Freewriting and Writing Prompts
1970-01-01 00:59:59
When I was asked to help teach my son’s fifth grade creative writing class, I was surprised the teacher had not heard of freewriting. As I explained the concept, she gave me a quizzical look. I can understand her skepticism, because as a teacher, she has to teach her students the rules of grammar and spelling, and freewriting throws those concepts out the window. Though resistant, she agreed to try it.I remember reading of Natalie Goldberg’s (Writing Down the Bones) experience when she told her students to describe their favorite meal. She told her students not to write, “It’s good” or “tastes yummy.” She urged them to use concrete words and specific sensory details. Goldberg said the writing was energetic. I borrowed her idea, and my experience was the same. Many students grinned as they wrote as fast as they could. Some tilted their heads back as if smelling their favorite meal. The experience was as inspiring to me as it was to them. Many clamored to read their pieces
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Introduction
1970-01-01 00:59:59
How many times have you said, "I don't know what to write about," or, "I would write if I knew what to write about"? Maybe you just need a noodge to get you started. I'm going to help you with that. I'm not going to teach you how to write. I'm not going to drum into your head writing rules or lessons on grammar or writing techniques. The exercises I'll be presenting will help uncover the great writing ideas you already have. Everyone has unlimited writing possibilities. They're just waiting to be uncovered. You don't have to live an exotic life or be a celebrity to find interesting things to write about. Everyone has an interesting story to share. Listen for stories. Most of all, listen to the stories from within. Why exercise?Writing exercises are important to the process of writing--to improve, to challenge, to experiment. A ballet dancer doesn't start pirouetting cold. She spends the first part of her session doing barre exercises, warming her muscles before starting to danc
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Clustering
1970-01-01 00:59:59
Clustering (also called bubbling, mapping, and webbing) is a non-linear method of finding writing ideas. It’s a form of free association, where one word, idea, or image leads to another. Clustering works with the same basic principles as freewriting. There is no stopping to edit spelling or grammar. At first the process might seem random, but as your associations deepen, so does the writing. Gabriele Rico (Writing the Natural Way) wrote that many natural forms such as grapes, lilacs, spider eggs, and cherries come in clusters. When we give our thoughts and images “free rein” they “seem to come in clusters of associations.”Begin with a blank page. In the center of the page write a word, image, or phrase and circle it. This is the seed or nucleus from which you will start. Write whatever word or phrase that pops into your head. Put each new connection in its own circle. Connect each circle with a line to the circle preceding it. Move outward as one connection leads to another.
This Week's Writing Prompts
2007-03-02 21:03:00
Freewrite, cluster, or use whatever method works for you, and use each one in a separate writing session. Set your timer for 15 minutes...* Fat* The smell of snow* Angels* Write about something you stole (or was stolen from you).* Write about guilty pleasures.* Beads* Write about things that are too loud.As always...have fun!
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Another Prompt: Embarrassing Moments
2007-03-06 18:32:00
Yesterday I visited Vicki M Taylor's blog, and she wrote about her most embarrassing moment. It was something she had never written about until now. She relayed so beautifully the agony and embarrassment she experienced. It was truly deep writing, writing from the gut. Ironically, whenever I hear "what's your most embarrassing moment," my moment is similar to hers.So...I had to post the prompt here.Here it is:Freewrite about your most embarrassing moment. No stopping to edit spelling or grammar. Do not censor yourself. Keep your pen moving until you are finished. Set your timer for 10 or 15 minutes...ready...set...go!
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, Embarrassing
, Moments
Making Lists
2007-03-07 18:18:00
In the last chapter I discussed how most of us think linearly, how we tend to make lists. To-do lists. Grocery lists. Homework. For a moment I’m going to contradict the nonlinear processes of freewriting and clustering and focus on making lists. This is another approach to writing exercises. Use whatever technique works for you.Just before our high school graduation, one of my friends made a list of things she wanted to accomplish in her lifetime. She included things like “go to Paris,” “ride a hot air balloon,” and “fall in love.” I’ve lost touch with her, so I don’t know how many of these she has accomplished so far—if any. Maybe you’ve written a similar list. If you know where it is, dust if off. If not, that’s all right. You’re going to write a new one.For this writing exercise, start out with a list. Then freewrite or cluster or (use whatever method is most comfortable for you) about each item on the list. It might be easier to make a list for one topic b
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Off-topic
2007-03-13 19:32:00
Thanks for stopping by. Today's post isn't about writing. I heard about this site from another blogger, so I thought I'd check it out. It's sort of an experiment. I usually don't do stuff like this, but I'm asking you to check out this site. It's called TreasureTrooper.com. They pay you to fill out simple offers, take surveys, signup to receive trial products, etc. It's provided some nice extra spending cash for me, but it is also a lot of fun... it's pretty unique how they have it set up. There's a lot of interaction with the admin & other members and there's also little games & treasure hunts that you can do to earn more money. They also pay you 20% of whatever your referrals make and 5% of what your 2nd-level referrals make. Yup, that's why I'm telling you guys! Honestly, though... it's a cool site. Check it out. www.treasuretrooper.com/240943Please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested. If you join, please let me know how you do. Many thank
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Dunging Out and Redding Up
2007-03-14 16:28:00
Recently a writing friend and I had a discussion about organizing our writing spaces. She described the things she found while “dunging out” her desk area. What would she do with the Christmas cards and other mementos she found? She had to find a home for these things before she could redd up.Being a Pennsylvania Dutch gal, I knew what redd up meant. We redd up the house before company came, redd up our rooms before our mothers performed their inspections. I had never heard of “dunging out.” My friend explained that “dunging out” was akin to cleaning out a cattle barn. It was the bulldozer phase of cleaning, getting rid of the things you had accumulated over the years. Redding
up was the feather duster phase, the fluffing pillows and straightening bookshelves.Most of us have a junk drawer or a closet where we deposit things. They’ve become the catch-all of things we don’t know what to do with at the moment, but we want them out of sight. Or maybe we have the best of int
Snow Days
2007-03-16 18:02:00
Here in Central Pennsylvania it's been snowing all morning with the heaviest of snow yet to come. We're supposed to end up with about a foot of snow. All the schools in the area have dismissed early. AAAARRRRGH! The kids are home, and they're wound up. Snow seems to have that effect on kids...at least mine, anyway. Here it's noisy and chaotic, and I can't get any work done. I love snow. It brings out the little kid in me. I love taking long walks as the snow falls. I don't mind shoveling. I'll fall on the ground and make snow angels. Build snowmen. Toss snowballs with the dog. How do you feel about snow? Has it changed since you were a kid? What emotions, thoughts, do you have when you see falling snow? What happened the first time you saw snow? What are your memories of Snow Days? Have any of you never seen snow? Freewrite using the prompt "Snow Days" (or any variation of). Set your timer for fifteen minutes and go! Feel free to post your freewrites and/or share your memories.A
What If? Why? How? What is it?
2007-03-21 16:14:00
Like so much of his other works, Ray Bradbury’s The Illustrated Man evolved from asking, “What if?” For instance he wrote: “What if you landed on a far world the day after Christ had just left to go elsewhere? Or what if He were still there, waiting?” That’s how the story, “The Man” came about.Another: “What if a man could order a marionette robot that was his exact clone? What would happen if he left it with his wife while he went out nights?” From that Bradbury wrote “Marionnetes, Inc.”Leonardo da Vinci kept notebooks not only of sketches of inventions, but also lists of things he wanted to explore. Human anatomy. How certain things worked. Structures of things. And so on.In the film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey is shown what the world would be like if he hadn’t been born. The moral of the story was that one person touches so many other lives. We don’t have the privilege of seeing what the world would be like if we weren’t born. But if yo
Writing Through Pain
2007-03-26 19:42:00
Last week in my writing group, we discussed writing through pain. Since my dad's recent Alzheimer's diagnosis, it was appropos. Each day means facing a some type of loss, sometimes regrets. So far his symptoms are moderate. My 78-year-old dad still goes rollerskating and ice skating, and he still hikes. He is never without a camera. A few days ago when he came to visit, I let him take pictures of me. I didn't worry about not wearing makeup, my hair not being perfect, looking too fat. Someday, he won't remember who I am, who his daughters are, our children. He has always been a great storyteller. I'm trying to remember everything. I'm writing it. I'm blessed to have a terrific writing friend who asks questions, who noodges me to dig deeper. It's painful sometimes, and I want to rush over the details. She's there to prod me, and she's there helping me to face the pain, the losses. I hope that you are able to find someone you can trust to share your writing, to help you write th
Murdering Your Internal Censor
2007-03-28 16:22:00
In high school I took a creative writing class. I thought it would be an easy class, because I'd been writing for as long as I can remember, and I had always earned high marks for writing...until then. I wrote story after story, but no matter what, my compositions came back scrawled with red marks. No matter how much time I spent pouring out my ideas, getting inside my characters’ heads, I was never given a grade high than a C-minus. This was a giant blow to me. Devastating. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I didn’t have the courage to ask my teacher. She was frightening.I began to doubt my ability as a writer. I did try to drop the class, but it was too late in the year. So...I dug deeper with every writing assignment. I wrote about the truths in my life—divorce and death. My grades sunk lower. Meanwhile, the girl next to me was writing about puppies and intact families eating apple pie at picnics. The only red mark on her compositions was a symmetrical A at the
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, Internal
, Censor
Alternate Identities
2007-04-07 03:36:00
In writing workshops I’ve often heard people say if they knew their family and friends never read their writing, it would be easier to write. Part of it comes from the fear of disappointment. Another reason is the fear of inadvertently hurting someone. Or they want to write things they normally wouldn’t write. Experiment with different genres. Or separate their “real life” identities from their writing identities. French author Romain Gary had written over thirty books and had won numerous literary prizes when he began writing under the pseudonym Emile Ajar. As Emile Ajar he published four best selling novels. In his posthumously published memoir, he stated that the motive for using a pseudonym was he wanted “to be someone else.” Journalist Samuel Clemens wrote fiction as Mark Twain. The Bronte sisters originally published their novels under male pseudonyms. Dean Koontz published five gothic novels as Deanna Dwyer. Literary author Joyce Carol Oates writes mysteries as Rosam
What's In Your Name?
2007-04-14 04:08:00
Growing up, I always hated my name. I hated the sound of it, especially when my deaf mother called me. Her toneless uttering made my name sound like "retard." Classmates mispronounced it—sometimes on purpose. It was misspelled a lot: Pita, Reta, Reba. I asked my dad why he christened me with such a horrible name. He told me that he wanted to name me after one of his favorite starlets, Rita Hayworth. At the time I didn’t know who she was. I was infatuated with Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson, and I was trying to train my hair to feather like Farrah Fawcett’s. Rita Hayworth meant nothing to me. Years later, when I did find out who Rita Hayworth was, I decided I must have been a big disappointment to my dad.Through the years I tried to establish my own identity. Amongst my friends I tried out different names and nicknames—anything to get away from my horrible sounding real name. I dubbed myself with exotic sounding names. But alas, being glamorous or exotic was not in my future
The First Time...
2007-04-22 18:02:00
As we get older our memories begin to fade, and we forget specific incidents. What does seem to stick with us are memories of our “firsts.” We remember them with sensory details. For instance, I remember my first day of school, the halls smelled like chalk and chicken noodle soup. I remember clutching a chunky pencil as I made letters on green manuscript paper. Now when I smell chicken noodle soup, I think of my first day of school. Start a collection of “firsts.” Begin by listing as many “firsts” as you can think of. Don’t stop and think too hard. Do this quickly. Here’s a sample list to get you started:• first day of school• first friend• first time you tasted pizza (or ice cream, sushi, or whatever else)• first birthday party• first date• first kiss• first funeral• first time you saw blood• first teacher• first book you read• first time you were scared/embarrassed• first time you disagreed with your parents• first time you left home• firs
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Timelines
2007-04-28 17:59:00
Timelines show a summary of specific events. History books break down major events. News stations break down crimes or someone’s career using timelines. Some authors plot novels using timelines. Try creating a timeline of your life. The format isn’t important. Use whatever method works for you and give yourself room to write. You can draw a line across a blank sheet of paper or use lined paper and skip lines between dates, or use whatever other method works best for you. On one end (or the top of the paper) write your birth date. Mark off five year increments until you reach your current age. In between each five year interval, write a milestone. For instance at age five, I’d write, “began kindergarten.” At age nine, “mother left,” and so on. Record births, deaths, graduations, marriages, or whatever else you can remember. When you’re finished, you can fill in specifics like names of favorite songs, books, or movies. What did you wear back then? Did you have “big hair
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Happy Birthday
2007-05-06 02:31:00
This past week I celebrated my birthday. Thank you for being here and celebrating it with me.Birthday
celebrations have existed since ancient times, some time after the first calendars were created. The pagans believed that people were susceptible to evil spirits when one approached a change in his life. To ward off evil spirits, family members and friends brought well wishes. If someone brought a gift, it was considered especially lucky.Initially, only so-called important people such as royalty and the wealthy had birthday celebrations. Some historians believe this is how the wearing of birthday crowns originated. Eventually children were included in birthday celebrations. The first ones documented were in Germany and were called Kinderfeste. In almost every corner of the world, birthday traditions exist in one form or another. In Vietnam, they do not acknowledge the specific day they were born. Instead, everyone celebrated their birthdays on New Year’s Day (Tet). On the morning of
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, Happy Birthday
Mother's Day
2007-05-13 18:26:00
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mothers-to-be!I grew up without a biological mother. She left me and my two sisters when I was ten years old, and after that, didn’t have much contact with her. For years I hoped that she would turn into my idealized notion of what a mother should be, and she’d come home, bake cookies and shower me with love and kisses. But that was not to be. I went through the stages of grief, and I wondered what horrible things I had done to make a mother leave behind her daughter. For years I felt worthless.But I feel lucky. Though I didn’t have a mother, I was surrounded by loving, mother figures. Mrs. W, the next-door neighbor who taught me how to pray. The ladies at church who took turns taking me to the mother-daughter dinners. The lady down the street who invited me in for lemonade every Thursday afternoon. My friend Lisa’s mother who cried with me through breakups with my boyfriends and also my triumphs such as being accepted to college. Lat
The Soundtrack of Your Life
2007-05-19 23:39:00
How many times have you listened to the radio, and you heard a song that hurled you back to a particular event? Note the body sensations—belly flops, increased heart rate, feelings of euphoria or sadness. Whenever I hear “Beds are Burning” by Midnight Oil, I think of the time my sister, some friends, and I danced in a parking lot. It was late at night on a weekend; it was snowing, and we were walking around our small town. We made snow angels and tossed powdery snowballs. Then we broke into song and danced where we were, in the middle of a parking lot. No, we weren’t drunk. And we didn’t get arrested. I doubt that anyone saw us. Whenever I hear that song, I’m reminded of my almost care-free teenage years. I get the urge to dance, and I want to become that teenager in that moment.Think of the songs that connect you to events in your life. If you could create a soundtrack of your life, what songs would you include? Begin with the first song you remember hearing. Jot down the
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Announcement: CS is Back Online!
2007-05-20 19:28:00
Years ago, I had this little site, Cacoethes Scribendi Creative Writing Workshop. Well, life got in the way, and I couldn't devote any time to maintaining the site. I almost abandoned the little writing group I had, but some faithful members urged me to keep it going. It's a small group, and I like it that way.But I kept getting emails asking me where the site went. Some people actually found it useful. I was flattered and touched. I mean, the site actually mattered to some people. So...last night I dusted off the old articles and writing exercises and uploaded them to a new site. Nothing fancy. Eventually I'll be adding more exercises as I find time to write more.What is cacoethes scribendi, you ask? Loosely translated it means "the disease of writing." Check out the site: CS Writing Workshop and let me know what you think. I hope you find the exercises useful.Many, many thanks to those who encouraged me and stuck by me all these years! Mwah!
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Grammy's Pickle Dish
2007-05-26 11:52:00
My mother-in-law has a crocheted bedspread on display in one of her guest bedrooms. It has a story we enjoy telling. A few years ago she was digging through the cedar chest in that room for something she wanted to show me. I don’t think she ever found what it was she was looking for, because she was distracted by something else. In the bottom, wrapped in tissue paper, was a thread crochet project her mother had started about fifty years ago. She died from breast cancer before she was able to finish it. Along with the crochet project was the original spool of crochet thread, still in pristine condition. My mother-in-law is a super talented quilted and knitter, but she admitted crocheting was not her forte. She gave me the crochet project and thread saying I should finish it, maybe for my daughter’s bedroom.I considered myself a novice crocheter then. After much protesting, I accepted the project. Never one to turn down a challenge, I set immediately to work. I took one of the hexago
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Last Days of School
2007-06-03 11:44:00
As I write this, my kids’ last day of school is days away. While I begin to worry about how I’m going to find quiet time to write or how to keep them off the computers and Xbox, convince them to clean out the cat box and run the vacuum, I also start thinking about my own last days of school.In elementary school, the last day meant Popsicle and bubble gum parties, and eating lunch on the lawn. I’d stuff my book bag to overflowing with art projects and workbooks, papers. At home I’d spend hours reading over my old papers. I loved the workbooks, because we never seemed to finish them during the school year. I finished them over the summer. The end of the school year also meant half empty composition books that had to be filled up.High school was a bit different. I couldn’t wait for the last day to arrive, for all my finals to be finished. Summer vacation meant being carefree. Long walks, going to the library and writing until the wee hours.What do you remember about your last da
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Father's Day
2007-06-16 21:57:00
Happy Father
's day to all fathers out there. I want to wish a special Happy Father's Day to my nephew Nate and to my niece Sapphira who recently had a baby boy!Father's Day brings up a flood of various emotions. My Dad wasn't the perfect man expressed in Hallmark cards. It would be difficult for me to find a card for him today. Mostly what I remember is a strict and mostly stoic man. He was highly critical of me, and no matter I what I did, I could never please him. He said many cruel things to me, as I did to him.It wasn't always that way. I do have some good memories of riding the ferryboat each Autumn and eating ice cream along the Susquehanna River. We had camping trips that turned into adventures. We hiked along the Appalachian Trail, and he'd tell me the histories of the towns we saw below us, and he knew all the names of the trees and wildflowers.But then my mother left, and he became a different man. At 10 years old I was expected to take her place with the chores and the
Family Albums & Dreaded Yearbook Pictures
2007-06-10 12:42:00
During the last days of school, my classmates and I passed around our yearbooks and took our turns signing them. Later, locked up in my room I read the inscriptions. Each was individual in their writing style and handwriting. I remember the Sylvia Plath style narrative a friend wrote on the entire back cover. It was without clichés like “embarking on a new future.” Rather, it was dark and more of a cautionary tale about life. How did this teenager know so much about life and the real world beyond the doors of our high school? I remember how tickled I was to see written, “You’re a beautiful and talented woman,” from one of the jocks who had spent most of high school teasing me about my nerdiness. Others signed with catch phrases that were popular then.I’ve since thrown out my yearbook. Not to mention the horrible yearbook pictures of me, some of the inscriptions were too embarrassing reread. When I tossed out my yearbook, there was a lot I wanted to forget. Some of the insc
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, Yearbook
, Pictures
The Recipe Box
2007-06-24 12:10:00
Food is a powerful source for stories. It’s hard to think of a food without having some sort of memory or reaction—either positive or negative. On Emeril Live on the Food Network, reactions from audience members are both visible and audible with groans and lip licking.I have a friend who’s writing a memoir using family recipes. She collected many of these recipes from her mother. Each recipe had a family story associated with it. Her mother died many years ago from ovarian cancer, so she collected the recipes as a way to keep her mother’s memory alive. Up until recently, she kept the recipes in boxes. Now she’s compiling them on her computer and writing the memories associated with each one.Whenever I eat bean soup, I remember a family reunion I attended as a child. It was in a church grove and attended by every arm of the family who lived in Schuylkill County. We had the usual picnic fare like potato salad, hot dogs, and hamburgers. My dad carried a steaming Styrofoam bowl o
Independence Day
2007-07-01 13:24:00
Happy Independence
Day to all my American Readers!When I was a little girl, every 4th of July, my Dad took my sisters and me to Coleman's Park to watch the fireworks. We'd find a spot under the knotty magnolia trees to spread our tartan blanket. Whilw we waited for dusk to arrive, we picked up magnolia petals and put them in our hair. I remember that the petals were soft and sweet-smelling. We pushed ourselves on the rickety wooden swings, trying to see how high they would go, while at the same time, we prayed they wouldn't break. Sometimes we were allowed to have ice cream. Someone was always roasting hotdogs on the charcoal grills by the pavilion.For most of the fireworks display, I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my ears. I didn't like how the big booms made my stomach go fluttery. The magnolia smell became obliterated by the gun powder smell. The bruised magnolia petals fell out of my hair. One or two would be found on my pillow later. After the fireworks, we fought traffic
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Vacations
2007-07-21 11:28:00
Around this time every year, my dad took my sisters and me on our summer camping trip. We had a favorite state park above the coal region of Pennsylvania. One year we reached the campground only to find out there were no sites available. We were told sites would open up in the next couple days. Being too far away to drive home and return, we took the park ranger’s recommendation and went to another campground a few miles away.I was horrified (and angry with my dad for his lack of planning) when we arrived. This so-called campground was nothing more than a field off the side of the road with tents and Vanagons set up every ten feet. There was no running water. The toilet facilities were stinky outhouses at the end of the campground. We begged our dad to take us home, to forget the camping trip altogether.“It’s just for one night,” he said and unpacked our gear. “You’ll feel better after you eat something.” As we unpacked, we discovered we had forgotten the kitchen utensils
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"Minor" Characters
2007-07-28 14:12:00
Minor characters appear in books and films to add flavor to the story and setting. Though they appear only for a few minutes, usually they’re memorable. Zuzu Bailey (played by Karolyn Grimes) had only two spoken lines in It’s a Wonderful Life. Most memorable is the one at the end of the film, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings.” And who can forget Prissy (played by Butterfly McQueen) and her squeaky voice in Gone With the Wind? “Please Miss Scarlett, I know all about birthin’ babies!” Or Mammy’s frequent looks of consternation and the bright red petticoat, a gift from Rhett Butler, swooshing underneath her dress.Minor characters offer a laugh or add to the drama and add reality to a scene so the story does not exist in a vacuum.Recently I had a discussion on MyLot about the minor characters we run into daily. Sometimes we don’t give them much thought. We may not even know their names. On a typical day I’ll banter with the Indian men who run our corner
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, Characters
Family Stories
2007-08-05 15:00:00
Every time I get together with my dad, he tells the same story. I’ve heard the story a million times, and even if I say, “Dad, we’ve heard it before,” he tells the story again.Here’s the story: When I was two, we had a German shepherd named Winnie. My dad wanted to train her to pull me in a sled, so he began by harnessing the dog to a stroller. To add weight, he put his toolbox on the seat. The rattling tools startled the dog, so she would bolt in effort to escape whatever horrible thing was chasing her. Eventually she became used to the noise and developed a rhythm. When there was snow on the ground, my dad harnessed Winnie to the sled, again weighted by the tool box. Confident that the dog would pull me all right, my dad strapped me to the sled. Winnie pulled the sled smoothly away from the house. She trotted and wagged her tail and stayed alongside my father. However, on the way home, it was a different story. When Winnie saw the ranch house at the end of the str
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, Stories
Family Pets
2007-08-11 13:06:00
In addition to a dog, we always had cats when I was growing up. Most memorable was our white Persian, Frosty. He was a purebred. Both his parents were show cats but to us, he was Frosty, a member of our family. We didn’t care about his pedigree. My sister and I dressed him up in doll clothes and wheeled him around the neighborhood in a baby carriage. Ah, we loved the reaction of people when we let them take a peek inside. We ignored the strict diet prescribed by the breeder and fed him from our plates. He liked Doritos®, cheese and spaghetti. Whenever we cooked spaghetti, we always made a plate for him. He devoured it, licking his plate clean. When he finished, his beard was stained orange. It always made us laugh. Despite the violation of his dietary restrictions, he lived until he was seventeen.Now I have a dog and five cats. Each has a distinctive personality. We have a curmudgeonly cat who is growing more affectionate with age. He snores, has only three teeth, and he has a torn
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