The prompt this week is posing the question of how you would have conversations with those whose views differ from your own on subjects that you have a strong opinion about. It could be conversations such as between vegetarian/carnivore or democrat/republican.
How do communicate while still remaining friends and civil with one another?
The prompt this week is a poem by Mary Oliver from her book of poems titled, A Thousand Mornings.
THE MOCKINGBIRD, by Mary Oliver.
THE MOCKINGBIRD
All summer
the mockingbird
in his pearl-gray coat
and his white-windowed wings
flies
from the hedge to the top of the pine
and begins to sing, but it’s neither
lilting nor lovely,
for he is the thief of other sounds-
whistles and truck brakes and dry hinges
plus all the songs
of other birds in his neighborhood;
mimicking and elaborating,
he sings with humor and bravado,
so I have to wait a long time
for the softer voice of his own life
to come through. He begins
by giving up all his usual flutter
and settling down on the pine’s forelock
then looking around
as though to make sure he’s alone;
then he slaps each wing against his breast,
where his heart is,
and, copying nothing, begins
easing into it
as though it was not half so easy
as rollicking,
as though his subject now
was his true self,
which of course was as dark and secret
as anyone else’s,
and it was too hard-
perhaps you understand-
to speak or to sing it
to anything or anyone
but the sky.
Take any inspiration you find in the poem and write in whatever direction you wish to take it.
The March prompt-a-month for our Writers in the Grove members is:
I use technology.
Writers in the Grove members may hand in their submissions during the workshops or use our members only submission form. Check out the guidelines and instructions for submissions in the announcement.
The prompt today is about safety and security.
What is safety? What is security? What is it we need?
Write a letter in a conversational style as if you were sending a summary of the year’s events to family and friends, like an annual letter, sharing insights on family life, personalities, and activities.
The February prompt-a-month for our Writers in the Grove members is:
Iron sharpens iron.
Writers in the Grove members may hand in their submissions during the workshops or use our members only submission form. Check out the guidelines and instructions for submissions in the announcement.
The following was inspired by the prompt, Lonely Monsters, and is by Writers in the Grove member, Kirsten Baggins.
The ice cream drips down onto the pavement, but he doesn’t seem to mind as he laps at the scoops, a big happy smile on his face as he looks up at the sky, smiling at the sun I’ve had to teach him not to stare at it specifically, but he stills likes to look up and bask in its warmth. Heat seems so foreign to him, what with him being so cold and undead.
With his free hand, he picks me up and places me on his shoulder, careful not to make me spill my own treat, before we head down the city sidewalk. On a nearby corner, a man is strumming away at his guitar for tips, and my friend approaches, bobbing his head cheerfully to the tune-music always gets his attention, and he’ll follow it wherever it goes. The guitarist freezes upon seeing his audience, stopping his playing with fear, only for my friend to say, “Play.”
“What do we say?” I ask.
“Please.”
The guitarist nervously continues, while I fish out some bills for my friend to put in the guitar case. He makes a happy sound when he does, saying to the performer, ‘Music good.’ The man merely gives a nervous smile and nods in agreement, and I smile to him as he keeps playing, and we move down the sidewalk.
As we continue down the street, I ask from my perch, “Do you want to go to the bookstore?”
Reading is a great joy for my friend – he can’t quite do it himself yet, so in my teaching him to talk, I teach him to read as well. He’s yet to meet a book he doesn’t like: Fairy tales, short stories, poems, any genre, all of them he’s loved very, very much
At my questioning, he nods and makes another happy noise, telling me, “Yes, friend.”
The prompt is:
Water in motion.
The February 2018 prompt-a-month for our Writers in the Grove members is:
Describe what your favorite chair looks like – without ever using the word chair.
Writers in the Grove members may hand in their submissions during the workshops or use our members only submission form. Check out the guidelines and instructions for submissions in the announcement.
The prompt this week came from Kirsten Baggins:
Monsters are inherently lonely characters, often seeking out some form of friendship, only to be rejected, mostly on the basis on their appearance. It’s the part about them that touches our hearts, and makes us feel for them, seeing them without a companion, and with that, I ask this: If you were friends with a monster, what would you do with them? How would you spend your day with them? It could be any monster of your choosing-the monster in your closet or beneath your bed, a werewolf, a vampire, a reanimated corpse, a mummy, a ghost, anything at all! Just what would you do with your monstrous friend?
Writers in the Grove 