Thursday, October 9, 2008

Sensory Element Writing Prompt

This is kind of a weird prompt that we tried in a group recently. I wasn't very successful with it, but other people were able to write some amazing stuff. The idea is to write from a prompt, but with one hand touching something cold, extremely warm, or some other tactile (fuzzy, squishy, slimy) object, preferable one where the sensation is at odds with the words that make up the prompt. We used frozen water bottles and wrote about a hot place. Try to write for 15 minutes, keeping your non-writing hand on the frozen bottle. Here's the prompt:

Imagine a whirling, twirling outdoor scene. A hot wind is blowing. A girl, or is it a boy, is running in the tall wheat. There is a look of joy on her face. The sun shines on her face, tiny beads of sweat cluster on her forehead. At that moment, her mother comes out and says, "You're getting your new clothes all dirty, playing in the field like that. Come on, then, settle down. It's going to be a hot day..."

When you are done, read what you wrote out loud. Did the tactile object influence what you wrote? In what way? The idea for this prompt is to be aware of sensory elements, and how they can be used to enhance the scenes you write.

No comments: