Oblique Strategies

I prefer to shoot the arrow, then paint the target around it.
 —Brian Eno

When you need a writing prompt, it's always fun to remember Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies.

Here it is online.

Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin

People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.

―Ursula K. Le Guin

Here's one of Le Guin's most famous short stories: "Those Who Walk Away from Omelas." 

Burnt Socks: An Exercise

The bigger the issue, the smaller you write. Remember that. You don't write about the horrors of war. No. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying on the road. You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance. —Richard Price

Here's an exercise. Get a number between one and twelve. Look at the list below. This is the small thing you come upon, that begins to tell a larger story. Set the timer for fifteen minutes and write. Don't stop or censor yourself. 

1. A single drop of water

2. A book lying open in the mud

3. The voice of a child, singing

4. Motes of dust lit up by the sun

5. Laundry on a line against the sky

6. A clod of earth on a polished floor

7. A small animal disappearing into the underbrush

8. A helicopter crossing in front of the clouds

9. A bloodstain on a rug

10. A candle that has burned all the way down

11. A table laid for dinner 

12. A shirt hanging from a branch

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Post-Holidays Writing Exercise

Happy 2018! For some, today marks the end of the holidays and the beginning of getting back into a work routine. Here's something quick to get your thoughts moving again:

This is an exercise inspired by Dylan Thomas that I wrote a while ago. In it, I ask you to begin with a prompt, then follow the natural stream of your memories from there. (If you only have a few minutes, you can do it without reading the Thomas piece first.) 

If you're writing fiction, try this: do the exercise with your main character. Pretend she's the one receiving the prompt: What memory does it trigger? And what follows from that memory, and from the next one? Keep writing for the whole fifteen minutes; don't censor yourself, just keep going.