Color Analysis

PURPLE

Off you go, then. Responses in the comments.

About the Prompts

We're going to enter these as we see fit, as one comes to us, as we have time. There will be no end date on the entries, no time when the comments for something will close. Which means that you can use whatever prompt you wish and respond at any time.

Creativity doesn't have an expiration date.

And neither do these posts.

For the most part, the prompts will be ideas out of our own heads. When we adapt or present a prompt by somebody else, we'll say so. Karma's a journalist and Sally teaches at a university. We believe in intellectual honesty and giving people credit for their work.

On the other hand, the world is a finite place and there may be an idea that we have that is similar to somebody else's. Feel free to make note of that in the comments, with a link, if possible. You can never have enough creative prompts, so we're happy to share the love.

National Poitrey Month

April, for those who didn’t already know, is National Poetry Month. In honor of that fact, and also because I want my students to realize that they can do ANYTHING, I gave my second annual “Anybody can write a poem” lecture. Thanks and apologies to my friend Kate, who taught me this approach.

Open a book.
Find a sentence that’s about ten words long.

(I’ll use a sentence from Self-Made Man by Norah Vincent, the book we’re discussing in class right now. Below is the first thing that caught my eye when I randomly opened the book.)

I felt momentarily overwhelmed by a sense of healing and possibility

Now free associate and riff the first word in that sentence until you run out of thoughts. Then move on to the next. (You can skip articles & conjunctions if you want to.)

I - me, we, she, him, he, us, human, possibility, imagination, appeal, feeling, wow
Felt - gossamer, silk, wool, fabric, cotton, warm, thick, arts & crafts, glue, fading, kids, stockings
Momentarily - now, immediately, immediate, pink, vital, orange, life, necessary, picnic, tablecloth, ants, weird
Overwhelmed - too much, drowning, sinking, under pressure, inadequate, wrong, useless, stupid, not measuring up, worthless, unworthy
By - near, here, there, nearby, nearly, almost, maybe, possibility
Sense - intelligence, wit, notice, think, brain, perception, keen eye, humor
Healing - reiki, doctor, physician, wellness, health, whole, holistic, sunshine, vacation, beaches, rest, recuperate, recovery
Possibility - what if, maybe, imagine, could, might, may, spring, renewal, imagination, anything, limitless, wonder

Next, pick out those words from the list that catch your eye and strike your fancy. Use them as the prompt for a short poem about anything. (I’ve italicized my word choices here.)

The Possibility of String
Watch a child with a stick or a stone or a piece of string.
See how the simple object can become anything, anything at all.
A gun
A sword
A hoe
A pointer
A pencil
A puppet
A person
A hopscotch marker
A snake
A rope for tying up bad guys
The stem of a flower
A game
Anything, anything at all.
The possibilities for a piece of string (or a stick or a stone) are endless
In the mind of a child.
So where does it go, this sense that anything can happen?
How, when and why do we lose the wonder?
Do we kill it off to fit into the grown up world?
Or does it slip from our slackened fingers while we pay attention to something else,
Like a piece of string?

Post the sentence you used (and the source) along with your poem in the comments. You don’t need to include the word lists.

Leftovers!

List seven things that are in your refrigerator right now. Be sure to included at least one item from the door.

(Looking forward to seeing this stuff served up in the comments.)

Time Passes

So. Almost a year later and here we are again. I have renewed my commitment to this playful little corner of the web and will be paying better attention to what goes on here.

That in mind, here's your first/next assignment:

What one thing stands out to you as you look back on this year?

(Respond in the comments as usual, please.)

To all the little people

I have stepped on and slept with so many people to get here. And now all of you mean nothing to me.
This award signals my achievement, my sacrafice. You were all just pawns and I feel it's time to be honest with you about this -- so you can get on with your life and stop trying to be my friend.
I know the rest of the people around here will get all sappy and thank everyone from God to the neighbor's dog. I'm not going to lie to you. This is about me. All me. I tolerated the rest of you because I knew you'd get me to this point, but now I'll only be spending time and energy with the people that can get me to the next level and then I'll spit on them too.
Let's not lie. This is a self serving business. While I could get up here and slobber like the rest of them, I'll instead be the only one with the guts to tell you the truth.
(and as the music plays) Don't bother trying to play me off. I earned this moment and you won't cut it short so some botoxed bimbo can cry in some drunken stupor. You people are slaves to a machine that only pretends to care about you. In reality they're all like me -- Using you to get somewhere else. Cry into your napkins, but don't waste your fake energy on me.

Now your turn: Create a character. Now write their obituary.

Your Oscar Speech Here

Who would you like to thank besides the Academy when you finally receive the recognition you deserve? And what will you do when they pull out the hook and the cheesy music to drag you offstage? Will you go quietly into that good greenroom or will you hang onto the microphone with your skeletal, botoxed fingers?

(Thank you to Desiree for sparking the idea.)

a scoop from the past?

She vaguely heard the annoying bell ring and clank against the glass door.
"I'll have vanilla," the woman said -- in a waffle cone .... no I better just get a dish.
"Don't need the extra calories."
Franca efforted a smile and scooped the ice cream into a dish. The darkness in her thought about sneaking a bit of lemon sorbet in the cup -- just so the lady could see what she was missing -- but that, of course, would be wrong.
Absent mindedly she rang up the sale -- and started to clean the scoops.
"Ahem" -- a familiar voice sent chills down her spine.
Franca spun around and saw him.