(inspired by this Wikipedia article)
Setting: A world bombarded by constant solar storms where electricity is gathered and used from the aurora's current. What other effects would the solar storms have on the world? How might the inhabitants design workarounds for issues that arise?
Sorry I haven't posted in a while; I was having technical difficulties. Here's one prompt for each week of February! Let your imagination run wild.
#1. Setting Prompt: An hot classroom with windows that won't stay open.
#2. Character Prompt: An uneducated character who is smart but underestimated by everyone around him.
#3. Object Prompt: A pair of slippers with scissors tucked inside.
#4. Music Prompt: Love and War in Your Twenties by Jordan Searcy (Spotify)
Bonus points if you can use them all in one story/poem/flash/whatever you write!
In honor of our exceptional nation's 247th birthday, here are three patriotic prompts! Challenge: write a story, poem, or song that makes use of all three of them.
"You asked for a brave warrior," the woman said.
The man raised his eyebrows. "And she is a brave warrior? What's your weapon, girl?" He turned and stared pointedly at the new recruit.
"Words," she said meekly.
"And what do these words do? Bring things to life? Set things in fire?"
"No. They just mean things," she said.
+ + +
Character A: "Does anyone here like people?"
Character B: "Eh..." *wiggles hand*
Character C: "I despise them."
Character D: "What was the question?"
+ + +
"Why do you stare at the ground
When above you is endless sky?"
"I'm afraid to spread my wings.
I'll never fall if I don't fly."
+ + +
Teacher: "What's at the end of the Bible?"
Kid 1: "A map!"
Kid 2: "We'll be singing!"
Air, Spring, Sanguine (Blood), Morning, Birth
Air-
wind blowing through your hair, cotton candy, hot air balloons, helium balloons, airplanes, puffy cumulus clouds, "just breathe", yawns, sighs, sunbeams falling on farmland, rays of light catching the dust in the air, parachutes, windy rooftops, chimney smoke, the sound of a coming storm, churning dark clouds, breezes moving the grass like ocean waves, the sound of cars on the highway, birdsong, rustling leaves, flower petals blown off in the wind, fields of tossing wildflowers, soaring birds, cold wind in your face, meringue, running with your arms out and the wind at your back, smells carried in the breeze...
Spring-
the first flowers popping through snow, crunchy gray melting snow, mud and moist earth, yellow-green willow branches, gray-gold light, bright yellow forsythia, red-and-black tulips, sweet-smelling hyacinths, amaryllis, paperwhites, Easter eggs, floral-print dresses, frilly Sunday dresses, blooming wildflowers in highway medians, baby birds chirping in nests, calves in the fields, fawns in the forest, chicks and ducklings in the Ranch 'n' Home, pounding rain, thunder, tornadoes, St. Patty's day, moving the clock forward, planting the garden, spring greens on your plate, violet redbuds, fleeting bluebonnets, cold mornings, breezy warm picnics...
Sanguine-
living in the moment, confidently crossed arms, wiping the blood off your sword, laughter in the face of jokes, laughter in the face of death, optimism, never-ending stream of talk, butterflies, rollercoasters, screams of joy, high-energy, quick wits, blood spatter on the wall, hot-blooded rage, "mood", flirting, red dress, traffic lights, dripping knife, washing the red off your hands, lipstick, parties, sly smirk, lively music, wine, strobing lights, flashy jewelry, sass, flipping your hair, shouting matches, boisterous opinions, enthusiastic sharing, blood on the asphalt, sports cars, shoulders-back posture, wink, red hair, crimson cape, syringe of blood, circus tents...
Morning-
warm bedsheets, yawning, beeping alarm clocks, smell of frying bacon, fresh-squeezed orange juice, diners, black coffee, cream, egg yolks, glaring sun through the window, sleeping in, jogging, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, sitting on the porch, watching the sunrise, dewy grass, rooster crowing, feeding the animals, purple horizon, rising before dawn, waking from dreams, getting dressed, making your bed, checking notifs, texting your boyfriend/girlfriend, "good morning", "sleep well?", fresh fruit, sounds in the hall, running feet and muted conversation, stretching, opening your laptop, newspaper print, brushing your hair, putting on makeup, driving to work/school, the weight of your backpack...
Birth-
crying, milk, wispy hair, blue eyes, sleepless nights, hospital gowns, wide eyes, nonsense sounds, red skin, newborn photos, mashed sweet potato and avocado, washing bottles, sweet sleep, lullabies, "Mama", "Dada", rolls of fat, flannel blankets, baby showers, pregnant tummy, butterfly kisses, fox kisses, forehead kisses, tummy kisses, ultrasound, "it's a boy/girl!", fat little face, squeals of delight, cradles, favorite stuffed animal, rocking chair, burping, changing diapers, baby powder, first birthday cake smash, holding the baby, first words, first steps, rolling across the floor, crawling, screaming, tiny socks and shoes...
Did I forget your favorite part of one of these aesthetics? Comment your air/spring/blood/morning/birth imagery below!
Additional Writing Challenge: Pick an element from each category and write a poem on the following topic: Hope.
Fiction
1. Dialogue Prompt: "If you found Father Time and got him drunk, you'd literally be wasting time."
2. Time-Traveller x Immortal
3. The main character of your WIP suddenly appears in your bedroom while you're writing his/her story.
3B. It's the villain, not the main character.
4. Dialogue Prompt: "Take that thought and shove it off Mount Everest."
Nonfiction
1. How could man invent the concept of "perfection" when nothing is in reality perfect?
2. Compare and contrast the Romantic period with the Old West.
3. What is the difference between guilt and shame?
4. Is "Ordered Chaos" possible? If not, why? If so, what would it look like?
Poetry
1. Write a poem inspired by the following bit of conversation: "How can you let your light shine?" "Fire."
2. Write a poem with the phrase "subtracting from the Universe."
3. "The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life." -Lord Byron, Manfred
4. Design a room and describe it using a poem.
Okay, that's the most boring title ever and sounds like a heading from a guide on research papers, but hear me out, because I'm about to quote some really good song lyrics.
As writers, we have to develop our own perspectives and our own unique voice in order to make our writing interesting to others: We have to give readers something they can't get for themselves. The contradiction of terms, though, is that we can't cultivate our own perspectives and voices for ourselves. We can't grow in isolation or become cultured in a sterile lab. Plants grow in the remains of other life. Voices are meant to be heard, and perspectives are only windows through which we see the world around us.
So how do writers develop this rich compost from which our voices and perspectives spring? By gathering information from multiple sources. Many writers keep a "commonplace book," a small notebook they carry around with them, where they record quirky observations, story ideas, fun facts, and striking quotes. I just got home from a church youth weekend today, and several pages of my commonplace book are filled with odd things the senior girls said and did, and the guest pastor's funny jokes and convicting ideas.
As you can see, writers collect inspiration--not only for stories, but for thought--from multiple sources. This is important for young writers, especially: We need to find our voice for our writing, but we also need to develop our own worldview in accordance with the truth. Sooner rather than later, we will be left do deal with reality on our own or with a group of equally inexperienced peers, and eventually our parents' axioms, which guided us faithfully through childhood, will fail.
This isn't to say the advice of others is bad or that our elders' worldview is wrong. But just as Christians must find our personal callings and develop our own relationships with God, writers must learn to view the world in our own unique way, or else we won't be able to write anything our parents couldn't have written.
How do we do this? By looking at information from multiple sources. One of my favorite political commentators said that if you want to separate fact from opinion, listen to podcasts from opposite sides of the aisle, and the information they both have in common is true. Developing our perspectives and personal philosophies works on a similar principle: We compare rich, striking ideas from books, music, historical figures, and our close advisors (among a plethora of other sources--I've only listed a few) and find what rings true for us. (And as Christians, testing all discoveries against the standard of Biblical truth.) A commonplace book is a good place to keep track of these similarities, differences, and sudden fusions of thought--don't you love it when a new idea gets your neurons firing and suddenly you're down a rabbit trail of philosophy?
Let's look at an example. Answer the following question on paper. Just jot down a few sentences or paragraphs about what you think it is, based on all of the influences in your life. Maybe reference a few of them, but don't look anything up right now. If you want to remember an exact detail, you can track it down alter for your own edification. Ready? Here we go:
What is love?
[This space intentionally left blank while you write. Seriously. Why are you reading this. Go track down some paper and a pen.]
When I think of love, my first thought is to narrow down the definition. The Greeks had around nine words for different kinds of love, including eros (romantic love), phileo (brotherly love), and agape (self-sacrificing love). When I think of true love, I usually think of agape, which is God's love for His people, and which is the kind of love referenced in 1 Corinthians 13, in the famous verses that begin, "Love is patient, love is kind." (Love is sometimes translated here as "charity," which is interesting to note.)
I also think about the different "love languages," of which there are five or seven, depending on who you ask. Even within the realm of romantic affection, there are different ways of giving and receiving love, which is an interesting parallel with the multiple Greek words.
But I also think of song lyrics. Not mushy romantic song lyrics (though I love those, too), but a couple specific lines from the chorus of "After the Storm," by Mumford and Sons.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
This idea really appeals to me. When we're in love romantically, or in a loving relationship with friends or family or God, we shouldn't be afraid that they're going to disappoint us, betray us, or break our hearts, because if the love is real, they won't. True love shouldn't have us on our toes, terrified of messing up and being rejected. When we feel loved, we feel safe and we're not afraid.
And the last thing about love is something inspired by my pastor's sermon this morning, a line I'd love to use as dialogue in a story someday:
"Love is not a feeling. Love is an action. I will love you even when I don't feel like it, or else love is meaningless. Because you need love most when you behave in unlovable ways."
And that resonates with me because I think the idea (so deeply ingrained in our culture!) of love being an emotion is stupid and dangerous. Emotions change. True love remains the same. False love--mere attraction or infatuation--disappears when the object of our "love" is no longer attractive or fascinating. True love is a constant effort. True love wants the best for the object of its affection. True love "works out" because true lovers work.
Okay, that was a nice, long, heavily opinionated example of how we can draw ideas from different sources (in this case: the Bible, the field of psychology, the structure of a particular language, a sermon, and a pop song) to craft our own perspectives. Voice can be cultivated using the same methods: Read widely, listen widely, and you can't help but sound like the sources you've drawn from, and yet build on all of what you've collected. (And this building-up of new ideas on the old is what gives us our uniqueness, or else we're nothing but copycats and plagiarists.)
Ask yourself the hard questions. What is love? What is life? What is purpose? What is value? How are these vital elements found? Why does any of it matter at all? And what you discover will inevitably shine through in your writing.
Dialogue Prompt: "Pretty sure that's written in blood."
I love dialogue prompts because they're so open-ended. You could go in some pretty interesting directions with the line above--but only because people really say weird crap like that. You should see my commonplace book. When quotes are taken out of context, they can say whatever you want them to. Just for fun, let's take a peek into the past month and a half of Weird Things Members of My Community Have Said:
"I don't need you defending barbed wire right now."
"I'm gonna put 400 pounds on here and Philippians 4:13 that thing right up!"
"It's like trying to make a milkshake with a toaster."
"How does this remind you of a child?" "It's all the ways things can go wrong."
"Stallin' is the opposite of rushin', but Stalin was the leader of the Russians." "I wish I had darts right now so I could throw them at your face."
"I am not going to argue with you about my dead gerbil's sexuality."
...etc.
The only problem with dialogue prompts is that they have so much potential that you're not sure where to begin. So here are four things to consider when responding to a dialogue prompt:
1. The Tone. How is the line said? Is the speaker scared? Are they laughing? Do they mean what they're saying, or is it a joke? Imagine their facial expression and body language.
2. The Speaker. Who is saying the line in question? Who are they talking to? Think about the characters in the scene. What do they look like? How do they know each other?
3. The Circumstances. Most dialogue prompts put you in the middle of a conversation. How could that conversation have possibly started? Where are the characters, and what are they doing? Is there anyone else around? What is happening in the background?
4. The Reality. Dialogue can be misleading. Look at the prompt at the top of the post. What does "written in blood" mean? Is the speaker referring to words that look like they are written in blood? Are they using "written in blood" to mean something metaphorical, similar to "carved in stone"? If there is writing involved, is it actually blood, or something else? What is the speaker's motive for saying this? What is the motive behind their tone of voice? When characters lie or stories mislead, the results can be entertaining.
Have fun!
What is the worst thing about cliches? Is it the way they take up space while diminishing meaning? Their rhythmic patter as several cliches rain down on the reader in quick succession? The lazy writing they promote?
No. The most annoying tendency of cliches is that sometimes a cliche is the most accurate description--but no one will know it.
What if something actually is the exact icy gray-white color of freshly fallen snow? But "white as snow" is a cliche, so you shouldn't use it. And even if you break the rule and stick it in there, "white as snow" has been overused so much that the reader won't see snow in their mind, they'll just hear the word "white" and miss the beautiful nuances.
So how do you say, "white as snow" without saying "white as snow"?
Method One is to put a twist on it. This could be achieved by adding descriptors: "White as freshly fallen snow" might be slightly better than the plain ol' cliche.
Or you could make the descriptors oddly specific: "White as the light dusting of snow on the doe's back as she leaps over the barbed-wire fence." This takes up a lot of space and could add a comedic tone to the work, however.
Or you could get creative: Keep the snow analogy but take out the comparison word--basically what I did above: "the exact icy gray-white color of freshly fallen snow."
Method Two: Whenever I'm tempted to fall back on a cliche, I stop myself and open another document. There has to be another way to say, "black as midnight" or "pitch-black," and I am officially on a quest to find it.
First, I write down the cliche: "White as snow." Then I start thinking of alternatives. Get crazy. Maybe you won't find an alternative on your first try, but it's worth a shot. I usually save the little lists I make. Here's the progression for "white as snow":
White as snow, white as a marshmallow, white as a sheet of paper, white as birch bark, white as fog, white as a lily.
Did I end up using any of these? I honestly can't remember. "White as a sheet of paper" has prob'ly cropped up in my writing a couple of times. "White as birch bark" sounds pretty, but I don't think I've used it yet. (If you have a purpose for it, feel free to take it.)
Don't get bogged down by cliches. Freshen them up with new words.
Hello Fellow Writers! Guess what? NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow! What's that weird string of letters, you may ask? Well, it's short for National Novel Writing Month, and it's the ultimate writer challenge--write 50,000 words in one month. I'm trying it out this year, despite this being one of the most hectic Novembers in memory for me, what with university finals, Thanksgiving, and the release of one of my short stories in an anthology. However, sane writing decisions and reasonable goals have never been my strong suit, so I'm giving it a shot, and I hope you do, too!
Here's the idea: 30 days. Roughly 1667 words per day. Given that the average chapter of a novel is somewhere between 3000 and 5000 words, that's less than a chapter every day. You can sign up for the official challenge on the NaNoWriMo website, or you can set your own crazy goal for the month. Don't think you can hit 50,00 words? Try for something more modest. Feeling ambitious? Go higher. Finish your whole novel. (50,000 words is technically only a novella--but still quite the achievement.)
To kick things off, here are a few posts about writing productively and well:
Happy Summer Break! You're done with school (or will be soon), you've moved the sundresses to the front of your closet, and there's a bottle of soda in the fridge with your name on it. But don't slack off yet, people. It's summer! It's time to write!
What are your summer writing goals this year? My first goal to learn how to write a good short story, namely by reading every short story I can find, and by practicing. My second goal is to finish the big important edits on the finished first draft of Shadows, preferably by the end of the month, so I can show it my mom... er, my beta readers.
Don't know what your goals should be? Well, ask yourself: is there some part of the craft of writing you'd like to get better at? Is there a story you'd like to finish? A poem you'd like to improve? You have three months to accomplish anything. Dream big--it's a cliche, but it's a good one.
With the New Year only days away, let's consider our writing- and reading-related New Year's Resolutions. Remember, the more ambitious, the harder they'll be to achieve, but the better you'll be for it (and the guiltier you'll feel if you fail). Mine lean ambitious this year:
What are your resolutions? How will you push yourself this year?
Small children are the funniest people on earth. Trust me; I've lived with one over the Thanksgiving holiday. I also volunteer in the Sunday school at our church, where I get to spend large amounts of time with children ages 6 through 10. Whenever I'm around these joyous, destructive little creatures, I keep my notebook handy (which intrigues some of them). I write down quotes. Small children are beautiful role models for two reasons: first, they are absolutely confident in everything. Second, they often speak unusual truths.
Here are a few examples.
When I was little, I had a storybook picture of Heaven in my head: it was a sunny place up in the clouds where everything's made of gold and we all float around with halos and wings on our own private clouds, playing the harp and singing. (My current picture of Heaven has a lot more trees.)
My mental picture of Hell hasn't changed much since I was little. I thought it was a big pit of lava full of screaming sinners, with a bunch of red cartoon devils prodding people with pitchforks. In my current image, the devils are a lot less cartoony.
Writing prompt: what did you think Heaven and Hell were like when you were little? (Little kids have the funniest conceptions of things like Heaven, Hell, the inside of the human body, and banks. If your image of the afterlife isn't very interesting, pick something else.)
I am young. My earliest memories of air travel all involve the TSA in some capacity. If I caught any of the news in my childhood, it centered around the Middle East and terrorism. I was born a few years after 9/11. The only way I know about it is by the stories people tell me--mainly my parents and my mom's parents.
Storytelling is important because it is how we remember our history and save the darkest or greatest moments of our culture. When are the times we banded together, forgetting all our differences? When are the times disaster struck and everyone did whatever they could to help? Who are the heroes, who sacrificed life and limb, very literally, to save people they didn't even know?
Writing prompt: if you were born after 9/11, or are too young to remember it, go to your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and ask them where they were when they heard. Write the stories down. We cannot forget times such as those--times when in our darkest hour, there was a little light.
People do not say everything they think. This is a good thing, although sometimes frustrating, because people also like honesty.
Writing prompt: write a scene with dialogue, focusing on one character in particular - first person or third person closed would work well for this. It helps if said character is not overly honest, as some characters are bound to be. Show your character's thoughts as well as his words. The difference might be so severe as to be humorous - or so severe as to make your reader scream at the character to say what he's thinking. Either way, you've succeeded.
Some dread it, some love it. I fall into the latter category. I love editing because it gives me the freedom to write total crap in the first place, and then spruce it up over and over and over until it's as close to perfect as I can get it.
I also know people who are the opposite. They hate editing. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because editing brings to mind correcting spelling and grammar. That' not the kind of editing I'm talking about. In fact, that's not editing at all. That's proof-reading, which the computer can do for you in many cases.
Real editing is rewriting. In some cases, that's literal: I copy what I've written onto yet more paper, changing small stuff (sentence structure, diction, punctuation, etc.) and occasionally big stuff (adding a scene, breaking one chapter into two, etc.) You could also transfer your writing straight from the page to the processor, and edit on there without the copy-work - but sometimes it's easier to spot places for improvement when you have to rewrite every word over again.
Do you edit? How do you edit? Everyone edits, really. Even in the first act of writing, we scribble out words or insert new ones. No one can resist the urge to improve their writing.
Your assignment: take something you've written recently and try to rewrite it by hand. Does it change the outcome of your editing?
Sort-of Writing Prompt: Create a language. If you write fantasy stories, you may have already have several languages in progress. Good. If you've never made up a language before (which is doubtful, if you've ever been a child), then here are a few ideas:
Write your own death, two ways: how you want it to be, and how you think it'll actually happen. You can write in the form of an obituary, a dramatic deathbed scene, a funny story told to tourists by the hillbilly gas station attendant. Be creative.