Posts Tagged ‘writing prompt’
A Beautiful Day
Cathy and I had a wonderful day—a little exercise, a good breakfast, a short road trip, a little shopping. Not a thing went haywire. A little laughter, a little conversation, a little flirting, a little of this, and a little of that. Nothing memorable outside the blessing of our time together. I mention this because…
Read MoreThe Last Time
Cathy and I took advantage of the good weather today to do our outdoor winterization chores. We carried patio chairs to the basement, brought in the umbrella, covered the patio table, and cleaned out flowerpots. It always makes Cathy sad to see an empty patio, knowing as she does, it signals winter is almost here,…
Read MoreEverything Felt Different
Here we are in the fall of the year, a time that always takes me back to Sunday afternoons when my father, at ease on his day of rest, suggested we go for a ride in the country. My mother in the front seat and I in the back, he pointed his Delmont 88 down…
Read MoreAdding Texture to Our Narratives: A Writing Prompt
Let’s say you, or one of your characters, is supposed go somewhere, but it turns out, for whatever reason, you or they can’t make the trip. Maybe the travel was only a distance of a few doors down to a neighbor’s house, or maybe it was a short drive to the mall or the grocery…
Read MoreIt Could Have Been: The What-Ifs of Narrative
Cathy and I have been watching reruns of the old sitcom, My Three Sons, which first aired in 1960. At that time, I would have been around the same age as the youngest son, Chip, so watching the show has been a bit nostalgic for me. I remember the toys and board games I see…
Read MoreThe Emotions Behind the Facades
As many of you probably know, I had a stroke nearly twelve years ago. A blood clot traveled to my brain. Fortunately, I left the hospital, after two days, with no physical impairments. Since then, my doctor has had me taking an adult-strength aspirin every day. It’s kept my blood from clotting, but it’s also…
Read MoreSmall Irritants and Narratives
I’m going through a time when things just seem to be out of kilter—nothing major, just little things that frustrate me. This morning, for instance, I was cleaning my glasses when the top of the little spray bottle rolled off the top of the dresser, never to be seen again. I looked under the dresser…
Read MoreAbsent Partners: A Story and a Writing Prompt
Seven years ago, Cathy and I pointed her Mustang GT westward, our sights set on Lubbock, Texas. We were at a time in our lives when we didn’t quite know where we were going to end up. I’d just walked out of a long-term marriage. Cathy had left her own marriage five years prior. We’d…
Read MoreA Writing Prompt on Mother’s Day
The writing prompt for this week is to write about a feature of someone’s body that seems contrary to the inner essence of that person. You can use this for creative nonfiction or fiction. Imagine the way that feature would be if the person had lived the life they should have lived. As an example,…
Read MoreComing Home: A Writing Prompt
I start today with these lines from Robert Frost’s narrative poem, “The Death of the Hired Man”: Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in. We know this isn’t always true. Families turn their own away all the time, and sometimes for good reason. In a…
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