This was intended to be an "Inspired by" day but life's tumultuous and it was pushed back, and now I've already posted today. So instead, read this and then my explication/one-sided conversation with it and maybe use it as a writing exercise sometime.
First: twice read the fantastic poem "Romanticism...
8/25/14
Daily Notebooking Writing Exercise August 25, 2014
August 25: Cereal day!
Cereal means many things to many people. To some, it means breakfast, to some it means a type of grass that produces both germ and bran. To some it's Frosted Flakes with a side of Tale Spin (I...
8/19/14
Daily Notebooking Writing Exercise August 19, 2014
August 19: The Macguffin!
Watch this video animation from an interview with Alfred Hitchcock about the MacGuffin.
Write a short piece where the macguffin object is specifically addressed as being so important that it's not important why. This can be just a scene where many things like back story and...
8/18/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 18, 2014
August 18: Narrative day!
Today work with one of the following possible scenarios.
1) A man's suit coat is hanging over your mailbox one morning. In the pocket is an envelope. In the envelope is...
2) A time traveler who had quickly become a king in the past by using his technology and knowledge has...
8/17/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 17, 2014
August 17: Wordbank day!
Today will be brief, look through the lists of words provided in the following links and pick out ten or so. Spend a little time making sure you understand the correct usage of the words, if they...
8/12/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 12, 2014
August 12: Moving Day!
Moving is always a stressful time, which is always great potential for writing. Today work with one of the following moving scenarios or one entirely of your own devising/experience.
1) Packing...
8/11/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 11, 2014
August 11: How to accomplish the impossible.
Today we'll attack the "How to" genre by trying to inform our readers on how to do something that would be considered impossible, whether it is actually impossible, or just perceived...
8/10/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 10, 2014
August 10: "Trapped in a small place with a daffodil."
This is a title exercise, with a bit of an open end. The quote is taken from a recent (episode 20, at 22:25) podcast by the brilliant QI elves called No Such Thing...
8/9/14
Daily Notebooking Writing Exercise August 9, 2014
August 9: Fallen for animation.
OK, first, watch this animated short film. It's called "Fallen" by Sascha Geddart and Wolfram Kampffmeyer about, as Geddart says in the Vimeo page "A little meteor learns the biggest lesson of life on its way down to earth." It's under four minutes, so don't worry, it...
8/8/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 8, 2014
August 8: Killing the Pain.
Today we'll deal with the general theme of painkillers. This can be taken to mean painkillers as medicine, or as a metaphor for something which either end, or distracts from something physically...
8/7/14
Be Wary Citizens! Arcadia's August 15th chapbook contest deadlines (Fiction, Poetry) approach!
Arcadia Magazine's two chapbook contests are only eight days away!
The skinny:
What's the deadline? August 15, 2014.
What's it cost? $20.
How long should my chapbook be? For the Fiction Chapbook contest:...
Know Your Literary Journals: Lumina
Lumina is the literary magazine from the master's writing program Sarah Lawrence College. They've published a very eclectic group of authors including Brenda Hillman, Amy Hempel, Denise Duhamel, D. Nurske, Bill Knott,...
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 7, 2014
August 7: Rhymebank Poem Writing!
Today it'll be similar to a regular wordbank day, but instead, pick five or so words from previous wordbank entries (if you are new to notebooking, browse past wordbank exercises and pick a few words from the links. Then use the wonderful resource Rhymezone and pick...
8/6/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 6, 2014
August 6: Revisiting NPR's Wedding Cake in the Road.
Way back before these here internet days, the Spring of 1989, NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday began commissioning writers to respond to a writing prompt.
That prompt?...
8/5/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 5, 2014
August 5: Wordbank day!
Everyone's favorite is back! Spend a few minutes browsing the following links and write down ten or more words that stick out to you as being interesting or unique. Research each word briefly: check for interesting facts about its history, if there's a place, or a town with...
8/4/14
Notebooking Daily Writing Exercise August 4, 2014
August 4: "A Summer's Day"
Today's narrative exercises will be focused on something of a summer theme, and include music for those daring enough.
Pick one of the following narrative prompts (or multiple of them if you feel you can) and write a short piece somehow including or even just inspired by...
8/2/14
Notebooking Daily Exercise August 2, 2014
August 2: Plums!
Today we'll focus on the fruit that is Plum. It's said to be one of the first foods cultivated by humans. Even two thousand years ago there were already 300 different varieties in Europe alone. It can...
8/1/14
Notebooking Daily Exercise August 1, 2014
August 1: Wordbank day.
I know everybody loves wordbank day, where we find a list of ten interesting and slightly unusual/not-everyday words, do a little research around the internet for any odd coincidences/fun facts about the words, and then do a short series of writing exercises which force you...
