Midge Raymond's Blog, page 17

Weekly Writing: The dark

Write about your relationship to the dark: Do you like it or fear it? Where did this attitude come from? Write about your earliest memory of darkness, and then write about a more recent one. How do these two memories compare?

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Weekly Writing: Products gone awry

One year, when I was heading from the east coast to Southern California during the winter, I decided to try a self-tanner I’d discovered in my bathroom cupboard. Instead of giving me a healthy, sun-kissed glow, it turned my entire body the bright orange of a clementine.

Write about a time you used a product that achieved quite the opposite effect you were hoping for.

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Weekly Writing: A year older, a year wiser?

With a new year around the corner, write about what you’ve learned over the past year. What do you know today that you didn’t know a year ago — about yourself, about someone in your family, about an issue in the world? Next, write about something you hope to learn more about in the year ahead.

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Weekly Writing: Wheels

Write about your first set of wheels. This could be the first car you ever bought, your tricycle, roller skates, or a skateboard. Write a scene about a particularly memorable occasion when you used your first set of wheels. Describe everything, from setting to others in the scene to the weather.

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Weekly Writing: Shopping

Write about shopping. Is shopping for yourself fun, or a chore? What about shopping for your family, or for holiday gifts? Think of your first memory of shopping, and how this relates to your current views on this activity.

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Weekly Writing: Mistletoe

It wasn’t until I moved to Oregon and saw mistletoe growing in the wild that I realized that mistletoe, that most romantic of plants, is actually a parasite. It grows in clumps on tree branches, drawing nutrients from the host plant, and it can actually cause damage. Who knew?

Write about mistletoe. From your earliest experience of it to what you know and feel about it now, include as much detail as you can.

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Weekly Writing: Red Cat

Write a story about a red cat.

(I know it’s random. Just go for it.)

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Weekly Writing: Two Thanksgiving Prompts

With all the focus on food and holiday shopping, we often forget that Thanksgiving is the season of gratitude. Each day this week, write down three things you’re grateful for, whatever these may be.

Next, write a scene about a Thanksgiving meal. This could be a scene starring the character in your novel, a poem about the Thanksgiving you spent in a train station in Guangzhou, or an essay about a childhood Thanksgiving that was particularly memorable.

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Weekly Writing: Nature

Write about the last day you spent in nature, whether hiking or swimming in a lake or the ocean. Remember and record all the sights, sounds, smells, and textures you experienced. Next, write about how this day differs from a day spent in a city or suburb.

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Weekly Writing: Almost winter

With winter on its way (perhaps already here, depending on where you live), we enter another season. Write about winter … what does this season mean to you, and why? Write about all your memories, and how these affect your current attitudes about winter.

 

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