Comments | write_away: Friday Prose Prompt

smeddley in write_away

Friday Prose Prompt

Jan 12, 2007 14:31

Ah, it's Friday again! And it's also the cusp of a three-day weekend for me. Because of MLK day. And inspired by that, I'd like you to write a short piece (let's say between 100-500 words) that begins with:

"I [have/had] a dream..."

( Replying to my own prompt always makes me feel weird, but hey )

feature: friday prose prompt

Comments 2

jayemmpee January 12 2007, 20:59:05 UTC

Although it was just sort of a simple piece, I liked it. Mostly because I think you really nailed the language of people who attempt to tell others of their dreams. That is exactly what I sound like when I am trying to talk about the nonsense I saw in my head the night before.

However, I think the actual content of the piece was a bit silly. I am assuming you take these prompts as I do - an exercise that gets your brain ready to write. I don't mean to be rude, so I really hope this isn't coming off like that. I am struggling to articulate what I am trying to say. This was supposed to just be a silly piece, right? *brain explodes* Sorry. I'm late for my lobotomy.

smeddley January 12 2007, 21:43:09 UTC

It was supposed to be silly. :) I was going for a rather scatter-brained hyper-caffeinated character, not really trying for anything plot-like.

I think that's an interesting point. I consider prompts something to get your imagination going - you can write all the weird, bizarre things and they don't have to have any sort of meaning at all. In fact, I like it when people really twist things, make them something you wouldn't expect - even if it's something silly or odd. So I'm only looking at them as an exercise in creativity, not so much anything serious (evident by my little 5-minute brain dump, here!).

Also, I think you could use them to work on one aspect of your writing. Say that I had trouble getting realistic-sounding rambling speech in my writing. Well, I could post this and say, "I know the plot is silly, and so is the 'dream' itself, but what I really want to know is does this sound like someone? Would you believe this if you saw it or heard it? Do I have the cadence right?" And try to get feedback on that ( ... )