8/13/20

2020 Writing Exercise Series #224: First Line Bonanza 9


The Notebooking Daily 2020 Writing Series is a daily writing exercises for both prose writers and poets to keep your creative mind stretched and ready to go—fresh for your other writing endeavors. The writing prompts take the impetus—that initial crystal of creation—out of your hands (for the most part) and changes your writing creation into creative problem solving. Instead of being preoccupied with the question "What do I write" you are instead pondering "How do I make this work?" And in the process you are producing new writing.

These exercises are not meant to be a standard writing session. They are meant to be productive and to keep your brain thinking about using language to solve simple or complex problems. The worst thing you can do is sit there inactive. It's like taking a 5 minute breather in the middle of a spin class—the point is to push, to produce something, however imperfect. If you don't overthink them, you will be able to complete all of the exercises in under 30 minutes.

#224
First Line Bonanza 9

For today's writing exercise write a piece that begins with one of the following first lines.

  1. The small crowd was whipped into a frothing frenzy.
  2. Before the first loud clap scattered the group, it had been a nice enough afternoon and certainly a pleasant picnic.
  3. Wrapped in denim like an 80s pop idol—nothing could stop me.
  4. "Stop the car," she shouted, knowing I could not.
  5. Tied in the mix of familial threads that wove through the small town, the future had always seemed to be a tightly tethered beast of burden—before that day.

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Bonus Exercise: You must include a quote (or part of one) from composer Johannes Brahms either as an epigraph or in the piece somewhere.
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try this "Pokémon Lofi Mix", I have never played the game but the mix is quite enjoyable for working music.