writing prompts – Page 6

There are more how-to-write books than we have time to read. IF we tried, we would spend all our time reading about writing and not writing. But there are a few especially good how-to write books. Here are some of my favorites. What are your favorite writing books?

Dorothea Brande was an early proponent of freewriting. In her book Becoming a Writer (1934), she advises writers to sit and write for 30 minutes every morning, as fast as they can.

Peter Elbow advanced freewriting in his books Writing with Power and Writing Without Teachers (1975), and freewriting has been popularized by Julia Cameron through her books The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write.

A few more writing books:

Aronie, Nancy Slonim – Writing From the Heart

Baldwin, Christina – Storycatcher

Barrington, Judith – Writing the Memoir, From Truth to Art

Baty, Chris – No Plot? No Problem!

Bennet, Hal Zina – Write From The Heart

Clegg, Eileen M. – Claiming Your Creative Self

DeSalvo, Louise – Writing As A Way of Healing

Epel, Naomi – Writers Dreaming

George, Elizabeth – Write Away

Goldberg, Natalie: Living Color, Long Quiet Highway, Wild Mind, Writing Down the Bones, The Great Failure

Heffron, Jack – The Writer’s Idea Book

Kabat-Zinn, Jon – Wherever You Go, There You Are

Keene, Sam and Anne Valley-Fox – Your Mythic Journey

Kelton, Nancy Davidoff – Writing From Personal Experience

King, Stephen – On Writing

Lauber, Lynn – Listen to Me

Lamott, Anne – Bird by Bird

Lara, Adair – Naked, Drunk and Writing

Nelson, Sara – So Many Books, So Little Time

Rosenfeld, Jordan – Make a Scene

Saltzman, Joel – If You Can Talk, You Can Write

Schneider, Pat – Writing Alone And With Others

Smith, Michael C. and Suzanne Greenberg – Everyday Creative Writing

Ueland, Brenda – If You Want to Write

Walker, Christine – A Painter’s Garden

Walton, Todd & Toomay, Mindy – The Writer’s Path

Zimmerman, Susan – Writing to Heal The Soul

Just a few of my books on writing. Yes, I have two copies of Jordan’s Make A Scene: One for my personal use and one for lending.
Today’s prompt. . . look at the photo and write whatever comes up for you.

Jiffy Pop!
Yard sale, garage sale, tag sale. . . whatever you call ’em, what do you think about ’em?

Or . . . write about an unusual find at a yard sale, garage sale, tag sale . . . whatever you call ’em.
I think we all have an intuitive sense, but we get side-tracked by what others think or we get distracted by all the “noise” both inside our heads and outside. It’s hard to get quiet and listen to what we think. But when we do, we experience the joy of discovering what’s going on for ourselves.

A passage in Reading Water, Lessons From The River, by Rebecca Lawton, describes a situation when Becca was a white water rafting guide and had one person, a friend, in her raft. They capsized, lost the boat and nearly drowned. Becca managed to save the life of her friend.

After it was all over, Becca asked her friend: “Do you regret running it?”

Becca’s friend answered, “It might have been the right choice for you,” she said, “But from now on, I’m making my own decisions.”

Here’s an idea for getting in touch with your intuition and writing deeply.

You can use suggestions for relaxation from the June 24, 2014 Just Write Post, “Listen to your body as a way to creativity.”

Settle comfortably in your chair. Breathe in deeply through your nose. Exhale loudly. Take a few deep breaths and let go. Release your worries. Let go of your fears. Just let go.

Follow your inner sense, your intuition, your gut level feeling … pay attention, use what you’ve got. Don’t fight it. Relax into your own judgment and decision making.

Choose a writing prompt and Just Write.

Old bridge meets new. Photo by Jim C. March.
My grandmother put her apron on every morning right after she put on her house dress. She wore an apron every day, even to parties. She made all her clothes, including her aprons. She always chose a small flower design and used colorful seam binding for trim around the edges.

I also wear aprons, but only when cooking and eating. . . saves many an outfit from food stains.

Today’s prompt is: Aprons

Thank you, Kathy Myers, for the inspiration to hang my aprons in the kitchen.

Thank you, Pam Swanson, for emailing so many years ago, “The History of Aprons.”

THE HISTORY OF APRONS

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath. Because she only had a few dresses, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children’s tears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids.

And when the weather was cold, Grandma wrapped her apron around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.

From the garden, the apron carried all sorts of vegetables.

After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to eat.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that ‘old-time apron’ that served so many purposes, especially what many children and grandchildren received from the simple apron. . . Love!

Adapted from: The History of Aprons, which may have been originally from Grandma’s Apron.

Writing Prompt: Aprons
What is the one intangible thing you treasure above all else?

Intangible, meaning: you can’t touch it, feel it, smell it, hold it, see it . . . it may be a character trait, a personality trait, a quirk. . . a feeling. . . .

Prompt: Write about something intangible that you treasure.

Photo by Jane Person
Set your timer for 12-15 minutes and write.

No judging. Shoo your inner critic away. Just write.

Today’s Prompt: Right now . . .

Photo taken in Ireland by Jim C. March
Today’s writing prompt. . . balance.
Write about . . . Summer.
What is your pet peeve? You know, those little, or big, things that drive you up the wall. What makes your hair stand on end? What ruffles your feathers?

Prompt: Write about what doesn’t tickle your fancy!

Photo by Breana Marie