writing to music

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East 70th Avenue

for Wednesday, July 23, 2014  •  Prompt #70

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Today’s  Prompt: 

  1. Someone  just walked out of this door.
  2. Write about it.

 

 

 

Options:

  • Describe the person.
  • How are they dressed?
  • Are they rushing out, strolling, running, moving briskly in a wheelchair?
  • What are they thinking?
  • Do they live in this building?
  • Where are they going? Will they be coming back?

Additional Writing

  • Write about two people walking out together or one shortly after the other.
  • Write about someone walking in.

Writing Group Variations

  1. As a group, sit near a busy building. Create a background and story for someone walking in or out. (Don’t be stalker-ish. If people seem uncomfortable, move elsewhere.)
  2. Later, develop your observations and turn it into a piece of flash fiction (under 300 words.)
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Summer Band

for Tuesday, July 22, 2014  •  Prompt #79

On Monday, I listened to the Boulder Concert Band play in our local Foothills Park.  My favorite moment was lying back on my blanket and looking up at the clouds as the band played Amazing Grace. It was a divine moment.

Today’s Prompt:

  1. Write about a time when you were able to put aside the horrors of the world and life’s daily problems and immerse yourself in a moment of bliss, contentment or joy.
  2. Use specific description and include sensory details.
  3. Write for 15 minutes.

Additional Writing

  • Write about attending an outdoor musical event when something — benign, odd, or slightly menancing — disrupts the concert.
  • Write about a piece of music that affects you strongly.

Writing Group Variations

  1. Together, attend a musical event, preferable something low-key and informal. Perhaps a street performer, middle-school concert, or free event in a local part.
  2. Take notes.
  3. Listen with your eyes closed for a few minutes.
  4. Later, write your observations.
  5. Did anything surprise you? Do you connect more (or differently) to music as compared to visual arts?

 

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Champs Elysees

June 10, 2014.  Prompt #41

dance4

When I left work  tonight, I came across a group of folk dancers in the plaza next to my office. They were learning the “Champs Elysees” line dance. The old-school music, the French lyrics, and the dusky setting combined for an unexpected summer moments: a mix of happiness and wistfulness, connection and separation. Unfortunately, I can’t load the video onto this post, only this screen capture.  (To get some sense of the music, click this link.)

 

Instructions

  1. Think of (or make up)  a time that you encountered something unexpected. Write about how it changed the moment, the day, or something more for you.
  2. Describe your emotional and physical state before, then during, then after the event.
  3. Write for 15 minutes.

Further Writing

  • Write about participating, either enthusiastically or reluctantly, in a group event such as a folk dance, pick-up basketball game, or religious service. Write for 15 minutes.
  • Write about a summer night when you felt connected to others around or one when you felt far apart. Write for 20 minutes.

Variation for Writing Groups

  1. Write down song lyrics that feel  like a “sound track” of summer and share it with the group. If possible, bring a recording of the song to your writing group.
  2. Share the lyrics or play the song for the group as members write their impressions and associations as they listen to the music.
  3. Repeat the prompt with other songs/lyrics from other group members.
  4. Write for 20 minutes.