prompt

Prompt: Dialog

This is the prompt from Vernonia Library Writers Group prompt for July 16: Writing Dialog.

The introduction to the prompt began with reading aloud 10 lines of dialog that had no other information as to who was talking or how it was said, just dialog. It could have been a scene in a play or just a casual conversation. After reading the dialog, the group discussed if they could distinguish the characters by the lines they spoke. Male, female, young, old, local or from somewhere else, and if this was a current exchange, from days gone by, or from the future; the dialog created characters.

The class was given 15 minutes to write their own dialog. The class dissected each members dialog to reveal who the characters were by their dialog. Some were very precise to what the writer had in mind. One person had three people in their dialog. This led to a good discussion about ways to make the distinct characters have their own presence, their unique personality.

Prompt: Hero, Villain, Victim

The prompt this Monday involved choosing a picture from a magazine of an adult. The images represented advertising, marketing, and the photographs used in articles to help tell their stories. Your task is to randomly search through magazines and find a picture of a person of your own to work from. Could be male or female, someone alone or with others.

Study the body language of the person, their facial expression, the way they are positioned in the scene. What stories are evoked as you examine the person in the image?

The prompt was to imagine this person as first a hero, then as a villain, then a victim, and write.

Doesn’t matter what happens or how you want to handle this, just write what comes to mind.

Prompt: Haiku in 3 Lines

This week’s prompt was based upon a workshop by our sister writer’s group in neighboring Hillsboro, Conversations With Writers. Their most recent workshop featured Maggie Chula, author of Living In The Moment: A Haiku Life and current president of the Tanka Society of America, a haiku association. She spoke about how to capture a moment, mostly in nature or using nature, to tell a story without describing the emotions. Called objective haiku, as opposed to directive haiku that describes emotions, the descriptions emote without the author telling you how to feel.

Another key to writing haiku this way is to have a surprise twist or ending.

Examples of her work included:

Warblers song
Welcomes me home
The prowling cat

Smell of Narcissus
My 13th Spring
And mother’s tumor

Sento Palace burnt
Again and again
Flaming azaleas

Our prompt inspired by her workshop was to not write in traditional and formal haiku as most of us are not trained to do so, but to use the haiku examples above to emulate haiku.

The prompt was to write haiku style in 3 lines beginning with the line Pebbles clatter.

Prompt: Editing Haiku

During the Writers in the Grove Monday workshop working on objective haiku, one of our members came up with the following haiku, beautiful but too wordy, which led to an amazing lesson in editing and the many variations that maybe found when multiple creative people tackle the same subject.

We’ve decided to share our member’s original work, which she has since edited, as an additional prompt this week to inspire you to work from her original concept and see where it takes you. If you would like to share your version, please share it in the comments below.

Pebbles clatter harshly
Noise provokes my attention toward the outer door
Unnerved to discover what is behind

The goal of the prompt is to edit the above to three lines with the least amount of words to convey the powerful emotion and imagery. How few words can you use? You are welcome to change the words but attempt to keep the intent of the original.

Being in The Moment

Based upon the prompt from the Mark Thalman workshop in June 2015.

I’m listening to wise words I want to hold in my head.
Husband pings. His flight just landed in Indianapolis.
Love.
A dog growls on the sidewalk outside. The owner scolds.

The speaker makes a point that might change my life. Realign my thinking.
Phone flashes. Neighbor calling. Answer or not.
Not.
Police siren whines in the distance. Coming close? Moving away. Breathe.

Confirmation is spoken. I’m not alone in my way of thinking. Reassured.
Beep. Transcription of message arrives.
WTF.
“This is Max up with you on the screen and island of me…Boston yo case firm up…”

“Study your craft,” he continues. “Watch, listen, learn.”
Husband says luggage still in Atlanta.
Brilliant.
Motorcycle passes, snorting out its muffler.

“Sometimes the moment is given to you to take…”
Husband whines he can’t get the rental car he wants.
Crap.
“…other times you have to slug it out and fight for it.”

Homework Prompt: Because

The following is a homework prompt, presented by Mark Thalman in his workshop on June 22, 2015. Please complete the prompt and bring it to share on the Monday morning workshop, June 29.

Because.

Start with the word “because” and tell us how something happened, and another thing happened, and another thing, all because. Described as the Rube Goldberg machine or domino effect.

Prompt: At This Moment

The following prompt came from Mark Thalman in his June 22, 2015, workshop on the business and art of writing poetry. It came from the section where he discussed the impact of writing a “shared experience,” one that connects a moment with other events happening all at the same time.

At this moment…what is happening in the world or in your mind at the very same moment.

Senses by Susan Schmidlin

April 20, 2015

The earth between my fingers
Dark loam that crumbles at the touch
Warmed by the spring sun
Just moist enough to dampen my knees.

Visitors in the form of potato bugs,
Worms, bees, and slugs
Come and go as I toil
Leaving mere bits of memories in the stillness.

I notice something in the breeze
That distracts me from my work
Makes me pause and I breathe in
As the lilacs begin to sing.

Inspired by the Prompt: Senses.

Prompt: Words Have Texture

The prompt is based upon “Hiatus,” a poem by David Feela published in LabLetter in April 2015.

A pot of tea steeping
on the marble sill, its steam
clouding the window.

Sunrise on the counter
like the yolk of a broken egg,
oh happy disaster of morning…

Write a descriptive poem or short prose. Edit it to focus writing with texture adjectives and verbs. Choose words that are visual, painting a textural picture such as marble sill not just window sill, steam clouding the window not just steam rising, sunrise on counter not light, etc.