Blog : March Writing Exercise - EXPLORE (March 2, 2022)

 Explore 03 March Breathe Series Light Writing Photography Ingrid Williams Writes With Light Writing Prompt

Do you have spring fever yet? I do! I want to get out and breathe (literally). I want to get on the road and explore (literallly). We can do these things in our imaginations too. I remember many times when I felt pent up, and I "solved" it by going to an all-night diner with a book and a notebook. So imagine yourself there with me right now. We met to write. Here's what I propose we do:


  1. Freewrite for a while. Let loose. Whatever comes to your mind, write it! Weird, wacky, practical, profound. Just frolic for a bit. It's spring! (Well, almost.)
  2. When you've let that mind of yours free from the winter, unwound some stiffness, we can start a guided exercise. Write down something true about the past year. Just one sentence, one fact.
  3. At the end of that sentence, turn the period into a comma and add the word "but" . . . .
  4. Now explore the possibilities! Have some fun and play into the future of what you can imagine.


For example, I might start this way: "Last year was crazy, but it was also an opportunity for curiosity. It fed my desire to travel. Month by month, I never knew where I would be next. Every plan I made changed, but in most cases there was something delightful to devour." At that point, I could go into capturing tiny moments of the last year. Days go by so fast, the we often don't remember later the things we thought in the moment we'd never forget.


Did you notice what I did there? I used the "but trick" again. I could have used it more. Maybe that appeals to you. If so, fill your time with buts!


If the sentence you first wrote isn't quite gelling, just start with any sentence that's true from the past. Maybe it's a sentence about you. "I was never afraid to _____, but . . ."


If it still isn't gelling, how about start opposite. Write something false. Maybe it's something you want to set the record straight about. "Others say I'm _______, but . . . "


Breathe into this for just a moment. Let yourself explore a possibility, a truth, an untruth, a hurt, a victory, a dream, teh past, the future. Remember we're at a 24-hour diner, right? So there's no timer on this one. Write for hours if you want. 

EXPLORE

Ready . . . set . . . write!


PS. If you would like to have a matching notebook for each month and theme (or just your favorites), click here to see the collection.

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 LOGO surrounded by GHOSTWRITING | BUSINESS | SOUNDSCAPE | LIGHTSCRIBE Overlaid on a lightscribe image Menu: home | latest | blog | Guatemala* | Writer's Glass Penthouse * submenu: Stay in My Writer's Penthouse | Ingrid Helps | Friends & Family Trader Ingrid Writes With Words Ghostwriting | Business Writing Communications | Strategy Nonprofit Editorial Services Light Photography | Light-Writing Art (You'll see some on "writings and prompts.".) Sound Songwriter | Composer | Arranger (Former profession--but stay "tuned"!) Hello! I am Ingrid Skarstad Williams About Ingrid: I am a traveling ghostwriter and comm pro who has philanthropic and entrepreneurial adventures on the side. Where have I been? I have an eclectic background in the arts, marketing, public relations, and photography that has brought me around the world. My first love was music, and I performed, wrote, and traveled from 1986 to 2004 when I became a single mom. Communications rose throug...
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