Sondheim Writing Prompts (Part 2)
Sondheim is so inspiring we had to break this one up into two posts.
Y’all I was in a Sondheim mood for the last post and that Sondheim mood hasn’t left me. Before we start writing today, I want to share this excerpt from a wonderful Sondheim remembrance by Amy Weiss-Meyer in The Atlantic:
Sondheim’s work was at its strongest when it lingered in the pain of the dawning realization that no ever afterever lasts long. His music and lyrics looked squarely at life and insisted, gently and eloquently, that of course it was never going to be exactly how we wanted it to be, that messiness and ambiguity were to be expected, and could even be part of the beauty. Voices overlapped, words whizzed by, anxiety and sorrow and joy were written into the very structure of the songs. “I put it in as low a key as possible,” Sondheim once said of the opening of Sweeney Todd. “Always with a slight crescendo, so there’s always a little leaning in, as if something’s about to happen and then doesn’t. The feeling is of lifting the audience a little bit and then dropping, lifting and dropping.”
Let's all lean into the messiness in our writing this week! Be ambiguous! Contradict yourself! Let your thoughts get jumbled! Let your emotions be confusing. Meet yourself at your most complicated place.
Okay, let’s write.
EXERCISE #1: “Phone rings, door chimes, in comes company! No strings, good times, room hums, company! Late nights, quick bites, party games. Deep talks, long walks, telephone calls. Thoughts shared, souls bared, private names. All those photos up on the walls.” (Company)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Think of a photo of yourself with someone you’re close to – maybe it’s a photo you have on your fridge or framed on your wall – and write the story of that photo.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, close your eyes and imagine a framed photo your protagonist would have on their wall. Picture that photo for a moment, then write the story behind that photo.
EXERCISE #2: “Honey, everything’s coming up roses and daffodils! / Everything’s coming up sunshine and Santa Claus! / Everything’s gonna be bright lights and lollipops!” (Gypsy)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a quick list of five things that make you feel hopeful. Be super specific. Then pick one to write about more deeply.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue where your protagonist talks about something that makes them feel hopeful. Let them be enthusiastic. Include two metaphors about how their hope makes them feel.
EXERCISE #3: “Sometimes people leave you / halfway through the wood / Others may deceive you / You decide what’s good.” (Into the Woods)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about someone who left you too soon. Write about why and how they were “good.”
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene that includes some sort of final exit, a moment of deception, and the word “good.”
EXERCISE #4: “I chose and my world was shaken…so what? The choice may have been mistaken, but the choosing was not.” (Sunday in the Park With George)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a choice you need to make. Weigh the pros and cons of your possible decision(s).
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where your protagonist is forced to make a difficult choice. ALTERNATELY: take a scene you’ve already written and rewrite it from memory – but raise the stakes by adding a difficult choice to the scene.
EXERCISE #5: “Maria! Say it loud and there’s music playing... Say it soft and it’s almost like praying.” (West Side Story)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write down the name of someone you love and then dissect their name. Say everything there is to possibly say about this person through their name.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, do this exercise with your protagonist’s name. Freewrite everything about what their name could possibly mean. Discover new things about this character through their name.
EXERCISE #6: “I wish I could forget you / Erase you from my mind / But ever since I met you / I find, I cannot leave the thought of you behind / That doesn't mean I love you...” (Passion)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Imagine your life is broken into chapters...if you could erase one chapter from your life, which one would you get rid of? How did that time inform who you are now?
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a monologue where your protagonist talks about something they desperately wish they could forget.
EXERCISE #7: “I’ll remember it forever.” “And I thought...” “The President’s been shot.” “You know what? There are Presidents who aren’t worth a lot.” (Assassins)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Write about a difficult historical moment you’ve lived through (SOMETHING OTHER THAN THE LAST TWO YEARS).
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where two of your characters are in the middle of a mundane activity and they receive terrible news.
EXERCISE #8: “I wish my son were not a fool. I wish my house was not a mess. I wish the cow was full of milk. I wish the walls were full of gold. I wish a lot of things.” (Into the Woods)
JOURNALING PROMPT: Make a list of things you wish. Include serious wishes and whimsical wishes – and come up with at least twenty of them. Then pick one and write about WHY you want it.
FICTION PROMPT: If you’re writing a narrative, write a scene where a wish comes true for your protagonist. Go fantastical with the scene if you want. See what happens if you lean into the spectacle of what they might want.
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