Friday, October 19th, 2012 I’m sitting here sorting through all my boxes of Halloween decorations and watching Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride with my foot propped up.
(Surgery update: My foot looks like a corpse foot. Stitches are out, and it’s blue, green and purple. But it’s on the mend. Yay!)
I’m definitely in the mood for Halloween, my favorite holiday. So, to get you in the mood…
Here Are Some Prompts:
- The clock struck midnight and…
- Write a recipe for a witch’s brew, a mad scientist’s potion, a magic spell or a Halloween treat!
- Write about something possessed, or about being possessed.
- You walk by the abandoned house in your neighborhood and see a light on in the upstairs window…
- You don’t believe in ghosts, but suddenly, you see one.
- You’re sitting home one night when the lights go out, and your dog suddenly starts to whine.
- Before lunch, you get out of bed on the wrong side, break the vanity mirror in the bathroom, walk under a ladder, and have a black cat cross your path. What follows all these ill omens?
- If you journal, try these journaling prompts:
- The thing that scares me the most is…
- The best (or worst) Halloween you ever had.
- Talk about candy you remember getting as a child, but can’t find anymore.
- You won’t believe this story, but I swear it’s true…
- Bobbing for apples.
Good Luck!
Friday, October 12th, 2012 A while back, I wrote a post about clichés (and why you should avoid using them when you write). The post is old by web standards, but the information is still timely.
A cliché is a phrase or an expression that has become overly familiar through use. I’ll use my favorite example here. Two cliches should jump right out at you :
The car barreled down the road at breakneck speed.
General criticism states that a writer who uses clichés fails creatively; that he resorts to tired — easy — language rather than struggling to find the right words.
One of the nice things about clichés is that they provide a common reference point for people. In dialogue, clichés are great shortcuts for understanding. When the TV announcer tells you Superman is “faster than a speeding bullet…” you get a really good idea of how fast Superman flies, without having to hear the technical details.
It’s these mental pictures that make clichés such good prompts.
Here’s Your Prompt:
Below is a list of common clichés. Read them over. Stop when your mind creates a mental picture after reading. Write for ten or fifteen minutes about what you see. Don’t use the actual cliché in your prose.
- Slow as molasses.
- A bone of contention.
- Fanning the flames.
- Food for thought.
- Nose to the grindstone.
- The eleventh hour.
- Pissing into the wind.
- Cast pearls before swine.
- Old as dirt.
- Zigged when he should have zagged.
If you need further inspiration, here are two Web sites which have long lists of hackneyed phrases and expressions. They are:
Good luck!
Friday, September 28th, 2012  A diamante poem is formulaic in nature, often discusses two opposite ideas, and when finished, takes the shape of a diamond.
For teachers, it’s a wonderful method to help students learn about nouns, verbs and adjectives.
For writers, it’s a great exercise to warm up the brain and get you stretching your vocabulary: you’ll want to choose nouns, verbs and adjectives beyond the usual.
Here’s the formula for each line:
- A simple noun
- two adjectives which agree with, or describe, the noun in line 1
- three verbs as modifiers which also agree with the noun in line 1
- four nouns: two should be related in some way to the noun in line line 1, and two should be related to the noun in Line 7.
- three verbs as modifiers of the the noun on line 7
- two adjectives which agree with, or describe, the noun in line 7
- one simple noun which is the opposite of the noun in line 1.
Here’s my first stab at it:
Crustaceans
calcified, clawed
scuttling, scavenging
cooperative, omnivorous — carnivorous, singular
blooming, pulsating, stinging
gelatinous, tentacled
Medusozoa
Here’s Your Prompt:
Your turn!
Images available from Wikipedia, Creative Commons License:
Friday, September 21st, 2012  Tomorrow is the Autumnal Equinox: the first day of Fall.
Equinox is a sort of contraction, stemming from two Latin words: aequus, meaning “equal” and nox, meaning “night.” During the Autumnal Equinox (and again for the Vernal or Spring Equinox) day and night are approximately the same length of time: 12 hours.
Since the Autumnal Equinox signals the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall, you might be thinking that this prompt is going to devolve into discussing all things Autumn. Not at all.
The Equinox got me thinking about dividing things into halves, or even opposites: an equal portion of day and night, light and dark, yin and yang.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write about “your better half.” I’m not talking about your spouse or your partner. Write about the half of you who is the better person. If that doesn’t appeal, write about the half of you who is not the better person. Write about your alter ego or your super-villain. Write about the evil person you would be, if you didn’t have this better half.
- Choose a pair from the list of opposites below and write a scene or poem about them:
- admit – deny
- clockwise – counterclockwise
- student – teacher
- blunt – sharp
- freedom – captivity
- clever – stupid
- doctor patient
- East – West or North – South
- horizontal – vertical
- Lips half-willing in a doorway.
Lips half-singing at a window.
Eyes half-dreaming in the walls.
Feet half-dancing in a kitchen.
Even the clocks half-yawn the hours
And the farmers make half-answers.
~ From Cornhuskers, (Chapter 10), 1918 – Carl Sandburg
- Choose an opposite Point of View (POV): If you tend to write characters who are predominantly male, try writing as a female.
- As half in shade and half in sun
This world along its path advances…
~ Thomas Moore
- Write an essay from the standpoint opposite of your own beliefs. For example, if you hate cats, write an essay about how much you love cats. Support this essay with facts.
- Write a story, poem, essay or journal entry about something that happened — or someone or something who acted – opposite of what it should. For instance, you could write about a flower that bloomed at night. Your idea could be fictional. Ask yourself, “What if ‘this’ happened?”
Good Luck!
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Photo of the Maple Tree in Fall from http://www.wpclipart.com/.
Friday, September 14th, 2012 
American patriot Francis Scott Key penned the Star Spangled Banner on September 14, 1841. Key wrote with emotion, never knowing his poem would one day become the National Anthem of the United States of America.
(It wasn’t officially adopted, in fact, until 1931.)
National Anthems are generally songs of a patriotic nature. They’re primarily set to music in the style of a march, a hymn, or a fanfare. These songs describe the history and traditions of a nation, and are (usually) formally adopted by the government to represent the country.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write a “national anthem” of you. Decide if your spirit – your history of you — is a march, a fanfare, or a hymn. Write the words which embody your spirit.
- Write an essay or a journal entry about the national anthem of your country. What images does it invoke? How do you feel when you hear it played at a ball game? How does it make you feel when you hear it at an Olympic medal ceremony?
- What does it mean to be patriotic? Make a list of ideas, feelings and phrases which denote patriotism. Use the best of these in a poem.
- Drop your finger down on a random line in a national anthem (use yours, or choose one from a different country) and free write for 10 minutes about what that image evokes.
Good luck!
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Image of American Flags by Lipton Sale. Used by permission under the Creative Commons License.
Friday, September 7th, 2012  September is National Coupon Month.
If you could make your own coupon, what would it be for?
Me?
I want more days in the week. I feel like I never have enough time to do all the things I want to do.
I’d like, perhaps, two extra days per weekend. I’d hit the Time Store during their “50% off Every Day” sale and buy a few extra days for each week for the rest of the year.
(Maybe I’d get all those things on my ‘Too Much To Do List’ done.)
Basic “Mix and Match” Components of a Coupon
- The name of the product that is on sale.
- The location of the sale.
- The amount of the sale, either in a percentage or “cents off.”
- An expiration date.
- A bar code.
- A graphic or clip art.
- The “Fine Print:” The conditions of the sale, where it’s void, how many products can be purchased with the coupon, etc.
What about you?
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Make a coupon for something you’d like more than anything. Be creative: whip out the crayons or a graphics program on your computer and get to work. Make it look genuine. (See if you can fool your friends!)
- If you don’t feel like your art skills are up to par, write the sale out in narrative.
- Once you’ve set up the conditions of your coupon: write an essay or journal/diary entry about why you desire such a coupon and how you would use the item if you were able to use the coupon.
- Write a story about someone who finds a fantastic coupon (in the newspaper, at the library coupon exchange, in his mailbox, etc.) and what happens when he redeems it.
Good Luck!
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The hourglass graphic in the image I made for this blog post came from http://www.wpclipart.com/.
Friday, August 31st, 2012 
Dichotomy – a division between two contradictory parts.
I took this picture out the car window one night last week after leaving a restaurant. (The Husband of Awesome™ was driving.)
When I first saw him, his robes were flapping in the wind. I’m sorry the camera didn’t catch that.
I love the idea of a man — any man — driving a Pink Barbie Scooter. He’s either entirely sure of himself as a man — or he just doesn’t give a crap what other people think. Maybe both. Or maybe he’s in some desperate situation. The fact that his florescent-orange turban clashes here, is icing on the cake.
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Write a story, poem or essay about the man pictured above. Where is he going in such a hurry? Is he on his sister’s scooter?
- Think of another dichotomy you’ve seen — or make one up — and write about that.
Good luck!
Friday, August 24th, 2012  I’m reading a novel right now which includes Benjamin Franklin as a character. Although he’s not truly “in the story,” he is much talked about and the novel includes exploits about many of his inventions.
He’s probably most famous for creating bifocal lenses: Franklin owned two sets of glasses, one pair to see near things and one pair to see far things.
Tiring of switching his glasses back and forth, he had the lenses of both pairs cut in half and put back together in one frame so he wouldn’t have to keep switching.
He also created the “Franklin” stove, which allowed people to heat their homes more effectively by providing more heat and less smoke. It also burned less wood.
Swim fins and the extension arm – that nifty device which lets you grab things off high shelves – are also two of Franklin’s creations.
I could go on.
Reading about Franklin’s inventions has been nearly as exciting as the story.
Serendipitously, August is National Inventor’s Month. Thus…
Here’s Your Prompt:
- Invent something which will make your life easier. Pretend you have all the tools, the knowledge and the money to make it happen.
- Write a story about an invention which is supposed to make life easy for the protagonist, and then does the complete opposite!
- Write an essay about an invention the world would be better off without. Be persuasive. Use facts to back up your opinion.
- Rather than writing about an invention, write a story about an inventor who creates something fantastic, horrible, praiseworthy, frightening, or (you fill in the blank). How does he or she do it? What are the accolades or consequences?
Said American Inventor Thomas Alva Edison: To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.
Good Luck!
Friday, August 17th, 2012 Today’s writing prompt is a very special edition: it’s packed with ideas and includes a writing contest which could net you several ebooks, including a copy of Terri Bruce’s Hereafter.
It was hard for me to give up a writing prompt slot when I enjoy creating them so much, but Terri and I have been friends for quite some time now, and when she pitched this idea, I couldn’t resist.
I hope you enjoy her spot as much as I do!
 A huge “thank you” to Kelly for turning her “Writing Prompt” post over to me today!
I love her writing prompts and they always manage to awaken my imagination, so I was thrilled when she allowed me to step into the driver’s seat for a day to help celebrate the release of my first novel, Hereafter—a contemporary fantasy about a woman’s search for redemption in the afterlife. I hope you enjoy these prompts as much as I enjoyed crafting them!
Today marks the first day of Chinese Ghost Month, a time in which it is believed that the spirits of the deceased leave the land of the dead and visit the living, similar to Halloween. While the spirits of the dead, particularly one’s ancestors, are not seen as malevolent per se, it is considered an inauspicious time to travel, move, change jobs, get married, or make any other major life changes as there may be evil spirits bent on mischief about.
At the end of Ghost Month, the dead return to the land of the dead—the living often light lanterns or float candles on waterways to guide the dead back to the afterlife, which I think is beautifully evocative. In between, there is Ghost Festival, which you learn more about in my guest post on that subject on August 30th at the Making Connections blog.
 I first became fascinated with Chinese afterlife mythology when I heard of the Terra Cotta Warriors—which was so long ago now that I forget exactly when and where I learned of this miraculous undertaking by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Moved by the story of the emperor’s kindness (?), mercy (?), amazing sense of justice (?), or whatever it was that resulted in him taking life size replicas of his soldiers and servants with him to the afterlife, rather than the actual people, I delved further into Chinese afterlife mythology and became hooked. Though I tried to pull from all cultures and religions equally for Hereafter, I think it did end up slightly slanted toward Chinese mythology and folklore.
So…without further ado— Here’s Your Prompt:
- It’s Chinese Ghost Festival, a time when the living leave offerings of items for the dead—what offerings do you leave for the deceased? Describe the offerings (food? objects?) in detail as well as where you leave them (at a grave? On the sidewalk? At an altar?).
- The spirit of one of your ancestors visits you during Ghost Month—describe the encounter. What does the spirit look like? How do you feel? What does the spirit want? How do you react?
- Describe Ghost Month from the perspective of the ghosts—are they happy to be turned out of the spirit realm or annoyed? Are they pleased with the offerings left for them or disgusted? Can they touch, smell, and taste the offerings? Does everything feel, taste, and smell like it did when they were alive?
- What does the spirit realm/afterlife look like?
- Write the story of a man or woman preparing an offering for the dead—what is he/she offering? Why that particular item? How does he/she feel as he/she prepares the item—sorrow? Duty? Pride? Love?
- Write the story of spirits punishing someone for not preparing an offering during Ghost Festival—what penance would the spirits exact?
- At the end of Ghost Month the spirits return to the spirit realm—how is this accomplished? Do they voluntarily return or are they compelled? Are they compelled by mystical forces or is it someone’s job?
- A spirit is refusing to return to the spirit realm at the end of Ghost Month. Why? What will he do instead of returning?
And now…for a SPECIAL BONUS! Using any of the above writing prompts, write a 200-word (MAX) story for a chance to win a prize pack of books about ghosts! Visit the Writers Lens web site for details! Contest ends September 7th, 2012.
Where to Find Hereafter:
Where to Find Terri:
Friday, August 10th, 2012  Today I was driving through eastern North Carolina and I came across this little gas-and-go store at a bridge intersection.
(The bridge takes you over to the coast, where apparently, a lot of fisherman go. At this little crossroads, they can get worms [for bait] and coffee [for some energy] on their way.)
I LOVE the name of this store. It’s a clever bit of naming that (unless you’re a local fisherman) makes you think twice. I adore the incongruity.
Here’s Your Prompt
- Write a story about “worms and coffee.” Caveat: it can’t be about fishing.
- If you don’t like the idea of worms and coffee, open up the dictionary to a random page, close your eyes and drop your finger down on a word. Do this twice or more, until you come up with two different nouns. You can connect them with “and” or “or.”
- Choose any of these random word pairs that I generated using a random noun generator found on the internet:
- okra and alligators
- pen and Zinc
- mountain and soda
- caterpillar or desert
- storms or fairies
Find your own word pairs using the Paper Tiger Random Noun Generator.
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