Here are your four exercises for today. Time yourself for 15 minutes for each one, then either have a break or move on to the next one.
You can do them in any order.
- Keywords: system, lilac, format, wire, smooth
- Random: a man selling bananas
- Picture: what does this inspire?
- Tuesday Title: The making of Amber Glass (item or person’s name?)
Have fun, and do paste your writing in the comment boxes below so we can see how you got on!
See below for explanations of the prompts, they do vary…
- Sentence starts = what they say on the tin. You can start the beginning of the story with them or a later sentence but they’re a great way of kicking off.
- Keywords = the words have to appear in the story but can be in any order and can be lengthened (e.g. clap to clapping).
- One-word prompt = sometimes all it takes is one word to spawn an idea. Sometimes it easy, sometimes hard but invariably fun.
- Mixed bag = two characters, an object, a location, a dilemma, a trait. Mix them all together and you have a plot… hopefully.
- First person piece or monologue (a one-sided conversation).
- Dialogue only = this is where you literally just write a conversation between two people. No ‘he said’, ‘she said’ or description, just speech and the reader has to be able to keep up. :)
- Second-person = some of you will know that I champion. The prompt can be in any style but has to be written in second-person viewpoint… oh, what a hardship. :)
- Title: This is the title of your story.
- Picture prompts = nothing other than a picture. What does it conjure up?
- Random = whatever takes my fancy!
Tips
- Don’t forget your five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell
- Show don’t tell: if your character is angry, don’t tell us he is, have him thumping his fist on the table.
- Colours: Include at least one colour in your story. It does add depth.
- Use strong verbs and avoid adverbs: Have a character striding instead of walking confidently.
- Only use repetition to emphasise.
- When you’ve finished the first draft, read the story out loud. It’s surprising how many ‘mistakes’ leap out at you when you read out loud… assuming you have any of course!
Pictures courtesy of morguefile.com
I love to talk about writing so feel free to email me. I’ll be pasting these in this blog’s Facebook Group so you may find some other comments there. If you’d like to submit a story for critique on this site, see Submissions. The other critique writing groups are:
- Morgen’s Online Non-Fiction Writing Group (http://nonfictionwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/335526669896374)
- Morgen’s Online Novel Writing Group (http://novelwritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/508696639153189)
- Morgen’s Online Poetry Writing Group (http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/388850977875934)
- Morgen’s Online Short Story Writing Group (http://shortstorywritinggroup.wordpress.com / http://www.facebook.com/groups/544072635605445)
Thank you for reading this and we look forward to your comments.
LILACS
The system was so fragile
I fraternized anyways – so agile
The fragrance was as lilacs
Since I became so relaxed
Soon I could not stop the call
To the fragrance I sensed down the hall
They say to stop and smell the pretty flowers
How could I guess they held such power?
Yet, the format was always the same
And the arrangement never changed
They were always held in by wire
But even so, they still inspired
They were attractive to view and smell
I became entranced, but couldn’t tell
So smooth were the petals that spoke
And something inside was invoked
Truthfully, I could not deny their beauty
I’d cut that wire up in an awful hurry
And take those flowers home with me!
But there, they’d wilt, so I let them be…
Banana Man
There was an old man
Who sold bananas and had a tan
He said they were easy to hold
And peel on the side of the road
The yellow, fragrant fruit
Was versatile to boot
They could make a banana split
Or chips dried up in a granola kit
They could be sliced for cereal’s taste
Or covered with strawberry sauce not to waste
The old man had a good sale’s pitch
Even a sense of humor if you tried to ditch
He started dancing a popular tune
On his telephone banana cartoon
Either, “Yes we have no bananas, Baby”
Or, “Hey I just met you – Call me maybe”
In both songs he used the yellow shaft
As a telephone to ear – He really made us laugh!
So with a knick-knack paddy whack
I gave this guy a bone (fifty-cents)
And that Banana Man went rolling home!
GRAVE
A visit to the grave
Is the last place I crave
It’s sad to say goodbye
And I hate long faces to cry
They are not dead anyways
Their spirits are alive beyond the grave
Yet there they lie in the cold, hard ground
Resting in peace without a sound
It makes me feel as alone as they are
Facing their creator so, so far
Will they be judged fairly
And will their eyes be met squarely?
For now they can’t talk back
Or feel the knife stuck in their back
They can only stand tall
To the judgment they recall
Will they have more to learn
Do they yearn for a return?
Were they taken too fast or soon?
On their way, can they visit the moon?
How could they ever accept
Their fate down there in the depths?
Just hope they lived life well
And carried on and didn’t dwell
On human acts so rudely dealt
Or assigned roles, disparity felt
Because we can’t live in the past
Of sinful nature we can’t cast
That’s why viewing the sight of a grave
Just helps me see why they were brave!
THE MAKING OF LOVE
It started out as attraction
And there could never be a retraction
If it died, it was just lust
But if it thrived, Love’s alive
They tried so hard to beat it down
Dismiss it without a sound
Still, it would not stop expression
Head held low through the awful lesson
They said it would soon fade away
But it’s with me to this day
They said it was impossible
That I was in love with a fossil!
Why was I so endearing?, they ask
It’s to no use, this task
Because my love is so huge
It only sees through their subterfuge!
Finally, they see my point
They see I can’t help it, we’re all joint
Of course there are physical limits
But at least now they’re letting me give it
For what good is withholding it?
Or punishing or even scolding it?
Because the love inside always wants to relate
It’s the making of love and not hate!
Love until the wrong seems right
Love each other with all your might
Love reality even when truth may hurt
Love completely if it must be curt
Wow, Bognetta. How wonderfully prolific.
If you’re a glutton for punishment, I also run different weekday prompts on my poetry site. Today’s are on http://poetrywritinggroup.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/poetry-writing-exercises-042-tuesday-5th-march
Thank you morgenbailey! I just had a snow day, so I couldn’t resist! I may check our your weekday prompts sometime.
Bonita
You should have snow days more often if it gets you writing four poems.
We’ve had a lot of snow recently here in the UK – fortunately gone and quite nice at the moment but you never know with this county.