Prompts & Exercises

The Writing for Wellness program uses several engaging prompts that are not only fun for participants but encourage them to dig deep within themselves and use their unique, personal experiences to create expressive writing. Here are examples of prompts that will work in a variety of Writing for Wellness community classes.

 

1) Home-Grown Poem

The participants read the original Home-Grown poem and fill in the blanks to create their own origin poem.

Original Poem:

I was born on a Saturday
In mid-December,
The same year that “Flower Drum Song” opened
On Broadway, and two years after
My sister had been born.
In those days, my father smoked a pipe.
My mother dyed her hair blonde.
We lived in Bensonhurst, in a five-room apartment
The landlord never gave us enough heat.
My grandmother lived across the hall.
She took the train to work every morning at 8 am.
People said my hair stood straight-up.

Your Poem:

I was born on a __________
In________________________
The same year___________
In those days, my father__
And my mother___________
We lived in________________
Where there were__________
And my (uncle, aunt, cousin, friend)
Everyone said______________

 

2) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words . . .

The facilitator needs to bring in a picture. It should be something candid with real people. Maybe it’s a girl holding a stuffed teddy bear and she doesn’t look very happy. Or a young man leaning up against a car laughing. Photographs work best for this. Have participants make up a story that goes with the picture and the people in the picture.

 

3) The Story Behind [An Object]

The leader should bring in a few objects, each different and with varying qualities, for example, a teacup, a locket, a key, etc. Have the participants make up a story behind each object. Maybe the teacup is a family heirloom and traveled across the ocean when the family first came to America from Germany. Maybe the locket was a gift a husband gave to his wife just before he left to fight in World War II. Form a complete narrative for each of these objects.

 

4) The Package

Inspired by Harry Potter–a mysterious package appears on your doorstep with a message that says, “It was time this was returned to you. Use it well.” What’s in the package? Who left it there? Why? Is it a key to a mansion that has been locked for the past twelve years? Or is it a pair of shoes that magically change according to the feet of the wearer and gives that person one super power they always wish they had?

 

5) The Vessel

A vessel appears in your driveway with a specific purpose. Describe what the vessel is (a car, plane, space ship etc.), why is it here, and where is it going? Why? Is it a spaceship going to outer space to fight intergalactic aliens and you are the only one who can lead them to victory? Or perhaps it is more realistic–a car sitting in the driveway that a young woman is going to use to drive home and reunite with the family she hasn’t seen in three years because of a falling out?

 

6) If I Were a . . .

This seems like a simple fill in the blank, but it allows participants to think metaphorically. Participants can choose one from below and once they have filled in the blank, have them explain why they are like the structure, place, or type of weather.

1.) If I were a place, I’d be . . .

Examples: Mountains, prairies, rivers, streams, woods, forest, desert, plains, swamps, beach, plains, etc.

2.) If I were weather, I’d be . . .

Examples: Sun, clouds, rain, fog, hurricane, tornado, humidity, snow, blizzard, rain, thunderstorm, etc.

3.) If I were a structure, I’d be . . .

Examples: Palace, shack, teepee, adobe hut, tent, yurt, apartment building, skyscraper, subdivision home, hospital, church, school, etc . . .

 

7) Horse Blinders

What are you blind to? While you’re so busy concentrating on the negative things in your life, it can become difficult to see the positive. Think for a bit and find a kernel of positivity that you don’t always pay any mind.

 

8) Memory Box

Take in a hinged box into class. Open it up and show everyone that it is empty. Then ask patients to think about their favorite memory. This is the memory that we want them to share, but it is not mandatory. When they are done (about 15 minutes), have patients place their memory into the box and close it. Tell the patients that we have taken their incredibly happy moment and they can only have it back if they trade. Now ask them to clear their minds and, when they are ready, write down their worst memory. Ask them to really dig into every aspect that they are willing to divulge and reiterate that they will NOT share this memory. Have students work for, at most, 30 minutes. When time is up, tell the students that they have the choice to trade for their great moment; however, if they commit to the trade, they will be unable to have their bad memory, and it will forever belong to the facilitator who cannot look at them but can only destroy the bad memories. This is what they must do in order to retrieve the good day from the box.

 

9) Joyful Memory

Everyone shares the most joyful memory that comes to mind.  Each person directs the scene, casting group members in the various roles, including him or herself.  Participant watches the scene and comments on the feelings and memories that come up.

 

10) Holistic Health

What is a healthy mind? A healthy heart? A healthy body?  A healthy spirit?

Divide your paper diagonally into four triangles.  Fill each triangle with color, words, and images that represent what a healthy mind, heart, body, and spirit is for you.

 

God (or I or whomever), Grant Me the Serenity

Discuss the quote, God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  Make two lists, “The things I can change” and “The things I can’t change.”  On each side, list the things you can and can’t change in your life.  On another sheet of paper, draw how your life would look after you successfully changed the things on your list, “The things I can change.”

 

11) My Perfect Healing Hospital

What are some treatments for physical illnesses, such as a wound, a cold, or a disease?  (i.e. rest, bandages, surgery, etc.)  How are these symbolic of the same treatments we use for emotional or mental problems? (i.e. talking to friends and family, talking to a therapist, hiding or protecting our hurt places, changing destructive patterns, etc.)  Design your perfect healing hospital or retreat center that would help you to heal your heart and mind whenever you are having problems.  Include animals, food, recreation, support, mediation, and anything you think would be helpful.

 

12) Inspired Poem

Think of a quote that is meaningful to you and write it at the top of a piece of paper. Add your own lines below it that expand on the quote in the way you understand it – continue for the rest of the page.  Find someone in the group to read your poem for you as you use movement or gesture to express the meaning of your poem.

Quotes:

“It takes a lot of courage to grow up and turn out to be who you really are.” e.e. cummings

“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by chance.” Jim Rohn

 

13) Three Animals

On a sheet of paper, write the name of your favorite animal and three qualities you like about that animal; i.e. cheetah: sad, caring, and shy.  Next, write the name of your second favorite animals with three qualities, and finally, your third favorite and its three qualities.  Consider the possibility that the first animal represents how you want others to see you, the second animal represents how people actually see you, and the third animal represents who you really are.  (Reading them aloud with their meanings with the group can be quite humorous.)  Next, draw, color, or paint a mixed breed animal with the three animals you chose, such as a creature with a cheetah head, a mouse body, and a fish tail.  Add a habitat, food, family and friends for this animal.

 

14) Purpose in Life

(This is adapted from an activity used in the Awakening the Dreamer Symposium.)

Fold paper into three sections.  In the first section, list your gifts, strengths, talents, including abilities and personal qualities.  In the third section, list problems in the world that are concerning to you, such as child abuse, animal abuse, unemployment, etc.  In the middle section, use creativity to devise at least three ways to use your gifts in the first section to solve problems in the third section.  Draw and color an image of one of these ideas as if it has already happened and succeeded in solving the problem.

 

15) Hot Mess

Write a story or poem about spectacular chaos. Faux pas and flamboyant fails. Calamitous confusion. Wearing two different shoes to work, butt dialing your ex, tanking an interview. Disheveled dramas and situations so tangled there is no hope of straightening things out.

 

16) Strange Press Conference

Pick a fictional character, historical figure, or celebrity, anyone will do as long as they’re recognizable and you know a little bit about their personality. He/she has just done something worthy of holding a press conference…but it’s something strange, or something you would not normally expect from this character. Maybe Kendrick Lamar has decided to make an opera, Zeus is running for political office, or Rachel Ray has just won the Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest…get weird with it. Think of what that character’s demeanor might be like, would they be sad, shy or elated? Would they give long winded answers or would they answer in one word? Also, think about what kinds of questions they would receive. Would the reporters try to take advantage of their emotional state, would they ask about how they achieved their accomplishment, or would they ask things that aren’t even relevant?

Try writing it in a Q&A:

Q: Mr. Zeus, what do you have to say about about the Leda’s sexual assault allegations?

A: Come on now, I turned into a swan? Get out of here, I would never turn into such a girly creature. When I’m President of Olympus it will be illegal to make such ludicrous accusations. Zeus 2016, Let’s make Mount Olympus great again!

 

Other Examples:

Mike Tyson after a professional golf outing

Justin Bieber was caught touching the exhibits at an art museum

President Obama decides quits presidency to become a chef

Superman is going to rehab

 

17) Money

Tell of cheapskates and big spenders, misers or millionaires. Pawn shops, spending sprees, eBay deals, and piggy bank funds. A poem of the rich and famous, a tale of two cities, greedy politicians, a bank heist, a homeless person asking for spare change, Harriet Tubman fighting Andrew Jackson for the $20. A sonnet about a rapper & his bling. If you have a few coins or bills in your pocket, examine them and write something you’ve never noticed before.

 

18) Rapper’s Delight

Concoct your own funky and wild rap song about an unusual topic. What is it that Dre, Em, Kendrick, Yeezy and Weezy all forgot to rap about? Maybe you’ve got some ill bars about eating ice cream, or some fiery lines about playing in the school’s marching band. Radio rap has told us all about being a gangsta, why don’t you tell us what it’s like to be a high school student or a big brother?

Remember that rap is all about rhythm and sound. When you’re writing yours, use end rhyme:

“My Adidas walk through concert doors

And roam all over coliseum floors.”

 

and internal rhymes:

“You hate it before you played it. I already forgave ya.”

 

also, pay attention to the beginnings of words and create alliteration:

“and since birth I’ve been cursed with this curse to just curse

and just blurt this berserk and bizarre ——— that works”

 

In rap the more explosive the sound and rhyme is, the better. If you’re having trouble getting started, listen to your favorite song (with headphones), steal their rhyme scheme & then turn on a quiet beat you can focus to. See what you can do.

 

19) Elements of Poetry: Free Verse

Create compound words with the following: leaf, peach, ache, flick, blue, drum, lantern, father, rock, face, log, glass, slug, cactus, black, static, lip, dank, street,

List perfect rhymes with the word: cat

List slant rhymes with the word: bridge

List assonance with the word: inside

List consonance with the word: time

List alliteration with the word: rabbit

Continue the anaphora of the word: where…

 

20) Word Music

Share a story/poem about a musical interlude in your life. From band practice to the song that saved the day, the mood music that did the trick, the tune that is your personal anthem. Give us the mix tape of you. You may even simply borrow a song title and write an adventure story, or maybe a found poem — taking snippets of language from many songs and creating something that is music to the ears.

 

21) Thankful

In honor of Thanksgiving, you can write a letter if you wish to someone or something you are thankful for & why. Or maybe a litany (a list) of blessings with the repeated refrain “Today I am thankful for…” An example:

Today I am thankful for the cricket outside the window,

the lavender cloud, this cup of coffee, this poem.

Today I am thankful for my feet, this drum

of a heartbeat, this walk down the street.

Or maybe write a Twitter post as a Thanksgiving turkey. Can you save yourself from being part of the meal in 140 characters?

 

22) Heat

Prepare a tale about: jalapeno peppers, the sunburn you got before the wrestling match, heat waves, the pizza that gave you third degree burns on the roof of your mouth, hot rollers, hot chocolate, hot tub time machines, a scratchy sweater, the Miami Heat, a blood boiling encounter, fire and why playing with matches is a BAD idea, or anytime you felt the pressure. Scorch us with tales of your hotness — or notness.

 

23) Gatherings

Write something about the collections of people. Reunions, meet-ups, rallies and glee clubs. From a seance to spelling bees, bible camp to barbershops. Parties, parades, holidays, Sunday dinners. Remember to pay close attention to setting the scene and providing plenty of sensory details of your weird Uncle Steve.

 

24) Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice

Write a poem using language from a cookbook to tell a story. Include sensory ingredients, measurements, instructions and tips to guide the reader. It can be a recipe for disaster, hope, trust — think abstract! — a magic potion, a person, a memory, a hybrid creature. The ingredients can range between typical foods like: nutmeg or flour, & strange ones like: funny bones or feathers or sunsets. Think about how you can use cooking tools in inventive ways: whisk, spatula, rolling pin, wok. Use verbs found in recipes like: combine, stir, sprinkle, garnish. Maybe to create tension your poem uses temperature: boil, deep-fry, roast. Get weird with it.

 

Take ____________________________________________________(ingredients)

Put _____________________________________________________(combine)

In_______________________________________________________(container)

Mix (stir, chop, blend) ___________________With (utensil or machine)_______________

Until______________(how you can tell it’s ready) Pour (throw, drop)________________

Cook (broil, bake) ________________ At (temperature) __________ Until __________

You can tell it’s done when ___________________ Let stand (cool etc.) until __________

Add (a dash, sprinkle) _____________ Cut (slice, chop etc.) _____________________

Serve with _________________________ Taste (result) _____________________

 

25) The Nom Nom Nom Prompt

Calling all foodies! Prepare a story or poem about your favorite food. Vittles, grub, cuisine, groceries, homemade or take-out. From frozen dinners to nuts and berries, bring us stories of nourishment. From gluttony to gluten intolerance, tales of your daily bread, an obnoxious dinner guest, the perspective of a chicken nugget, food fights, family recipes, a sad story about a pig feeling like he has a bad reputation, a vegan working as a butcher. Try to engage the reader in the sights, smells & tastes — turning the page into a full plate of deliciousness. Go ahead, play with your food.

 

26) Socially Conscious Letter

Being socially conscious means being aware of the problems that plague our society. If we identify a problem we can work toward solving it.

In the form of a traditional letter or a poem entitled “Dear ———” write about any issue of social consciousness which you feel is important or overlooked. You might want to write about politics, poverty, unnecessary violence, illegal drugs, sexism, or educational inequalities. This could be an open letter addressed to the general public or groups like Exxon, Fox News, or The NFL. It could also be a letter addressed to a specific person you support, or someone you disagree with, maybe you would write to Donald Trump, Colin Kaepernick, Amy Schumer, or Barack Obama. Who would you like to get behind? Who really ticks you off?

Let your audience know who you are and why this issue is important to you. Personal experiences will make your argument stronger and more believable.

 

27) Urban Planner

If you could build your own city, what would it look like? Would skyscrapers pierce clouds, or would tunnels worm their way underground? What kinds of colors would one see walking through it, a network of pulsating neon lights, or imposing gray slates of marble? Think about what rules would govern this city. Do freedom and love reign? Maybe you would build an entire city with all of your best friends favorite things and places? Maybe it is the city you would imprison your worst enemy in? Think about the specific images that this city would contain from the stoplights and roads to its houses and parks. The more detail the better, as your city will stand out more clearly in the reader’s mind.

 

28) Ekphrastic

An Ekphrastic is a poem which describes or imaginatively renders a work of art. It is an opportunity to enter the world of a painting (or some other piece of art), and to envision what else might be going on inside of it.

You might write an Ekphrastic by describing the work of art in great detail, creating metaphors that allow the reader to see the work in a new and refreshing light. Imagine a poem from the perspective of Mona Lisa’s eyebrow(s), or a poem about the pink owls who live on your coffee mug.

Try your own Ekphrastic. Begin by looking for an evocative work of art, something that stirs your curiosity and intellect, compelling you to explore it. Then, think about the perspective you would like to take, maybe you are a narrator describing the painting, or perhaps a person who has just walked into the world of the painting. Finally, choose an appropriate form. Think about how long the lines should be and where you should break them.

 

29) Rewrite a Fairy Tale

Take a fairy tale or a myth and retell it in a unique way. Have you ever wanted to retell Goldilocks as the story of some poor, unsuspecting wolf continually harassed by an annoying teenager? Or maybe a myth, perhaps Persephone begins to enjoy living in the underworld with Hades, and so winter goes on for quite a while? Try to recreate a tale as wild as possible, lending the strangest of twists to a well-known story. Put Cinderella at a Kanye West concert. Change the three blind mice to the three near-sighted orangutans. Have at it! Once upon a time….

 

30) Form: Elegy

In traditional English poetry, it is often a melancholy poem that laments its subject’s death but ends in consolation. They usually use symbolic images that one would associate with the dead one. Try writing an Elegy, it can be a traditional Elegy of remembrance for any deceased person, character, celebrity, icon or even object. Or you might write your own elegy. How do you imagine people would remember you? You could write about things you think you will accomplish or you can write a funny self-elegy, perhaps, describing your humorous demise, or some silly exploits you imagine in your future. The contrast of funny images with a somber tone could make for a darkly comedic poem. The following poem is an example of an elegy:

“Elegy for my husband”
Toi Derricotte

 

31) Haunted

Write a poem or story about a spooky fixation. Recurring nightmares, paralyzing anxiety, unshakable obsessions. Irrational fears! Apparitions! Regrets! Confronting your demons or taking your secrets to the grave. Dark worries and memories that colonize your psyche. Ghostly destinations & paranormal activity. Write the next Chucky, Frankenstein, Freddy Krueger or Leatherface. May it be full of house creaks, faucet drips & Bloody Marys — & most importantly Poe-esque.

 

32) Lost & Found

Prepare a story or poem about loss and redemption. From lost thoughts to found sounds. The cardboard box behind the desk, a leftover umbrella, a lonely shoe, a raggedy dog-eared sci-fi novel. Let the writers tell us their tales about leaving things, feelings, loved ones behind and about re-discovering hidden paths, buried emotions, a sense of self.

 

33) Form: Found Poem

Poems often come from the most unexpected of places. Words and phrases are all around, check out the wrapper on the water bottle next to your notebook, or look at that poster on the wall over there. Flip through that chemistry book. All language is fair game for poetry, and all language can become poetry if we arrange it in a poetic way.

Ask participants to look through the books that have been brought to class and copy sentences or phrases they find pleasing, maybe they just sound nice together, or maybe they make an interesting image. After they’ve collected a lot of language, let them organize it however they want and make a poem out of it.

Don’t worry about being perfectly grammatical, but try to create a unique collage of language, pair together images that are unexpected and fun.

 

34) Doubt

Have participants write a story or poem about questioning. Pondering the space between yes and no, true and false. The existence of God, the tooth fairy, UFOs and soulmates. Wanting to believe or embracing the uncertainty, second guessing everything beyond a shadow of a doubt. Skeptical, suspicious, hesitant or just curious. Maybe a time when someone doubted them and instead of listening to their opinion, they used their words as fuel towards success.

 

35) Voyage

A rolling stone gathers no moss. Ask writers to write a poem or story about travel. Speak of adventures in a different time zone (or at least a different zip code)! Tell us about language barriers and the hunger, fear, lust or delight that compelled them, exchange rates, exotic flavors, culture shock, phrase book essentials: “Thanks SO MUCH, but huge bummer, I’m allergic to lizard meat,” missing the comforts of home and reveling in the comforts of there, when in Rome…realizing it wasn’t built in a day. From xenophiles to xenophobes, hear stories of fresh perspectives. New Jersey to Nepal, anywhere but home. Tell us tales of the open road, hitchhikers, runaways, vegabonds. The planes, trains and automobiles. Make us see the landscape — hear the accents. Maybe a poem that reads like a brochure to the Philippines, the underworld, Neptune or the 1920s.

 

36) What You Know (Mean)?

A great way to produce gripping and colorful writing is to “write what you know.” When we have actually experienced something, it can be much easier to write about it in detail. Also, when there is something we do all of the time, some hobby or activity, we begin to learn a lot about it. Maybe somebody knows all of the different gear that a fisherman uses, and the mechanics of a perfect cast. Or perhaps, they’re a quarterback on the football team and they know how to arc that perfect spiral to an open receiver when the game is on the line. Ask the participants to write about something they know well, something they have a unique knowledge of. Have them write about it in a way so that we can visualize the experience. In other words, don’t tell, but show the reader.

 

37) Haiku Telephone

Haiku, a Japanese poetic form, is very short consisting of only seventeen syllables — a first line of five, followed by a second of seven, and a third of five syllables again. Because they are so brief, Haikus should never waste a word. Participants should try writing a Haiku. It can be like the more traditional Japanese Haikus which were often concerned with nature and man’s place in it, or they can also try a more modern haiku, possibly describing the city they live in or the school they go to. To the Japanese, Haikus were somewhat similar to aphorisms (short sayings of truth). Have them think about what they know best and what truths they have stored up over their lifetimes.

Because this is Haiku Telephone — a haiku will be passed from person to person. One person will write a haiku, and the next person can write another haiku incorporating or communicating something from the poem before.

Examples:

A hypotenuse (5)                                      Haikus are easy,

Is on the opposite side (7)                      But sometimes they don’t make sense.

Of the right angle. (5)                              Refrigerator.

 

38) A Household Romance

Sometimes, when we are writing, it can be good to escape from our own head by attempting to explore a different perspective. For this prompt, have the participants write about a romance between two household objects from the perspective of one of those objects. They could write about a toaster’s unrequited love for his neighbor, the blender; or, about a writing desk and a floor lamp who cannot stand each other after five long years of marriage. Could there be a love triangle amongst the cutlery? Could the television have her eye on the wireless router? Explore all kinds of possibilities by thinking about the different objects that one might encounter in somebody’s house.

They can pick any two objects they like and think about what might draw them together or rip them apart. Encourage them to imagine how they might interact with other objects in the room.

 

39) Great Expectations

Sometimes we just can’t help but to judge a book by its cover. An intriguing title will draw readers to the story or poem and give a hint as to what they might expect.

One has to be very careful when choosing a title. If it gives too much away, the story might end up squandering its surprise. Then again, if the title doesn’t say enough, the reader might have trouble understanding the purpose or inspiration of the author’s writing.

A fun way to find good titles is to look at those of other writers. Starting with the very same title, participants may find themselves in territory that is altogether new; places that the original writer would never have thought to go to.

For this prompt, look through the books and titles of already published works, maybe even ones that have been used in an earlier session. Then, have the writers pick out some titles that stand out to them. Let them choose the one they think they have a story for and start writing it.

 

40) Back to School

Taught by nuns or wolves, the streets, trial and error or Harvard professors — facilitators should encourage participants to break out those fresh pencils and share a short story or poem of school. It can be about lessons learned, mentored enlightenment, hard knock knowledge, bad hair days, the cliques, bad/good first impressions, bad/good teachers, being the new kid, end of summer vacation. It can be as bizarre as they see fit. Maybe, Bozo is having trouble tying balloons on his first day of clown school, or Mr. Brown is heading to teach biology after finding out that his wife wants a divorce?

 

41) Memory Exchange

The memory exchange is when people write down a positive memory in detail, so they’re really feeling that moment. Then they fold it and give it to a facilitator with their name written on the outside. On another sheet of paper, they write down an unpleasant memory. Then they exchange their unpleasant memory for the positive one they gave to the facilitator, letting go of the unpleasant/negative one.

The facilitator can do what they want these negative memories, but it should be kept confidential. In the past, Butler Writing for Wellness facilitators have shredded them or taken them home and burned them without reading them.

 

42) Unusual Noun/Verb Pairing

First, have everyone in the group write down a noun on a strip of paper, fold it, and place it in a bowl. (Use random nouns, whatever comes to mind: cat, balloon, sneeze, tulip, lamp, spoon, etc.)

Then, let everyone write a verb on a different strip of paper, fold it, and place it in a second bowl. (Again, keep it random: jump, twirl, sneeze, run, pummel, laugh, bake, etc.)

Next, everyone comes up and draws a noun and a verb. For example, one person might draw the words “spoon” and “laugh” — now that person has to be creative and write something based on this combination (for example, a spoon laughing). Can be a poem, or a story, or whatever they want.

 

43) A Day in the Life of an Object

Invite participants to close their eyes and imagine their bedrooms. In their mind’s eye, look around the room and picture all the items they have on the dresser, their bed, the wall, in their closet. Have them pick one of those items.

Use that item and write a story (or poem) from the object’s perspective. What is a day in the life of this object like? What does this object see every day? What does this object observe about the person who lives in that room? The object can have thoughts, and it can even speak!

 

44) Personal Dialogue

Everybody knows those conversations we’ve had where we later think of lines we wished we’d said? Encourage participants to think back to some of the more significant, important conversations they’ve had in their lives. It can be about anything, for example:

• Someone was mean to you or someone you care about, and you didn’t stand up for yourself or your loved one
• You loved someone and didn’t tell them
• You didn’t say good-bye
• You ended a relationship with someone and didn’t say everything you needed to
• You didn’t make yourself vulnerable when you should have
• You didn’t offer help and now you regret it
• Someone dumped you and you didn’t tell them off
• A boss treated you poorly and you didn’t speak up
• You were having an argument with a close friend
• Someone said something mean to you and you didn’t stand up for yourself

First, give the participants to write out the conversation as it actually happened, transcribing it as accurately as they can remember. Then have them go back and rewrite the dialogue, giving themselves better lines. They can also rewrite the other person’s lines to match what the participant wishes had happened.

After they write the conversation, the facilitator can ask if someone wants to act it out.

 

45) Touch

This prompt requires bringing in some outside materials to have passed around so others can feel them. Use a variety of textures, something soft and fluffy, something rough, something that squishes, something silky, etc. While the objects are being passed around, let everybody make notes of what these objects and textures remind them of. They can use these notes to write about experiences, and encourage them to use at least three things that can felt/touched.

 

46) Taste

There are a lot of poems and stories that revolve around food, or have food as one of the themes. Food can say a lot about the culture, socioeconomic status, or even the situation a character finds themselves in.

For this prompt, writers can either write an ode to particular food, or they can write a poem about a food memory.

 

47) Sound

The sounds we hear every day might seem ordinary and pretty soon, we don’t notice some of them. But those sounds also have the ability to link to memories and we might start to associate a specific sound with that one great night with friends, or what it was like to live alone for the first time, etc.

There are a few writing prompts that can focus on sound. It’s been proven that music can help in therapeutic ways. One writing prompt is to have participants listen for a memory while the facilitator plays a song. Two examples are “Hey Jude” by the Beatles and “Hurricane” from the play, Hamilton.

 

Play the song a couple times to provide adequate time for the writers.

Another prompt that involves sound is to ask participants to close their eyes and think about a sound from their childhood. What can they remember about that sound? What is the sound? What’s happening?

 

48) Sight

Ask participants to write down the most beautiful thing they have ever seen. Have them write down everything they can remember, what they were feeling, if it was bright or dark, if they were alone or with somebody else, did it take your breath away, etc. Get into the cracks and remember the nitty gritty. Also try to remember the flaws in the sight, the ugly parts, and how you disregarded it.

Have everyone pick one or two lines that caught their attention. Use these lines to form a group poem.

 

49) Scent

Our sense of smell is oftentimes connected to memory, perhaps more so than any of our other senses and it has the power to trigger memories or make us remember things we have long forgotten.

For this exercise, read “Smoke in Our Hair” by Ofelia Zepeda and discuss.

Then hand out different scents and ask participants to write down what it reminds them of. Make them go deeper. Have them focus on a specific memory. When handing out these scents, be frenzied with it. Let them use the first memory that comes to mind.

Next, have the participants use the list of memories and turn it into a poem with Zepeda’s as a frame. They can try and replicate the style, particularly the repetition. The first line of the poem should be “The scent of _____ holds/ the strongest memory.”

 

50) My Parents

For many people and especially children, their parents are sometimes their come-to-life heroes. Ask the participants to think about one of their parents and to write down details about them. When they are finished, they can pass their list to the facilitator. The facilitator can then use these lists and make a group poem.

 

51) Furniture

Participants can complete the following prompt:

What piece of furniture are you and why?

This allows participants to think symbolically and creatively when they’re thinking about themselves. It may take a few minutes for somebody to come up with an idea, so it could be helpful to make a list of furniture and ask people to see if they see any similarities between themselves and the selected object. If somebody says they are a chair, have them describe what type of chair, if it’s a wooden chair, or a stool, if it has arms, if it’s padded, etc.

 

52) Lightning Rounds

This prompt could be more useful if it is a warm-up. It’ll be fast paced and help to get participants thinking. Pick something simple that can evoke a lot of emotions and details and have everybody share those details about the chosen topic as fast as they can. Examples include: Freshly cut grass, fireworks, the hottest place they’ve been to, going to the movie theater, etc. Set a timer for five minutes and when the timer goes off, either go to a different topic, or the facilitator can lead into the next activity.

 

53) Music

When used in a wellness setting, music has been proven to be beneficial for many people. There are a number of ways to introduce music to a writing prompt even if it’s as simple as playing something on your phone while everybody free writes. Below are various prompts incorporating music into the writing for wellness field.

1.) Have participants write a playlist of songs that makes them happy. Later, have them listen to the playlist and write about what they think or how they feel while the music is playing.

2.) Play a song, something that is soothing (ie: the original “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”) and have participants listen for a memory and write down what that memory is. Play the song twice in order to give an adequate amount of time to write.

3.) Ask participants to think about a time when a song had a profound effect on them. What was the song? What was the situation? What did they do? Write this down and then ask participants pick out two lines they would like to be used in a group song. Once everybody has their two lines picked, the facilitator can form a song and share with the participants.

4.) Answer the following prompt: Somebody is tapping their toes. What is the song that is in their head?

While participants are thinking of different songs, write these down as a playlist. Singing along to songs is encouraged, as well as using YouTube to play these songs. By hearing the songs, this can also generate more songs for the playlist.

 

54) Favorite Summer Memory

For this one, it will start with a guided meditation. Instruct everybody to close their eyes and breathe in and out in deep breaths. You can also play soft instrumental music if you choose to.

For this meditation, have everybody think about their favorite summer memory. Maybe it was at the beach, or a park. Maybe inside a mall. Linger on that moment. Recollect the sights and smells from that time. Encourage them to recall as many details as they can.

Let everybody open their eyes and write down this memory and all its details.

After a few minutes, tell them to flash forward to present day. Think about having the chance to relive that moment again. How can you achieve that? What do you wish you had known then?

Let them write down their ideas. Once everybody is finished, let them share.

 

55) Dreams

Have everybody think about the recent dream they can remember. Write down the details they can remember and encourage them to use vivid imagery and details. Try to us that dream and fill in any blanks as need be.

 

Have people who are willing to share read their dream out loud. Pick out lines that are interesting or thought provoking. When everyone has shared, use the lines to make a poem and read it aloud.

 

56) Annoyances

Everybody has something that greatly annoys them whether it is a minor pet peeve or a something major. It can also be beneficial if people talk about these annoyances. For this exercise, there are multiple steps to it.

For this writing exercise, have everybody write a list of the things that irritate them. After a few minutes, let anybody who wants to share read out their list.

Next, have everybody write about the latest encounter in which something incredibly annoying happened. Have them write about what they did versus what they wanted to do.

While everybody is listening, have them try to focus on specific lines that are particularly interesting or thought provoking. One thing to look for when trying to pick out lines is emotion. Find one line from each story and use those lines to make a poem.

Discuss the poem and talk about the similarities.

To turn this prompt around into something positive, have everybody write about a time they were annoyed by something, and what they did to win over that annoyance and react in a productive behavior. Celebrate those victories.

If somebody doesn’t have a victory, let them fictionalize one.

 

57) In My Mother’s Kitchen

Growing up in our mother’s or even grandmother’s kitchens, we often have memories that pull us back into our childhood. We might have favorite recipes, or a special place to sit and watch and our mother or grandmother. Maybe some of us even helped out. The kitchen is filled with sensory details, especially smell, so make sure those are included.

 

58) A Time in the Rain

Rain can help us recall many different experiences, some scary, others pleasant. Participants can recount a time they spent in the rain. Why were they in the rain? Did they feel cold? Was it fun, or were they miserable? What kind of clothes were they wearing? Were they alone?

After they recount a memory of them in the rain and, if time permits, what was it like getting back inside where it was warm and dry? Did they sit in front of a heater? Watch a movie? Read a book?

 

59) Teach Me Something

When teaching somebody something new, it is sometimes helpful to break down everything step by step. It forces people to sit down and think about each step and the order they go in.

Sometimes this project is used with elementary aged children and the teacher asks the student how they would make a Thanksgiving turkey. This prompt could be used for any age though and could be anything from arts and crafts to a recipe to how to fix a flat tire. Help them so they do not miss any important steps or details.

 

60) The First Time I . . .

Fill in the rest of the sentence. Use sensory details and try to remember as much as you can.

The first time I…

1. Lost a tooth
2. Broke a bone
3. Flew on an airplane
4. Moved out
5. Spent the night at a friend’s house

 

61) Letters

Letters have an interesting way of of bringing out information we wouldn’t normally talk about, especially if these letters are not actually being sent. Here are a few examples of somebody/something we could write a letter too.

1. Your former self
2. Your future self
3. A place or location you feel best represents you
4. An object from your childhood that meant a lot to you (ie: a stuffed teddy bear, that special cup you always used, your favorite chair, etc.)
5. Somebody you used to know, but is no longer in your life

 

62) Free Write to Music

This prompt could be used as a warm up before going into a deeper exercise. Let participants write freely with no expectations or special topics to focus on and let the music play in the background while they write. Some good ideas for music is Judy Garland’s version of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.”

 

63) House Blueprint

 

If your personality could be compartmentalized into the different rooms/spaces of a house, what would that house look like? What would this blueprint of your mind include?

Would you keep your fears locked away in the basement? Your memories in the attic? Would you keep your dreams and aspirations in your bedroom or the kitchen?

Think about what makes you “you.” Think about all the things you have done and plan to do. Fill the rooms of your house with memories, dreams, fears, habits, loved ones, and whatever you feel helps to define you.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Draw in some rooms and fill them out. Fill out only the rooms you want. Spend more time in one room if you feel like it. Note: You can also free-hand draw your own house shape, just ask for a blank sheet of paper.
2. Remember you do not have to share anything or everything. This is for you.
3. You can draw or write using a pen or pencil or many different colors.
4. You can decorate or add landscaping if you’d like — this is your house!
5. You may change any rooms or interpret them however you’d like. Below are suggestions to get your creative mind going.

 

IDEAS FOR ROOMS (SUGGESTIONS ONLY, FEEL FREE TO PERSONALIZE)

• Living Room: What you let other people see.
• Kitchen: What you make/do for other people, what you like to eat.
• Bathroom: How you view yourself, what you see in the mirror, how you take care of your physical/mental/emotional health.
• Bedroom: Only a few people know this side of you.
• Office: Work, stresses, worries.
• Basement: Fears, hidden secrets.
• Attic: Memories, dreams.
• Play room: What do you do for fun?
• Bonus room: What is special/different/unique about you?
• Roof: What/who protects you?
• Door: Who do you let in/who do you keep out?
• Chimney: How do you blow off steam?
• Porch: How do you relax?

 

64) Heart Map

 

1. Write or draw things you love inside the heart.
2. Write or draw things you don’t love outside the heart.
3. You can be specific and concrete, you can be general, or you can be a mixture of both.
4. Write one word or many sentences.
5. You don’t have to use all the spaces, or you can divide them to make more.
6. Remember you will only share as much or little as you’d like.

 

65) Three Bends

Rivers oftentimes have turns and bends, and sometimes even waterfalls. These can make a large impact on the flow of the river and how it gets to where it’s ultimately going. In this exercise, everybody imagines themselves as a river. They can list the three largest “bends” in their own life, the choices they made or the events that greatly affected the course of their life. They can also list the times when their life turned into a waterfall in which they had little to no control of what was happening. It helps to only choose three events because these three can help highlight what kind of person they have become and what events or revelations greatly changed their life. This can be a funny and lighthearted conversation, or it can be tragic and emotional, so be prepared for a wide range of responses.

 

66) Love-Hate

“Love-hate” is when each person goes around and says something they “hate” (a rule may or may not be instated that we can’t hate people, just what they do), and then each person goes around and shares something they “love.” It could be like “Name something that you hated/loved from today” or “this week” or “about being LGBT” or “about pop culture” or “about writing” or whatever you want.

A follow up to this exercise is reading “The Pleasures of Hating” by Laure-Anne Bosselaar and mimicking it by listing the small things that we hate or irritate us in life (ie: being stuck behind slow city buses, acne, etc.)

 

67) Values

This writing exercise is a little more interactive.

Start with having everybody provide a list of values and ask everyone to choose three to five and to write them on separate Post-it notes (which you provide). These can be values they think are important for a “writing workshop” or for “being a good person,” etc. They also need to define what that value means in their own words on the Post-it note. Encourage people to think outside of the box. For example, one student once wanted to add a value (“kakapa-kapa”) in his own Austronesian language dialect (Tagalog); in English it means “fumbling,” and he defined it like this: “It implies openness to the surprise our findings may reach, humility in front of our respondents, and playfulness towards serendipity.”

As everybody finishes writing their values on Post-it notes, they can one by one stick them to the wall (or table, floor–wherever)Once everybody has their values written on Post-it notes, they stick them on the wall (or table, or floor–whatever). As they are sticking these values onto the designated space, they can try to cluster the values according to how they match up and placing similar values next to each other.

Finally, as a group you can discern your collective values. This can be a pretty cool team building exercise that gets people thinking about language and rules of decorum.

 

68) Writing From Your Senses

Read “Handbag” by Ruth Fainlight or “Found Object” by Lucia Perillo.

1. Think of a person who is very important to you. What is an object of theirs that holds sensory memories for you? Maybe it is an object they always have on them or a prized possession. Write a recollection similar to Ruth Fainlight’s poem “Handbag” in which you describe this object (and through it, the owner) using sensory detail.

 

2. Make a list of objects in a place that you spend a lot of time (e.g., your desk, the kitchen table, your bedroom, the living room). Pick an object or a few and, using sensory detail, write about it/them thoroughly—and maybe even your history with that object.

 

3. What images do you “obsess” over? What do you see when you daydream? What scene, object, or person could you stare at for long periods of time and not be bored? Describe this image in a way that would allow a stranger to pick it out of a thousand people, places, or things similar it.

 

69) A Day in Your Life

This exercise incorporates mapping a scene, introducing tension, and characterization. This will be a step-by-step exercise.

1. Write about a moment, aspect, or routine that is part of your everyday life that involves external or internal conflict (or both). This can be past or present, at work or home or anywhere else. You can talk about a daily task you perform at work, what you do on your lunch hour – anything you want. Or it can be about your home — making breakfast in the morning, walking your dog, your bedtime routine, etc.
2. Put us in scene with you and take us through the motions with you. Remember that what may appear routine or boring to you can be interesting to us. Use techniques you learned in the Mapping the Scene exercise.
3. Once you have us in there with you, I want you to add some conflict. This can be a person at work who gives you a hard time or some internal battle you fight with yourself every night when you’re going to bed. Make use of dialogue (which can be an internal monologue if this is internal conflict). If it’s conflict with a person, be sure to give us character details. Also keep in mind that the conflict can be nature, technology, society, etc. – anything that makes your life more difficult.
4. Write out the conflict. Are words exchanged? What do you say to each other? What is at the root of the conflict? Is there a resolution? If so, write about it. If not, you can write about that, too.

 

70) Scene and Tension

Read “The Signature of God” by Judson Mitcham and analyze the tension that plays out in the scene:

_____

I was feeding my mother her breakfast at Emory Hospital, where we had taken her again for more tests, when she picked up a small piece of plastic torn from the utensil wrapping. She waved away the spoon when I brought it toward her and, holding up the piece of clear trash, she said, “Isn’t this a cute thing?” then continued to look at it for a long time. She pointed at the toe of my boot and said, “Whose head is that? Is it a baby’s?” She looked at the sunlight coming along the wall and asked me why they had done that, why they hadn’t left it the way it was.

After the meal, she appeared to doze, then opened her eyes and said, “What am I supposed to know? Do I know anything? Do I have a name?

 

And that evening when I drove toward home and stopped for gas at the intersection of two country roads, there were thousands of starlings in the bare oaks lining the road. I paid for the gas and started to drive off, but just then the birds burst from the trees all at once and curved through the sky, throwing darkness over me as they crossed in front of the sun already half hidden by the horizon. I pulled the car away from the gas pumps, cut the engine, rolled down the windows, and sat watching as the giant flock curled and dived and swept across the sky gone hazy blue and deepening. I saw them curving back toward the oaks—a river of birds, a grand black current winding through the heavens. They alighted in the branches squawking and calling, the sound growing louder and louder as they came, thousands of them, burdening the trees, until a roar of squawks, each piercing, filled the dusk.

Another car stopped next to mine, and a young couple got out and leaned against the side of their car, laughing and pointing and shouting to each other.

Then, for no reason I could discern, the birds stopped and lifted off, with the sound of a single wingbeat—silence and then a rush of air with a dampened pop, as though an enormous thick quilt snapped once in the wind.

The young man walked over to me as the birds flew high above the pasture, weaving and turning. “It’s like God writing on the sky,” he said, “it’s like the signature of God.”

And I heard myself answer him in a changed voice, though not a new one. “It’s something,” I said, and I started my car, and I waved to them as I drove away from there, a child heavy with hurt, wanting his mother.

_____

Another example of scene and tension is T.R. Hummer’s “Where You Go When She Sleeps.”

 

1. In T. R. Hummer’s “Where You Go When She Sleeps,” the speaker is led from one scene to another by the color of a woman’s hair – an enthralling gold. He goes from her hair into a boy dying in a silo of oats. In your own writing, allow yourself to travel, like Hummer did, from one scene to another using a single thing as the turning point. Make the scenes different (e.g. positive vs. negative, something you’ve experienced vs. something you haven’t, tense vs. relaxed, etc.) and use one sight, smell, taste, sensation, or sound to take move you between them. BONUS: Hummer’s poem is all one sentence. After or during the bulk of your writing, try to manipulate the language so you can maintain one interesting sentence. This is a great exercise in language! Use Hummer’s poem as a guide.

 

2. Map out a scene. Who is in the scene? What does it look like? Are there any objects? What happens in the conversation? How do the actions of you and the other person betray emotion? How do you both interact with the room and the objects in it? Did they bring anything in with them? If so, why and what do they do with it? Allow yourself and your writing to work through the conversation if it brings up strong feelings. If it doesn’t, then focus on creating a detailed and engaging scene.

 

3. Many children have a secret place or a favorite location to go when they want to get away from families, emotions, or just boredom. What was yours? A spot in the woods, a fort, a field, an abandoned building, a place in the house, the roof, or even under the bed? Wherever it was, write about that place and, if you can, also write about an event or incident you remember that made you seek out your favorite/safe place. Create a detailed scene in a way that someone who’d never seen it before could picture it as well as you.

 

71) Conflict

Read or listen to Kait Rokowski’s “Nails.”

 

“My father’s hands are not pretty, but they are perfectly designed – each callous and gnarled knuckle so deliberately placed, they must be thought of as architecture. Now, some see carpentry strictly as a blue collar trade, but my father is a noble man, a cast iron edifice with a New England accent. He is two hundred pounds of purpose. I have seen him drag entire houses clear out of the ground. My father only speaks in blue prints. He knows the exact algorithm of creating a home, the science of building walls. Growing up, I would marvel at his brain, how it moved too fast for his pencil. I sat in awe as he wrote the dimensions of a room straight onto the floorboards. A collection of math problems littered every slate. He is drywall and a wet tongue, an artist that carries an alcoholic in his stomach. He does not believe in anything that can’t be fixed with a screwdriver or a Budweiser. My father is not a good man, but he is perfectly designed. All my life he has left nails where only I would see. He left them on top of my college applications or resting in a harmless pile next to my favorite books. It is his way of saying, “I know, this is important to you, but I don’t understand why.” This is how we communicate. He believes nails are the most important element of structure and leaving them in little colonies for me to discover. It is his favorite ritual. He tells me this is how he wants me to remember when he’s gone. Not the bruises or the brandy, but the nails. They represent the good in him. Growing up, I tried grasping the product of a brilliant mind, but not being a part of him. He was designed to create, not nurture. I thought if I sang a little more like a jigsaw, maybe he wouldn’t be so thirsty. I thought if I loved him more, he would hate himself less. But Daddy is either busy or unwinding. He is either working or angry. My father approached me as he would a lug wrench, all forearm and swinging and I thought of that tight grip around my wrist as a punishment when I should have considered myself as lucky as the neck of a beer bottle or the trigger of a nail gun. He only wrings what he loves. The first time my father got drunk enough to hit me, I woke up to thirty-seven nails in my jacket pocket. Each one a different size and shape as if they had been individually plucked from each home he ever built. It was a labor of love. It was the quietest confession. It was his way of saying, “I know. You will forgive me, but I don’t understand why.”

 

1.) Describe a day in the life of you–and the conflict it entails. Dig deep into what your feelings are (and, if there is another person, their feelings too). Consider what details are important. Remember to use your senses and consider scene and characterization.

2.) Everyone has topics they find taboo to discuss in company. Everyone has also fought about one of those topics behind closed doors. Income, sexual habits, the past, other relationships, budgeting, that your parent drinks too much, what so-and-so endured as a child, and any other dirty laundry. What is it that you or you all “just don’t talk about”? Flesh out an external conflict you’ve had with another person, or an internal conflict you’ve had with yourself, about a touchy subject. If it makes you feel uncomfortable, you’re on the right track. Give detail, create tension, let the page really understand what’s happening and why. Write until you feel you understand what happened in a different way than you did before.

3.) Conflicts, internal and external, never end the way you expect. Sometimes they don’t end at all, or just disappear into the ether. Write about a conflict between you and the world/a situation, you and another, or two parts of yourself in which the ending hasn’t happened or didn’t end as well as you’d hoped. Write exactly what happened in as much detail as you can muster. What was it really like? Make the page completely understand. Afterward, write about what the ideal ending would have been and/or what the worst outcome could have been. Ruminate on the contrast between the two or three.

 

72) “Heaven for . . .” Poems by Mark Doty

Read “Heaven for Helen” and “Heaven for Stanley” by Mark Doty.

1.) Creating a scene often entails characterization of the people (or animals!) in that scene. Characterization involves capturing the physical and emotional presence of that person and their personality. Envision a character in your mind. Get to know them. Using Mark Doty’s examples, remember to represent your character by showing who they are rather than telling. What do they find important, what do they always have with them, what does their wardrobe consist of, what does their tone of voice sound like? This is more explanatory than saying they were nice with a loud voice. Push for being impactful.

2.) Is there a particular person, friend, or family member with whom you feel in conflict (real conflict or just very different from)? Write in that person’s voice. Make them describe the relationship between you two and, in the process, characterize themselves and you. Try experiencing their reality and way of seeing things, as hard as it may be, and write it out.

3.) Divide a piece of paper in half with the headings “good” and “bad.” Brainstorm either: A) characteristics of another person – ones you appreciate and ones you dislike or B) characteristics you have inherited from a singular family member – ones you are grateful for and ones you find negative. Make your list as long you like, but try for 5 on each side. Use this list to write a piece about or to the person. Help a reader know this person, and maybe even you, through your characterization.

 

73) A Light in the Attic

 

If your personality could be compartmentalized into the different rooms/spaces of a house, what would that house look like? What would this blueprint of your mind include?

Maybe you would keep your fears locked away in the basement: (spiders, insecurities, or bad grades on tests?) Perhaps, you would keep your dreams and aspirations in your bedroom: (the stethoscope that you plan to use as a doctor, a trophy case with the football you will use to score your first NFL touchdown?)

Think about what makes you “you,” and about all the things you have done and plan to do. Fill the rooms of your house with memories, dreams, fears, habits, loved ones, or whatever you feel helps to define you.

Then, take us on a tour of this house, guide us from room to room and let us begin to learn who you are from the inside out. Also, to make this tour most effective, try to make this a real sensory experience. In other words, use different sensations like sight, smell, and touch to leave the strongest impression of who you are.

You might want to start here:

“The winding walkway leading to me is _____. There is a _____ door and the first thing to see is _____.”

**Remember, using concrete imagery like “bed covered in a mountain of smelly socks” will give the reader a better visual than saying “a messy room.”

 

74) Writing Prompts to Explore Gender

1. Does a flower care if an insect is male or female? Does it matter to you whether a friend is a boy or a girl?
2. A millipede is often confused with the centipede. They are not the same thing. How does it feel to be mistaken for something you are not?
3. What is you were all alone, with no one to love, no one to recognize the beauty that is within, no one to see your outside and like it?
4. How do you remain who you are when life’s storms knock you down, when people pass you by and never notice the pain and fear that permeates your thoughts?
5. So many flowers, all blue and white and yellow, looking just like each other. But are they? Is it fair to call them all the same name? Isn’t each one unique?
6. What do others think when they see you? Do you care?
7. What does it mean to be gay?
8. What does it mean to be lesbian?
9. What does it mean to be bi-sexual?
10. What does it mean to be transgender?
11. What does it mean to be straight?
12. How does opening up, being honest, telling others how you feel and think and live make you feel?
13. What if you could decide for yourself where you would go, what you would do, and who would be there to hold your hand?
14. I see you. Do you see me, really see me?
15. I know that we look alike, but I am unique. I am special. I am me. Get to know me, spend time with me, and you will see. Don’t categorize me.
16. There will come a time when it is all over. I look back and smile at the moments when I . . .
17. What I was, long ago, does not matter today. I have grown. I have changed. I have become . . .
18. I never expected to be used, to be taken advantage of, to be altered to meet someone else’s expectations, to be chopped down and turned into this. Why did I give in?
19. Storms must come, I know, but I am rooted firmly in the soil, strong, able to survive the wind and rain and cold, because I know that . . .
20. What am I not that time has passed, and storms and moons and births and deaths? What am I now that I no longer wave in the breeze or hold young life as it leaps into the unknown to fly for the first time? What am I now?
21. I don’t like one hiker more than another, the skinny more than the fat, the fast more than the slow, the quiet more than the talkative. I treat everyone as if they are special, important, and in need of a short rest.
22. I fly because I like to. I fly because I can. I fly because it makes me smile. I fly because this is who I am. I fly because . . .
23. I am a girl. That is who I am. But I am also a . . .
24. Don’t tell me to be quiet! I have something to say.
25. Am I pretty? Do I feel like you want me to look? Have I fulfilled your requirements for what a “flower” is expected to be?
26. Maybe I will be a mother. Maybe not. Don’t try to turn me into one just so that you can be happy. This is my life and I will decide what I will do.
27. Don’t call me that! I may look like one on the outside, but I am something else entirely on the inside, in my mind, in my memories, in my thoughts.
28. The earth does not care if I am an athlete or unable, quick or slow, accepted or ignored, lesbian or gay or straight, curious or questioning, transsexual or bisexual. And neither should you because . . .
29. What you see on the outside is not all there is to me. Get to know me and you’ll find out who I really am.
30. Does it matter who I fall in love with?
31. Would you still like me if I wasn’t what you expected? Would you talk to me and listen, or would your discomfort force you to walk away in fear and cowardice?
32. I am expected to be strong, to be tough, to stand up to bullies and fight for others, but I do not want to. I want to . . .
33. I wish you to like me for who I am.
34. What if I don’t identify with boys, or girls? Does that make you uncomfortable? It shouldn’t. This is my life.
35. I swim because I must. I swim, like others who look like me but aren’t. I swim, and wish that I could be somewhere else. I swim, with no identity, no uniqueness, just another fish. Lethargy seeks to overtake me, so I swim.
36. I have fallen, once strong and rooted and able, but now just in the way of those who walk by. What have I done? How could I have been so foolish?
37. I cling to the side of this tree, nervous, afraid of the shadow that approaches from the distance. Is it real or just my imagination?
38. Nothing to do but close my eyes and dream of a time when I am free to be who I am.
39. Bored! So bored! How do I turn the drudgery of endless moments into something I will remember, and smile about one day?
40. I want to run away, to escape from the expectations of others.
41. The darkness was comfortable. It allowed me to relax, to hide my shame. I sought after it during the day, venturing out only once the sun had escaped the tree’s grasp.
42. Is this all there is to life, to being? Is this why I stretched and grew and worked? Isn’t there more to being alive than just being pretty?
43. When will it end, this aching, this constant need gnawing within me, occupying my mind every second of every day, pushing me forward to find and kill and consume? Am I not more than this? Don’t I have a choice in how I live my life?
44. Why am I here? What have I done to deserve this? How will I endure the loneliness?
45. Am I good enough for you?
46. I will sit here, silently, hearing but not listening, seeing but not thinking about what you or your demands or your expectations. I will wait until . . .
47. Waiting, waiting, waiting. One day I won’t have to wait any longer because I will be free to . . .
48. How I hurt you? Have I lied to you? Have I treated you as though you were less than me?
49. The earthworm surfaced in frustration, thoughts of uncertainty and hope clashing within. What am I? Who am I? How do I know that one is better than the other, or more authentic? Society expected a choice, and the earthworm couldn’t decide. It wanted to be both, but others expected a decision.
50. The colors fascinate me, beckon me to come and feast, dine, consume, so I arrive with delight and expectation, a gift of kindness that I wish I could repay.
51. What if this is a trick? What if this gift is a trap, a snare, a ploy by those in power to seize me, enslave me, imprison me?
52. Twisting, turning, winding his way through the forest, he pushed himself to keep going, to gain control of all that others have, to make it his.
53. I can feel the wind softly touching and tickling, teasing me with gentleness, causing me to envision what was to come.
54. If only I could begin again, take a different path, make a different choice. If only I could . . .
55. They are not really my friends. They don’t really care about me. If life throws me into the abyss, will they rush to my aid? No, of course not. They’re just here for the giggles, for the good times, for the laughter and excitement and momentary pleasure.
56. These thorns are a part of who I am, the me that is within as well as the me that others see and feel.
57. Where shall I go? Here is full of misery and stench, and there is full of hope and possibility. Can I be brave and venture into the beyond?
58. I hate having nothing to do all day, just filling up my time with meaningless stuff, this, that, pretending. I want something else, something that is more than this, something real.
59. Up I go, one step at a time. I can’t get there by flying. I must walk. I must feel the roughness beneath my feet. I must endure the heat. I must accept the pain.
60. So barren and empty. I feel that I am nothing in my nakedness. Worthless. Hated.
61. As I wandered down the trail, I came up a fallen tree blocking my path. So, I took a deeper breath and . . .
62. Let me go. I want to make my own decisions from now on.
63. Yes, I can hurt you. I don’t want to though. I prefer to . . .
64. I am boy. I am girl. Don’t tell me to choose.
65. Last night I was alive. Today . . .
66. I am not a boy. I am not a girl. I am . . .
67. I just awoke from a dream and discovered that I . . .
68. It is my life. My life. Not yours.
69. Wait! That is not what I meant.
70. I can be patient. I will wait.
71. The yellow-bellied slider enjoyed basking in the sun’s warmth. He liked the silent comfort that this log provided, time to daydream, time to travel among things that were not, ideas, fantasies, dreams of someone he loved.
72. I knew that this day would come, knew that I’d be discarded, thrown away, forgotten. I knew I’d age and wither and fall to the side of the trail. But it still hurts.

 

75) Choose Your Own Adventure

Pick one of the following and describe the experience. It can either be literal or metaphorical.

1.) Climbing a mountain

2.) Crossing a river

3.) Walking through a forest

 

76) A Week’s Worth of Journaling Prompts: Creative Clustering

Life is circular in nature. The natural world is formed by curves and shapes, clustered together and joined by lines and graceful arches. Like nature, our creative minds are not linear, but filled with image and idea clusters joined by the lines and arches of emotional and sensory associations. You can use clustering for personal growth. The essence of the entire ten to fifteen-minute technique, as outlined by Gabriele Lusser Rico in her classic, Writing the Natural Way, is this.

• Write a word or phrase in the center of a blank page and circle it. This is your “nucleus.” Letting the playful part of you take over, write whatever association comes to mind when you think of that word or phrase. And let the writing radiate outward from the center.
• Draw a circle around each associated word or phrase that comes to you. Don’t think too long or analyze, just keep letting those associations flow. If you need to, feel free to doodle or draw directional arrows, while allowing your mind to remain in an unfocused state.
• Continue writing associations and ideas triggered by your nucleus for a minute or two.
• At some point, you will feel a strong urge to write. When this happens, take a moment to scan your clustered words. Most often, a sentence, or the beginning of a sentence will come to mind. Write, and keep writing for eight to ten minutes. You don’t have to use all the words or concepts in your cluster.

How to generate nucleus words:

List of Current Stressors: Include any issues, events which are currently causing stress, anger, tension, pressure, fear, hurt, guilt, etc.

The five easy steps to producing a cluster include:

1.) From your list of stressors, write a one to four-word phrase in the center of a blank page and circle it; this is the nucleus of your cluster.

2.) Set a timer for 10 minutes.

3.) Begin to free-associate on the word or phrase serving as your nucleus– whatever connected thought you have, write it down in a one to four-word phrase, then circle what you’ve written and connect it by a line to the nucleus.

4.) Now you have two possibilities to prompt your thinking: what you wrote in your nucleus or what you just wrote in the satellite circle and connected to it. See what you think of based on either, write down a word or phrase that represents that idea, circle it, and connect it to the circle that prompted it.

5.) Continue this process until the timer signals your ten minutes of clustering is up, remembering to circle and connect your ideas as you cluster.

 

77) Elements of Poetry

Did you know poetry can be musical? Sure, you’ve heard the cliche “Roses are red, violets are blue. Sugar is sweet, and so are you.” But the best poets are a little sneakier when using sound. Instead of clear end-rhymes like blue and you — they use poetic elements like internal rhyme, slant, assonance, consonance, repetition, alliteration, anaphora. Write a poem focusing on these elements, without much attention to the subject or if it makes sense. A commonplace, familiar subject may work best: broken glass, a bike leaning on the wall, scattered leaves, a patch of wildflowers, a silent mind. You can also invent your own compound words that may sound nicely together. If you have trouble getting started begin with this line: “When I’m alone in my room, sometimes I stare at the ceiling” and see where that takes you.

Internal rhyme- a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next.“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.”

Slant rhyme- It can be defined as a rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match. Orange, porridge, door hinge.

Assonance- takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds.“I must confess that in my quest I felt depressed and restless.”

Consonance- refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. Rich consonance: root, right, rat, rate, wrote. Partial consonance: chuckle, fickle, kick. “Light golden on the roses is the garden.”

Repetition- repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. “I’m nobody! Who are you? / Are you nobody too? / Then there’s a pair of us-don’t tell! / They’d banish us you know.” This also shows use of a homonym: no/know.

Alliteration- a repetition of consonant sounds that are at the beginning of words. “I put the picture back in its place.” (Use sparingly or it may become tired.)

Anaphora– deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect. Used in speeches, hymns, litany poems.

“…Where burial coaches enter the arch’d gates of a cemetery

Where winter wolves bark amid wastes of snow and icicled trees…”

 

78) Headlines

Breaking Bad writer Vince Gilligan, had a lightbulb moment one morning while reading the newspaper. It was an article about a guy who was running a meth lab inside his house when BAM — Heisenberg was born. Gilligan created the backstory of a high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer and decides to support his family by producing meth inside an RV. Gilligan invented a colorful world from the black & white pages of a newspaper. For this piece, use one of the following headlines or one that you’ve discovered on your own to make your own fictitious world.

• America Wants To Take A Shower
• I Went To The Woods Because I Wished To Live Like a Badger
• Donald Trump Jr: Women Who Can’t ‘Handle’ Harassment ‘Don’t Belong In The Workforce’
• Great Barrier Reef Obituary Goes Viral, To The Horror Of Scientists
• Trump Vomits Immediately After Seeing Everyday Americans Up Close
• Giants fan gives $5,000 tip to Wrigley Field Bartender
• The hideous, diabolical truth about Hillary Clinton
• Has Europe found an antidote to authoritarianism
• Inside Johnny Depp’s five L.A. penthouses
• She wanted to be the ‘fun weekend mom.’ Now, her teenage son is dead and she’s going to prison
• Clown Lives Matter March Canceled Over Death Threats
• In joining the Warriors, Kevin Durant put himself – and his words – under a microscope
• Sunny Saves Bo From Mountain Lion During Cross-Country Journey To Reunite With Obamas
• Confused Audience Member at Town Hall Debate Asking About City’s New Stoplights
• Retired David Ortiz Excited to Finally Eat Whatever He Wants
• Idiotic Tree Keeps Trying To Plant Seeds On Sidewalk
• Cat Internally Debates Whether Or Not To Rip Head Off Smaller Creature It Just Met
• Woman Pieces Together Timeline Of Boyfriend’s Past Relationships Like Detective Tracking Zodiac Killer
• The Pros And Cons Of Self-Driving Cars
• Poland Spring Develops New Eco-Friendly Bottle That Only Takes 300 Years To Decompose
• New Domino’s App Allows Customer to Track Pizza’s Movement Through digestive System
• A decade of crop loss from Hurricane Matthew in Haiti
• Clinton to nation: let’s bury Trump under landslide
• 64 dogs, 8 birds removed from home
• Scary Clowns Ruining Our Professions

 

79) Form: Abecedarian

This is an ambitious form for all of you logophiles (word lovers) out there. When writing an Abecedarian, each successive line in your poem must start with the next letter of the alphabet. And so, your first line will begin with the letter “A” and your last line will begin with the letter “Z” (good luck fitting a zebra or a zit into your poem). As you will see, navigating this poem is all about being able to smoothly and creatively transition from one line to the next. Here is an example by Jessica Greenbaum:

 

A Poem for S.

Because you used to leaf through the dictionary,

Casually, as someone might in a barber shop, and

Devotedly, as someone might in a sanctuary,

Each letter would still have your attention if not

For the responsibilities life has tightly fit, like

Gears around the cog of you, like so many petals

Hinged on a daisy. That’s why I’ll just use your

Initial. Do you know that in one treasured story, a

Jewish ancestor, horseback in the woods at Yom

Kippur, and stranded without a prayer book,

Looked into the darkness and realized he had

Merely to name the alphabet to ask forgiveness—

No congregation of figures needed, he could speak

One letter at a time because all of creation

Proceeded from those. He fed his horse, and then

Quietly, because it was from his heart, he

Recited them slowly, from aleph to tav. Within those

Sounds, all others were born, all manner of

Trials, actions, emotions, everything needed to

Understand who he was, had been, how flaws

Venerate the human being, how aspirations return

Without spite. Now for you, may your wife’s

X-ray return with good news, may we raise our

Zarfs to both your names in the Great Book of Life.

 

80) The Big List of Warm Ups

These can be used before diving into a different prompt, or some of them could even be expanded or connected into a full exercise.

• Tell me about the farthest you’ve been from home.
• Do you like being alone or having company? Why?
• Do you make important decision by reasoning through it or by going with your gut?
• Early bird or night owl? Why?
• What does your ideal community look like? How is it organized, and how is community life structured? What values does the community share?
• Tell me about a sensation (taste, smell, music, etc.) that transports you to your childhood.It doesn’t have to be a good memory.
• Tell me about something you hoped for that actually came true.
• Tell me about a journey: real or emotional.
• Is there a place in the world you would never want to visit? Where, and why not?
• Write a story/poem about a person (real or fictional) who has lost or is about to lose their home.
• You have the chance to erase one incident from your past, as though it never happened. What would you erase and why?
• “My closest friend is…”
• Is being “normal” good or bad?
• Write a list about whatever.
• Describe the last nightmare you remember having. What do you think it means?
• Write your own eulogy.
• Write about insect.
• Write about meeting someone for the first time.
• Tell me about your room. Are you happy there?
• Write about a teacher that has influenced you.
• What scares you? What do you feel when scared? How do you react?
• Write about a time you took a chance and what the result was.
• Tell me about an imperfection that you cherish (in yourself or others).
• Write about not being able to see ahead of you.
• Tell me how your week went by putting together a playlist of five songs.
• Describe a moment of kindness between you and someone else: loved one/stranger.
• Write about a time you failed at something. Did you try again or did you give up completely?
• Write about a secret you’ve kept from someone else or how you feel when you know someone is keeping a secret from you.
• What makes you smile? What makes you happy?
• Write about a recent conflict.
• Tell me something most people don’t know about you.
• When was the last time someone told you they were proud of you?
• Tell me about the most surprising helping hand you’ve ever received.
• Murphy’s Law says, “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Write about a time everything did.
• Write about someone who you admire and think they have a beautiful mind.
• Imagine being inside an old abandoned warehouse. Write about it.
• You wake up tomorrow morning to find your plans have been cancelled for the next 7 days and $10,000 on your dresser. Tell me about your week.
• When you were 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• Write an anonymous letter to someone you’re jealous of.
• Think about a crossroad in your life. What would your life be like if you had gone the other way?
• Write about the beach.
• Can anything be funny or are some things off-limits?
• Your home is on fire. Grab 5 items (pets & people are already safe). What did you grab?
• Write about someone getting their driver’s license for the first time.
• Write about something so sweet, it makes your teeth hurt.
• Who’s the most important person in your life? How would you day-to-day existence be without them?
• What’s the biggest secret you’ve ever kept? Did the truth ever come out?
• Tell me about a time you did a 180–changed your views on something, reversed a decision, or acted a way you ordinarily don’t.
• Write about being insulted.
• When was the last time you cried tears of joy, if ever?
• What song is stuck in your head? Why?
• Tell me about something you’ll never write about.
• What would it take for you to stay clean?
• Write about make mistakes.
• Describe a memory or encounter in which you considered your faith, religion, spirituality for the first time.
• Write about something inspired by a recent dream you had.
• What are you comfortable with: routine & planning or spontaneity?
• Acrostic: An adjective for every letter of your name.
• Apples-to-Apples: Start out giving each client a green card and a red card before having them construct their own story with the elements–throw in more cards for additional fun.
• Exquisite Corpse: Each person writes a sentence, responding only to the sentence prior.
• Group poem, similar to the Exquisite Corpse exercise, but with an emphasis on poetic language and collaborative thought.
• Object exercise: Take in a collection of twelve to fifteen small objects and have clients select one that “speaks” to them. Ask the client to write down what the object is “saying.” If nothing the facilitator brings catches client’s attention, allow them to think about an object at home that does mean something to them.
• Write a haiku about you.
• Write about your favorite song. Tell me about the way the music sounds. What are some of your favorite lyrics? What instruments are involved? Why is it your favorite song? Does it make you think of something? If you don’t have a favorite song, then what is your favorite kind of music?
• Where would travel if you could travel anywhere? Why? What about that place is appealing? Would you stay there forever? What would you be leaving behind?
• Make a list of all the things that most annoy you in the world.
• Write down two truths and a lie.
• My favorite way to spend the day is…
• If I could talk to my teenage self, the one thing I would say is…
• The two moments I’ll never forget in my life are… Describe them in great detail, and what makes them so unforgettable.
• Make a list of 30 things that make you smile.
• “Write about a moment experienced through your body. Making love, making breakfast, going to a party, having a fight, an experience you’ve had or you imagine for your character. Leave out thought and emotion, and let all information be conveyed through the body and senses.”
• The words I’d like to live by are…
• I couldn’t imagine living without…
• When I’m in pain — physical or emotional — the kindest thing I can do for myself is…
• Make a list of the people in your life who genuinely support you, and who you can genuinely trust.
• What does unconditional love look like for you?
• What would you do if you loved yourself unconditionally? How can you act on these things whether you do or don’t?
• I really wish others knew this about me…
• Name what is enough for you.
• If my body could talk, it would say…
• Name a compassionate way you’ve supported a friend recently. Then write down how you can do the same for yourself.
• What do you love about life?
• What always brings tears to your eyes? (As Paulo Coelho has said, “Tears are words that need to be written.”)
• “Write about a time when work felt real to you, necessary and satisfying. Paid or unpaid, professional or domestic, physical or mental.” (Also a prompt from Abercrombie’s Kicking in the Wall.)
• Write about your first love — whether a person, place or thing.
• Using 10 words, describe yourself.
• What’s surprised you the most about your life or life in general?
• What can you learn from your biggest mistakes?
• I feel most energized when…
• “Write a list of questions to which you urgently need answers.” (This is probably my favorite prompt from Abercrombie’s book.)
• Make a list of everything that inspires you — from books to websites to quotes to people to paintings to stores to the stars.
• What’s one topic you need to learn more about to help you live a more fulfilling life? (Then learn about it.)
• I feel happiest in my skin when…
• Make a list of everything you’d like to say no to.
• Make a list of everything you’d like to say yes to.
• Write the words you need to hear.

 

81) Place

Memories of places are sometimes as powerful as the place itself. The smells, sights, and the emotions associated with the place can have the ability to pull us back into the past. For this, there are a few different writing prompts. Some of them might only be warm ups, and others may take longer. These writing prompts can also be in conjunction with each other.

1.) Answer the question, “if they were a place, what place would they be?”

2.) Write about a childhood den or safe place. Freely associate and try not to censor yourself. It doesn’t have to make sense right now. Then explore that safe place with sensory details. Either remember a specific time you went there for comfort or generalize. What did it look like, sound like, smell like? Why were you there?

3.) Read “The Lessons of Texas” by Cheryl Parsons Darnell.

 

The Lessons of Texas
Cheryl Parsons Darnell

I grew up in Texas
where you grow accustomed
to sudden weather
Where rains that pour while
the sun still shines
do not surprise you
Where northers that mar
the sky like a bruise
do not surprise you
Where floods that wash
up rattlesnakes
do not surprise you
Where hurricanes
blow the Gulf inland
do not surprise you
Where twisters that eat
houses for breakfast
do not surprise you
I grew up in Texas
where you learn to keep candles
and flashlight batteries
Where you learn about weather, love and life
and how to ride it out.

Have the participants write a poem about where they grew up using Darnell’s repeated “Where . . .” as a way to structure the piece.