The Notebooking Daily Fall 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.
#88
Micro 101 Episode 05 Produce Section
Micro 101 Episode 05 Produce Section
For today's writing exercise you will write a few micro-poems or micro-fictions. These will be either poems under 12 lines or stories under 100 words.
Don't worry about them not containing a complex message. Aim for a surface level with one metaphoric level. Focus on interesting juxtapositions, something out of place and why—either why it is in that place, why it's out of place or why it actually fits in for some unexpected reason. Real Estate is expensive in a micro so avoid too many phrasal verbs and using too many articles when possible. But also don't expect a micro to explain the world in 100 words.
Here is a good short guide about crafting plot in micro fictions from Mythcreants, which sounds to me like how Mike Tyson would describe the characters in Suicide Squad.
For inspiration go read some micro or hint fiction in this Buzzfeed article, at Microfiction Monday, 32 Poems and Nanoism.
Micro Exercise Pre-Listing: Make a list of five specific people you wouldn't expect to see in your local grocery store's produce section, five people you might expect to be found there on occasion, and three deceased people you're fascinated with/interested in. Write three words/phrases to describe each person. Make a list of ten items you might expect to find in the produce section, as well as three more exotic items from this list and again for each item list three words or phrases to describe each item (remember to use multiple senses). This list will facilitate the following exercises
Micro Exercise 1: This micro is titled "To Be Expected in Produce" (or "Expected Near the Fruit") and will be a series of three or four 'expected' people and produce items (Person A ponders the necessity for fresh basil as Person B compares the bruises of petite winter avocados.) Finish the piece with a general gesture to the greater world beyond the supermarket which takes a backseat to food/nutrition/eating etc.
Micro Exercise 2: Write a first person micro in which 'you' are grocery shopping while tired and twice you think you see people from your list of deceased list, both times it turns out to be someone ordinary (from your list or not) but then you think you see someone from the 'unexpected' list and check yourself, skeptical, but it really is that person. Be sure to include some of your produce and descriptions.
Micro Exercise 3: Write down 4-7 interesting phrases/titles from this Random Title Generator, use it as many as ten times if you need to. Use one of those as the title and include a second in the micro which also includes at least two of your produce items.
Micro Exercise 4: Write a piece where you imagine one of the people from your deceased list is having difficulties finding something at the grocery story and one of the 'expected' people helps them find the item, not knowing who the person was, include at least two of the deceased person's achievements/accolades etc as things the other person wouldn't know of/care of/understand etc.
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If you'd like some background music to write to, try the Gene Ammons' album "Blue Gene".
