write from the point of view of someone on the boat or on the island in the photo. Imagine they are eager for the sun to set. Why?

2. Write about the most dramatic sunset you’ve ever seen.

3. Write about waiting in relation to the sunset.

4. Sunsets are often symbols of conclusion or contentment.  Try writing a piece in which a sunset conjures up opposite feelings, perhaps of new beginnings, agitation, or anticipation.

 

by

Day Break

For Wednesday, August 6

IMG_2632

Write a poem or flash fiction piece that includes a sunrise.

Suggestions:

1. If there’s a person involved, write about their interior state of mind.

2. Write about the most dramatic sunrise you’ve ever seen.

3. Write about waiting in relation to a sunrise.

4. Sunrises are often signs of hope or renewal. Try writing a piece in which a sunrise conjures up opposite feelings, perhaps of frustration, disappointment, or despair.

 

by

Snakes in a Jar

For Tuesday, August 5

20140802-095040-35440180.jpg

Write a poem or flash fiction piece that revolves an unusual object, one that is particularly odd, chilling, or mildly gruesome.

Suggestions:

1. Make your opening line a clear, simple description of the object: Snakes in a jar. A rusty pile of nails. A broken marionette.

2. Are you afraid to touch it? Is your character shocked to see?

3. Does it raise concerns? Bring back memories?

by

The House with Porthole Window

DSCN0375 Today’s Prompt

Write a poem, flash fiction piece or the beginning of a story inspired by this photo.

Incorporate at least four of these words: rough  pie  slant  oboe smooth dirt bolt  round   home   worn   road  deserted  once must  broom

Write for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

by

Tick Tock

Wednesday, July 28, 2014  •  Prompt #87

photo

 

 

The element of time often adds suspense and welcome tension to writing. For this prompt, write about two people who agree to meet under this clock at 3 p.m.

 

 

 

Suggestions and Considerations

  • Describe the day’s weather. How does that influence the story?
  • Do the two people already know each other?
  • Is one person new to the City? Is one a long-time resident?
  • Why have they chosen the clock as a meeting place?
  • Write for 15 minutes.

More Writing Options

  • Write a piece where one person is wealthy and one is broke.
  • Write about an illegal or illicit transaction.
  • Write a piece in which the second person never arrives.
  • Write a piece in which the second person brings a third person.
  • Write a piece in which the first person is holding a box.

 

 

by

Rant 2.0

For Monday, July 7, 2014  Prompt #64

we the peopleToday’s prompt follows up on last week’s rant prompt. Again, hints for good rant writing.

  • Choose a topic about which you feel passionate.
  • Let yourself go off on tangents.
  • Let yourself be angry. Let yourself be funny.
  • Let yourself be both.
  • Keep your pencil moving and don’t erase or edit.
  • Write for at least ten minutes.

And now a quote from Allen Ginsberg: Concentrate on what you want to say to yourself and your friends. Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness. You say what you want to say when you don’t care who’s listening.  

Further Rant Writing: For Individuals and Groups

Manifesto: This exercise originated with my writing pal Frankie Rollins.  (You can find out more about her work here:  http://elizabethfrankierollins.com ) A manifesto is a public declaration of intentions, opinions, objectives, or motives. It can be issued by a government, community, organization, or person.

  • Here’s the beginning of one well-known manifesto: We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…. do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
  • And here’s part of another one: We, the Representatives of the United States of America…solemnly declare That these United Colonies are Free and Independent States
  • And the end of another one: Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Proletarians of all countries, unite!

Creating a Personal Manifesto in 4 Easy Steps

  1. List five communities that you identify with. For instance, I might write: East Coast Transplants. Writers. Lesbians. Birdwatchers. Collage artists.
  2. In a manifesto, you need to state your demands, desires, needs and dreams. Write down three other verbs for demand, desire, or need.
  3. Write Your Manifesto, beginning with the words:  We, the _____________________________ (fill in the group you want to represent), __________________________ (fill in a verb from step 2, then keep going…)

For example:

  • We the skateboarders require smoother asphalt.
  • We the freaks demand to be seen and heard.
  • We, your sisters and brothers, refuse to be silent.

4. Repeat your phrase, We the ______________, at least 6 times within your manifest.

My Sample: We, the writers, demand sharp pencils and open minds. Silenced too long, we demand long wooden desks and long stretches of time in which to percolate ideas, scribble out words, break apart sentences and put them together again. We, the writers, demand time to read. We seek quiet and solitude for one hour each day every day, we the writers, beseech this of our friends, neighbors and colleagues. In fact, we demand a national holiday solely and fully dedicated to the reading of books. As a first step, we the writers, demand triple funding for libraries so they can remain open 24 hours a day. While we are at it, we, the writers, insist upon new IRS tax codes, soundproof rooms, and stacks of dictionaries and legal pads in every coffeehouse. We the writers call for the end of blaring televisions in airports, loudmouth pundits at the lunch counter, discordant drummers by the creek. We the writers have to go now. We the writers have to get back to work.

by

Play It Backwards

June 27, 2014  Prompt #56

DSCN6122Today, more random play as we explore ways to re-vision, re-see, and re-imagine our work. This exercise comes from writer and translator T. Begley, from whom I took a writing workshop 20 years ago at The Naropa Institute (that’s what it was called back then).

 

Instructions

  1. Choose a section of a story or essay you’ve written that is about a page long. Or choose a single piece of flash fiction or a short to medium-length poem.
  2. Retype it or rewrite it backwards.  That is, on a fresh sheet of paper, write the last sentence of the paragraph, followed by the second to last sentence, and so on until you write the original first sentence as the new last sentence.
  3. Read it out loud.
  4. Highlight something that surprised you.
  5. Circle something that has taken on a new meaning with the rewrite.
  6. Underline something that you think could be improved or changed.
  7. Underline a sentence or phrase that particularly speaks to you. Write it on the top of a new sheet of page and write for 10 minutes.

 

Further Writing

  • Thinking about #4 above, for 10 minutes, write in response to what surprised you. You can continue in the same style (fiction, verse, etc.) or try more of a self-review.
  • Thinking about #5 above, for 10 minutes, write in response to what has taken on new meaning. Again, you can continue in the same style (fiction, verse, etc.) or try more of a self-review.

Variations for Writing Groups

  1. Cut up your original poem or prose excerpt into individual sentences or long phrases.
  2. Swap one each of your sentences or phrases with two other writing group members.
  3. Rearrange your sentences and your newly-obtained sentences into a new piece.

Considerations

If your style or subject matter is feeling stale or repetitious, prompts like this can help you step back from your writing and see it in a new light.

 

 

 

by

Double Double (Toil and Trouble?)

June 25, 2014  Prompt #54

DSCN5693_2 DSCN5693

Sometimes, a successful story is the result of careful planning, clear outlines, and a well-conceived structure. Other times, random play generates surprising results. For today’s prompt, we are going to play.

Instructions

  1. Choose a section of a story or essay you’ve written that is about a page long. Or choose a single piece of flash fiction or a short to medium-length poem.
  2. Reprint it or rewrite it by starting every sentence on a new line AND leaving two blank lines between sentences. See example below.
  3. In the white spaces between the lines, write new sentences. They can be a logical extension of the existing work or something less directly connected.
  4. Don’t over think this one. But do have fun.

====================================================

Original Paragraph:

“When does a Jew become an adult?” Mrs. Glickenstein asked. “Twenty-one? Eighteen?” Clarissa Wallach and Yackov Winpool raised their hands, but I hesitated.  It didn’t matter: Mrs. Glickenstein answered her own question. “Thirteen. Thirteen is when a boy becomes a man.” Every Jewish kid knows this. Thirteen is the age of Bar and Bat Mitzvah, after which boys are counted in the minyan and can read from the Torah in front of the congregation. For girls, nothing changes, but, let’s face it, Bar Miztvahed boys aren’t adults either. It’s not like anyone of us can drive a car, vote for president , or buy beer the day we turn thirteen.

 

Prepared Paragraphs for the Writing Prompt

“When does a Jew become an adult?” Mrs. Glickenstein asked. “Twenty-one? Eighteen?”

 

Clarissa Wallach and Yackov Winpool raised their hands, but I hesitated.

 

It didn’t matter: Mrs. Glickenstein answered her own question.

 

“Thirteen. Thirteen is when a boy becomes a man.”

 

Every Jewish kid knows this.

 

Thirteen is the age of Bar and Bat Mitzvah, after which boys are counted in the minyan and can read from the Torah in front of the congregation.

 

For girls, nothing changes, but, let’s face it, Bar Miztvahed boys aren’t adults either.

 

It’s not like anyone of us can drive a car, vote for president , or buy beer the day we turn thirteen.

====================================================

Further Writing

  • In the blank spaces, write from the point-of-view of a different time period. For instance, if the existing story takes place in the past, write a parallel story in the present. Or write a parallel story from 50 or 100 years earlier.
  • In the blank spaces, write an interior voice.
  • In the blank spaces, write in a distinctly different style.

Variations for Writing Groups

  1. On index cards, write down feelings or emotional states. (For example: doubt, joy, sneakiness, outrage, enthusiasm, uncertainty, distrust, drunkenness, or despair.)
  2. Choose an emotion from the pile and rewrite your sentences in that style. In other words, shift the tone or mood of your original piece.

 

Considerations

Read over what you’ve written, then make note of anything you’ve learned from the prompt.  For instance, you might discover ways to add depth to your original work. You might realize your original piece needs more sensory details (or fewer) or more summarizing (or less summarizing) and so on.  Overall, prompts like this shake up your work and, in the best of circumstances, give you fresh eyes for revision.