Creative Writing Triggers



by mara~earth light


As writers, we're always looking for something to trigger our imagination, get those creative juices flowing. 

On this Book Talk Friday, I have two books for you to consider: 

The Observation Deck, A Tool Kit for Writers, by Naomi Epel, and The Pocket Muse, by Monica Wood.

The Observation Deck comes in a box with a 160 page book on writing strategies and 50 cards to help you break through writer's block. 

You can use the book and deck to help guide you through one piece of writing from beginning to end, such as a novel, or use it as a mini writing course in which you write essays, scenes, and short stories. 

As the author says,

When I was feeling stuck, I'd pull a card with a phrase like Write a Letter or Ask a Question that would tell me what to do.  The spontaneity of pulling cards freed me from having to be too self-directive and my writing began to flow."

The Pocket Muse is simply a pocket-sized book with prompts, exercises, and illustrations meant to inspire your writing.

Though I own both books, I have yet to set aside the time or garner the self-control to allow them to lead and instruct me.  I would love to start at the beginning of one of these books and follow it through to the end, all the while amassing a wealth of creative material to draw from later (as one does in creative writing classes). 

These books would be ideal to take on a vacation, along with a journal, a pen, and an open mind.

Happy reading.

Thanksgiving Behind Bars: Knowing your Characters

I've noticed that on many creative writing blogs writers share their work.   What a revelation!  I've been spending most of my time writing about blogging and craft (which have their place, of course), when my peers are doing what they do best--writing creatively.

During a discussion on knowing your characters in a Writing Workshop Weekend over at The Naked Hero, Misa Ramirez gave a prompt adapted from The Pocket Muse:  "In your character's voice, describe a holiday without resorting to cliches or familiar imagery."

In response, I submitted the first paragraph of my short story.

Thanksgiving Behind Bars.

A pall hung over the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center on Thanksgiving Day.  Although the sun shone brightly, its rays could not penetrate the walls of the prison or the hearts of the people inside.  Officer Matt Bruno's jaw ached with empathic rage as he watched the inmates file past the Trustee distributing Thanksgiving dinners from a metal heating cart:  turkey with all the fixing, pre-cooked and covered in plastic.  Missing was the aroma of poultry and stuffing, hot out of the oven, and of candied yams and green beans with lemon zest and parsley.  Butt and feet, that's what the place smelled like, a weird oily smell that clung to the clothes, and got into the pores and the hair.  But that wasn't the worst of it.  The worst was the heaviness in the air.

If you'd like to read the rest of this short story, click the STORY SAMPLES tab above.

Thanks Misa for giving me the incentive to share my short story.

(Photo credit:  Passe-Muraille, by fanfan2145)