Prompts

Hi everyone!

In this entry I’m going to be talking (or writing) about prompts. I think prompts are a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Also, prompts are just plain fun!

What is a prompt? I define a prompt as a short description of a scenario, and then you right about it. Different prompts have different rules; in one prompt they may just want you to write from, say, an animal’s point of view, in another prompt they may give you three objects to write about. I did this once at a writing workshop. I polled three slips of paper with objects on them, I got: A jar of gooseberry jam, a red flask, and a pocket watch. Here is what I came up with:

      It had been sitting next to the jar of gooseberry jam for years. I had asked my grandmother whether we should get rid of it. We never used it, but for some reason the contents disappeared, little by little. The red flask was one mystery I would never understand.

One day I realized my grandmother was different. She made meals in a jiffy and made her bed so there was not one wrinkle. I had to find out how my 70 year old grandmother could do so many things that I could not. I was going to find out the mystery of the red flask and the mystery of my grandmother. I decided to start at the red flask. I had a fishy feeling that the two mysteries were connected.

I woke up at six o’clock my grandmother wasn't up yet.

“Perfect” I hid under the kitchen table. I had a perfect view of the cupboard where the red flask was stored. Honestly I didn't know what I was doing. I was just following my instincts. My grandmother suddenly appeared out of thin air in front of the cupboard. She took out her pocket watch and seemed to turn the hands to a certain time. My grandmother opened the cupboard and took out the red flask. She took a measuring spoon out of her apron. And poured exactly one teaspoon of the red liquid and drank it! My grandmother disappeared!

Okay, it may not be my best work, but you know what? Prompts are always just first drafts and, as long as you put something down on paper, you did what you were supposed to. If you (miraculously) love what you came up with, save it! Or, turn it into a full length story. Nobody every said a book couldn't be written from a simple prompt! You try this prompt… cut up pieces of paper and write random objects on them. Put them into a bowl. Mix them around and do a blind draw, repeat until you have three objects. Once you have your objects you CAN NOT put them back and find another! Write. Try this with friends or family, set your self a 10 minuet time mark, you can allow yourself more time if you want.

Another great prompt I learned from a writing workshop is this: Get a partner, it can be anybody. Get I piece of paper and writing utensils. Okay! Picture this… the two of you are sitting on a park bench in the middle of summer. Have a conversation on the piece of paper. Pass it back and forth. Start with one person asking the other “why are you here?” and vice-versa. ‘Talk’ back and forth as you would in real life, now, do this for a few minuets, then imagine, it has gotten very cold. Watch how your dialogue shifts. Add different things that happen, try different scenarios and different starting sentences. Continue as long as you want! HAVE FUN!

Try out these prompts, and others, and don’t forget to have fun!

This is Anika Eastman signing off!