More Bridesmaids (writing prompts!)
And some inspiration from Toni Morrison.
Your Daily Creative Inspiration
Let’s start with a short reading from Toni Morrison:
“After I finished The Bluest Eye, which took me five years to write, I went into a long period of...not deep depression but a kind of melancholy. Then I had another idea for a book, Sula, where I was trying to write about real friendship between women—and the whole world came alive again. Everything I saw or did was potentially data, a word or a sound or something for the book, and then I really realized that for me writing meant having something coherent in the world. And that feels like...not exactly what I was born for, it's more the thing that holds me in the world in healthy relationship, with language, with people, bits of everything filter down, and I can stay here. Everything I see or do, the weather and the water, buildings...everything actual is an advantage when I am writing. It is like a menu, or a giant tool box, and I can pick and choose what I want. When I am not writing, or more important, when I have nothing on my mind for a book, then I see chaos, confusion, disorder.”
I love that. Let's remember to look for the DATA in our daily lives...
Your Daily Writing Prompt
Tonight’s prompts were inspired by the movie Bridesmaids (and I realize prompts were based on Bridesmaids like two months ago, but I’m obsessed with this movie so please forgive me):
EXERCISE #1: “Here’s a friend standing directly in front of you trying to talk to you and you choose to talk about having no friends.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write about one of your friendships. Pick someone who you feel especially close to. How has your relationship with this person changed the way you see the world?
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, who is your protagonist’s closest confidante? Who do they tell their secrets to? Freewrite about their relationship.
EXERCISE #2: “I told you she wanted to go to Paris. I told you Paris!!!”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Think about the last trip you took. PICTURE where you went, what you did. Think of it as DATA, like Toni Morrison talks about. Close your eyes and imagine three concrete images from this trip, then describe them as specifically as you can. Use those images to describe what this trip meant to you.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, think of one of your own memories from a trip and give this memory to your protagonist. Write a scene where they’re telling someone about this trip.
EXERCISE #3: “I cannot wait to never work for a psychopath again.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write everything you remember about your worst boss, co-worker, or employee. Examine what made their behavior so toxic.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, what is your protagonist’s work life like? Write a scene of them at their job. Make it their worst day on the job.
EXERCISE #4: “Hitting bottom is good. ‘Cause it’s only up from there. Positive message.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write about a time when you felt like you were at rock bottom and how you got out of it.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write your protagonist’s rock bottom moment. What’s the hardest thing they’ve ever had to deal with?
EXERCISE #5: “That doesn’t sound very inviting.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Look at the sounds in the chat box and pick one that has the most energy to you. Write about the sounds in the chat box until it sparks a memory, and then dive into that memory. Don’t plan or over-think, just see where these sounds lead you.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, use one of these sounds to start a scene. Your protagonist is having a shitty day. They have to do something they don’t want to do. One of these sounds either helps them out of a funk OR makes it worse.
EXERCISE #6: “She always drags me to the weirdest places and the food is always incredible.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write about the most hole-in-the-wall place you’ve ever eaten at and your connection to that food.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where two of your characters share an incredible meal. Include the word “drag,” something “weird,” and something “incredible.”
EXERCISE #7: “I just took a shit in the middle of the street.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write your most embarrassing story involving poop or any biological function of your choice.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue where your protagonist tells their most embarrassing story. It can involve poop if you want it too – not a requirement.
EXERCISE #8: “This happened because you didn’t get your tail light fixed.”
PERSONAL PROMPT: Write about something you neglected in the past and TWO consequences of that neglect.
NARRATIVE PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, freewrite about things your protagonist has been neglectful or complacent or lazy about.
Thank You For Being Here
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Read one of my plays: https://www.camdenhighstreetbooks.com/plays
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