Tips, Prompts, and More
What is your happiest place? Where would you be if you had all the money and freedom and time in the world? Describe your place—the weather, the natural and built environment surrounding you, the smells, the sounds, the textures. Here’s my beloved place. It’s a lake in upstate New York. In talking about place with …
A few years ago, I went to one of my high school reunions. It was March, and the school was shut up tight against the cold, the heat pumping through the old-fashioned radiators. I had the opportunity to explore the building and I let myself into a dark, close room. When I entered, I …
Here are some of the strategies I use to get started, keep motivated, and set myself up for success. How to start: goals, goals, goals Before you begin your writing each day, write, review and/or revise your goals. Your goals should be further segmented. I like to do six-month increments, although others are successful looking …
In my novel, Iphigenia Murphy, the main character, Iffy, finds herself saving–and being saved by–a stray dog. Iffy remarks that she and the dog are both “black haired and skinny and scared”–they are a natural match. As I’ve written elsewhere, Iffy’s relationship with her dog was a starting point for me when I was working …
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Socrates describes a man who has been imprisoned in a cave. He sees only shadows and he believes these shadows are reality. When he is freed, the man is at first blinded by the bright sun. It hurts his eyes and he wants to go back to the cave. …
STRONG FEELINGS Make a list of 10 people who annoy you. Make another list of 10 people you don’t trust. List 5 people that have hurt you. List 5 more that you despise. At least one of the people on at least of one of your lists is a potentially untapped writing resource. Use those …
Welcome to your weekly writing prompt! Here is today’s assignment:
Helen Keller begins chapter 4 of her autobiography, The Story of My Life, by writing, “The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me.” The remainder of the chapter describes that first meeting and Keller’s re-introduction to communication and connection.
What a powerful way to open a chapter. Keller isn’t going to waste time on the inconsequential: she will dive right into the “most important day” of her life.
What was the most important day of your life? Be as specific as possible as you describe the context, situation, sights, sounds, feelings, smells, and emotions of that day. While your writing will focus on the one event, your exploration, like Keller’s, might lead you to describe or discuss other aspects and events in your life.
If you’re comfortable doing so, feel free to share your work in the comments or to email me and I’ll post it on the blog.*
Most of what I say below has certainly been said before, but it bears repeating. And repeating. I include my own non-traditional path to traditional publishing in the hopes that I can provide encouragement to those who are languishing in the querying doldrums as well as provide some guidance to those who might not know …
Sara Hosey 