Paul Bart Mall Cop (writing prompts!)

And a Richard Brautigan poem for inspiration.

As always, I like to start with some sort of reading... Here's a poem by my favorite beat poet.

Let's Voyage into the New American House
By Richard Brautigan

There are doors
that want to be free
from their hinges to
fly with perfect clouds.

There are windows
that want to be
released from their
frames to run with
the deer through
back country meadows.

There are walls
that want to prowl
with the mountains
through the early
morning dusk.

There are floors
that want to digest
their furniture into
flowers and trees.

There are roofs
that want to travel
gracefully with
the stars through
circles of darkness.

#

I love that. Okay, let’s write.

Today’s prompts were inspired by the movie Paul Blart Mall Cop. (Inspiration is everywhere, people!!!!)

EXERCISE #1: “What are you trained to do? Nothing.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a list of your own special skills. Be specific. They don’t need to be USEFUL. Just make a list of things you are VERY GOOD AT. Then pick one of those skills and write about how this skill has changed your life.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, make that same list of skills for yourself, then give one of these skills to a character in your work-in-progress. Write a scene where they’re using this skill.

RANDOM ELEMENT: manipulation

EXERCISE #2: “Nobody knows this mall better than I do.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Think of a location (other than your home) that you know inside out. Write about your relationship with this place.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, pick one of the locations from your story and write down three memories your protagonist has of this place.

RANDOM ELEMENT: gluttony

EXERCISE #3: “Pie. It just fills the cracks of the heart.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about one of the cracks in your heart. It can be an old crack or a new crack.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where one of your characters talks about a time when they had their heart broken.

RANDOM ELEMENT: something hidden

EXERCISE #4: “This is crazy, people are trying to take over the mall.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Are you good in a disaster or emergency? Write about a time when you handled an emergency well and a time when you handled an emergency poorly.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, let’s think SPECTACLE. Write a scene where something wild and unexpected happens. Let it be big. Something that your characters cannot control. Embrace chaos.

RANDOM ELEMENT: fire!

EXERCISE #5: “Is he crying?”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about the last time you were with someone else who was crying.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist has to comfort someone who’s having an emotional breakdown.

RANDOM ELEMENT: a kiss

EXERCISE #6: “Safety never takes a holiday.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about your best vacation. Try to remember something small and unpoetic, and start with THAT moment.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where two of your characters argue about something that happened on a holiday or vacation. Include something safe and something dangerous.

RANDOM ELEMENT: a mask

EXERCISE #7: “I got a newsflash for you: your flight’s been cancelled.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a sliding door moment in your life: how might things be different now if you changed one specific and pivotal moment from your past?

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, just as an exercise, make a list of things that seem integral to your story and then brainstorm ways you could flip those things on their head. Like, if a character is married, how would things change if they were divorced. And so on. Brainstorm multiple sliding doors for your story.

RANDOM ELEMENT: feeling trapped

EXERCISE #8: “This lemonade is insane.” “That’s because it’s a margarita, Paul.”

JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a time when your life was negatively impacted by alcohol, either your own consumption of it or someone else’s drunk behavior.

FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where someone is drunk and they shouldn’t be.

RANDOM ELEMENT: lingering

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