Writing Prompt: Write What Frightens You

When I was growing up, I spent many days in the summer with my grandmother while my mother was at work. I spent many nights with her, too. Being a typical young boy, I often found my way into trouble.

My grandmother had a way of frightening me into obedience without lifting a finger. The power of her words and gesticulations as she served up a warning to "behave or else..." was amazing. All she had to do was tell me that some evil spirit was waiting around the corner for me the next time I misbehaved to swoop down and scratch my eyes out.

It worked on me. I remember many of her warnings to this day - stuck in my brain. As a freewriting exercise, write about what frightens you. Make it a little more interesting and write about what has frightened you at different times in your life.

The idea of evil spirits are still scary, but at this stage of life, other things frighten me more: losing my little girl in a crowd of people, or the love of my life, for example.

What frightens you? Place yourself in that scene. Use your five senses as you write.

1 Thing All Writers Must Endure To Succeed

Pain. Disappointment. Name it. Sorry... There are many things.

There's not one "thing" that we must endure. In truth, there are many things we must endure. That begs the question, since I'm posing it. What am I enduring?

Enough to knock a man off his feet. Love. Yes. It's a bitch. It's enough to totally screw up someone's thoughts.

Oh.. the pain. Yes!. You're a writer? Then embrace the pain. Examine it. What kind of pain is it? Color it. What noise does it make? Tell me.

Writing Prompt: Seriously? That's Such a 1st World Problem!

I'm in class watching my students take their final exams. Good times.


In this class, students are looking at Third World Problems. One student asked, "What's the Third World?" Well, it usually refers to developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. Really, it's a holdover term from the Cold War Era.


But, this moment in class reminds me of how my friends and I often make fun of each other when we complain too much about silly things we have no business complaining about.


Situation: I was at Starbucks this past Sunday morning. I ordered a Grande Dark Roast. I asked the barista to leave room for cream and sugar. "Ok," he said. I got the coffee. He totally didn't leave room for cream and sugar. "Seriously?!" I thought to myself. Yes, I was perturbed. Perturbed, as in upset in a First World way. Now I have to pour some coffee out to make room for my cream and sugar. "Oh, I forgot there's nutmeg! Let's sprinkle some of that in," I thought as I prepped my coffee. Now, I feel better.


People are dealing with famine in Third World countries and my morning is almost derailed because I have to pour out a little coffee. That is a First World problem.


Need something to freewrite about today? Think of all the silly First World complaints that come out of your mouth, your friends' mouths. Imagine how farcical a scene could be where characters are whining and complaining about First World problems as if they were the end of the world.


If you come up with some good ones, feel free to share them with me. I'll respond as soon as I can, but lately, my wi-fi has been acting up. OMG! It's s-o-o-o annoying. (LOL...First World problem.)

How I Caught Up With My NaNoWriMo Word Count 10 Minutes At A Time

That's right. 10 minutes. 10 is a powerful number. Yesterday it helped me write more than 6,500 words to catch up with my NaNoWriMo novel. Now I'm ahead.

If you're behind and want to make up for lost time, you should try this. But only try it if you also want to have a life in the process. You know, like take a walk around the neighborhood, go out for lunch, spend time with the kids, watch your favorite shows, take a nap, or go to a dinner party with friends. If you want to do all that and write 6,500 in a day, then keep reading.

So, that list of activities above... I did that on Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. I did that and, yes, wrote more than 6,500 words. It was a methodical effort on my part that started in the morning when I set a goal: I will catch up with my word count and write 6,500 words today.

My plan was simple. I numbered a piece of paper from 1-20. I also put that goal: 6,500 on the top of the page. Then I set my WriteMonkey timer to 10 minutes and typed words as fast as my fingers could fly. That first 10 minutes netted me only about 200 words. 

No biggie. I helped the kids get out the door, walked them to the bus stop, waved goodbye, then returned to my computer for Round 2. That second 10 minutes got me about 350 words. I paused, had a cup of coffee. I helped my wife make a batch of scones. Then Round 3. I was flying. I hit more than 600 words. Each time I wrote my word count on the paper next to the numbers 1, 2, 3.

After each 10-minute freewrite/speedwrite session, I took a break. I took a nap. Woke up for another session: 400 words. Read the newspaper; then 450 words. Ate lunch with my wife and watched an episode of Lie To Me; then, 400 more words.

Eventually, the kids came home. We watched some Military Channel show; then 390 words. We watched two episodes of Deadliest Warrior. After each episode, I squeezed in another 10-minute session: 425 words, 400 words.

I think you get the picture. By midnight, my last 10-minute session put me over the top. Ten minutes at a time, I wrote 6,751 words and still had fun with the family, attended a dinner party with friends, etc.

So, if you've never tried it, give it a shot. It worked for me. Let me know how it goes. Oh, an important rule. During those 10 minutes you write as fast as you can without editing, without stopping. Just write. Don't even worry if the right words don't come out. Just write.

Have fun!

NaNoWriMo: 6,500 Words Behind...No Problemo. I Have A Writing Plan

I'll make this short and sweet 'cause I got things to do: I'm behind. To be more specific, I'm 6,500 words behind in my NaNoWriMo novel.

My plan is simple. More on that later. Since I kinda feel like I just got busted playing with matches or passing notes in class, I figure I should throw out a few excuses for my per-dicament (I mean predicament).

I was busy. I was tired. I was distracted by something on the wall. I was watching the news and my brain exploded (It takes awhile to regenerate gray matter - or is it grey matter?).

Ok, Ok, truth is I just didn't feel like writing. It happens. Then I went to the Library of Congress yesterday, and I was re-inspired. So, hooray!

Now as for my plan, I have given this quite a bit of thought. If you are currently 6,000 words behind, 20,000 words behind, then check this out. Here is a step-by-step, failure-proof, no-brainer plan to catching up. Ready? Here it is:

I'm gonna write. End of tip.

Fine, I hear the sighs from here. But catching up is that simple. I'm putting my head down, stretching my fingers, setting a timer, and telling everyone around me to leave me alone (I'll try to be nice about it.), and then I'm just gonna write words. I guess if you have to put a label on it, you can call it freewriting or speedwriting. Whatever. 

Important note: the "no-brainer" part is important. When you're behind you can't get too picky. Don't worry about pretty words or the right words. When you're behind, you need to turn your over-critical, judgemental brain off and settle for any words.

So, let's get to it. Set a goal to just write any words. Tell that inner critic in your head to shut up. Just write. Just write. Just write.

I'll be writing and plan to catch up today, but first I have to get the kids on the bus. I'll update all with my progress. Are you behind? What's your plan to catch up?

Do You Use Freewriting?

So maybe it's just me. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Let's find out. Here's the deal: I feel a lot of pressure to produce a masterpiece every time I sit down and put pen to paper or place my hands on a keyboard. That's when I freeze.


Like I said above, maybe it's just me. If that's the case, then you don't have to read further.


But I imagine a few of you - the aspiring writers still trying to figure this whole writing thing out - are still reading. Hi, there! Let me introduce you to my friend, Freewriting.


Freewriting is a wonderful friend. He (or she) allows you to write about whatever you want. It doesn't even have to make sense. He won't judge. All that matters is that you showed up to share your words - preferably on a daily basis.


Freewriting will help get the words out without pressure. How's it work?


It goes something like this. you just ramble on. what is ist that's coming into my head? well I'm glad I finished my latest installment of the Mall Demons serial. I think I like Meego as a bad guy. I should flesh him out. He an regenerate like a lizard so it'd be cool to have an arm or leg get clippe d;in  battle and then pop! another limb replaces it in amatte rof seconds. talk about intimidating an opponent. here you are thinking you're winning the fight. chopped of f this guy's legs and before you can celebrate bam! he's on two legs again. tough to beat. of course he's gonna need a weakness. can't be invicncible - not that incinvicplbe...or can he? 


There you have it. That's your friend Freewriting at its most real. You notice there's no worry about grammar, typos, etc. You're just getting the message down as it flows out of your creative brain. Tell the logical side of your brain to zip it for awhile. It doesn't matter if you have a singular subject and a plural noun. Dangling modifier? It's all good.


What your write is for you and your Freewriting friend alone. It doesn't even need to make sense to anyone else. So give it a shot. It's best to do it daily. Try every morning right before you have to get ready for work or school. What I wrote above took less than a couple of minutes. You have a few minutes for your writing. Don't you?
You can type it out on a computer, or use a spiral notebook and scribble away. The object is to just keep going. Write. Write. Write. No pressure to produce a masterpiece. Tell that literary critic, that grammar teacher in your head to shut up.

Think of this time as your workout or practice time. Compare it to a professional basketball player practicing that same free throw shot hour after hour after hour. The basketball player is developing muscle memory by repeatedly practicing the same shot. You as a writer must develop your writing muscle memory, verbal muscle memory, or whatever you want to call it. 

Just do it! Not only will Freewriting free up words within you, it will - through your notes - become an important resource for you.
Do you freewrite? Share your techniques, success stories in the Comments Section.