Citizen Kane (writing prompts!)
And some inspiration from Alice Monroe.
First, a quote from Alice Munro...
“Everybody knows what a house does, how it encloses space and makes connections between one enclosed space and another and presents what is outside in a new way… So when I write a story I want to make a certain kind of structure, and I know the feeling I want to get from being inside that structure… There is no blueprint for the structure… I’ve got to make, to build up, a house, a story, to fit around the indescribable ‘feeling’ that is the soul of the story.”
Now let's build a house.
Today’s prompts were inspired by the movie Citizen Kane.
EXERCISE #1: “I can remember everything. That's my curse, young man. It's the greatest curse that's ever been inflicted on the human race: memory.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a list of five things you wish you couldn’t remember. Then pick one of those memories and write it out as vividly as possible. Make it vibrant.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist shares their worst memory. Find a memory you’ve never thought of before right now. Try to surprise yourself as you write out their story.
EXERCISE #2: “Bernstein, am I a stuffed shirt? Am I a horse-faced hypocrite? Am I a New England school marm?”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a time when you acted like a hypocrite.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, make a list of your protagonist’s core beliefs – start with the words “I believe...” and then finish that sentence for them five times. They can be big things, small things, serious things, ridiculous things – anything they believe with passion and conviction. Then write a scene where they fail to live up to one of those beliefs.
EXERCISE #3: “Mr. Bernstein? You don't expect me to keep any of those promises, do you?”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a time when someone broke their promise to you. How did you react? How do you wish you’d reacted? How would you react if it happened today?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where someone breaks a promise. Include a repeated phrase, include a moment of shouting, and include some sort of a dance.
EXERCISE #4: “You're awful funny, aren't you? I'll tell you one thing you're not going to be funny about, and that's my singing. I'm through. I never wanted to do it in the first place.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a time when you quit something you hated. Write out your emotional journey leading up to this act of quitting and write about the relief you felt after.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist ends something: they break up with someone, they quit a job, they drop out of their bowling league, whatever. And if you can, try to include a moment of singing.
EXERCISE #5: “Whatever I do, I do because I love you.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write a letter to someone you love – a romantic partner, a friend, or a relative – and tell them ten reasons why you love them.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue where your protagonist declares their love for someone or something. Let them wax rhapsodic.
EXERCISE #6: “If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Think of a small moment from your life that sticks with you and maybe holds a larger place in your memories than it should. Write out this memory and as if it was a big moment from your past. Give it some gravitas.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, brainstorm a few anecdotes that your protagonist would tell if they were being interviewed for a retrospective of their life.
EXERCISE #7: “I am not a gentleman. I don’t even know what a gentleman is.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Freewrite all of your crassest thoughts. Just vomit out every idea in your head that feels crass or gross or inappropriate.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, do that same exercise but in the voice of your protagonist.
EXERCISE #8: “Rosebud.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Think of an object that was once very important to you that you no longer own and write about your relationship with this thing.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist tells someone about an object that they miss.
Get my prompt books: https://www.camdenhighstreetbooks.com
Attend a writing sprint with me on Zoom: https://www.patreon.com/erikpatterson
Commission a prompt via Cameo: https://www.cameo.com/erikpatterson
Read one of my plays: https://www.camdenhighstreetbooks.com/plays