Prompt 46 ~ Endings

It’s the last prompt of the year and also the last prompt for 26n.  As we head towards the end of 2011, I thought it might be apposite to stop and reflect, if you so wish, about what endings mean to you.  Never mind resolutions and where do we go from here, but really just try and be with the moments of ending.  Here are some quotes to get the juices flowing, whether you agree with them or not.  Might I suggest that the disagreements are the juiciest places from which to start your writing and reflecting.

“If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” – Orson Welles

“The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.” – John Galsworthy

“That’s something I think is growing on me as I get older: happy endings.” – Alice Munro

“True love stories never have endings.” – Richard Bach

“What the caterpillar calls an ending the rest of the world calls a butterfly.” – Lao Tzu

~

We may not be posting any new prompts but the site will stay up and the prompts will always be there for anyone to use at any time.  If you ever want to post a response to any of the prompts, just leave us a comment and we will come over and read it.

Thanks for visiting.

Namaste.

Prompt 45 - science (-inspired) fiction

I was reading through the Guardian's top 10 scientific discoveries of the year. Which made me think that so many of the headings for each of the ten were actually great ideas to inspire short stories. I google-searched science journals, and looked through some of their titles, marvelling at how they could provide some great ideas - just by reading the headings, without necessarily reading the articles themselves.

For example, over at Science Daily, I found the following titles set my 'cogs' in motion and had potential short stories brewing up...

- 'The Shadows in a City Reveal Its Energy Flow'
- 'Artichokes Grow Big in Texas'
- 'Detecting the 'Heartbeat' of Smallest Black-Hole Candidate'
- 'Immunity Against the Cold'

If you want to try out this week's prompt, try visiting Science Daily or some other science journal, look for potential short-story inspiration in any of the titles and ...well, ...write.

As ever, if you feel like sharing what you've written connected to this prompt, leave us a message to let us know.

Prompt 44 ~ kitchen action

Make a list of 6 verbs.  Then go into your kitchen and make a list of 6 objects you can see there.

Spend a few minutes matching up a verb and an object.  Take one you fancy and use that as your writing prompt.

Here’s one I came up with – Love Measuring Spoons.

If you’d like to share what you’ve written, as ever, leave us a comment with the url of your blog post and we’ll come over and read it.

Prompt 43 - in reverse

It's nearly the end of the year, and with the end of the year the 26n project will be drawing to a close. This got me thinking about endings, and beginnings. And this, in turn, made me think of this week's prompt.

Take a story or poem you've already written, and try retelling it, in a different order, ideally in reverse, from the end to the start. You might have to play about with it a bit, so that is is still understandable, but by the time you put down your pen you should have arrived at the start, with something that makes (new) sense! Or maybe not, but I hope it'll be fun playing anyhow!

26n is drawing to a close, but if you feel like sharing before the end of the year, as ever, the invite is open...

Prompt 42 ~ mood

Have a look at / listen to these videos.  Settle into their moods.  Write from whatever inspires you, however big or small.

Murmuration

At the Hop

The Ship Song


It there's anyone out there still with us and if you fancy playing along and want to share what you've written, please leave a link to your post in the comments below and we'll come over and read you.  Promise.  

Prompt 41 - book titles

As I'm sitting typing, I look up at the shelf of cookery books above the computer.

"Book of Soups", "Falling cloudberries", "Indian Food", "Grandmother's Herbs", "Farmhouse Kitchen", "Native British Trees", "Wild Food Yearbook", "Self Sufficiency", "Herbs on the Table", "My Orchard", "Through the Kitchen Window", "A Field Guide to the Birds of Britain"...  there are lots more, obviously they're not all cookery books.

I wonder which I would choose as the title for a piece of writing. Or would I prefer another title, from one of the other bookcases around the house.

Have a look through your bookcase, try not to be influenced by the content of the book. Which title most inspires you? Jot down a few of them, then settle down to play with your ideas.


As ever, I you feel like sharing, you're more than welcome!


p.s. - Sorry I'm a day late!

Prompt 40 ~ Dark & Light

Take a sheet of paper and make two lists.  One entitled 'dark' and the other 'light.'  Give yourself 5 minutes to write down whatever comes to mind for each one.

When 5 minutes is up, stop.  Pick something(s) from each list and write.  

Prompt 39 - Senses

Senses. Five of them. More, you might argue. For this prompt, I'm just going with the first five (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste). ...Choose one of them, just one. And let it be your companion for the day. Or for a few days. Try to be extra-aware of that sense. Try to take note of what it notices throughout your day/night. If you like, make a list of these things.

When you're satisfied that you really have noticed that sense more than before, have really noticed what it's detecting and feeding to your brain, thank it most kindly and then pick up your pen. Your piece of writing should try to incorporate that sense, whether as a character, or as the basis for most of the descriptions given.

If you decide to try out this prompt, why not share it on your blog? We would be more excited than you could possibly imagine (honest!) to find out who is playing along with 26n, and what they're writing. Go on, we're friendly - honest! :)

Prompt 38 ~ Sleep

This week's prompt is sleep.  And here are some quotes to get your imagination going...

I want to tell you a terrific story about oral contraception. I asked this girl to sleep with me and she said 'No.'
- Woody Allen

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know?
- Ernest Hemingway

A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them.
- Victor Hugo

There was never a child so lovely but his mother was glad to get him to sleep.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson 
Marriage is an alliance entered into by a man who can't sleep with the window shut, and a woman who can't sleep with the window open.
- George Bernard Shaw

~

Ok, now go do your thing!  Poetic prose, pulsating poetry, incandescent free writing, writing in your sleep...pick your poison.

As ever, if you'd like to share, post a link to your writing in the comments below and we'll come over and read it.

Have a good week my pretties...

(Apologies for the weird font size - it's not me, it's blogger)

Prompt 37 - starting from a song

Music has a way of gnawing into our souls at times, at least it does with me, quite often. Think of your favourite songs, those lines that make you think, “wow....so few words, but really well said...” Take one such line, and use it as the first line for a poem or story. Try to be sure that your poem/story is not overly influenced by the song. Make that line your starting point, allow it to take you off in your own direction, the one that you feel inside whenever you hear that line. See where it takes you.

If you want to share what you've written, let us know.

Prompt 36 ~ Cut up a poem

Take a poem or two and print or photocopy them onto separate sheets of paper.  Cut out at least half of the words from each poem.  Then, either swap some of the words around from each poem or take words and put them together to make a new one, or two or three.

If you’d like to share what you’ve come up with, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.  Honestly, we will.

Prompt 35 - over to you...

Okay, I'm going to be a little cheeky this time!  :)  Just a little, but here goes...

Heartful and I have been enjoying , are still enjoying, posting up prompts here... and we get excited when blogger tells us that we get several visits, and from several far-flung places too! It really does make us very happy.

Sometimes, well quite often really, we invite you visitors to write a prompt and send it to us, we could perhaps post it here one week (of course we'd say who wrote the prompt, and also link to your blog/website etc. if you so wished). As yet no-one has taken us up on the idea. That's okay, we haven't run out of ideas yet. Maybe people are shy? I guess I'd be shy. Anyhow, prompt 35 is an attempt at creating more dialogue with visitors to this blog... and if it doesn't work, then at least you might get a new writing prompt out of it...   :)

So, what's the prompt? I really don't know. 'Don't have a clue. ...You tell me (or not, if you don't want to - but you have to choose a prompt this week, all the same).

This week's prompt: write a writing prompt that you would find really interesting/challenging/fun. If you'd like to share it with us, we really would be over the moon with delight. But you don't have to (though if you did, we'd be oh-so-super-dooper-excited  ...oh, did I mention that already?).

Anyhow, write the prompt and then, ideally, do your piece of writing based on your prompt. If you are part of a writing group, then perhaps you could all write prompts, stick them in a nice big hat and choose them, all nice and random. Whatever, just play at writing prompts.

Have fun!

Prompt 34 ~ Forbidden words

In this prompt I’d like you to think about the power that words can have and where that power comes from – specifically with words that are forbidden.  These forbidden words will be different for everyone – they can range from swear words to words related to sex or sexuality, religion or even family secrets.

Are there words you were forbidden to use as a child or things you were forbidden to talk about?  How do you feel about using those words now?  Do you?  Are there words you choose not to say as an adult?  Why?

For however long you need this week, I’d like you to give yourself permission to use those words.  Write something using those words or about those words – whatever the prompt evokes for you.  Write as freely as you can – because you do not have to post this writing.

Once the piece is written, replace the forbidden words with other words, ones you consider innocuous and which are not related to the forbidden ones.  It is this version of your writing I'd like you to post (if you wish to).

Can the meaning of the forbidden words still be gleaned even though the words have been replaced?  Has the taboo been lost or strengthened?  Did it feel liberating to change the forbidden words, or scary?

How did this exercise go for you?  Tell us about it.

Respond to the prompt however you want to - freewriting, poem, story, etc.  Whatever it brings up is fine, you don't have to follow the instructions to the letter.  If you'd like to share what you've written, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you!

Prompt 33 - Headlines

Take the newspaper (paper copy or on-line), and leaf through, without reading the articles, trying not to look at the photos. Just read the titles. When there's one that jumps out at you, one that you want to write about, then copy it down (resist the temptation to read the article, or follow that story on the news until you've done your writing).

What you write is up to you. Non-fiction. Poetry. Prose. You decide. Afterwards, if you like, you can read the original story.

If you decide to have a go at this prompt, don't forget to mention the source of the original title.

Also, if you do decide to play along, why not let us know in the comments section? If you post your writing on your blog, we'd be really excited to come over and read it. Let us know? (Blogger stats kindly tell us that we do have visitors, which we're ever so giggly and pleased about - why not stop and say hello, we'd be really ever so happy...)

Prompt 32 - the weather

They say the Brits talk lots about the weather. I'm not one for stereotypes, and I wouldn't have thought it true, but when I do get back to the UK, I've started to notice that lots of people do, indeed, make small-talk about the weather. At the bus stop, in the bus station, over breakfast with the family sitting at the next table in the guest-house dining room in Whitby. The weather. Is it a security blanket? ...Something to say? Or is it really a true passion for the weather?

Write whatever you like, a poem, a short story, you decide, but the weather should play a very central part in it somehow.

If you decide to try out this prompt, and if you decide to post up what you write on your blog, then leave a comment or e-mail us to let us know. We'll be over to read it with pleasure!

If you have any ideas for other prompts, do let us know - if we use your prompt we will, of course, say who it came from.

Happy writing!

Prompt 31 ~ Play with a poem

Today I found this wonderful interpretation of Emily Dickinson's Poem, "I'm Nobody". 

This week's prompt is to find a poem and play with it.  Do whatever inspires you.  There are no such things as mistakes.  Or rather, mistakes are encouraged because mistakes are charming. 

If you want to share, post what you've done on your blog and leave us a comment with a link to the post.  One of us will come over and read it.

Ta!

Prompt 30 ~ Live with a poem

This exercise was inspired by Fiona & Kaspa’s podcast on poetry. 

Pick a poem – any poem as long as it’s by someone else, not one of your own.  It can be one you know and love or one that’s completely new to you. 

Now, this is important: once you’ve picked the poem, you cannot go back and pick a different one, no matter how much you are tempted to.  Try to live with whatever feelings come up – even resistance or sudden dislike for some aspect of it, expected or unexpected.  Let the feelings come up, take note of them and then let them be. 

Over the week, take the time to read the poem slowly, meditating on the meaning of each line.  Try not to get too caught up in the literal meanings of the words but focus more on the images or feelings that emerge when you read the lines.  You might want to write down the things that come up for you during this process.

The idea is to live with the poem for a few days, until you’ve learned it by heart, until you can feel each line. 

Once you’ve done this, take the title of the poem and write your own poem in response to that title.

If you’d like to share what you’ve come up with, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.


Ta!

Prompt 29 - patterns

I have a 'thing' for patterns ...especially visual ones, patterns in nature, the way fields are ploughed, clouds, the washed up sand on a beach... patterns in architecture, geometric forms.

As I was sitting at my computer, looking out the window in distraction, I pondered the ploughed fields on the hillside opposite. I realised that I had my next 26n prompt.

Play with patterns in your writing. It could be a pattern intended to be seen. It could be a pattern intended to be heard. Or both. Play with patterns in your writing.

Please feel free to take part. If you post your writing on your blog, leave the link in the comments section and at least one of us will be over to read it, all happy that other people are playing along at 26n!

I hope your summer was good! It's good to be back here!

Insert witty title here

As previously mentioned, Na & I are taking a break from posting prompts this month.  But, we didn't want to leave you high and dry, so here's some cracking writing to move and inspire you and maybe give you a kick up whatever appendage you want kickage for to enable you to write like your head is on fire...

In no particular order and chosen by me for it's "MUST READ"ness...

Teething by Matthew Brady Klitsch at The Dirty Napkin

Stamp a Little Thankfulness by Jo Gatford (I know her :-)) at Everyday Genius

In the Duck Light by Jo Gatford (yeah, her again, just read her, she's good) at Pank

Gestures by Megan Roberts at Smokelong

Leaving the Garden by Steve Ramey (I know him too, what can I say, I rub binary digits with the cool and talented) at Journal of Compressed Creative Arts

Plus, a fabulous blog I discovered recently...Danielle Davis

And, a book recommendation!  Maira Kelman's The Principles of Uncertainty which started life as a column for the New York Times.

Ok, I think you've got enough to keep you going for a couple of weeks.  Enjoy!

Prompt 28 ~ I can't write....because.....

Is there some aspect of writing about which you often think, “I can’t do that.”  For me, for a long time it was, “I can’t write descriptions.”  And then, “I can’t write about things that aren’t based in some way on my experience.”  And then, “I can’t write short stories.”  And then, “I can’t write really short stories.”  Do you know how I managed to prove myself wrong each time?  By sitting down and writing.  So, I’d like you to complete the above sentence.  Then sit down and write.  By the end of it, I want you to have proved yourself wrong.

If you want to share the fruit of your labours, please leave a comment with the link to your post and at least one of us will come over and read it.

Ta!

~

We're going to be taking a break from posting prompts in August.  If the thought of this makes you wail, then please go ahead and submit a prompt idea or more to us at write26n (at) gmail (dot) com by the end of this month. If we like it, we'll use it for the month of August or beyond. 

 

*** I've just realised that we've given you the wrong email address in previous posts for submitting a prompt!  Eeeek.  Apologies.  So if you have submitted a prompt by email to us, can you please resubmit it to the correct address which is write26n (at) gmail (dot) com ***

Prompt 27 - Representing you...

- If you were a colour, which colour would you be?
- If you could listen to any piece of classical music, which would it be?
- If you could live in any city, which would you choose? (It doesn't matter if you've actually been there or not.)
- Which do you prefer, day or night?
- If you could catch any smell accidentally drifting through the air, which would it be?


...take the colour, the piece of music, the city, the time of day and the smell and go write something that includes them all. Create atmosphere; atmosphere that is somehow representing you.


Have fun!


Please feel free to take part. If you post your writing on your blog, leave the link in the comments section and at least one of us will be over to read it, with glee!


We're going to be taking a break from posting prompts in August.  However, we'd like to invite you to submit a prompt idea (or two or more) to us and if we like it, we'll post it up in August giving you full credit and linking to your blog or website.  To submit a prompt please email us at write26(at)gmail(dot)com by the end of this month.

Prompt 26 ~ 26 lines

I was told by treeshadowmoon that since I have the 26th prompt, I'd better do it with style.  Hmmmm.  I don't know about that.  First I thought I'd post 26 prompts but that would be overkill.  So here's what we're going to do.  This week, you choose the subject to write about.  Then, write a 26 line poem, story or list without naming the subject.  Would a reader be able to tell what you've written about?

If you'd like to find out, post a link to your writing in the comments below and at least one of us will come over and read it.

Thanks!

PS We're going to be taking a break from posting prompts in August.  However, if this saddens you, then we'd like to invite you to submit a prompt idea (or two or more) to us and if we like it, we'll post it up in August giving you full credit and linking to your blog or website.  To submit a prompt please email us at write26n(at)gmail(dot)com by the end of this month.

Prompt 25 - it's all around you

Sit down, empty page in front of you and a pencil in your hand. Don't listen to your mind or heart, your inner voice. Chart what your senses are perceiving around you. Down to the small details. The sounds, the smells, the sights, the tastes, the touch.

Wait as long as you like - for a set time, or for a set page-space, or simply until you grow tired...but generally the more you wait, the more you'll begin to notice.

Enjoy your microcosm.

As usual, feel free to participate. The more, the merrier!

Prompt 24 ~ take flight

...whichever way you can

~ You know what to do!  Go!

Prompt 23 - direct opposite

Lately things are so busy that I often end up needing that e-mail nudge from Heartful, "Remember to post up the 26n prompt - it's your turn" - thanks Heartful - you're fab!

So, as I know that tomorrow is going to be a hectic day, I'm being good for once and posting up a day early - which is unusual for me! I'm being early to avoid being late.

I've been carrying a birthday card around in my bag since the end of May - it's for a friend, her birthday is at the end of June. On the back of the envelope I wrote, "Don't open until 27th June!" as I fully intended sending it early - the thought was there, fully, fully...

...the card is still in my bag. I lie. The card is now sitting on the kitchen table. I took it out of my bag today, put it on the table in an attempt to remind myself to take it to work in my HAND tomorrow, so I remember to get a stamp and post it.

Sometimes we mean to do/say one thing, but instead we do the direct opposite. Sometimes we try to do the direct opposite, just to avoid what we hope we won't do. Does that make sense?

This post is a direct opposite. The card I wrote early was an attempt at a direct opposite (which is going decidedly pear-shape, with only a few days left to get that card to its overseas destination in time!).

Direct opposite - this week's prompt. Make of it what you will. If you decide to participate (and we'd be ever-so excited if you decided to - whoever, wherever you may be) and want to share then post up on your blog and let us know - we'll be over to read and if you like can link to it here too!

Prompt 22 ~ How to...

Make a list of 5 things you wish you could do. They can be as practical, dreamy, literal or illogical as you want.

Then pick one thing from the list and write a how to guide for it, from the point of view of an expert. You can do research on it (but if you do, give yourself a limit, the point is not to get bogged down in the research but use it as a springboard) or make it up as you go along. You can write it in any format you fancy - a list, a poem, an essay, an instruction manual etc.  You can make it as long or short as you want, as long as you have fun writing it.

~

If you’d like to share what you’ve come up with, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url. At least one of us will come over and read it.

Ta!

Prompt 21 - lost and found

Sometimes the little details contain the big ones. Think of something you found recently (maybe you picked it up, maybe you didn't). A coin? A button? A glove? A small glittery sequin heart?

It has a story behind it, although you'll never know what it was. Invent. Invent its story. Sometimes the little details contain the big ones.

We like to imagine that maybe once in a blue (or lilac or turquoise) moon, someone, somewhere, out there in blogland might happen across this blog. If you do, and if just by remote chance you happen to want to participate ...as ever, let us know and we'll link to what you've done and come have a look.

(It's kind of like being out in space, waiting for contact with other life forms.... there must be some out there, right?) :)

Prompt 20 ~ The End

"What we call the beginning is often the end.  And to make an end is to make a beginning.  The end is where we start from."  - TS Eliot

~

Use this as your basket and your guide as you go foraging into the forests of your mind.  Then come back and show us what you've found.  We might even sit down and make a meal of it together.

Prompt 19 - 'I forgot'

My memory is like a sieve at the best of times, and now is worse! A zillion things to do in and out of work and I'm afraid that without Heartful to remind me I'm hopeless in blogland of late. I just received her much welcome e-mail reminding me "26n prompt!" ...thank you!!!

Anyhow, I decided that this time the prompt really has to be connected to forgetting. Some form of the word 'forget' must appear in the title. Forget, forgot, forgotten, forgetful, forgetting, unforgettable... you decide. This must be a central theme in whatever you write.

Have fun - if you remember to try this prompt, of course!

Prompt 18 ~ answers on a postcard

What are you avoiding?

~

Answers on a postcard, blog post, square of toilet roll, an unused nappy, a post-it, a page torn out of your notebook...whatever you want.  Sit down and answer the question. 

If you feel like sharing, post it on your blog, or stick it in an envelope and add to the weight of a postman's sense of destiny fulfilled.  Someone, somewhere will read it.

Prompt 17 ~ Nonsense

unwomp

barateso

mougmat

apicta

ovelizi

unedioat

micus

Above are some blogger verification words I’ve been writing down.  Use one, some or all of them in a piece of writing, (or, if none appeal, make up your own).  There are only two rules.  1) Don’t use a dictionary, 2) Have fun!

If you’d like to share what you’ve written, however rough or polished, post it up on your blog and leave a comment below with your post’s url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

PS Is there anybody out there?  We’re both used to talking to ourselves, but just thought I’d ask…

Prompt 16 - alternative interpretations

Take a newspaper headline, or a book title, a poem title etc., that you find somehow interesting or curious (ideally without reading anything but the title) and use it as the title of a piece of writing - any kind of text.

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Prompt 15: Photos

Write something that links these photos together:

If you’d like to share what you come up with, post it up on your blog and leave a comment below with your post’s url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

(All the photos were taken by me)

Prompt 14 - letter in a bottle

I had an idea for a prompt that I just couldn't quite put into words in a way that would make sense, so I'm shelving that prompt until I can find a way to explain it!

Instead, here's another one...

I read recently about a small boy in Russia who found a letter in a bottle on the beach, it was written by a German boy in the 1980s. The Russian boy's dad helped him to read it and wrote back. The German 'boy' is now about 30 and the two of them have written to each other.

As a child I was always fascinated by the idea of a finding a letter in a bottle, but never actually wrote one (I think it's something to do with having been taught only to throw rubbish in bins).

'Letter in a bottle' is this week's theme - either write one (even without necessarily sending it) or write one that you imagine finding on the beach. Or how about a story or poem somehow based on the idea?

'Letter in a bottle' ...you can see I'm feeling quite summery!

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Prompt 13: But that's impossible

Think of something that could not happen.  Then write about it as if it did happen.  It can be as ordinary or fantastic as you wish.  Poem, story, whatever comes up. 

If you’d like to share, post it up on your blog and leave a comment below with your post’s url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

NB.  I can’t take total credit for this prompt – it is an adapted exercise from the excellent book Writing the Life Poetic by Sage Cohen, and also inspired by the work of Shane Jones.

Prompt 12 - in one breath

Find a word in the dictionary that inspires you. Write a short poem inspired by it. Take a deep breath and read it out loud. If it's too long to read in one breath, edit. Make it shorter. The one-breath poem. Imagine being able to emit poems each time you breathed out...

Prompt 11: Four Lines

Write or type these four lines* at random onto a page…

“its kneading mouth”

“forgive me”

“arms full of fire”

“they were delicious”

Then go back to the top of the page and start writing, being aware as you do that you will need to incorporate these lines into whatever it is you are writing.  Resist the urge to move them from their spot on the page.  If you can’t make it make sense, then so be it.  If you can let go of a need to control and let in a bit of chaos, who knows what might happen.

If you'd like to share what you've written, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

*These lines come from two poems, Dylan Thomas's Ceremony After a Fire Raid and William Carlos Williams' This is just to say.

Prompt 10 - the empty page

Sometimes making the first mark on a page is daunting. Sometimes I prefer not to write, for fear of messing it up. 'Messing it up' is only an inevitable part of the process that's really more productive than not.

Take a sheet of A4 paper and a pen. Begin to write until you have filled the page ...both sides of it even, why not? Don't think before-hand. Don't have any expectations. Don't edit. Just write. See where your pen and your instinct take you. Only stop when the page is full. Have a read through. Put it away for a few days. Have another look. Is there anything you'd like to work with and develop further? Then do. If not, that's fine, it was still an exercise in over-coming the fear of the white page.

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Prompt 9: A Mixed Bag

Write down:

1 or 2 things you do everyday

a memorable place you don’t get to visit very often

a member of your family you don’t know very well

a member of someone else’s family

Write something that incorporates all these elements in 500 words or less.

Tip: When you start writing, don’t worry about the word count.  But once it’s finished, try and get it edited to a 500 word version that feels complete. 

If you'd like to share what you've written, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

Changing places

Whoever our narrator becomes, what we write is often 'lived' in a certain way, through a certain character and therefore with a certain subjectivity.

Take something you've (ideally) already written, something where the sentiments or viewpoint of a particular character or narrator is quite strongly felt. Imagine it from another point of view, a point of view that was overlooked in the original text, perhaps another character, a second narrator... you decide. Let your words live the telling from that other point of view. Change places.

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Prompt 7 ~ A box of titles

This week’s prompts are titles of some of the books on my shelves.  This is something you can do for yourself at home, especially if you don’t fancy any of the ones I picked.  Write up a list of book titles, song titles, movie titles, cut them up and put them in a box, hat, cup.  When you’re in need of a prompt, pick one out and go.

Here’s what I chose…

I haven’t dreamed of flying for a while

One Day

Here is where we meet

~

Respond to the prompt however you wish – free writing, poem, story, letter, haiku, flash.  Whatever it brings up is fine, we’re not pernickety.  If you'd like to share what you've written, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

(If you’d like to know who wrote the above books, I’ll be happy to give you the author’s names.  I didn’t want to post them up here because I wanted the titles to stand alone as prompts in themselves, and also because I don’t want you getting distracted by looking them up on Amazon ;-)

Prompt 6 - 'somewhere'

This week's prompt is the word 'somewhere' as a title or the first word of your writing.

See where it takes you...

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Prompt 5 ~ going minimal

No instructions this week, only two prompts for you to choose from. 

1) I remember....

or

2) an image (taken by me a few years ago)

Respond to the prompt(s) however you wish.  If you'd like to share what you've done, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you.

Prompt 4 - random words as a key

Okay, so I said that sometimes the prompts would be quite specific - sometimes a little vaguer. Today's prompt is nothing new and nothing original, but the results are usually both, and quite fun too.

Take a printed text (I sometimes play this game with the dictionary, sometimes with a magazine), close your eyes, flick through it and stop wherever you like, pointing somewhere on the page. Choose the nearest word you find (ideally a noun, or if not then an adjective or adverb - you're allowed to try again if you either a) - feel totally uninspired by the word or b) - get things like 'it', 'that', 'because'. Try this three times (or more in aforementioned cases, but until you get three words). Take your three words, reflect a little if you like - or not, if you prefer. Write - using those words as part of your writing. See where they pull you. I'm going to be trying it and aiming for poems. If you want to try out a poem, great - if you prefer a story or something else, fine.

If you feel like playing along, then post up what you've written on your blog and leave a message in the comments here - one (or both) of us will be over to read what you've written.

If you have any ideas for future prompts then let us know, we'd love to hear them and would of course credit you with it should the prompt be used.

Alternatively...

If you haven't been inspired by this week's prompt, you could write about why you didn't do it. 

Or not. 

Remember that if you'd like to suggest a prompt, just drop us a line.

Have good weekends, whatever you're up to.

Prompt 3 ~ What do you see?

This prompt was inspired by my participation in the river of stones project and the act of seeing.  This post by Fiona Robyn made me wonder - Do we see things as they are?  Can we?  Are we able to let things be as they are, or do we feel a need to decorate, embellish, improve what we see, make them seem better, give them an interpretation that is perhaps not really there.  If so, why?

Anais Nin said that we don’t see the world as it is, but as we are.  So is it possible to really see “clearly”?  Buddhists might call it seeing without ego. 

Whether you believe that seeing in this way is possible or desirable, for a few moments this week, I’d like you to try it.

Sit down somewhere for a few minutes where you won’t be disturbed, preferably with a view out a window.  Or go for a walk.  For five minutes (or however long you wish), focus on what you see, whatever it might be.  Try not to be selective in your seeing.  If you see something unpleasant, don’t censor it from your thoughts.  If you see something beautiful, try not to hold on to it.  See what you see and then let it go.  Then, take a break.  Make a cup of tea or put the washing in the machine.  Then, do this:

Write about what you saw.  Write as quickly as you can without thinking, without stopping to edit or correct yourself.  This can be a piece of freewriting, a poem, a story, a list.  Whatever comes.  If it makes you feel more comfortable, give yourself a time limit.  5, 10 or 15 minutes.  It needn’t be long.

When you are finished, put your writing away.  Don’t reread it immediately.  Come back to it a day or so later and reread it then.  Do you feel that you were able to write what you saw?  Were there things you’d forgotten to mention?  Did any interpretations or assumptions creep in?  If you were to rewrite it, would you change anything?  How did you feel about the exercise?  Tell us about it.

If you'd like to share what you've written, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you!

Prompt 2 - Immune to overused words

This week’s prompt is to focus on, and somehow avoid, overused words, words which have lost their meaning.

Which words do you consider to be overused? (You may consider them overused in society as a whole, even in newspapers or books, or they may simply be words that you think you rely on too much.)

So often, it seems, we instinctively opt for the first, the easiest, or the most automatic or instinctive word that comes to mind…. I, for one, do this all too frequently.

Many of those words are adjectives. Some of those words could include ‘beautiful’, ‘great’, ‘old’, ‘interesting’, ‘ugly’, ‘excellent’, ‘scary’, ‘surprising’. Often they may also be verbs, for example the bland verb ‘say’ (whatever happened to ‘whisper’, ‘shout’, ‘murmur’, ‘stammer’, 'order', 'sing' etc.?).

The result is that certain words seem to have lost their meaning, lost their value …or rather, we become somehow ‘immune’ to them – we overlook them, we forget to focus on what they really mean, and therefore overlook what is really being experienced and really being expressed.

- Make a list of words that you consider ‘overused’, or words which have lost their meaning, especially words that you often use.

- Focus on one of the adjectives – ‘beautiful’ or 'scary' for example. Think of something, somewhere, someone which you would describe as ‘beautiful’ (or whatever adjective you choose) and focus on that thing/place/person - describe it, how you perceive it, how it makes you feel (etc.) …using any words you like, but not ‘beautiful’ and no other words from your list either!

Try to force yourself to stretch the limits, to focus on your senses, your feelings, and even your thesaurus or dictionary, if need be!

- Use these ideas as starting points, then write whatever you like, but experiment with the words you use and be aware of the ones you would like to avoid.

If your writing were a painting (still-life, landscape, portrait, it doesn’t matter), which subject would you choose, and how would you portray it in order to really express both yourself and your subject?

If you decide to join in, and would like to share what you've written, whether a rough draft or quite polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment here (or send us an e-mail) with your post's url. Heartful or I (or both of us) will come over to read it.

Thanks - and have fun!

Still time to join in...

Just to remind you that there is still time to join in with this week's prompt that Heartful posted up on Monday.

If you're interested in seeing the contributions so far, please check out the 'comments' section of the previous post.

I'll be posting up the next prompt on Monday, 'hope you might like to join in with us!

Good weekend to you.

Prompt 1 ~ The Names of Things

Give your writing power and focus by being specific.  So, write silver birch instead of tree or red Datsun instead of car.  I don't mean fancy.  You don't have to use ornate language.  Just give things their names.

If you'd like an example, take a look at this.  It's a link to a poem by William Carlos Williams (and one of my favourites). 

Then come back and do this:

Write down the names of 3 things from each room in your house.
Be specific.
Sit with the list for a while and see what comes.
What stands out? (or what's missing?)
Does anything tug at you?  Why or why not?
Tell us about it.

Respond to the prompt however you want to - freewriting, poem, story, etc.  Whatever it brings up is fine, you don't have to follow the instructions to the letter.  If you'd like to share what you've written, however rough or polished, post it on your blog and leave a comment below with your post's url.  At least one of us will come over and read it.

Thank you!

As of next Monday...

26ⁿ will be starting as of next Monday. In the meantime here is a little information about the project:

Can I participate?

26ⁿ is open to everyone, whether you decide to participate from the beginning, or somewhere down the track - there's no one 'starting point' so it's not too late to join.

26ⁿ is aimed at enjoying what you write, it isn't important whether you consider yourself to be 'a writer' or not. There's a writer in everyone, and 26ⁿ is just about experimenting with, and enjoying, the writer in us all.

Weekly prompts

Each Monday a new prompt will be published on the 26ⁿ blog.

Sometimes the prompts will be quite specific, other times they'll be open to greater interpretation.

If you decide to use the prompt and write something leading from it, then simply post it up on your blog.

If you've responded to the prompt and would like one of us to read it, please leave a comment with your blog's url. (We reserve the right to remove urls and comments that do not correspond to 26n related posts).

When possible please try to respond to the prompt before the next one is published.

When publishing your writing on your blog, please use the tag 26ⁿ

What if I miss one or more prompts?

It isn't the end of the world. Frequent participation helps to build a sense of community, but it's by no means essential.

I wrote something a while ago, it suits the prompt, so can I use it?

Well, you can, but as the idea is about exploring, experimenting and enjoying writing, then why not try to write something new?

Can I publish writing that isn't my own?

No, please just participate with your own writing, as that's what it's all about.

I have an idea for a prompt, can I share it?

Great! We'd love to hear of your prompt ideas! Feel free to e-mail them and we'll try to use them. Please tell us which name to use (and your url) when you send us a prompt idea, so we can give you credit for it and link to you if we use your prompt!

Can you link to my blog in the side-bar?

If you'd like to be included on the blog-roll of participants then please send us an e-mail telling us you'd like to be added to the sidebar and remember to include your blog's name and url - we'll add you to the list.

(Please remember that we maintain the right to remove a url if the blog has not participated or responded to at least one 26n prompt per month.)

What's the 26ⁿ e-mail address?

It's write26n@gmail.com

26ⁿ - 26 to the power of 'n'

26ⁿ

There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. And with them, with them comes an infinity of possibilities. Possibilites often never put to the test. Worlds that can be opened, unlocked, merely glimpsed, or even closed, with the power of those 26 symbols.

Twenty-six to the power of 'n'.

26 times 26 times 26 times 26 times 26 times....

...infinite possibilities with 26 letters.

26ⁿ ...a creative endeavour to experiment with some of them.

I've been day-dreaming about a collective writing blogging project for some time. Here's my first invitation -' heartful blogger' - would you like to join in?

[nà]