Another World
Discuss an aspect of the environment around you, i.e.
concrete walls, trees, shadows. Write down several words that come into your
perspective concerning this particular element using synonyms, antonyms, and
descriptive words. Using this information, write about what your environment
would then entail if these attributes stood out more than anything else, or if
the world really did revolve around this particular object.
& A Different Era
Pick an era you've never experienced before. What would you
have done in that time, in the future, or what would you do now? Tell us why.
Feel free to write from the point of view of someone else, especially if
they've already lived during a particular time.
Perspective of Odd Places
Think of an everyday object, outside attributes like grass,
hydrangeas, or a bird's nest, and imagine yourself living there. Are you
microscopic? Are you in the place of something else that might already exist
there? Could you be yourself as you are now? Compose using your answers to
these questions, and create some of your own questions that might relate to
your unique situation of “being elsewhere.”
Mysteries of Memory
You've found yourself with, or in the memory of another
person. Decide what this memory is, and what it might mean to you. You might
know this person very well, or you might not have met them at all. This prompt
urges the power of human perspective and self-identity. So, who are you?
Who, or What?
Consider a natural thing or living thing that you've
encountered, would like to encounter, or might be a little timid in seeing. It
can be something tangible, something supernatural, a common object, a person,
or even finding a place. Decide what this thing is, and write about your
experience if you were to meet it today. You can write about several variables
at once, for example, if you feel it's necessary to find a place and a
thing at the same time.
-More help?
Try writing about the moment you become aware of this particular thing, or
living being.
-Note some
of the emotions you might be experiencing upon notice of your chosen topic.
Shapeshifting Dreams
In some of George R. R. Martin's books, his characters have
the ability to “slip out of their own skins” and live and see momentarily
through the eyes of another living being. Their experiences are similar to
dreaming, therefore they never truly leave their own bodies. Pretend you are
like these characters and that you now have the ability to do this. Your
experience begins where you decide to “slip out of your skin” and see through
the eyes of someone else. What is your experience? What emotions or sensations
do you experience? Who you temporarily become can be left as a mystery to the
reader, or if it enhances the writing, feel free to let them know.
Word Salad
Make a list of odd and interesting words and a second list
of words you love. Use your first list to create a poem while adding in words
from your second. Your writing experience can be based off of words that
resonate with one another, or can be an unusual adventure, stringing bits and
pieces of odd-fitting words together. The choice is yours to make!
Stranger Story part I
You are in a public place. A museum, a grocery store, a
coffee shop, anywhere several people are bound to be. You see a stranger; take
note of them. What are they wearing, what they look like, who they might be
with if they aren't alone. Who might they be? Imagine why they are there in the
first place. Decide what their home might look like, and what their daily life
is like. Consider these things and other questions similar, and make a small
story for them. Feel free to go out and people watch, or to simply use your
imagination.
Stranger Story part II
Now that you've read part I of this exercise, place yourself
in the shoes of your stranger. Imagine that you are your stranger's
stranger. Try to imagine in their voice and perspective, who you might be and
why you are there in that public place. Take the questions from part I of this
exercise, and implement your stranger's perspective upon seeing you. Have fun
with this, and feel free to make new and wild accusations about yourself from
this odd perspective.
Letters
I felt prompted recently to start writing after opening some
mail, not necessarily as a reply to the sender, but as a response to the
experience. After opening some mail or an obscure letter, what comes to mind
for you? After opening the envelope; reading it? Do you recall anything about
the person who has sent it to you, or perhaps, their words or handwriting? Try
to capture this moment.
Hello Autumn.
Write a poem about how cold it is, perhaps during the Autumn
months. What is the color of cold or fall-- what does it look like, feel like, sound
like? What colors invoke cold? This prompt might create an interesting visual
contrast with fall’s warm presence and its actual temperate existence. Write a dedication
to a sense of place incorporating those sensations.
What was once
something, is now something else.
Describe a place you notice to be now polluted: how it is
polluted, is it still visually aesthetic in an odd way? How do you imagine it
if it weren't polluted anymore? Was there a time before the state of this place
was altered? Relay this information to us with your corporeal experience.
