Writing prompt 66

As longtime followers of this blog will know, from time to time I get an idea (or a line of dialogue or an image) that I really like but am probably not going to do anything with because I have too many writing projects in the works already.

The following lines popped into my head sometime last week. I wish I could tell you an interesting story about where I was at the time or why it occurred to me, but of late my life's been so full that I'm lucky if I remember in the afternoon what I did in the morning.

Prompt

Writing prompt 65

You know how sometimes a couple of words or a phrase pops into your head and your mind gloms onto them? It rolls them around, feeling their shapes, and explores all the random memories, images, and other experiences that your brain somehow associates with them. This happened to me while I was driving the moving truck up to Portland, and I thought these two words might make a good writing prompt for other people, too. I'm guessing they occurred to me because I'd spent the last week packing up and making decisions about what to keep and what to discard.

Prompt

Writing prompt 64

I don't post writing prompts as regularly as I used to, but this on popped into my head yesterday and I thought I'd share it with you. My mind takes it in the direction of a horror story, but if you manage to write something *other* than a horror story/poem out of it, I'd love to hear about it!

Prompt

Ray Bradbury & writing prompts 44-63 (or 73)

This week I stumbled upon this article containing 12 pieces of writing advice from Ray Bradbury. I like all the advice there, but this one in particular caught my attention:

"List ten things you love, and ten things you hate. Then write about the former, and 'kill' the lat[t]er — also by writing about them. Do the same with your fears."

It's a writing prompt! Or twenty. Or thirty, if you also list ten fears.

When I started thinking about listing things I love/hate, the obvious things occurred to me: chocolate, wine and writing/talking about writing would go under love, while things like spiders, kale and being woken up from a good dream would go under hate.

Writing prompt 43

Ye ol' writing prompts are resurrected! Well, at least this week.

Today's writing prompt is inspired by some random thought train I was riding. I'm not sure where this line of thinking started; I only know that it ended in a mental image of some guy hitting Houdini in the stomach really hard.

For those who are not familiar, one of Houdini's tricks was to get the strongest person in the audience to sock him in the stomach and be unfazed by it. Apparently, one day an overly enthusiastic fan saw Houdini out and about and - perhaps as a joke? - walked up to the famous magician and...yep, punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. Unfortunately, Houdini wasn't prepared for it, and he suffered internal injuries and eventually died. (Okay, Wikipedia says it was a student in Houdini's dressing room who'd asked permission first and then delivered multiple blows while Houdini was lying down, but I like my version better.)

Which brings us to the prompt.

Writing prompt 42

Happy Wednesday! It's time once again for the weekly writing prompt.

Yesterday I surprised the heck out of myself by not only submitting an application for an emerging writer fellowship but then also submitting a few poems to a literary journal. I'm not sure why I couldn't do that during the previous round of ROW80, when it was actually a stated goal, but whatever, I'll take it.

Anyway, the experience of submitting reminded me that I've had the idea before to use the upcoming themed deadlines in the Duotrope newsletter as a source for writing prompts/inspiration if I ever need it. (If you don't have a Duotrope subscription but you want to submit your fiction, poetry or creative nonfiction to lit journals and mags, I recommend that you sign up asap. It's awesome.)

So that's where this week's writing prompt comes from. Can you guess what it is?

Orig. image from fatfaceandme.com

Prompt
NINJAS!

I do so love me a good ninja tale.

This week's prompt is from Twit Publishing, who are looking for submissions for their "collection of short stories, poems, history, essays, novellas, non-fiction, and instructional essays about NINJAS!" But you have to hurry; the deadline for submission is this Friday, April 18.

So what are you waiting for? Start writing about ninjas!

Writing prompt 41

Happy Wednesday, writers! This week's writing prompt is inspired by whatever crazy-sauce Muse visited me earlier today during my writing time. Hope you enjoy!

Prompt
She plays an invisible accordion.

My freewrite

Writing prompt 40

I made the mistake a few weeks ago of associating these writing prompts with my age (the 35th prompt posted the week I turned 35), and now every time I do another one I feel myself aging rapidly, a whole year in a week. Frightening.

In other news, I thought of a really good prompt yesterday but then I forgot to post it, and now I can't remember what the prompt was. Let's see.... It had something to do with...nah. I lost it. (Of course the upside to that is that we'll never know whether the prompt was even that good; I could say it was the best prompt ever & sure to change your life but it could've been totally uninspiring and I will never have to face that possibility because I just don't remember.)

Along those lines, here's a different prompt.

Prompt
I went back in time and nothing was how I remembered it.

Suggestion: Set a timer for five minutes, start with the prompt, and see how many words you can write in that time. It doesn't have to be coherent or correctly punctuated or even grammatically correct, but repeating the same word or phrase over and over doesn't count. If you get stuck, you could play with word, sound or image associations.

Happy writing!

Writing prompt 39

For some reason this week I'm remembering a lot of my dreams and coming up with a lot of new story ideas. My brain's sneaky way, no doubt, of trying to get out of finishing this novel. (While I appreciate all the crazy creativity, brain, it's not gonna work. We. Are. Finishing. This novel.)

This week's writing prompt is inspired by the dream I had last night, included below.

Photo by Rick Campbell

Prompt
I was not a superhero.

For those who may be new to writing prompts, the idea is to jot it down and then just write down anything that comes to mind for the next 5 to 15 minutes - words, images, memories, whatever. It doesn't have to be coherent. It doesn't have to be correctly punctuated. It could be a bunch of silly non-words, even. The idea is just to write and not control it. It's like shaking your brain loose.

My dream

Writing prompt 38

I must admit that I haven't been doing a whole lot of freewriting this week because I've been busy trying to finish up a novel. That said, a random line did come to me last night - based on my experience of being pulled into an unscheduled nap yesterday eve by the two doggies sleeping right next to me - so that's where this week's prompt comes from.

Prompt
The doggies spin their sleep-web and I am caught up in it.

Happy writing!

Writing prompt 37

It's time once again for the weekly writing prompt.

Picture this: 

You've just turned off the light and settled down in bed when you get a flash of inspiration for the story you're working on. Suddenly the character's motivations are so clear, or you've thought of the perfect solution to the problem that's been plaguing you all week. But now you're comfortable; you don't really want to sit up, turn the light back on, get out of bed to search for a pen and paper. And besides, the idea is etched into your brain - it's so important there's no way you're going to forget it. I'll write it down in the morning. First thing, you think as you drift off to sleep. When you wake in the morning, you remember only that you had a brilliant idea but can't for the life of you recall what it was.

Or you're driving in your car - maybe to the supermarket or to a friend's house, or maybe it's a long-distance drive to another city - when a phrase or sentence or line of dialogue suggests itself to you. Over and over it runs through your head, becoming more compelling each time. You consider pulling over, but there's really no good spot to do so, and it seems silly to go to such lengths for a teeny little phrase, no matter how compelling it may seem. Besides, you will surely remember when you get to said supermarket or friend's house or other city. Then someone runs a stop light, almost hitting your car. Adrenaline surges, profanities stream from your lips, and the phrase is lost in the excitement.

Writing prompt 36

Happy Wednesday! What are you writing today?

Photo by Rick Campbell

This morning I failed to capture my dream on paper before it faded from memory, so I went to do a freewrite but found myself reluctant because I didn't know what to write. Followers of the blog will know that this is something that happens to me from time to time. One of my favorite ways to psych myself out of writing is by telling myself I have to know what I want to write before I start writing. Silly.

Anyway, I had a couple sentences floating around in my head, one of which was in response to an email and another I was thinking would be starting place for a freewrite (even if I didn't know what to write), so I started writing the one that was loudest in my head - the email response - and only got a few words into it before the stream of consciousness took over. I'll share the result of that in a moment, but first...

The Prompt
It's true that...

Writing prompt 35

Today's writing prompt is a sentence that popped into my head on my walk a couple of days ago. I find it morbid and disturbing, but I also sense an entire world beneath it waiting to be told. Will you be the one to tell it?

Photo by Rick Campbell

Prompt
And the screams of the dogs will haunt me until the day I die, for I heard them and did nothing.

Writing prompt 34

On the last Wednesday of my 34th year, I'm posting the 34th writing prompt. Eerie! ;*)

Prompt
Listen.

No, that's not a mistake. "Listen." really is the entire prompt. With the period. It's its own sentence. Very important.

So you just write "Listen." at the top of a blank page (or in the middle or on a napkin or speak it into your voice recorder or whatever you want 'cause I'm not trying to micromanage you here) and you start writing. Let go of sense-making. Let go of your expectations. Let go of punctuation and grammar and good spelling and everything else you've been taught is necessary to "good writing," and just write words, one after the other, without stopping, for at least five minutes. Go. Now. Do it. Even before you read the next line. There's no time like the present.

Happy writing!

Excerpt from my freewrite

Writing prompt 33

Omg! I just realized I'm going to be posting the 35th writing prompt the day after my 35th birthday! =*D

*Commence playing of Twilight Zone theme* (Not to be confused with the Twilight theme. Totally different thing.) 

I will have to think up something extra special to commemorate the occasion. No pressure, though.

This week's writing prompt comes from my friend and developmental editor, Diane Gilman. It was something she said during a phone conversation, and I thought it would make a great prompt, so I stole it. With her permission, of course.

Prompt
The last time you kissed your ass goodbye...

My (admittedly messy, but hey! it's a freewrite!) response

Writing prompt 32

Happy Wednesday! (I think. I haven't had much coffee yet today, so I'm not sure.)

Last week I did a couple of freewrites that ended up being way weirder (i.e. more creative) than I thought they were going to be when I started out, which made me realize that the prompt itself doesn't have to be surreal or especially creative in order to prompt the creativity. So this week's prompt is taken from the beginning of one of those freewrites, and just for the fun of it, I'm including what I wrote, too.

I'd love to see what other people come up with in response to this prompt, so if you're comfortable sharing, please feel free to copy & paste into a comment or to post the link to your blog whereupon your freewrite lives.

Prompt
When I awoke this morning...

In case you're new to the blog or new to freewriting, the idea is to write the prompt at the top of your page and then just let whatever comes into your head flow out and to keep up a nearly constant stream of words for at least five minutes. Even if what comes into your head is "I don't know what to write this is dumb nothing happened when I woke up this morning and writing prompts are stupid..." write that and keep writing it. My experience is that my brain gets bored and comes up with something more interesting before the five (or ten or fifteen) minutes is up.

My freewrite

Writing prompt 31

On the one hand, I find myself once again experiencing the Fear of Writing. Or rather, I'm afraid to sit down and try. Because what if nothing comes??? This fear is heightened today by the fact that I had some success writing last night. Silly, isn't it? That yesterday's success should make me even more afraid to try again today? But it is so.

On the other hand, I find myself again tempted to hoard my story ideas, despite a) my Fear of Writing, and b) the fact that I will never have enough time to follow through on all of the story ideas that come my way. But that's why I started posting these writing prompts, isn't it? No sense in keeping these ideas all to myself when they might be used to inspire someone else's writing.

Prompt
He was only a few blocks from his house when the wind reached in and yanked his eardrum out.

Writing prompt 30

Imagine me running around in random squiggly patterns with my eyes bugging out and my hands waving frantically. That about sums up this week.

Photo by Rick Campbell

Prompt: The definition of success.

If you are writing creative nonfiction, you might start with a list or by freewriting about your ideas of success.

If you're writing poetry, you might start by writing down the prompt and then letting yourself go with free associations, rhymes, half-rhymes, images, etc.

If you're working on fiction, think about one of your characters and how s/he would define success, either in a particular scene (this will help you understand your character's motivation in that scene) or for his/her life in general.

Happy writing!

Writing prompt 29

This week's writing prompt is a day late, but better late than never, no?

After a fairly long hiatus from writing due to selling the house, I've been trying to get back into a regular writing schedule. SO. HARD. Why is it so hard??? The next couple of paragraphs are freewrites I've done during the last week - meditations, if you will - on what I notice myself doing/thinking that contributes to the not-writing.

This first one is about blocking myself by judging before I even get it out:

I really want to freewrite but I notice that my brain starts whispering things to write down and I reject them. "No, too silly," or "No, we've already written something like that before," or "No, I don't see where that's going." Of course that defeats the whole purpose of freewriting, doesn't it, because it's supposed to be whatever, without judgment, don't need punctuation or even coherent sentences. So why not just write the stuff? Because part of me feels like it's a waste of time. But that's dangerous. I think about my friend sitting there with her blog post and I wonder if she's judging before it can come out or after or if she keeps re-saying the same things because she's not yet sure what she wants to say or how to say it. What goes on there?

And then there's that whole thing about getting distracted by anything and everything and not making writing a priority, like, ever.

Writing prompt 28

This quarter I'll be doing my ROW80 updates on Sundays, so today it's all about the writing prompt.

I like to amuse myself from time to time by using slang that sounds completely awkward coming out of my mouth. This past week, the phrase "This is how I roll" came to me, and I took some time to really think about it. My understanding of the phrase is that it means, roughly, "This is how I do things." First I took it literally and imagined myself rolling, then I imagined a couple other contexts to which I might apply that phrase, and then I wrote a 3-part poem. So that's where today's prompt comes from.

Prompt: This is how I roll

You know the drill. Just write down that phrase and then let your mind flow and your pen follow. Freewrite anything that comes for at least five minutes. Don't stop, don't judge, don't try to control, just write.

So...I don't do this often, and I hesitate to do this now because I don't know whether I actually like the poem I wrote, but it seems like good form to share with you my own responses to the prompts from time to time, so I'm going to do that today. I'm going to share with you my 3-part poem. And I'm going to resist the urge to apologize in advance.

*ahem* Okay. Here you go.