"Montero" by Lil Nas X (writing prompts!)
And some inspiration from Lauren Groff.
As always, let’s start with a reading.
This is Lauren Groff:
“Before I write a scene for the final time—I’m a nervous and constant rewriter—I take a minute, close my eyes, and build the world of the scene around me, including all the sensory details that probably won’t come into the story in the end. I tend to keep a story in my mind for a long time—many years, in some cases—until it has resolved itself into a form, at which time I know definitively that it’s a short story. Novels come out of a dark shadow on the heart, something that you need hundreds of pages to shine light into; stories, for me, start from a smaller explosion of light. To put it another way, a story often asks a handful of questions; a novel asks hundreds of questions. Novel questions breed while you sleep so that you wake up in the morning with even more questions.”
Today’s prompts were inspired by Lil Nas X’s new album Montero.
EXERCISE #1 inspired by the song Montero (Call Me By Your Name): “Call me in the morning, I’ll be on the way.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about your most ride-or-die friend. Who do you know you can call for help at any time? Write about a specific time this person helped you or was there for you.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist asks someone for help.
RANDOM ELEMENT: food
EXERCISE #2 inspired by the song Industry Baby: “You was never really rooting for me anyway.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Let’s do the opposite of that last exercise: write about someone who should have been there for you, but wasn’t.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, keep working on the scene you started in exercise one, but add some sort of turn where things go bad. Someone says something that leads to an argument.
RANDOM ELEMENT: alarm
EXERCISE #3 inspired by the song That’s What I Want: “These days I’m way too lonely.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about your loneliest moment.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, freewrite about your protagonist’s loneliest moment. It could be a moment that takes place before or during the story you’re telling. Just explore what their lowest, loneliest moment might have looked like.
RANDOM ELEMENT: sudden action
EXERCISE #4 inspired by song Scoop: “Now my body looks like something you’d eat cake off.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about five things you like about your body.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist and another character are in the middle of a strenuous physical activity – an exercise or a sport or anything that might get their heart rates up – and have one of the characters say “I need to tell you something important.” Then see what revelation comes. Keep them active through the scene.
RANDOM ELEMENT: an ah-ha moment!
EXERCISE #5 inspired by the song Sun Goes Down: “Strangers make you feel so loved, you know?”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a time when you connected deeply with a stranger, someone who you never saw again.
FICTION PROMPT: : If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist bonds with a stranger. Let them open up about something and be vulnerable.
RANDOM ELEMENT: lingering
EXERCISE #6 inspired by the song Lost in the Citadel: “I remember when I met you, thought the universe sent you.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Have you ever felt like you experienced some sort of divine intervention? Write about that.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist encounters a spiritual being. This could be God, this could be the ghost of Bea Arthur, this could be a talking coffee cup, whatever. Incorporate a moment of wonder and three questions.
RANDOM ELEMENT: movement
EXERCISE #7 inspired by the song Don’t Want It: “Took one too many shots last night and I spent all my money.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a lost night. A night when you maybe did something you regretted.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue where your protagonist talks about one of their regrets.
RANDOM ELEMENT: something misplaced
EXERCISE #8 inspired by the song One of Me: “I like this, I don’t like that.”
JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a list of things that you like and when one of the items on your list really inspires you, start writing about everything you like about it. Be as geekily specific as possible.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, do this same exercise, but do it in your protagonist’s voice. Discover at least five things that they are REALLY REALLY INTO that you didn’t know before.
RANDOM ELEMENT: a whisper (!?)
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