It's IWSG Day. The goal of this blog hop is to share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without
fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire
can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure
writers of all kinds. IWSG is the brainchild of Alex Cavanaugh, our brilliant ninja leader.
Co-Hosts this month: Fundy Blue, Beverly Stowe McClure, Erika Beebe, and Lisa Buie-Collard. To read more, the list of participants can be found here.
Recently, a friend from my writing group sent out a link
to a site called Oneword.com. The premise is simple. Once on the site, you
click “go.” A word appears and you get sixty seconds to write anything inspired by it. A bell sounds at the end of the minute, but you can
still write/edit after that point. If
you chose, you can share/upload your creation. I don't, but I'm keeping my own Word document with the blurbs I've created as a result of each prompt. Completing a Oneword exercise each morning keeps my writing juices flowing. It could be helpful if you’re
struggling with ideas (like me) but want to keep up the practice of writing regularly.
Over the course of the last ten years, I’ve had four inspirations
that took me down novel road. A picture of a friend’s house taken over 100 years ago
stimulated my first attempt at a novel. A conversation in my head during that
mysterious half-life between sleeping and waking kindled the second. A drawing
attached to an essay in Yankee Magazine
inspired my third. The fourth came out of a picture I took on a foggy day. Who's to say what may trigger a new story? Maybe a one-minute writing
exercise some morning, using, say, the word “dryer?”
A
screech came from the laundry room. Wiping her hands on the dishtowel and
throwing it down Sabine raced down the hall. Last time she'd heard that sound,
Bennie had thrown the cat in the dryer and turned it on. Mittens had
disappeared not long after. Sabine had left food outside, called her and called
her, but now it had been weeks and she'd given up hope. It worried her that
Benny didn't seem bothered that his pet had disappeared. As for Theo? Well, he
never liked the cat anyway.
What do you use for writing prompts?
15 comments:
That site is a good idea. I should try it.
Poor Mittens.
That's great that you're enjoying starting your writing day with this site. Glad it's inspiring you.
I'm going to check out that site. Thanks for sharing!
I think I need to check out the site. And your "drabble" is chilling.
I hadn't heard of that site but am now going to check it out. Love the dryer snippet!
Hi, Liza! Thanks for the tip about Oneword. I'm going to check that site out. Poor Mittens! I would love to know the end of the tale. I'm picturing a happy one. Enjoy IWSG Day!
What a great resource! Thanks for sharing it. I don't tend to use many prompts -- during Nanowrimo and camps, I do enjoy the prompts they sometimes tweet. Your idea to do a short writing prompt exercise every morning is really intriguing. I might have to give that a try!
cool site to check out. I might have to give it a whirl.
I tend to be prompted by conversations I overhear. So much is random in a public setting, and of course, I do lean toward the humorous situation that can arise.
I like your energy in this post. Your dryer blurb is clever.
Interesting way to prompt the muse. I'll check it out. Especially after reading that deliciously creepy bit you came up with. I hope Mittens comes back to avenge her misfortune!
I love the idea of that site. I can't wait to share it with my writer friends! Thank you for sharing!
That sounds like an excellent way to get things flowing.
I'm going to check into that site - sounds great! I used to have a daily photo calendar, and I used it in this same way to write a paragraph about the picture in the morning before I got started.
Thanks for mentioning that site. A friend has been unable to write, doesn't feel like writing, etc. I checked out the site and thought how clever and sent it to her. I hope it helps. I'll have to try it too now.
Sounds like an interesting site. Thanks for sharing it.
I hardly need writing prompts but they are fun. And anything can spark an idea for me. My most recent was a picture of overgrown train tracks which inspired me to write my current wip. 43K words and counting.
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