“How’s the weather?”
It’s a question often asked. And sometimes we really want to know the answer.
Right now, Summer 2014, Northern California where I live, is experiencing a drought. Lawns are brown, cars are covered with layers of dust and dirt, flowers and plants are drooping. But I’m not complaining. We have plenty of water to drink and the public pool is a great place to cool off.
How’s the weather? We want to know!Photo by Breana Marie
Write about things you no longer do.
It’s difficult to shake off judging ourselves and our writing. Our inner critic is a hard one to let go — it’s been with us for so long.
What I especially like about freewrites is that since they are very rough first drafts, they can be just awful and no one should care because, after all, they are just first drafts.
The beauty of freewrites is getting Self out of the way and going with the flow. Let your writing flow with no judging. When you are in the zone and writing. . . time flies. There is no space for the inner critic to hang out. It’s just you and your creative mind playing with words.
Let go of your worries about your writing.
Prompt #30
The 2009 movie, Invictus, featuring Matt Damon, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman is about how Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
As you probably know, Mandela spent 27 years in prison. After he was released and elected as South Africa’s first black president, he preached reconciliation. When he decided to support the country’s rugby team — long a symbol of white oppression — his countrymen were stunned. “Forgiveness liberates the soul,” Mandela explains to a crowd. “That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” — Parade Magazine, December 2009
Forgiveness. Write about the concept of forgiveness, or write about someone you could forgive, or someone who might forgive you.
Prompt #13
My Baby Blog is one month old today. Time to celebrate! I’m doing the Happy Dance!
Write about a birthday you loved or one you hated.
Prompt #12
“Setting says something about character, says Rhodes,” in “Location Location” by Elfrieda Abbe, October 2013 issue of The Writer magazine. David Rhodes, author of Driftless and Jewelweed, goes on to say, “A person walking along an empty beach is thinking deeply. . . If a couple sits at a high place overlooking an open valley, they are in love and the future of that love extends before them. A character running through the forest is happy; one lying down is sick or sad. These associations are not hard-fixed symbols, but rather associative colorings that come to life in that split second between emergent images and first thoughts. In stories, such descriptive asides can be used to add depth to the passions and to suggest both strong and ambiguous states of mind.”
Put yourself, or your fictional character, in a emotional frame of mind. Write, using physical location and action to describe character’s emotional state. Don’t tell us what his or her emotion is. Write a descriptive scene. Commentators: What emotion do you think writer wants to convey?
Prompt #11
Picture a house you grew up in. If you grew up in more than one house, just choose one. It doesn’t matter which one. Stand back from the house, across the street, or across a yard, and look at your house. Notice the size, shape and color of your house.
Walk a little closer. What do you see? Take a look around. Perhaps you notice some trees, or plants, a yard or a fence. Perhaps a sidewalk.
Look at the side of the house that you usually first walked into. Maybe a front door, or a side door, or a back door. Walk towards that door.
Open the door and step inside.
Take a look around. Even though it may have been awhile, this room is so familiar. Walk towards your favorite room in the house. If you don’t have a favorite room in this house, go to your favorite spot. Maybe it’s under a tree, or away from your house. Maybe it’s a friend’s house or a relative’s house. Go to your favorite place from your childhood.
Write about your favorite place from your childhood
Prompt #9
Take any situation from real life, reel life, or from fiction and change the story. Start out with “What if . . . ” and go from there. What if you hadn’t taken that job, moved to that city? What if you had gone a different route? What if Dorothy didn’t follow the yellow brick road? What if the top of the Empire State Building was closed that evening? Change your story to what could have happened. Change the ending to a well-known movie or book or poem. Use your imagination. Go wild. Be quirky. Write freely.
What if . . .