Recent Links of Interest

Poetry links:

--Critiquing Poetry (Including your own): http://www.writing-world.com/poetry/crit.shtml

--How to critique poetry: http://www.poemofquotes.com/articles/critique-poetry.php

(this is good because it mentions there's a difference between critiquing and analyzing…)

--How to critique a poem: http://www.ehow.com/how_2116676_critique-a-poem.html

(step by step suggestions for going through a sample poem)

what I read from last night:

--http://mywriterscircle.com/index.php?topic=7667.msg70693#msg70693

(includes critiquing points as well as info for writing poetry)

--Also, concerning the discussion in April of viewpoint:

--Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card

--Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint by Nancy Kress

Finally, the Chicago Manual of Style.

May prompts

May prompts

--Imagine you're a songwriter & write the track list for your first album (toasted-cheese.com)

or

--Take a character from one of your stories and examine his or her iPod playlist. What 10 songs best describe the character?

(writersdigest.com)

--Write about a mirror or other polished/reflective surface (toasted-cheese.com)

and/or

--Write about a reflection in the mirror. (davidrm.com)

--Change the color in a common phrase, e.g. "Green as night" (toastedcheese.com)

or

--Write [a poem] about the color red or another color. (Some ideas for brainstorming: How does the color make you feel? What things do you associate with that color?) (creative-writing-now.com)

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--Use a phrase in a foreign language

and/or

--Listen to some music from a non-English speaking country

and/or

--Write an accent

--Write a dialog scene using only quotes from movies

or

--Write an interior monologue

Use a made-up expletive

Use the following words:

--combination, song, entrance, heat, hanging

--brown, swaying, massive, swell, moment

--cigarette, seemed, amongst, mercurial, stomach

--passage, unrestricted, busk, coastwise, outasight

--river, close, bats, inside, increased

--connector, wrenching, counterweight, overtired, capriccioso

(toasted-cheese.com)

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Poetry prompts:

--Write a poem about yourself in which nothing is true

--Write a poem about something or someone you lost

--Write a poem using all of the following words: exquisite, visit, glisten

(creative-writing-now.com/creative-writing-prompts.html)

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Free Writing Prompts:

--Use the following phrase as a focal point to write from:

   "The stain will not come out..."

--Using the following phrase as a starting point write for 20 minutes without self editing:

   "Collapsing under a canopy of green…"

Prose Prompts:

--Write two pages (500 words) with the scenario of a character urgently needing to get in contact with a family member.

--Write using the adage, "these things happen in threes."

(davidrm.com)

April Prompts

APRIL PROMPTS

Passed along by Montana from Writer's Digest--writersdigest.com/prompts:

The Terrorist Attack: The snow storm across the nation shut down many businesses and people went home early. The business where you work had closed for two days. Although you turned off the computer before going home, when you returned to work, your computer had been very active while you were away—plotting a terrorist attack. You now find yourself tasked with stopping the attack. 

There's Something You Need to Know About That Night: You’re searching through your closet and find an old stuffed animal or doll from your childhood. It starts to bring back a warm memory of a specific night that’s near and dear to your heart. Suddenly, your stuffed companion begins to talk and says, “There’s something you need to know about that night.” Write this scene.

What Happened to Your Pants? Pretend you are a recovering alcoholic who falls off the wagon while attending your high school reunion. Start your story with “I hadn’t had a drink in nearly 10 years” and end it with “If only I could remember where I left my pants.”

A Suicide Note: You are helping out at a charitable center by organizing donated items. When searching through an old suitcase, you find a suicide note dated six months prior. What’s peculiar is that you know the person. What’s even more peculiar is that the person is still alive. Write the story about what happens when you pay that person a visit and ask him or her about the note.

You Are the Arch Nemesis: A movie hero steps out of your television and proclaims that you are his/her arch-nemesis. Write about what happens.

From the ToastedCheese.com archives (April 2012): Sorry about the quantity. I culled some but it was hard to choose. 

Write about a map (real or metaphorical).
The gray tones of winter gave way to a gentle tide of green.

A restaurant with its own herb garden.

The glint of light on broken glass

He considered a woman running barefoot sexy.
Use the following words: know, roof, quick, crowd, discarded

Write about a childhood nightmare.

Write about an increase in temperature.
She enjoyed the sensation of fear.
A backpack tucked underneath an azalea bush.

A character with an unusual style of beard/mustache.

A freshly sharpened pencil.

Use the following words: flakes, floor, future, front, filled

Write about two or more people doing something in unison.

Incorporate a famous quote from a movie or TV show.

A character with poor table manners.
A character must make a choice. Write the scene two different ways.

Start with the lyrics to a popular song & turn them into a story.

Find a nice place to sit & think about your WIP for 15-30 min. Then write!.
Use the following five words: repeat, through, college, kamikaze, breeze.

Fill in the blanks: "Never ______ with a _____".

Use the phrase (thx Neil Gaiman) "Events are cowards. They run in packs."

Write the same scene in 1st, 2nd & 3rd person.

The perfect day job for a writer is...

Start with a line from a favorite poem.

Imagine winning a writing award. Outline the steps you'll take to get there.

Record yourself reading your work aloud. Listen to it, then revise.
Use the following words: absorb, lines, welcoming, anger, bends

Write about creating a monster.

Write about two options that are bad for different reasons.

Go write in an unusual location.