Writing Prompts

For Christmas this year, I received a book entitled "300 Writing Prompts."  It was from the one who knows me best, my wife.  She knows I often struggle with topics on which to write.

Although the book claims no author, it is a product of Picadilly Press, it seems obvious to me to have been written, at least primarily, by a young woman judging from the prompts included therein.  Many of them are gender neutral, but a large number are oriented toward feelings.  I've never been particularly adept at articulating my feelings.  I suspect that is a "male" thing, but suppose it could be peculiar to my personality -- I'm trying to be generous here and reach toward neutrality.

Some example prompts:

• What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?
• Do you prefer taking risks or having a safety net?
• What area of your life do you tend to enjoy in excess instead of moderation?
• What is the biggest trigger for stress in your life?
• How do you act when you are afraid?
• What do the clothes you are wearing now say about you?
• How do you soothe yourself when you are upset?
• What, in your opinion, is strength?
• Who was your favorite band or singer when you were young?

That brief sample will give you an idea of the type of things listed as prompts in the book.

Setting myself the goal of writing something each day creates a self-imposed pressure to perform.  It is designed to create the discipline of writing deliberately -- to hone the craft through repetition.  Just like any athlete, a writer must write.  They must work at their craft in order to perfect it.

I make no claim to perfection in my writing -- not even to mediocrity -- however, it is something I enjoy and something I wish to improve.  I write in order to write.  It is therapy.  It is a way to maintain the neural pathways.  It is a way to record for anyone who might wish to read, that which is a part of me.

Like any recorder of history, or events, or merely thoughts, it is an incomplete record.  We record what we choose and therefore create a biased picture.  The bias is shaped by what we desire, not necessarily what we are.

I will utilize some of the prompts from the book over the coming year.  I may, or may not, warn the reader as to the source of an idea for posting; it will depend on my thoughts at the time.  I am always open to ideas.  If you are a reader of this blog and wish to request a topic, feel free to do so.  No guarantee that I will choose it, but I might!