A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Wish

I had a whole vision in my head of how life was going to continue after I got back from my retreat. I was going get back into my exercise routine, eat healthier, spend the mornings in my office writing, pay a little more attention to my blog by establishing a weekly prompt. . . Great goals, right?

What I hadn’t planned on was being struck down by the mother of all colds. I had a bit of a sinus thing going before I went on the retreat, and didn’t get enough sleep while I was away so the medicine I was taking was less effective, so by the time I got home I was really feeling like crap. And I felt like crap all of last week. So no writing, pretty much no anything.

I still feel like crap, but my head doesn't seem quite so muffled. And right now all my good intentions seem to be covered in a layer of snow – is anyone else as tired of winter as I am? Seriously! It kept waffling about whether it was going to be winter or not all season long, and now that it’s March it’s suddenly decided to commit. In fact, as I type this it’s snowing like crazy. Go away snow!

Back to my good intentions. One of the ideas I’ve been toying with is adding a weekly prompt to this blog. I was going to write out all these prompts and stick them in a jar, and a friend was going to come over and we’d pick a prompt for the week. The idea was for us to write from the prompt for 15 minutes to exercise our creative muscles, and I could share the prompt here for anyone else who wanted to give it a try.

Well, the friend blew me off but I’d already spent considerable time and effort on the prompts, so I see no reason why that time should go to waste. So I’ve picked a prompt for the week and I invite anyone who’d care to participate to use this prompt to kick start their own writing. It’s more fun if you use pen and paper, but that’s up to you, and I suggest limiting yourself to 15 minutes – write without thinking too much and without stopping.

If you like what you’ve written and want to continue, go for it. And if you don’t think it’s going anywhere that’s okay too – at least you’ve had a little fun with your writing. AND if you keep it to around 500 words, you can either post it in the comments or send it to me at carolrward(at)gmail(dot)com and I can post it here on Friday, when I’ll post my own.

Give it a try – at the very least it’ll get your creative juices flowing.

Prompt of the week:
There’s a thunderous knock at the door. You open it to find an improbably tall, black-robed figure towering over you with a scythe in one bony hand. The figure peers at you for a long moment, then looks down at a clipboard in its other hand. Then back at you. Then back at the paper. It has no apparent face, but you sense that it is puzzled.

Chaos Land

"I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!"

Yes, I know. This is the last Saturday of the month instead of the last Friday, but though I conceived the idea for the story earlier in the week, it just did not want to be written. First, a reminder of the picture prompt:

It seemed pretty simple - order on one side of the wall, disorder on the other. I had wanted to give it a bit of a twist so instead of the disorder encroaching on the order, I wanted the order to be the bad guy, so to speak. But try as I might I just could not make it work.

So I started doing some research on chaos versus order. Most of what I found was regarding chaos and I began to play around with a few ideas just using chaos as a theme, but none of those really panned out either.

And then I remembered my own caveat with these prompts - the result could be anything, as long as it was creative. For some reason my default seems to be prose, but since that wasn’t working I figured it was time to try something else.

I almost did a non-fiction piece on chaos, but then I began writing this poem:


Chaos Land

I was here in the beginning
before there was anything else.
I existed before the creation of the universe -
a formless void, the gap between heaven and earth.

I am disorder and confusion,
my behavior unpredictable
so as to appear random.
I am indefinite and indeterminate.

I am the spirit of God
moving upon the face of the waters.
From me all else originated -
the primordial state before creation.

I am the merging of opposites -
the darkness and the light together -
all of the elements twisted together.
I am the belief that is a magical force.

Who are you to try and tame me,
to wall me in with your discipline and orderliness?
Do you not know that without chaos
there can be no harmony.


Join me here again on Friday for a new picture prompt. Who knows, maybe you’ll find some inspiration as well.

Prompt Me - the Rock

While I dropped the ball on my story last week (I’m still working on it though) I didn’t forget that this is the first Friday of June which means it’s time for another picture prompt!

Who is this girl? What is she doing up on that rock and how did she get up there? And what is that book she’s reading?

More importantly, what does it inspire you to write? A poem? A story? And article on readers who can read anywhere?

Inquiring minds want to see what you come up with, so if you're feeling brave you can email it to me at carolrward(at)gmail(dot)com and if you like, I’ll share it here at the end of the month.

Happy writing!

Prompt Me - Artificial Light

Whoops! I was so busy writing I almost forgot today was Friday and time for a new picture prompt!

I was writing not one, but two stories from last week's Brazen Snake Books prompt, which you can find every Monday on the Snake Bites blog. This one was all about keepsakes and I wrote a poem, then a dark little tale, then had an idea for a sweet romance, then a longer version of the dark tale. All from one prompt!

This month's picture prompt was given its title by the photographer. It was part of a photography challenge she had with a friend, and I quite like the mystery of it.

Who is this woman inside the lightbulb? Why is she in there? Is she a woman, or something else? What is that smoke in there with her?

Don't forget, your creativity can come in any form - fiction, poetry, non-fiction ...

I'd love to see what you come up with, so if you're feeling brave you can email it to me at carolrward(at)gmail(dot)com and if you like, I'll even post it here at the end of the month.

Happy Writing!

Prompt Me - the Masked Figure

Here we are again, the first Friday of the month. And here's your picture prompt for the month:

A cloaked figure in a mask crossing a barren field - if that doesn't inspire you to write a poem, story, or article I don't know what will. :-D

As usual, you have until the end of the month and I'd love to see what you come up with so feel free to email it to me at crward(dot)author(at)gmail(dot)com. With your permission, I can even post it here so others can enjoy it too.

And don't forget to stop by tomorrow to check out my first week's worth of poems!