Thursday, September 2, 2004
Start A Story (or two!) Today
Make your main character/protagonist a female. The event or situation in your story is getting fired. An archetype present in your story is The Golden Child. A key object or symbol in your story is a spider's web. Set your story in an art gallery. Make your story about sadness. Or Make your main...
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Thursday, August 12, 2004
Dreams ....
Write about a recent dream, using the viewpoint of the objective author. Without any comment or interpretation whatsoever, report the events (the more bizarre, the better) as they occur.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2004
The Seven Deadly Sins As Theme
Explore the Seven Deadly Sins in seven brief sketches. You may want to freewrite or cluster first. For a personal essay, write about times in which you committed each of the sins. For fiction, write scenes or create situations in which each of the sins is involved. One rule: don't mention the sin....
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Tuesday, August 3, 2004
I long to long as long as I can .......
Write about "longing" by comparing it to a place. What place seems to embody longing or to evoke it? What does longing look like? Now that you have a setting, write about the physical sensations of longing. What does it literally feel like? Give these sensations to a character, adding movement to...
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Monday, August 2, 2004
Is It An Ending Or Just The Beginning? ...
Write an ending for an unwritten piece. In other words, write the ending first. A number of writers do this on a regular basis, using the ending as a destination to guide the writing of the piece. Katherine Anne Porter, for example, used this approach: "If I didn't know the ending of the story, I...
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Monday, July 26, 2004
Minding Other People's Business
Go to a public place and eavesdrop. That's right: Invade people's privacy. Of course, don't get caught. But if you feel comfortable with this, try to overhear some conversations. Write down what you hear. Try to record it exactly as it's said. Restaurants are a great place to do this. You can be...
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Sunday, July 25, 2004
Secrets and Lies - "Oh, what a tangled web we weave!"
Write a scene in which a character lies to another character. Then write a second scene in which another lie must be told to cover up for the first one. Continue in this way, weaving a tangled web for your character.
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Saturday, July 17, 2004
Sex Sells! ...
Mine the rich ore of your sexual fantasies. Write about your favorites, the ones you depend on when you're dead tired and your partner is desperately in the mood.
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Impetuous Handkerchief, Dubious Flame, Ambitious Raindrop ...
Here's a fun little exercise to do when you're stumped on poetry. Make a list of adjectives that you like, really deep, exciting, or moving words. Then make a separate list of nouns, random objects, it doesn't matter. Now, pair up one adjective and one noun, use it as a title and start a poem from...
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Wednesday, July 14, 2004
The Love We Make
Describe the nature and feeling of love to someone who has never had the experience - a young person, perhaps, or someone who simply has never been smitten. What insights and advice can you offer?
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