Category: Writing Prompts

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Hot tips for creative writers

Things are hotting up now, and it’s time for a reminder about our latest writing assignment. Our topic this time is Feeling the heat – this month has been so flipping cold and miserable that I need warming up!

If you’re struggling to decide what to write, try making a list of hot and warm locations – a tropical island, beside a cosy log fire, a sauna, right next to a radiator, a desert landscape, inside a car on a hot day, snuggling under a quilt with your hot water bottle…

Or you could consider activities which make you hot or warm – anything from jogging or cooking over a hot stove to working on the footplate of a steam locomotive or flying a spaceship too close to the Sun…

… and, yes, that too, if you like!

You can be as quirky as you like, so whether your character is falling accidentally into a vat of hot custard, taking over as the next person in charge of Hell, or being boiled in a cannibals’ cauldron with extra chilli sauce, it’s all cool with the rest of us.

Your piece of writing can be poetry or prose in any style or genre. And if you can’t get inspired by our latest topic, simply choose a different one. Frankly, as long as you do some new writing, we really don’t care if you decide to write a beautifully vivid description of the items on your bedside cabinet. Or, indeed, a rather dull description.

You simply can’t get this wrong, except by not writing anything.

There are just eight days left to complete the assignment, so let’s get started. Our next meeting is Tuesday 19th February. Meanwhile – the heat is on.

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Panoramic views: a writing prompt with wide possibilities

The next Island Writers meeting is on Tuesday 5 February, so we have just a few more days to come up with our latest assignment: A view from a window.

It could be a story or poem based on something exciting, tragic, unusual or hilarious seen from inside a window. Was it seen by chance, or an expected event? Did the person inside realise what they were seeing, or were they mistaken?

The window doesn’t need to be part of a house – your piece could be a description of stunning scenery from a hotel room on holiday, an imagined view from a castle or historic building, or a view whilst travelling, from the window of a car, train or aeroplane.

Or perhaps the view itself isn’t the important part – maybe your writing will focus on the feelings of someone inside the window who wants to be outside. It could be a tedious school classroom, a prison cell, a workplace or a hospital. How would life be different if they could get out there?

Anyway… now’s your chance. The window of opportunity closes soon!

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Revving up to get writing again

There’s one week to go before our first Island Writers meeting of the New Year. So, how are you feeling?

All revved up and raring to go?

Or more like an old car that’s been stored in the garage too long – it probably still works, but it might need some jump leads and a bit of a push to get started again after all this time?

Here’s a quickie writing exercise to give you that push:

A. Make a list of words and phrases to describe the car in this photo.

B. Write a piece about the car (prose or poetry).

Feel free to post your answers to A or B on the blog or on the Island Writers Facebook page. No answer is ‘wrong’, so give it a try!

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Robins and other signs of merry festive jollity

Our last meeting had a theme of Birds, and I swooped on you as soon as you arrived and challenged you to create an alphabetical list of birds. Well done Peter for getting all of them except the X – although there is one, actually: the xenops, a rainforest bird.

Next, I asked you to choose a particular bird, and we spent a few minutes focusing on how our birds moved, sounded etc. and writing useful vocabulary words and phrases which could migrate into our pieces of writing. Then I egged you on to write about a person who reminded you of that bird.

And there was I, wondering if it would be too difficult! I must have been raven mad. You didn’t get into a flap, but all flew into action and hatched some interesting descriptive writing.

Well, Christmas is fast approaching and we are feeling festive! So after our meetup for friendly drinks at Yelfs (Tue 11th December, 7pm), our next Island Writers group session (on 18th December) will have a Christmas theme, with some yummy Christmas nibbles and Christmassy writing activities – feel free to turn up in an ugly Christmas sweater, silly tinsel earrings and elf hat if you get the urge!

Our assignment for next time is to create a piece of writing which includes a robin.

It can be poetry or prose, any length, or can be included in a longer project such as a novel or blog. Lucy’s already done hers – take a look!

As always, it’s optional, but if you haven’t completed your assignment yet, you might find this list of facts about robins useful.

See you on Tuesday 18th December at Ryde Library, 7pm-9pm.

PLEASE NOTE:

After Christmas, our next meeting will be on Tue 15 January 2019 – there will be NO MEETING ON NEW YEAR’S DAY.

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A tide in the affairs of… writers

pixabay-wave-1517436_1920Not much longer to wait – the next meeting of Island Writers is on Tuesday, 4th December.

So if you haven’t had a chance to think about your assignment yet…

The assignment prompt from last session is: “Swept by the tide.”

Perhaps it’s a person, a treasured possession, something evil or dangerous, a special place or even a whole way of life which has been swept away.

Or maybe the ‘tide’ isn’t made of water, but something else?

There’s no limitation on writing style or genre –  choose prose, play script, poetry in any style or genre – whatever suits your subject and your preferred writing style.

Still struggling? Try completing this limerick:

There was a young lady from Ryde
Who was swept away by the tide…

Don’t feel ‘tide’ (sorry!) to this subject – simply choose a different topic, or get on with writing another chapter of your novel instead of ‘editing it’ for the 27th time.

Just try to get some new writing done. On any subject.

See you on December 4th at 7pm, Ryde Library.

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Eek!

pixabay-mouse-3194768_1280Just a quick post to remind you all that the next meeting of Island Writers is next Tuesday, 20th November.

And we WILL be asking you how much writing you’ve done since we saw you last!

Eek!

Time to get your mouse moving – or your pen.

The assignment prompt from last session is: “Just before nine o’clock…”

It could be just before 9am, and something happens to cause a memorable day. Or just before 9pm, and the first sign that the evening isn’t going as planned.

Maybe it’s a flash of realisation, a spur-of-the-moment decision, a change in the weather, a meeting/ visitor, or a mysterious/ tragic/ delightful event. Anything from a parcel arriving to an attack by aliens!

It can be prose or poetry in any style or genre – whatever suits your subject and your preferred writing style.

If you still can’t think of anything, don’t drag out a piece you wrote three years ago that will do if you add “Just before nine o’clock,” at the beginning. The idea is to prompt you to feel excited and inspired to create some new writing, and definitely not to make you feel stressed because you haven’t dutifully ‘done your homework’!

Try writing a description of this mouse, or a poem about why mice have pink toes, or a letter complaining that this blog is infested with mice.

Just write something new. On any subject.

And we’re quite happy if you come to the meeting and say, “My novel was going so well I didn’t have time for the assignment,” or “I decided to write a funny poem about cucumbers instead!”