Creative Writing Prompts Inspired by Joy Harjo

Happy Weekend, Dear Writers!

I have a great guest prompter lined up for you next week, but this Friday, looks like you get me again.  I hope you are enjoying the blog and the prompts.  Please let me know if you know of any artists or writers who want to contribute to inspiring others because I would love to feature them.

I came across this FABULOUS poem by Joy Harjo that is online at the The Writer's Almanac.  Please go to the poem "Perhpas the World Ends Here" by Joy Harjo.  Read the poem 3 times.  Yes, that's right, 3 times.

After you read the poem, take some silence just to think.  Reflect on tables you sat at during family gatherings over the years.  Or even just your own every day table.  What memories are sparked?  For your creative nonfiction prompt, please write on the subject of table memories for 10 minutes. 

For your poetry writing prompt, write an ode to a table from your life, a specific table. 

And for your fiction writing prompt, practice dialogue.  Think of a conversation from a kitchen table, or make one up.  Write a dialogue with a little conflict.  Use your relatives for character inspiration. 

Happy Writing and have a great weekend everyone!

Love to all,

Anjie

A Room From Your Past

Creative Writing Prompts Inspired by Ted Kooser:

A Room From Your Past

Today we are going to be thinking not of houses from our past, but rooms.  Start by making a list of 10 or more rooms you remember from your past.   They don't need to be places you lived in; they could be rooms in places you visited, a cottage you might have stayed at, a hospital room, a room from a school, etc.  

After you make your list, and only after you make your list, read Ted Kooser's poem, "A Room in the Past." 

Here are some simple reflections and study questions to help you take in the poem and notice how it works:

Study Guide and Questions to "A Room in the Past" by Ted Kooser. 

1.  Notice how everything describing the poem is concrete until you get to line 5.  What is abstract about line 5?

2.  Look at lines 9 & 10.  There are phrases of time in both.  In line 9, it is "just" to imply something had just happened, but what is the time phrase in line 10? 

3.  Look in lines 13 and 14 and notice how Kooser brings the outside into the room.  What three words are things that are from nature?

4.  On line 14, the poet makes a personal connection by mentioning someone. Who is it?  Why do you think the poet mentions this toward the end of the poem?

5.  In lines 15 - 17, a supernatural and abstract concept are combined.  Then the poem is finished off with a very concrete image, which brings it all to life and makes it all real.  What is the concrete image?

6.  How many adjectives are in the poem?  You will notice there aren't many and they aren't fancy.  Remember, don't overdo adjectives and adverbs in your poems.  Be aware of every one you use to make sure it is truly adding to the poem and moving it along. 

7.  Notice how in line 3, Kooser uses the word "you" to draw the audience in.  Do you think this is effective?


Poetry Prompts:  

1.  Pick a room from your list and work on a poem that includes some elements of nature and/or the supernatural.  Address the audience as "you" in the early part of the poem, just like Kooser did.  Bring a person into the poem (and that person can be you), but not until the poem is at least half way finished.

OR

2.  Write a poem that ends with  "Turning his/her back on the rest of us, forever."  When you are finished, you may want to rewrite your last line so it is not exactly like Kooser's last line, but for now, use it as your guide. 

Fiction Prompt:

1.  Write a story that takes place in one of the rooms from your list.  Add an element of the supernatural to your story.  Write a minimum of 300 words. 

OR

2.  Write a story that starts with an opening scene in the kitchen from the picture. 

Creative Nonfiction:

Write a memory about one of the rooms on your list.  Write a minimum of 300 words.

Alice in Wonderland Creative Writing Prompts with Dr. Katy J. Vopal

I'm so excited to bring you this week's guest prompter Dr. Katy J. Vopal!  Not only is Dr. Katy J. a talented writer, passionate professor and a totally awesome person, she is also a dear friend of mine.  She has put quality time into the writing prompts for this weekend, and I'm confident you will get a lot out of these if you take the time to apply your creativity with an open mind.  And if you have fun with these whimsical prompts, well, I'll bet you'll get even more out of them.

 Running with the theme of the Mad Hatta, Cheshire Cat and that curious girl named Alice, these writing prompts will keep you busy creating throughout the weekend and beyond. 

I expect these to be especially poular with teachers, so teachers, please take note.

And for now, all mad hats off to Dr. Katy J. for being our guest--THANK YOU!

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We’re All Mad Here

Creative Writing Prompts by Dr. Katy J. Vopal

"Contrariwise," continued Tweedldee, "if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic."

While my taste in literature and my own writing have always seemed to dwell in the realm of realism, I always loved, been drawn in, and inspired by the works of Lewis Carroll, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking Glass.”  For the unsuspecting reader used to the film interpretations, these two novels can seem like an impermeable collection of nonsense that begs the question, “What does this all really mean?”  The beauty of the novels is that there are so many things --  dreams, games, puzzles, questions, commentaries, fantasy, and simple fun.  The narrative is intertwined with lyrics and poetry, many of which infamously stand alone, “Jabberwocky” and “The Walrus and the Carpenter.”  Wonderland is a landscape of unforgettable characters, many of whom the reader will only encounter for a couple of pages – the White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat, the Doormouse, Tweedledee and Tweedledum. 

Carroll’s Wonderland is popular for a multitude of reasons, and I can only speculate that the main reason is because of the risk he took to simply play with the manuscripts.  He did not follow conventions.  He took a risk, a risk all writers can learn from -- we should craft our writing not as we think it should be, but as our writing thinks it should be!  Taking this risk does not mean that our writing needs to be as surreal as Carroll’s work, rather trusting the path and pattern of our creativity; it does not need to be a mold nor does it need to copy anybody else’s writing. 

Here are some prompts to inspire you … let the writing lead.  When we do so, our stories, poems, and characters take us in directions we never knew existed.  The possibilities are endless.  Don’t be afraid to follow your piece “down the rabbit hole” and see where it goes!

Warm up

"When I use a word,' Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, 'it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master— that's all."can make words mean so many different things."

In most writing situations, we are restricted to the meanings of words that are dictated by the rules of our language.  In a free-writing warm up exercise, craft a short paragraph or poem where you choose a word and assign it different meaning.  Explore it, expand it, play with it.  Be descriptive.  Make the word and its new meaning central to your piece, the spinal cord, the thread, the yolk.  Here’s the catch, don’t explain to your readers exactly what your “new meaning” is, practice showing them through exploration and description.  This will build the ever-important skill of “show, don’t tell.”

Memoir

“I could tell you my adventures — beginning from this morning,” said Alice a little timidly: “but it's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”

“Explain all that,” said the Mock Turtle.

“No, no! The adventures first,” said the Gryphon in an impatient tone: “explanations take such a dreadful time.”

I truly believe that our souls are meant to grow and evolve throughout our physical lifetime.  As we journey through life, we become different people.  Alice’s statement is truly prophetic, and the Gryphon in his wisdom speaks of good writing.   Write a unified, flowing flash memoir piece that artfully juxtaposes who you were “yesterday” and who you are now.  Focus on the important moments and the “energy” or psychological feelings of the transformation.  Avoid too-long explanations. Challenge yourself to write about such significance in less than 500 words.

Fiction

'Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; 'but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!'

There are curious things all around us – moments, people, situations, places, objects that are magnificently rich inspirations for our writing, especially fiction.  As a fiction writer, I am constantly on the lookout for situations that I can weave into my stories.   I challenge you to collect at least five “curiosities” and weave them together into a piece of fiction – an overheard conversation, someone wearing an unusual piece of clothing, someone’s strange quirk or habit, an odd item on the shelf at a flea market.  The strange truths of our lives inspire our fiction all the time.

Poetry

“It seems very pretty,” she said when she had finished it, “but it's rather hard to understand!” (You see she didn't like to confess, ever to herself, that she couldn't make it out at all.) "Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas — only I don't exactly know what they are!"

Alice spoke the words above about the poem Jabberwocky after she read it in the looking-glass book.   It is celebrated as one of the most popular “nonsense” poems ever written.   Read “Jabberwocky” in its entirety (found in chapter one of Through the Looking Glass or many places on the Internet, including here: http://www.jabberwocky.com/carroll/jabber/jabberwocky.html) 

Let Carroll’s poem of nonsense inspire a poem of “sense” and follow the flow of inspiration.  Many years ago, I was considering the “vorpal sword” used to slay the Jabberwocky; I also found it curious that this word was one letter off my own last name – take out the “r.”  My last name was shortened when my ancestors came to America from Czechoslovakia, and as I thought about this connection, I produced two poems about the haunting of “unknowing” when they traveled across the world.  

Reflection

‘It was much pleasanter at home,’ thought poor Alice, 'when one wasn't always growing larger and smaller, and being ordered about by mice and rabbits. I almost wish I hadn't gone down that rabbit-hole — and yet — and yet — it's rather curious, you know, this sort of life! I do wonder what can have happened to me! When I used to read fairy-tales, I fancied that kind of thing never happened, and now here I am in the middle of one! There ought to be a book written about me, that there ought! And when I grow up, I'll write one.'

This is a great quote to end my contribution to Anjie’s wonderful blog.  You are always in the middle of a novel, a story, a memoir, a poem and might not even know it.  Experiment, play, push your writing boundaries.  Don’t be afraid to follow them.  So many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.

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Katy J. Vopal holds a PhD in English – Creative Writing and is on faculty at Gateway Technical College (www.gtc.edu) where she teaches English and Communication.   She also teaches creative writing courses at Ottawa University (www.ottawa.edu) and workshops for Redbird – Redoak Writing Studio (www.redbirdredoak.com)  While she primarily writes novels for middle grade and young adults, her short fiction for grown-ups has appeared in a number of publications, including Inscape, Upstreet, and Dan River Anthology.  Other publications include numerous articles from her time as a newspaper reporter, essays, and one poem.  In case you were wondering, her favorite Wonderland character is the Cheshire Cat. 

Writing Prompts with Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

STARS
© Sergey Kravtsov | Dreamstime.com

For today's writing prompts, I'm happy to bring you an old, but sparkly poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley.  I hope you enjoy, "To Jane:  The Keen Stars Were Twinkling."  Read the poem and then you can you try the prompts based on the poem below. 

To Jane: The Keen Stars Were Twinkling by Percy Bysshe Shelley

     The keen stars were twinkling,
And the fair moon was rising among them,
        Dear Jane!
     The guitar was tinkling,
But the notes were not sweet till you sung them
        Again.

     As the moon's soft splendour
O'er the faint cold starlight of Heaven
        Is thrown,
     So your voice most tender
To the strings without soul had then given
        Its own.

     The stars will awaken,
Though the moon sleep a full hour later,
        Tonight;
     No leaf will be shaken
Whilst the dews of your melody scatter
        Delight.

     Though the sound overpowers,
Sing again, with your dear voice revealing
        A tone
     Of some world far from ours,
Where music and moonlight and feeling
        Are one.

"To Jane: The Keen Stars Were Twinkling" by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Public domain.

1.  Poetry Prompt:  Start a poem with this line, "Over the faint starlight of heaven comes. . . "

2.  Fiction Writing Prompt:  Write an opening scene from a story that starts in a scene, "Where the music and moonlight and feeling are one." 

3.  Creative nonfiction Prompt:  Write about a memory you shared with someone looking at the stars or the moon.   

Creative Writing Prompts Inspired by Bob Dylan

In honor of Bob Dylan's 70th Birthday, I thought creative writing prompts about CHANGE would be a appropriate.  Bob Dylan is a musician, song writer and poet and you can read about him on today's Writer's Almanac.  My favorite song of Bob Dylan's is "The Times They a Changin'."  The Youtube video is the song as performed by Marco Magani, and it features some intense moments in history.  (Teachers will want to preview the video before deciding whether or not to show it in class.) If you would like to see the lyrics to this song, you can read them at this link:  http://www.metrolyrics.com/the-times-they-are-achangin-lyrics-bob-dylan.html

Song Writing Prompt:  Look at the lyrics of this song and write another verse or two for the song.  I'd love to see you post what you come up with.  OR
Write your own song about change. 

Creative Nonfiction Prompt:  Write about something that has changed in your life or that is changing now.  OR Write about what you wish would change and why. 

Poetry Writing Prompt:  Write a poem about the way things used to be and the way they are now.  Some of this may turn out to be ironic.  You can follow a simple list form to get this poem started, but of course, you can mix it up and use any form you like when you revise.  For starters, use the form before and repeat six times.

I used to __________________________,
            but now I ____________________________

Fiction Writing Prompts:  Write about a short story about a character who makes a change that impacts something in his or her life.  The change can be physical or psychological. 

Creative Writing Prompts with the Decorah Eaglets

Creative Writing Prompts

If you haven't see the Decorah Eaglets, you have to take a minute to watch this video.  I think it is just an amazing project to have a web cam follow the life of these beautiful creatures.

Fiction Writing Prompt:  Write a short story that starts out with a character observing a live creature in nature.

Creative Nonfiction:  Write about a strong connection you have had from observing an animal and how it influenced you. 

Poetry Writing Prompt:  Write a poem about an animal that is endangered or has been endangered.  See the poem below for  inspiration. 

Song Writing Prompt:  Write a song about animals who have become or are becoming extinct. 

BONUS!

Since it is National Poetry Month, I've inserted a Ted Kooser column from American Life in Poetry that features a strong and sad poem about many endangered species by poet Charles Harper Webb.  You can use this to jump start a poem of your own if you'd like. 

*******************************************************
American Life in Poetry: Column 203

BY TED KOOSER, U.S. POET LAUREATE

To read in the news that a platoon of soldiers has been killed is a terrible thing, but to learn the name of just one of them makes the news even more vivid and sad. To hold the name of someone or something on our lips is a powerful thing. It is the badge of individuality and separateness. Charles Harper Webb, a California poet, takes advantage of the power of naming in this poem about the steady extinction of animal species.

The Animals are Leaving

One by one, like guests at a late party   

They shake our hands and step into the dark:   

Arabian ostrich; Long-eared kit fox; Mysterious starling.

One by one, like sheep counted to close our eyes,   

They leap the fence and disappear into the woods:   

Atlas bear; Passenger pigeon; North Island laughing owl;   

Great auk; Dodo; Eastern wapiti; Badlands bighorn sheep.

One by one, like grade school friends,   

They move away and fade out of memory:   

Portuguese ibex; Blue buck; Auroch; Oregon bison;   

Spanish imperial eagle; Japanese wolf; Hawksbill   

Sea turtle; Cape lion; Heath hen; Raiatea thrush.

One by one, like children at a fire drill, they march outside,   

And keep marching, though teachers cry, “Come back!”   

Waved albatross; White-bearded spider monkey;   

Pygmy chimpanzee; Australian night parrot;   

Turquoise parakeet; Indian cheetah; Korean tiger;   

Eastern harbor seal ; Ceylon elephant ; Great Indian rhinoceros.

One by one, like actors in a play that ran for years   

And wowed the world, they link their hands and bow   

Before the curtain falls.

American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright © 2006 by Charles Harper Webb. Reprinted from “Amplified Dog,” by Charles Harper Webb, published by Red Hen Press, 2006, by permission of the author and publisher. Introduction copyright © 2009 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts.