Each day I will offer two to four writing prompts as a way to jump start your writing. You may ignore
the prompts at any time. Some of the prompts are taken from various workshops and/or books including
Wild Mind, Writing Down the Bones, Writing Alone and with Others and past writing retreats with
Patricia Lee Lewis.
Here are some examples of prompts I may use:
- Describe a place you call home but do not mention home.
- Start with “I remember” for 8 minutes. Follow with “I don't remember” for 8 minutes. (Great exercise for memoir writers.)
- Think of a snapshot or photograph of someone important to you. Write to the person pictured.
- Choose a line from one of the poetry books in this room. Start with the line and go from there.
- Begin with the words, “have you forgotten me?” Write for 25 minutes.
- Use 15 nouns on one side of the paper and 15 modifiers on the other side. Don't think. Do the lists quickly. Connect the two columns in a random way and then use as many of the pairs as you can in a poem.
- Find a mad person inside of you. Write for 25 min.
- Write about “leaving”. Approach it any way you want. Write about leaving home this morning, a divorce, or a parent dying.
- Visualize a place you really love. Now write about it.