Creative Writing--Prompt #7

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Write a short memoir about a time that you said or did something embarrassing and/or nasty to someone, an action for which you later regretted. In your piece, note how the wronged person reacted, and develop a scene that includes some recreated dialogue between you and that person, which may or may not include an apology. If the event took place a long time ago, reflect on how your actions affected your subsequent relationship with that person. In order to protect the innocent person, you may change the name of the wronged person. If you submit such a piece, I will assume that this is private writing, unless you tell me otherwise.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Write a short memoir about a time that someone else said or did something embarrassing and/or nasty to you. In your piece, note how you (1) WANTED to react to this person’s actions and (2) how you REALLY reacted. If this person apologized to you, discuss whether or not the apology was acceptable to you. In other words, did the apology seem sincere? In this mini-memoir, develop a scene that includes some recreated dialogue between you and that person. If the event took place a long time ago, reflect on what that person’s action means to you now and how that person’s action has affected your subsequent relationship. In order to protect the guilty person, you may change the name of the wrong-doing person. If you submit such a piece, I will assume that this is private writing, unless you tell me otherwise.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Write a travel essay about an important journey (meaning “vacation” in American English or “holiday” in British English).

A special suggestion for 4th year students: compare and contrast your traditional 4th year trip to your metaphorical journey through your four years of university.

For Option #3

Here are some examples of travel writing: Traveler Tales

Some characteristics of good travel writing: Suite101

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Creative Writing—Prompt #6

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

In the style of Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants write, from the 3rd person, objective point of view, a recreated dialogue between you and a real significant other. In a sense, I’m asking you to observe yourself interacting with another person but from a “dispassionate distance,” which means you won=t have access to your own thoughts; you will simply observe yourself as others observe you. In the objective point of view, the “narrator” is an invisible presence, very much like a journalist or video camera that does NOT offer “evaluations” of the characters or action, but simply “records” concrete details and dialogue. You may incorporate description of action and setting, but it must be rooted in the physical world, having to do with the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—in other words, nothing abstract or “evaluative” in the narrative sections.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

In the ironic and sarcastic style of Zoo York a New Yorker “casual,” write an essay about Skopje 2014 or any government project or policy with which you disagree.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

No matter what genre, a good writer often describes vivid physical details about the people, time, and place of an event. In this exercise, study the above photograph of the child at the fence, and describe the physical details, just as you see them, with no interpretation as to meaning. Just describe what you actually see.

Option #4 (200-250 words):

Select a favorite family photograph that was shot during an important family event. Write an essay about that event, using the photograph to describe setting of time, setting of place, and descriptions of family members.

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Creative Writing--Prompt #5

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Starting with today's date, begin a 7-day journal. In this journal, you should make important and vivid observations about the world around you, recalling conversations/scenes with friends and others, offering background information on yourself and others, recounting activities done for that day, and noting mini-epiphanies experienced throughout the week.

After one week, refer to this mini-journal and write an essay that spotlights the high or low points of your week.

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Read the “found” poem called “The Coffee Fortune Wall of Shame” (see below). I “found” this poem by collecting these coffee fortunes from my various café excursions throughout Skopje and also swiping them from coffee drinkers who left these cute brown slips of miswritten (albeit charming) bits of wisdom behind. There is no rhyme or reason to this poem—I am simply the note taker.

Select one bit of wisdom from this “poem,” and write an essay, using one of the fortunes (misspellings, odd grammar, etc.) as the title. OR make up your own coffee fortune and build an essay around it.

The Coffee Fortune Wall of Shame—A Found Poem

You are wonderful.

Flert.

Don’t fish on a tree.

Unexpected meeting.

Govern without being present.

Pick your words.

Whatever you make, that’s it.

Breathe.

Jealousy is selfishness.

An empty pocket is a load.

Be punctual.

Stand out, don’t be out.

The tired make mistakes.

Help! I’m trapped in an espresso machine!

(Sorry. I made that last one up.)

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Interview a stranger (a store clerk, café server, plumber, etc.) or someone you don’t know very well, and find out some basic information about that person. Then, based on what you have found out, write an essay in that person’s voice. (For an example, see “The Bell Ringer,” by Greg Hershey, which I have emailed to you. After you read this essay, these images will make sense).

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Creative Writing--Bonus Prompt: "I Like You!"

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The following gem popped up in my spam box:

My dear friend!

Come with me to the clover field...

Let our laughter serenade the night, among the red lilies still in bloom.

Make me a bed of purple passion beneath the starry autumn night...

And you will have my sensual heart before the night dissolves into light.

I have no secrets to hide from you. All that I am is yours to keep.

Fear not my hand should leave yours because two our souls are now entwined as one.

Sometimes I cannot find those words to let out what is inside

because you are holding the keys of my heart. I know that I can love you

if you're ready and willing to try. I want to be your best...

Take my hand, take my heart, live in love and bring light in the dark

All I want is you... and you can have me too...

Hugs and kisses

Nika

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Most of the time, I don't even read my email spam; I simply delete it.

However, for some reason, I clicked on this message--I think because the subject line said, "I like you!" And who doesn't like to be liked?

The message did not disappoint--What a charming piece of purple prose!

Come on.

Admit it! You have written your share of turgid prose, in both Macedonian and English. I know I have--well, maybe not in Macedonian.

In this "bonus" prompt, I challenge you to write a narrative non-fiction piece, about any event or person from your life, using the most overwritten prose that you can muster.

Then go back and edit out every adjective and adverb.

Compare the two pieces.

Between the two drafts, you just may have the beginning of a polished piece of writing.
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Creative Writing--Prompt #4

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (250-500 words):

Take a real event from your life and write it in a drama format. For an example, see

A Possible Scenario at the Police Station

“A Possible Scenario at the Police Station,” an excerpt from my memoir, stretches the boundaries between non-fiction and fiction.

I took a real event from my life: a conversation between Harley D. Semple, my grandfather, and the Sioux City (Iowa) Police Matron, which resulted in my involuntary commitment to the mental institution.

I was NOT present during this conversation; I was locked in another room at the police station.

In the resulting “playlet,” I made a supposition about the conversation that transpired between these two people.

I based this short scene on an important clue that I discovered in my commitment papers: in August 2004, I was able to procure photocopies of them from the Woodbury County Court House. As I read through them, I discovered that my grandfather had originally signed the legal papers for my commitment; however, his name was crossed out and the police matron’s name was substituted.

For 35 years, I had questions about who had really signed the papers. My grandfather had denied vehemently that he was responsible, and, technically, that was the truth. However, these papers proved, beyond a doubt, that he was, indeed, responsible for my commitment; he had somehow “dodged” the technical responsibility by (possibly) convincing the police matron to sign those papers.

My grandfather signing the papers and the police matron crossing out his name and substituting her own name is verifiable. The content of my “playlet” is not verifiable.

The “how” and “why” are unknown; thus, my short drama attempts to answer those unknowns with an educated guess. The absolute truth will never be known, given that the two people involved are now dead.

Is this non-fiction? I’m saying, “Yes and no.” In any case, I have stretched the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction.

Is what I have done ethical? I think so, but I suppose that question is open to debate.

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Take a situation from your own life that made you very angry. In a brainstorming piece, spew that anger on paper, censoring no emotion or vitriol. Just get it down on paper. If necessary, write it in Macedonian (you can always translate it later).

This piece will NOT be art. It will be messy, disorganized, and chaotic. But don’t worry about that—just get the rawness down on the page.

Later on—maybe even months or years from now—revisit this piece and see if an artistic and publishable piece might emerge from this.

Even if you write this piece, you don’t have to share it with me.

I have sent to you (but have not posted and will not post) a brainstorming piece about the room situation that we experienced last class. At this point, I would not want to share this piece with a wider audience, given my visitor status here at the university. However, I am entrusting this class with this very rough and somewhat angry piece. Later on, I may write an essay about this situation, but it would be more moderate than the raw emotion spewed in this draft. But, then again, this piece may go nowhere but here.

I just want to show you that all writers write pieces that may never see revision and publication.

Option #3 (250-500 words):

Develop ONE short scene, complete with narrative, dialogue, description, and action. In this scene, reveal something vitally important about yourself or another person without revealing the information directly; in other words, "Show, don't tell." (You may revise a scene from one of your existing personal essays/memoirs/short stories based on real life).

Remember Milena’s scene with the triplets? Something like that might be a good starting point.

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Creative Writing (Creative Non-fiction): Prompt #3

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Keep in mind that you are NOT required to use these prompts for your drafts. They are just brainstorming tools. However, you MAY use these prompts to develop your drafts. In short, it is up to you. You can also use them at another time during the semester, not just this week.

Option #1 (200-250 words):

Write a letter to your future husband, wife, child, etc., and tell him/her about your life before he/she came into it. If that person is already in your life, write from your past perspective. (From Writer's Digest online)

(You may recognize this idea from last semester as a fiction prompt.)

Option #2 (200-250 words):

Read “Richard Hickock”: From In Cold Blood (Truman Capote) from Life Writing, pp. 231-237. OR see In Cold Blood, pages 213-219.

In this book, author Truman Capote reported on the brutal Clutter murder, which took place in Holcomb, Kansas, in 1959. Capote invented or, at the very least, expanded on a style of non-fiction writing called “new journalism” (also known as “literary journalism”) in which the “reporter” participates in the “story,” even though he or she was not there, and sometimes long after the event has occurred.

In a “new journalism”/“literary journalism” piece of your own, write about a familiar event that occurred, but one in which you did not actively participate. However, in your essay, pretend that you were there and taking down notes as the event unfolded. You may have to interview people (perhaps start with a family event). You may recreate dialogue (Capote sure did).

The event you choose does not have to be about a brutal event, such as a murder and execution. You may also use a photograph (see Option #3) to write your new or literary journalism piece.

Option #3 (200-250 words):

Find a favorite photograph of a person, pet, or event and write a mini memoir about that person, pet, or event.

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Creative Writing (Creative Non-fiction): Prompt #2

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Option #1 (250-500 words):

Describe, in some detail, your BEST or WORST elementary, middle, or high school experience.

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Write a personal essay about a tragic local, regional, or national event from your own perspective. It doesn't matter if you were directly involved, but your personal perspective on the tragedy does matter.

For examples, see,

Leap

by Brian Doyle

9/11: Where Were You on That Terrible Tuesday?

by Jennifer Semple Siegel

Option #3 (250-500 words):

Write a complete mini-memoir, following the traditional story structure (beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, epiphany, and resolution), that covers no more than about five minutes. In other words, reach back into your past and select a moment from your life that has had a tremendous effect on your life.

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Note: You are NOT required to use any of these prompts. These are simply tools to help you overcome writer’s block.
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Creative Writing--Creative Non-fiction: Prompt #1

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These prompts are offered to you as tools to help you get started. You are not obligated to use them at all.

Option #1:

a. In an essay, reveal why you like to write.

b. What are some differences between writing in Macedonian and English?

Option #2:

a. Write a short poem about an important real event that happened to you or something important that you witnessed firsthand.

b. From the poem, write an essay or short memoir about that event.

Option #3:

a. Take three objects from your shelves, purse, backpack, or pockets, and write a sentence or two about each object.

b. What do these three objects have in common with each other?

c. How important are these objects to you?

d. Explain why these three objects were on your shelves, in your purse, backpack, or pockets.

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Creative Writing--Prompt #6

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Select ONE of the following options:

Option #1 (250-500 words):

Starting with today’s date, begin a 7-day journal for a major character from a story that you have already written or are writing now. If your story is set in the past, begin with today’s date, but in a year within the era of your character’s life.

In this journal, your character should make important and vivid observations about the world around him/her: recalling conversations/scenes with friends and others, offering background information on him/herself and others, recounting activities done for that day, and noting mini-epiphanies experienced throughout the week.

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Write a story that uses mostly dialogue. For the dialogue tags, do not use any verb except “say”/“says”/“said” or “ask”/“asks”/”asked.” In addition, do NOT use any adverbs within your dialogue tags.

In other words, use the dialogue itself to develop character and plot. Also, do not tell how a character feels; show the emotion in action or as described (via the five senses) by the narrator.

Option #3 (Revision):

Begin revising one of your drafts, a story that you might include in your final portfolio.

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If you have an alternate idea that you would like to try out instead of the above options, it’s okay.

NOTE: Don’t worry if you don’t finish this piece today or ever; you might discover that this prompt, for you, is a “false start.”

Writers should experience a lot of false starts.

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Creative Writing–In-class Prompt #5

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Select ONE of the follow options:

Option #1:

Write The Killer Husband from the viewpoint of ONE of the following characters:

--The first (and murdered) wife

--The second wife

--One of the killer’s children

--The priest or clergyman

--The executioner

--The policeman who records the killer’s confession

Feel free to change the title and do whatever it takes to make the story your own.

Option #2:

Write a prequel (events occurring before the main story) or sequel (events occurring after the main story) to “Hills Like White Elephants,” by Ernest Hemingway.

Option #3:

Write a story consisting completely of dialogue, with NO exposition at all. You may use, where appropriate, dialogue tags, but without adjectives and adverbs. In other words, this option requires that the dialogue alone should develop your characters, the plot, and the structure of your story.

If you have an alternate idea that you would like to try out instead of the above options, please go ahead.

Don’t worry if none of these prompts inspire you.

Don’t worry if you don’t finish this piece today or ever; you might discover that this prompt, for you, is a “false start.” Writers should experience a lot of false starts.

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Creative Writing: In-class Prompt #4

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Select ONE of the following options:

Option #1: The Story Machine (250-500 words)

Using the “The Story Machine” list below, pair up a character in Column A with an unlikely activity from Column B. Based on your combination, write a short story. (Note: if you choose a likely combination, your resulting story may be less interesting, although I should make no assumptions about this class! Surprise me! Better yet, surprise yourselves!)

Option #2: The Objective Point of View, 3rd Person (250-500) words

Using Ernest Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants as a model, write a story from the objective point of view (see page 4 of the “Creative Writing–Writing Fiction” handout).

Option #3: Second Person (“You”) (250-500 words):

Write an “interior monologue” in which YOU (as a “fictional you” protagonist) directly address another person (antagonist), with whom your protagonist has a serious problem or issue. Speak as if the antagonist were standing in the room with your protagonist, but the antagonist isn’t allowed to answer back. YOU (as a “fictional you) will monopolize the conversation. For an example, see Girl,by Jamaica Kincaid. See also page 4 of the “Creative Writing–Writing Fiction” handout.

If you have an alternate idea that you would like to try out instead of the above options, please go ahead.

Don’t worry if none of these prompts inspire you.

Don’t worry if you don’t finish this piece today or ever; you might discover that this prompt, for you, is a “false start.” Writers should experience a lot of false starts.

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The Story Machine

Column A: Characters

1. Tour guide

2. Delivery person

3. Pediatrician

4. Police officer

5. Chef

6. Fund raiser

7. Local talk show host

8. Mayor of a small town

9. Airline pilot

10. Writer

11. Biologist or chemist

12. Clinical psychologist

13. Ditch digger

14. Fork lift driver

15. Janitor

16. Teacher

17. Petty crook

18. Professional gambler

19. Soldier

20. Graphic artist

Column B: Actions by Characters

1. Is being stalked by a stranger

2. Subdues an unruly passenger on a flight to Paris

3. Submits a sexy novel to a publisher

4. Hypnotizes an acquaintance at a party

5. Rescues an elderly person after an accident in her/his home

6. Observes a man and a woman engaged in a drug deal

7. Collects stuffed/plush animals and dolls

8. Enters a cherry pie in a local cooking contest

9. Participates in a demonstration for peace

10. Takes a tour group to the World Trade Center site

11. Near the Turkish Market, observes a young boy kicking a puppy.

12. Attends The Skopje Jazz Festival (or other local event) wearing a clown costume

13. Parachutes out of an airplane

14. Enters a dance contest

15. Tries to join Mensa (High I.Q. organization)

16. Moonlights as a Taxi driver

17. Steals $1,000 from his/her mother

18. As an animal hoarder, owns 55 dogs and 33 cats, but lives in a big city apartment

19. Attends Star Trek conventions at least six times a year, dresses up as a Ferangi.

20. Saves a child’s life

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"The Story Machine" has been adapted from What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers. New York: HarperCollinsCollegePublishers, 1995. 134-135.
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Creative Writing--Prompt #3

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Select ONE of the following options (You will NOT be receiving a print copy of this prompt on Tuesday):

Option #1: Fiction (250-500 words):

Using one of the above photos for inspiration, write a flash fiction story. The photos show the Temple of Zeus in Athens, Greece, from a hotel room balcony; the photos (actually from one photo) have been digitally manipulated in various ways, although the barbed wire is real.

Option #2: Building an Antagonist:

Pretend that the barbed wire in the above photos has assumed human qualities and emotions. If the barbed wire were a person, what would he or she be like? Use the character list on page 6 of “Creative Writing–Writing Fiction” handout (also on the website) to help build an antagonist whose main function in life is to be a source of conflict for a protagonist or main character (see Option #3).

Option #3: Building a Protagonist:

Assume that the person shooting the photo of the barbed wire and the Temple of Zeus is the protagonist. Use the character list on page 6 of “Creative Writing–Writing Fiction” handout (also on the website) to help build a protagonist (or main character) whose sole source of conflict is with the barbed wire on the balcony (see Option #2).

Option #4: Using Second Person (250-500 words):

Using Jamaica Kincaid’s Girl as a model, write a short story entirely in the second person.

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If you have an alternate idea that you would like to try out instead of the above options, please feel free to do so.

NOTE: Don’t worry if you don’t finish this piece today or ever; you might discover that this prompt, for you, is a “false start.” Writers should experience a lot of false starts. ☺

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The above photographs are copyright 2009, by Jennifer Semple Siegel, and may not be reprinted or reposted without permission from the photographer.
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Creative Writing: Prompt #2

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Select ONE of the following options:

Option #1: (250-500 words):

Writers often write about traumatic national events. Your job: Write a short short story about a real tragic local, regional, or national event that has taken place somewhere in Macedonia from the perspective of a victim. You may use first (“I”) or third (“he/she”) person.

Option #2 (Refer to the Handout “Creative Writing: Story Structure,” page 7):

2a. Write an outline for a short short story, set somewhere in Macedonia, using the following outline structure:

• Clearly defined beginning
• Rising action
• Climax
• Epiphany
• Falling action
• Resolution/denouement

2b: In addition to #2a (250-500 words):

Write a short short story based on the outline you have developed from Option #2a. (If you don’t have time to do this part of Option #2, you can save it for another time. The outline itself may keep you busy enough.)

Option #3 (250-500 words):

Write a story in which the real YOU are the main character. However, the events in the story should be total fiction (in other words, a fictional lie).

Option #4 (250-500 words):

Rewrite Robert Frost’s poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” into a short story:

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

by

Robert Frost
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

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From The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Lathem. Copyright 1923.

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NOTE: Don’t worry if you don’t finish this piece of writing, today or ever; you might discover that this prompt, for you, is a “false start.” Writers often experience a lot of false starts. ☺

Creative Writing: Prompt #1

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Select ONE of the following options:

Option #1 (250-500 words):

Write a description of yourself from your mother, father, brother, sister, best friend, teacher, or pet’s point of view. Consider your appearance, actions, values, etc. In other words, try to see yourself as one of these people or your pet might see you (adapted from an exercise developed by Rose Kent, Cincinnati, Ohio, from Writer’s Digest online).

Option #2 (250-500 words):

Write a short short story that includes the sentence, “She took Marko’s pencil drawing of his late mother just before she died, ripped it into small pieces, and ate them.” Try to figure out what event or events that would lead up to such a shocking action by the girl or woman (you decide her age).

Option #3 (outside of class):

By yourself and with your notebook/journal, go to your favorite Skopje café (preferably outside and downtown, where it is busy) and order your favorite drink. Try to select a spot where you can observe the most activity. Then spend about 30-60 minutes observing (1) the other patrons, (2) the servers, and (3) the people who pass by. Write down your observations, including pieces of interesting conversations among groups of people. Also, note some details about your surroundings (in your details, include the five senses: touch, smell, sound, sight, and texture), the café itself, the outside of the café, weather, time of day (day or night), foliage around the café, background (mountains, other buildings, etc.). At this point, you are just taking notes, not writing an actual story, so don’t worry about organizing your thoughts. Just write in a way that will be understandable to you later on. To see how observing details might result in a finished story, see Ernest Hemingway’s short story Hills Like White Elephants.

Option #4, Starting with non-fiction (250-500 words):

Sometimes, it is helpful to begin with non-fiction writing, which can later lead to short fiction. In this exercise, write a letter to your future husband, wife, child, etc., and tell him/her about your life before he/she came into it. If that person is already in your life, write from your past perspective. (Exercise from Writer’s Digest online)

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