SPARKS
I lead/teach a creative writing class once a week with members writing in all genres. There are different levels of expertise and each has a different goal. Several are writing the great novel, one has been published in children's magazines, another often sells her poetry to national magazines, and still others are not seeking publication at all. But, from time to time, they all have something in common--they have no idea what to write about to share at the next class.
At the beginning of each semester, I present them with a weekly schedule of "sparks" or "prompts" or story starters; whatever they are called they seem to work. These "brain wakeups" as I sometimes call them, give writers a nudge when they aren't writing on a specific project. We've all had fun with some, have been stumped by a few, and used others to create more serious works.
The teacher--me--doesn't always share her writing. Due to time restraints, I am the last to sign up for sharing. Usually, I have something short ready--a story, a poem, an article, a personal essay--just in case I need to perform. I need their critiques, their comments, input, and suggestions as much as they need mine and each others. On one occasion I chose a spark/prompt/story starter to write what I thought would be a short story. Instead, the prompt "Sitting in a diner at midnight..." became the first sentence in "Trusting Strangers."
"Trusting Strangers," a romantic-suspense novella, was one of those things I never believed in--a story that wrote itself. I began to create the first part; I thought it would be a short story, as I said, but it was a chapter. My students showed enthusiasm and urged me to continue. Each week for thirty weeks I produced a chapter. And though, I would never do it again because of the pressure from my students (LOL), it was the quickest anything ever poured out of me. It is in revisions now. I hope to have it published in 2009.
Maybe you need a spark, a prompt--a push. Here are a few from my list:
Ken was noted most likely to annoy an entire country.
I sometims think of myself as a hired gun.
Old wounds heal slowly.
I'v been living in the potting shed since Sunday.
"Hell, Sam, I can't ask her out. I'm a Tootsie Roll Pop and she's Godiva chocolate."
The trip always leaves me wishing for . .
It's the memories that plague me.
You can even make up your own. Have fun. You never know where those beginning ideas may lead.
At the beginning of each semester, I present them with a weekly schedule of "sparks" or "prompts" or story starters; whatever they are called they seem to work. These "brain wakeups" as I sometimes call them, give writers a nudge when they aren't writing on a specific project. We've all had fun with some, have been stumped by a few, and used others to create more serious works.
The teacher--me--doesn't always share her writing. Due to time restraints, I am the last to sign up for sharing. Usually, I have something short ready--a story, a poem, an article, a personal essay--just in case I need to perform. I need their critiques, their comments, input, and suggestions as much as they need mine and each others. On one occasion I chose a spark/prompt/story starter to write what I thought would be a short story. Instead, the prompt "Sitting in a diner at midnight..." became the first sentence in "Trusting Strangers."
"Trusting Strangers," a romantic-suspense novella, was one of those things I never believed in--a story that wrote itself. I began to create the first part; I thought it would be a short story, as I said, but it was a chapter. My students showed enthusiasm and urged me to continue. Each week for thirty weeks I produced a chapter. And though, I would never do it again because of the pressure from my students (LOL), it was the quickest anything ever poured out of me. It is in revisions now. I hope to have it published in 2009.
Maybe you need a spark, a prompt--a push. Here are a few from my list:
Ken was noted most likely to annoy an entire country.
I sometims think of myself as a hired gun.
Old wounds heal slowly.
I'v been living in the potting shed since Sunday.
"Hell, Sam, I can't ask her out. I'm a Tootsie Roll Pop and she's Godiva chocolate."
The trip always leaves me wishing for . .
It's the memories that plague me.
You can even make up your own. Have fun. You never know where those beginning ideas may lead.
posted by Barb | 9:22 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home