A Year Of Writing Inspiration Creative Writing Prompts

A YEAR OF WRITING INSPIRATION A prompt a day for the creative writer

Suzanne Male

Smink Works Books

A YEAR OF WRITING INSPIRATION A prompt a day for the creative writer First published in 2009 by Smink Works Books Copyright © Suzanne Male The writer asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers and copyright holders. National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry Author:

Male, Suzanne, 1970-

Title:

A year of writing inspiration: a prompt a day for the creative writer / Suzanne Male.

ISBN: 9781920936167 (pbk.) 9781920936150 (pdf) Subjects: Creative writing. Authorship. Dewey Number: 808.02 Smink Works Books, PO Box 2154, Fitzroy BC, Victoria 3065, Australia ABN: 899 620 379 11 http://www.sminkworks.com Cover design by Irina Goundortseva. Typeset by Peter Barlow in Franklin Gothic 11/13.2

INTRODUCTION The Writer's Horizon Creativity is a fickle mistress. Ideas often seem to fall out of nowhere into your writing lap. Certainly there doesn't seem to be a set recipe for creativity and we writers can sit waiting for hours, days, or even years for it to bless us with some inspiration. This book is intended as a way of encouraging this capricious muse near. Doing the exercises within is a very practical way of adding creative spark to writing life. After all, one quintessential truth is the more you write, the more you open up to creativity and the more it flows. The benefits of writing and being creative each day can be far-reaching. It can bring insight and is a tried-and-tested means of self-expression. It frees the mind and lifts the spirit. Then there is that writing goal on the horizon. Perhaps you have a desire to write a story or a book, but how do you get there? At the very beginning of the journey there is the need for inspiration; a small seed of an idea. This is where this book steps in. Enjoy the journey. After all, this is the fun part of writing. Getting those creative juices flowing makes you feel alive, full of possibilities, positive and excited.

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK These days it is easy to sit down at a computer and type, but while these exercises do work well when sitting at your computer, there are distinct benefits to stepping away from your keyboard. I highly recommend you take a journal or notepad, and a pen, out into the world to use with this book; not only because paper and pens are portable — after all, a laptop computer is portable too — but they are unobtrusive. Unobtrusive means you can blend in without attracting attention to yourself, allowing you to both observe the world and write without interruption. Then there is the fact that you are out there experiencing and observing life rather than hidden away in a room with a computer. Getting out in the world is a fantastic way to enhance creativity, generate ideas and draw inspiration from the rest of humanity. It can happen when you are locked away in a room, but it is less likely and much less enjoyable. Besides, there's nothing like the feel of a fine journal and smooth-flowing pen; with them the practice of writing is much more inviting. In my experience the computer is a great tool for editing and refining text, but my true creative work happens in a journal. So take your journal or notepad and pen and venture out. If you have the e-book version of this book, try writing one of the exercises in your journal before leaving, or shut your laptop once you have read the prompt and write your piece in a notebook. The aim of this book is to provide the writer with stimuli to write uninterrupted for 15-20 minutes every day. Some of the exercises require writing whatever pops

into your head (stream of consciousness) and others demand more thought. Some days, writing will involve responding to a 'Picture This' image. Don't worry too much about what you are writing; the idea is to write with abandon. You will find you will be inspired some days more than others. I guarantee if you use this book regularly, the inspiration, ideas and motivation to write will increase. There is no need to stick to one exercise per day; if you have the time and the inclination, try two or more. There is not even a need to work from day 1 to day 365. Try flipping randomly to a page. And there is no need to abandon the book after completing all the exercises either. These exercises can be done again and again with different results every time.

Day 1

Five within Five Look around you and choose five things within five metres of you. Now write a short story where these five things are mentioned.

Day 2

Meet Cute Write a 'meet-cute', which is an encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances. In the film The Holiday (2006), Hollywood screenwriter character Arthur Abbott describes a meet-cute using the example of a man and a woman who both need something to sleep in. They go separately to the men's pyjama department at a store, he looking for pyjama bottoms, she looking for a pyjama top. It is how they meet.

Day 3

Behind the Green Door What is behind the green door? Write what happens when you open it.

1

Day 4

Changing Decisions Consider an event in your past that was the direct result of a decision you made. Imagine making a different decision in the same situation. Try thinking of a decision you would not normally make. Write what occurs.

Day 5

A Bit of Now and Then Write about your great-great-great grandma. This will be a character study where you give her some of your personality traits and physical features. When you are writing your piece, consider what society was like at the time when she lived; think about what her social attitudes/beliefs would have been and incorporate them into your writing. Be inventive. If you don't know where your great-great-great grandma lived or other details of her existence just make them up.

Day 6

Voice in your Head There is a very small man living in your head. Nobody believes you, but he is really there. What does he talk to you about? Write the conversation down.

2

Day 7

What a Shock Think about a conservative person you know — your mother, an older relative or a close friend. Devise a conversation with this person where you say something that shocks them. Think about how they would respond in such a situation.

Day 8

Next Stop You are on a bus reading a book. An old lady sits down beside you and starts chatting. "Hello dear," she starts, and you roll your eyes internally in response. Then she lowers her voice to a whisper and says "I know the secret". Then after she has divulged part of the secret she collapses and dies. What happens next?

Day 9

Unusual Metaphor He was like a top drawer full of mismatched socks. Complete.

3

Day 10

Where do we come from? You have to explain to an 8-year-old boy where babies come from. How do you do it? Are you embarrassed? If so, describe your embarrassment and how it manifests in your body movement.

Day 11

Image Inspiration Find a random picture of people you don't know or a scene of a place you have never been. If you are in a café, search the pictures on the wall for inspiration. If you are at home you could find an old postcard. Explain what happens next — write what you think may have happened immediately after the photograph was taken.

Day 12

Society Inverse Turn something known about society on its head. For example, Martin Amis once wrote a story where poets were world-famous, rich people courted by huge companies for their work and film writers were struggling artists keen even to get their work published in small unknown publications. Perhaps you write a story based in a world where men give birth, junk food is healthy or marriage is radical

4

Day 13

Picture this

5

Day 12 1/2

Write More! Buy the entire book of 365 creative writing exercises from Smink Works books http://www.sminkworks.com/writer/inspiration.htm

www.sminkworks.com/writer

The SMINK WORKS BOOKS Short Story Competition

H AN EL NU D AL -

Entries accepted until DECEMBER 1 www.sminkworks.com/short-story-competition.htm