A Prompt Prompt Prompted Me Promptly

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Pam Lazos

A Prompt Prompt Prompted Me Promptly

I’ve been working on a novel for awhile now and I’m stuck, bored, out-to-lunch, spinning in tight circles, totally ’round the bend, all of the above.  It could be that my youngest child leaves for her first year of college in a little over a week and the prep to get her ready has been taking up a good bit of time, but really, I think, it’s the sea change that her leaving will cause in our lives, my husband and I soon to be empty nesters with just the felines and the dog to boss around, none of which listen to us anyway (kind of like the kids, I guess), that is wreaking havoc on my ability to do much of anything other than wait around to be summoned.  In order to distract myself from the emotional unmooring that is likely to occur before the month is over, I’ve decided to lose myself in the art of creative writing as a result of finding the following snippet in my files.  I don’t remember why I wrote this, but if I take my own advice I’m pretty sure that I can reinvigorate the lackluster.  On my way now, and you better get along, too, as it’s getting late.  Cheerio.

Prompt.

The word is fascinating and versatile.  It’s a noun, a verb, an adjective and an adverb. Holy guacamole, how often does that happen?  It’s like winning the EGOT — Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, a laudable goal shared by only 12 lucky and hardworking people.  It makes you wonder, is there anything a word like that can’t do?  (I found a blog post that listed 56 similarly situated words and prompt was no. 39 on the list.)

I wish I would have thought of prompt during one of the timed writing exercises I used to do with a friend in the now defunct Borders cafeteria.  We’d sip fancy coffees and rip small strips of paper from our notebooks, then write one word down on each slip of paper, three nouns, three verbs and three adjectives, eighteen slips of paper total, separated into three different piles. (We left out adverbs. Call us prejudiced, but we just didn’t see the need.)  We’d pull a word from each of the piles and do timed writing exercises of five, ten, and fifteen minutes.  

 

The rules were simple.  Write until your hand falls off.  Haha! No, actually, it was write using one word chosen from each of the three piles for the prescribed minutes without stopping: not to ponder a plot twist, not to reach for a word that was escaping your pen, not even to go to the bathroom.  It was invigorating and imaginative, and it shushed the internal editor more succinctly than any of the other writing exercises I’d tried.   Sometimes we’d tweak the rules, adjusting the time or using twice as many words, but the basic premise was the same.  This simple writing prompt fueled the basis for scene after scene of a novel that would eventually become Oil and Water, but it also taught me something about the craft of writing:  imagination is like every other muscle in the body; you need to flex it if you want to keep it in shape.  For me, writing prompts facilitated my workout.

So much of our day is spent elsewhere, unconsciously trolling the past or hypothesizing about the future.  Cutting through the madness of life is challenging, but the here and now is where you want to be.  If done with full awareness, the art of writing can facilitate a sacred communion with your Higher Self.  When you tune in to your Higher Self, the internal editor — the one that never really stops criticizing — is silenced, brushed aside to allow the light of clarity to shine through and the quiet little voice to finally get a few minutes of air time.  Don’t banish the internal editor because you’ll need him or her later in the rewrite stage — just tell them to shush up so the quiet little voice can speak.

 

 

You can also get that kind of unfettered access writing morning pages.    The minute you are out of bed, write down whatever comes to you, a dream, some leftover baggage from the day, any nervousness about the day to come, all of it, and when you’re done, start the day fresh. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s another one.  Grab a tangerine, or an apple, the fruit doesn’t matter, or if you don’t like fruit, grab a wrench, then set a timer for fifteen minutes, more if you’re brave, and write down everything you can about the object, here the tangerine.    Notice the color, the texture, the feel of its skin against your own, the little indentation on the one side and the little nub of a branch on the other where it was plucked from its momma tree.  Notice the hexagonal star pattern surrounding the little nublet — not a word, but it describes the little wooden branch remnant on the top center of the tangerine perfectly, doesn’t it?  Describe the smell and whether this is what you thought the color orange would feel like.  Rub it against your cheek and lips and describe the almost plastic feeling of the skin and balance it on your head and talk about the weight or how easy or hard it is to balance it there and then write a sentence with a tangerine on your head (which does great things for your posture), and talk about how hard it was to keep it from falling, and on and on until your timer goes ding and THEN, eat the tangerine and describe that, so tart, so sweet, so delicate.  If you chose a wrench as your object, you’ll have to leave this last part out.  The exercise is freeing because there’s really no goal other than to train yourself to observe and describe.  Do it a hundred times and you’ll have mastered the art of observation and description which is all writing really is. 

 

Got it?  Great!  I challenge you to choose your prompt and get to work.  Your readers are waiting.  You’re going to be amazing.

pjlazos 8.12.18

About Pam Lazos

writer, blogger, environmentally hopeful
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33 Responses to A Prompt Prompt Prompted Me Promptly

  1. Damyanti Biswas says:
    September 11, 2018 at 12:10 am

    I might just have to put a few of these into action!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Michele Anderson says:
    August 27, 2018 at 12:29 am

    Great ideas for writer’s block.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Holistic Wayfarer says:
    August 23, 2018 at 5:15 pm

    So glad you reminded me not to swallow the wrench. I had set about to do exactly as instructed.
    Wow, congrats and condolences and everything in between on the empty nest! Gee, talk about a new chapter for the writer.

    Btw, did you know that anything more than 15 tags does not show up? I often keep to 14, and PrOmPtly run over to the Reader where I check for my fresh post under my tags.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. Robyn Haynes says:
    August 23, 2018 at 5:58 am

    Great advice Pam. I have used similar strategies – had a writing buddy for years – but my biggest hurdle is putting my work out there. The most enjoyable part for me is the process – finished two novellas now – and once finished I have little appetite for the publishing and marketing hard work. I use my story telling to work out what I think about life, the possibilities, the alternative scenarios. Perhaps that’s why I care so little for going further. Some might say I’m afraid of failure. Who knows?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. jeanleesworld says:
    August 21, 2018 at 2:24 am

    What beautiful encouragement! And don’t worry–I’m sure your creative path will straighten out–or curve out?–once your daughter’s in school.
    That’s what I’m hoping with my kids, anyway. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. raimeygallant says:
    August 20, 2018 at 10:20 am

    Empty nesting sounds like an exciting time. And sad, too, of course, but so many possibilities! I adore those shades in the picture.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. K.L. Allendoerfer says:
    August 19, 2018 at 1:23 pm

    I’ve had writers’ block on my novel for a while now. But this kind of exercise, which I enjoy, doesn’t seem to help. I *wish* the art of observation and description were all writing really is. I haven’t mastered it, but I’m much better at that than I am at plot, structure, tension and suspense, and external conflict. It may be that this is the key to good non-fiction, though.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Susan Scott says:
    August 16, 2018 at 8:40 am

    Yikes, that is a serious challenge indeed Pam! But a worthy one. I’ll give it a go. I’ve made a note. I’ll do it just now … 5 mins. Paper and pen? Maybe on the computer … create a doc for it.

    That’s quite a ‘thing’ when the youngsters leave home. My thoughts are with you … good luck to them! Adventures ahead … for you as well …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. lindasschaub says:
    August 14, 2018 at 3:33 am

    Thanks for the inspiration prompts. Now the cats and dog will believe they have elevated their status to “substitute kids” and won’t be fit to live with going forward!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  10. K.L. Allendoerfer says:
    August 13, 2018 at 10:04 pm

    I relate to this! My younger one has a few years left at home but the older one goes back to college in 2 weeks!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. hilarymb says:
    August 13, 2018 at 3:45 pm

    Hi PJ – your ‘baby’ will be fine and will live a happy and fulfilled life – as will the two of you now with ‘space’ around and plenty of brain power to fill it … love your ideas for creativity. Enjoy … cheers Hilary

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
  12. Ken Dowell says:
    August 13, 2018 at 3:12 pm

    I’m afraid I might suffer severe writer’s block staring at a wrench.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. shehannemoore says:
    August 12, 2018 at 9:23 pm

    You’re going to be amazing, lady. The very best to your ‘baby’ going away. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx to you

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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