Friday, December 27th, 2013  It’s that time of year where you’re hitting party after party and seeing friends and family you might not have seen for years–or at least about a year.
You know them: the folks you wouldn’t associate with otherwise.
Seeing them turns an otherwise delightful party into a so-so affair. (Or maybe, a total bust.)
Having to socialize with folks like that reminds me of a book I remember a friend reading in high school. I can’t remember the name of it, or who wrote it, but the pages were full of pithy essays and quotes designed to help you get over a dramatic break up.
My favorite (paraphrased) went something like this:
Being with him/her wasn’t a drain–it was a sewer.
I love it! It comes sailing back into my brain each time I see those relations I would rather do without.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Pretend you’re heading off to a party where you’ll see folks you just don’t want to see. Imagine how the conversation would go if you ignored proprieties and told these people how you really felt about them. Write a nice cathartic scene.
- Re-imagine the same scene. How would the dialogue go–this is tricky–if you just decided not to speak to the other person? Walk out of the room when they walk in, ignore any commentary or questions launched in your direction, allow dreaded “dead air” to accumulate after they speak until they feel so uncomfortable they’ll rush to fill it.
- Write either of the above two scenarios into your latest work of fiction.
- Write a book based on a horrible relative. (The beauty of this is that folks rarely see the bad side of themselves: they won’t realize you’re writing about them. And even if they figure it out, what are they going to do? Take it public and admit they’re a bad person? On the other hand, I recommend you consult with a good lawyer before doing this…unless you intend only to keep the novel on your hard drive.)
Good luck!
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Image Copyright © Zakidesign | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Friday, December 20th, 2013  I rarely explore prompts categorized as “personal essay.” I include them in a lot of suggested prompts, but they aren’t often the focus of my blog since I generally talk about fiction.
But personal experiences bolster fiction. It’s these experiences that allow authors to write what they “know.” They lend realism to an otherwise imaginative tale.
When you choose a suggested prompt below, spend some time remembering the details of what occurred or visualizing events or objects before you start to write. Have things clear in your mind so they can be clearly articulated in the writing.
Here’s Your Prompt:
Saturday, December 14th, 2013  Hey Friends and Family!!
I finally got my Christmas Cards out this morning.
Mom taught me that my Xmas cards should be perfect and beautiful, that I should use a Christmas stamp, that I should take my time so that you know I did my very best for you…
Sorry, Mom. Here’s the deal:
This year, some of you will receive cards that I’ve used in the past. I got rid of all those leftover ones and twos that have been hanging out for years. Apologies in advance if you received the same card you got last year – I did my best to remember.
Also: With this Christmas mailing, I was able to get rid of my entire stash of 32 cent stamps, 37 cent stamps, 42 cent stamps, and a variety of “make up” stamps such as the “H” class, as well as nearly all my 1 cent, 2 cent, 3 cent, 4 cent and 5 cent denominations.
Some of your cards will have an excess of seven stamps on them to make up the difference. (The stamp collectors among you should be salivating.)
I actually had to buy 4 cent stamps at the post office this morning! Please note that it is a sign of how much I care about you, that I actually stepped foot into the Hell which is the post office during Christmas season.
The good news is: I get to buy all new holiday cards next year for you to receive. And since I own only “forever” stamps now, they’ll all have a single, pristine Christmas stamp on them.
See how much I care about you? Love to you all…and Merry Christmas!
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Image ‘borrowed’ from: www.storkie.com.
Friday, December 13th, 2013  I’ve been traveling.
Last week it was a convention and this past week it was out of state for a friend’s book launch.
Since I don’t know whether I’m coming or going, I figured we’d do a little “best of” the writing prompts this week.
In honor of Friday the 13th, you could revisit the Attack of the Phobias Writing Prompt.
Here’s one for poets: Structured Poetry, The Tanka
Here’s a writing prompt about collections: What do your characters collect?
Writing Prompt: Lost
For something unthemed, you might try the Random Words Writing Prompt.
Have Fun!
Friday, December 6th, 2013  Are you buying gifts for the holidays?
I am.
(I’ve got about half my gifts bought and wrapped already–though I’m a bit behind this year. It makes me crazy to be this behind.)
I plan to do a bunch of online ordering in order to save time and effort. And internet shopping is the best!
I can’t stand crowds, I hate to browse, and I like the idea of being able to comparison shop from my desk chair. I can shop for almost everyone in the course of a single afternoon!
Here’s Your Prompt:
- What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the phrase “something wrapped?” Write about it. (You could write a story, an essay, a poem…whatever!)
- If you journal, write about “something wrapped.” This could be a gift you received, a gift you gave – or something that was not a gift, but about something you only discovered once it was “unwrapped” or unveiled.
- Write about receiving a surprise gift, or being surprised by the gift. Write abou unwelcome gifts or gifts cloaked in mystery. Write about the best gift you received, or the worst. Write about gifts from lovers, or ex-lovers, or from someone in the past.
Good luck!
Image Copyright © Simon L | Dreamstime Stock Photos
Wednesday, December 4th, 2013  I just received my certificate in the mail from the Writers of the Future contest. Another Honorable Mention – this time for my story, All for Beauty and Youth, which I hope to see published next year.
All for Beauty and Youth is my first foray into steampunk, and I had a lot of fun writing it. I stayed away from zeppelins and goggles, and instead focused on trains and clockwork creatures.
It’s been accepted for an anthology due out next year, but I haven’t received the contract yet for it. Until that materializes, I don’t want to mention the anthology.
I’m fairly sure that I’ll find a place for it, even if the expected contract doesn’t come through. I’ll keep you posted.
Thursday, November 28th, 2013 
Happy Thanksgiving!
Friday, November 15th, 2013  I’m an eavesdropper. I admit it.
Wherever I go, I’m tuning in to the things that are being said around me.
I’m a snob, though. I generally don’t listen in on conversations between, for instance, the barista and the guy in front of me buying coffee. The guy buying coffee is passing time, waiting for his extra foamy tallboy. The barista is paid to be charming.
That conversation? Worthless. Usually.
I might listen in if there’s no one else around, but I’d rather listen to the old folks behind me, talking in hushed whispers. Or the goth couple hanging out in the corner arguing.
I love it when I’ve already sat down and gotten my coffee. (Black thanks, I’ll add a bit of cream for myself.) Because if I’m sitting, I can take notes. Awesome.
Conversation is great fodder for scenes. It can prompt entire stories.
Here’s Your Prompt:
(And your homework!)
Make time to sit in a place where you can overhear what other people are saying. With luck, you’ll start hearing things in the middle of the conversation.
After you’ve written a few lines, stop listening and re-read what you’ve written down. What story does it spark? Write it.
If you don’t like the first conversation, go listen to another. This time, stop transcribing when something catches your fancy.
If you can’t get out, do an internet search for “overheard conversations.” There are tons of them out there. Ignore the context and the celebrity of who said what. Find a conversation you like, and write from there.
Good luck!
Friday, November 8th, 2013  The Husband of Awesome™ and I closed up the garden last weekend. We wrapped up the delicate figs with blankets, hoping to baby them over until the spring. We gave the lawn a last once over, hoping it won’t need to be cut again this year. I hacked about a bazillion volunteer Rose of Sharon bushes out of the front flower bed.
There’s more to do, fertilizing and getting empty pots back into the shed, for instance. We just ran out of time.
I love tending the garden, whether it’s spring–and the ground is ripe for rebirth–or fall, when blooms are dying off and everything is ready for sleep. I love the dirt. (And puttering is a great time to noodle over plots.)
Gardens are so full of metaphor…and wonderful inspirations for writing.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write about the sending down of roots (or balling up of them -if the plant is trapped in a pot). Write about making roots of your own, or pulling up your roots and moving on. Write about severing your roots.
- Write about a character that’s been transplanted. If you journal, write about a move you made.
- Write about a garden in the spring, or the summer, or the winter, or the fall. Carefully choose imagery to depict the season. Does a tree look the same in summer as spring?
- Weeds. Write about pulling weeds in a garden, or culling the weeds from your life. Write about a character living in the weeds. Write about weed. 😉
- Is former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins correct, “The soil is full of marvels…”?
- What grows in the garden of earthly delights?
Good Luck!
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Image Copyright © Mariykaa | Dreamstime.com. Used by permission.
Friday, November 1st, 2013  Reuben Sandwich. Photo by Ernesto Andrade.
November 3 is National Sandwich Day!
Yay for sandwiches! I love a good ‘wet’ sandwich: soft, fresh bread, good cuts of meat–and for cold sandwiches–heavy on the pickles and hots. My favorite hot sandwich is a Reuben: corned beef and Swiss cheese on rye with lots of thousand island dressing and sauerkraut. Yum!
Novelist Lawrence Sanders in his book “The First Deadly Sin” describes his detective eating a ‘wet sandwich’ over the sink, accompanied by a bottle of beer. It’s the first time I’d heard the term.
Sanders goes into such loving detail describing the making and eating of this sandwich–taking nearly an entire page to do so, if I remember correctly–that my mouth watered the entire time I was reading.
That’s good writing. (Or maybe it’s my Pavlov response to sandwich descriptions!)
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write a scene in which one of your characters eats. He doesn’t have to eat a sandwich. If you’re writing fantasy, it could be stew, or bread and cheese. If you’re writing contemporary, maybe it’s wings or tapas. The point is: spend time crafting a few sentences which will make your reader’s mouth water. Don’t spend a page doing it: that was Sanders’ schtick. Write it your way.
- Write a scene where “the big reveal” is made during a meal. Don’t let the dialogue carry the scene. Bring in the setting: the tablecloth and silver salt and pepper shakers, or, the scarred wooden table and broken crockery.
- Write a “long” haiku of four of five stanzas describing the perfect sandwich and building it. When you’re done, see if you can whittle it down into one stanza, but still keep the ‘flavor’ of the long poem.
- If you journal, write family history, or enjoy memoir, write about a memorable meal. Don’t forget to include descriptions of the food.
Good Luck!
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Writers - Maryland Writer's Assn.
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