Monday, May 11, 2009

May Mania ~ Stretch #11

One of the easiest ways to jump start a creative burst is with a writing prompt. Here is a list of phrases I keep on hand to get my juices flowing that could work for you. This is also a good exercise to do when you want to get in touch with and flesh out your characters for longer works.

I don't remember...
I remember...
I've always...
I believe…
I dreamt…
I see...
I try not to...
I don't see...
I’ve never...
I know...
I don't know...
I don't want to...
I want to...
I wonder...
I try to...
I hate...
I love...
I can’t…
I cry...
I laugh...
So, there I was…
This summer…
This Christmas…
Last summer...
Today is...
You’ll never guess…
You'll never believe...
If I could…
Someday I’ll…
When I was a child…
My earliest memory…
My worst nightmare…
My deepest regret…
My biggest fear…
My heart breaks…
My heart skips a beat...
My spirit soars...
The last time I tried...
I can't stand...
I get chills when…
Tomorrow promises…
It kills me when…
Did you know…
When she/he…
Suddenly, my…
I’m haunted by…
My death…
I lied.
I’ve killed before.
What's sin for you is mere survival for me.
Don’t judge me until you…
Bet ya never thought…
The world...
The darkness...
My home is...
I ran away...
I can't take...
My future...
I'm dying...
My life changed forever...
I can never go back to...
I can't escape...
I'm breathless...
I hunger for...
I can't live without...
If I could just go back in time, I'd...
I can never die...
Immortality is...
Last night...
For the first time in my life, I...
How could you...
Please don't...


Get inspired by a writing prompt and go. Write for ten minutes as a either first person narrator or in an autobiographical style.

This exercise is a great way to dig deep and expose some hidden emotions and motivations. It can also help you find the vibrant, gripping voice you need if you're using a first person narrator. Get to it.

~ Signing off and sending out cyber hugs.

3 comments:

  1. I am SO copying/pasting these words into a text file I can open when I need a prompt. This rocks. Thanks, Courtney. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. haha. Thanks, Darc. Glad you like the list. :)

    ReplyDelete
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