I like the idea of images that can be seen in a number of ways. Is this a playful image? Teasing? Or is it of a more somber nature? Menacing?
For this week’s writing prompt challenge, I offer you this. What do you see?
I look forward to seeing your creations!
Happy Writing!
It’s been over two years since my last WPC?! Eek! That’s not good.
I’ve been inspired by a number of the images I’ve shared, so I really have to take responsibility for my inaction. A resounding theme in my life lately. Well, some of that can be blamed on “things outside of my control”.
When I started the prompt series, it was in an effort to build a community, so I’d be thrilled if you’d like to take part. Should you find a writing prompt here – there are a few off to the side or you can use the search bar – that inspires you, tag me and please allow me to share your work. Let’s build a positive writing community together!
I use the prompts as an opportunity to create a space for free writing, something I rarely find myself capable of in my professional writing. These are short, usually around 200 words, with little forethought or editing. Here is my submission for this week’s challenge:
The hallway was dark. Hannah, barefooted, tip toed toward the daylight that awaited her at the other end. She ran one hand along the wall to feel the old, rough stone bricks while her gown swished at her feet as pace hastened.
Without knowing why, her heart swelled at the thought of what lay beyond.
The hallway had brought her to the rear of an English manor nestled in the country. Stairs led down to a well-kept garden and a sweet surprise she dared not believe. Cautious that the leaves would be sure to give away her presence, she took careful steps until she could nearly reach out and touch him.
Evan turned simultaneously and captured her in his warm embrace. His exhale of relief at holding her in his arms caused his arms to tighten.
Hannah couldn’t recall how she had come to arrive here, or why her heart recognized the man who held her when her mind didn’t, but at the moment, it didn’t matter. She felt like she had just found home.
~ * ~
As I mentioned in the prompt’s post, this image reminded me of my screenplay, 217. It’s a story about how Hannah finds Evan in the in-between moments of a near death experience. And now I’m going to go write! Or should I say, rewrite.
I look forward to reading your creations! Happy Writing!
In preparation for our move, I’ve gone through nearly every piece of paper in my office, multiple versions of my scripts included. A thousand pages of repetitive screenplays with minor changes between them were just sitting on the shelf, taking up space, for no reason.
There’s an odd thing that happens to writers who reread their work years later…they often find themselves surprised that they wrote it.
I know my stories. I was there when they were conceived 😉 but sometimes you find yourself in awe of a golden nugget or two buried within them.
Rereading multiple versions of my screenplays all in one go reaffirmed my desire to continue writing them. All of my stories are in need of a rewrite. For a while now, I thought some of them were only in need of a polish, but on reflection, there are some major things I want to change. To every. single. one. An unfortunate side effect to gaining more experience and insight and developing my writing skills further. Oh gawd. I may be George Lucas.
So it was when I saw this image, which reminds me of one of my stories, that I found myself drawn to it, and wanting to explore it. So I wrote something (yay!) and hope you will join me in this week’s Writing Prompt Challenge.
If you find yourself inspired, don’t forget to share!
Happy Writing!
I finished reading a published novel yesterday written by a NYT bestselling author that, in all honesty, sort of pissed me off in its poorly written mediocrity. While I’ve struggled to write, not only because of the state of things, but also because The Sis and I are planning a move (which has been temporarily put on hold due to the state of things), one of the positives to come out of reading such a thing is the inspiration it instilled in me to get back to writing my own stories.
I have felt tired lately. Without something to be excited about, i.e. my writing, I don’t feel a sense of purpose, hence the boredom equates to fatigue. The Sis even mentioned it, so it’s noticeable.
So join me in finding some joy today! Let’s create something that stirs the imagination and reminds us what we’re passionate about!
Happy Writing!
Writing Prompt Wednesdays are back!
Yes, I know.
Given my Quote of the Week yesterday, this prompt seemed a bit apropos, if not oddly humorous. Oh, is it just me?!
If you’re new here, the prompts are meant to inspire and engage. If you find inspiration, please be sure to share or tag so we can all enjoy!
Happy Writing!
It’s been a rough few months, and for those of us in the US, there doesn’t really seem to be any relief in sight. At least not for the next 42 days.
There’s a lot to be said. There’s a lot to be done. Let’s use our voices. Let’s work together.
Be well!
Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR on Pexels.com
Hi everyone! It’s been a while.
I hope you and your loved ones are well.
I have started a number of posts over the last month and have deleted each one. I haven’t had anything to say because sharing quotes about following your dreams, or tips about writing, or what I’ve watched all seem rather trite given the circumstances.
I give my fellow bloggers props for being able to continue in light of everything.
But then I thought, at some point, we’ll get past this pandemic and some sort of new normal will begin, and so I should probably come out of the shadows. Staying positive during these strange times has been a running theme from a lot of what I’ve seen, and the creative, funny, inspiring sides of humanity have prevailed, mostly – there is always, of course, a flip side – but I like to be positive too.
Sometimes that’s difficult.
I have long struggled with my writing. Blogging too, obviously. While my writing should be an escape from the real world, and it’s what I want to do in life, there are too many times when my writing has taken a back seat. I have discovered that I often feel guilty for wanting to write when there are other pressing matters, like planning a move out of state (or abroad) or starting an Etsy shop to alleviate some our burden and aid in the move.
For the last few months I couldn’t turn my mind to writing as it felt like a reward I didn’t deserve.
Strange, right?!
I willingly quit my job late last year. I was deeply dissatisfied, and because our move was to take place only a couple of months later, I didn’t seek out another one. My plan was to organize the house, sell or donate what I could, and get us ready for the next move. I think not having a job, made me feel like I needed to overcompensate in the other areas of my life so that I didn’t seem like I was taking advantage of the situation. For the first couple of months, I didn’t even take a “day off”.
Then the virus happened.
Not much happened to me, personally, to change my day to day but because I was already in this particular mindset, the extra time so many people were given started a trend that I found sort of infuriating. You may have seen them, they said things like this:
If you don’t find the time to write now, you’re not really a writer.
Ugh.
People are already struggling enough with a myriad of issues, and then to throw this into the mix, to make one feel defeated…argh. Thankfully, wiser people countered with responses like the “boat” analogy.
We are sailing in the same storm, but not in the same boat.
*If you’d like to read the whole thing, let me know and I’ll post it in the comments.
Eventually, with the move decided upon, the Etsy shop open, and enough organizational projects completed, I finally felt like I had “permission” to write.
Permission to create…permission to follow my dream…sigh. And I have. Not everyday, but more than I have in months.
And it’s not like I wasn’t thinking about writing all this time. I’ve been reading, watching the MasterClass series, I’ve been keeping my journal, and I’ve had story ideas. So while the physical act of writing may not be happening consistently, the other aspects of a writer’s life are, and with that understanding, I’ve stopped being so hard on myself.
Do you know how hard it is to ignore that nagging “you should be writing” feeling?! You can only do it for so long before it drives you mad.
Writers are so hard on themselves.
When I came to this realization, I figured there may be others who feel the same way, and maybe need to hear this too.
Hi! You’re not alone!
So whether you’re writing everyday, or just thinking about it, cut yourself a little slack. As writers, we’ve already chosen a lonely, difficult path, and we have to remember to be kind to ourselves. There are plenty of other people, always at the ready, to knock us down. Ourselves included. Compound this with a global pandemic, and the need for some positivity, something I enjoy, is needed more than ever!
So here’s one of my Quote Mondays from the past.
If you need support, in any way, please let me know and let’s stick together!
xx, Rach
Wednesdays are for Writing Prompts.
Since discovering this image, I’ve had a story brewing.
Are you inspired? Are you up for the challenge?
Happy Writing!
I came across this prompt while cleaning up my email. Somewhere along the way, I emailed myself this idea, and that’s where it ended.
So I share it today in the hopes it inspires us.
Who wants to take on the challenge? I look forward to reading your creations!
I also share writing prompts on Instagram, so if you’re looking for more inspiration, take a gander. Happy Writing!
Happy New Year, friends!
Can you believe it? Not only has another year ended, but we’re now in a new decade. I’m still of the mindset that the 90s were the last decade because to think otherwise is just ridiculous. How could it be, now, 20+ years ago?!
I tend to bring in the new year doing the one thing I hope to be doing the rest of it, writing, but I’ll come clean, I haven’t been able to write since quitting my job. I, instead chose to spend it with one of my favorite people, Jane Austen. I completed my “One New Movie-a-Week” Challenge last week with Rise of the Skywalker, but I thought it might be a nice motivator to watch a movie, a world I want to be a part of, instead. I had not seen the film Love and Friendship, based on the novella, Lady Susan, and while I’ll have more to say on it in my next post about my movie challenge, it got me thinking about my own writing. So at least there’s that.
I nearly finished my Goodreads reading challenge of 12 books, a despicably low number, I know. I kept seeing these posts that if you want to be a writer and don’t make the time to read you can’t really be a writer. I was a much better reader a few years ago when my schedule permitted me to do things in a particular order. Now, I’m trying to implement that old schedule into my new daily routine. When I realized the end of the year was nigh and I wasn’t going to make my goal, I had to reevaluate a few things.
In that reevaluation was the thought that maybe I had set myself up for failure by expecting too much of myself throughout the year. I already knew the job was not allowing me to accomplish much, so achieving some of those goals was always going to be difficult, if not impossible. While I did complete a few of the tasks I had set out to do, like attending my first screenwriter’s conference, others, like the reading challenge, fell by the wayside. How could I possibly expect so much when days, weeks, and even months passed without a glance towards my passions?
I have to look at this year’s goal setting a bit differently. Remember, I don’t like resolutions, and I don’t think January 1st is a magic reset button, but it is an unavoidable marker for moving forward and starting anew. The outside world has dates and seasons for meeting goals, and a new year puts much of that into perspective. But there are things that I continue to carry over each year that I want to do that, while time consuming, are still worthy goals to pursue. It’s just going to take some patience and clever maneuvering, and not be at the forefront while more pressing matters are attended to.
What do you want to accomplish this year? How will you set out to ensure you reach that goal?
Here’s one of my favorite goal setting images for inspiration. Now let’s go crush 2020!
A Writer's Discrepant Memoirs and Other Tales 