Write on Wednesday: Possessing Beauty

InkPaperPen, the host of Write on Wednesday had to take a break this week, which is GREAT for me, because that means I can catch up with some of the other WoWs that I have missed these last few weeks ... and by some I mean one ...

Anyway, here is a prompt from 2 weeks ago:


The Write on Wednesday Spark:  Possessing Beauty
Write about a collection. Write about something you or ,someone you know, collects. Think about the "why" behind the collection - why is it important to collect this particular thing? How does it make the person feel to add another piece to their collection? Is the group of objects there to be seen, to be studied or simply kept together? Write a real life story or a piece of fiction. Wherever the prompt takes you...Keep your post on the short side: up to 500 words OR a 5 minute stream of consciousness exercise. Link your finished piece to the list and begin popping by the other links. Oh, and enjoy!

She flipped the pages of the scrapbook carefully, making sure not to touch the exposed photographs.  "I really need to get pages covers for these."  Emerson stated to her sister as she continued to peruse the pages. "I know that I have the perfect picture of us with grandpa, but I just can't remember what book it is in"

"You have so many pictures." Kasley sighed as she picked up another scrapbook to look through.  "I didn't even know one person could take so many pictures.  Why do you have so many?  How could you possibly need so many?"

"I don't know.  It's not really about wanting or needing. I guess I just think of myself as ... as ... a collector." Emerson stated as she slipped the red book onto the shelf and pulled down the next one in the series.

"A collector? ... Of pictures?" Kasley said skeptically.  "That's weird Em."

"No, not a collector of pictures, because then I could just pull things out of magazines or print things off the internet.  That is not what these pictures are about.  These pictures are about smiles and laughing.  They are about the good times and I guess maybe the not so good times.  I collect more than just pictures Kas."  Emerson replied as she gazed at her best friends smiling back at her from the boat they had rented last summer.  "I collect memories."






I liked this prompt a lot, and actually might do it again when I have a bit more time, so I will not give away the other thing I collect.  But pictures and memories are kind of my thing.  I loved scrapbooking from an early age and try to keep up with it as best I can.  I must admit though I have fallen a bit behind the actual scrapbooking, but I still have all the pictures, carefully organized and ready to be viewed whenever I so desire.

It is funny, because I am the historian of most of my friend groups, and occasionally I really have to convince people to take pictures, but in the end people are grateful to have the memories to look back on.

It takes gumption to collect memories!

Write on Wednesday: Small Expectations

After a short (or maybe not so short) hiatus from Write on Wednesday, I am back (hopefully for the long haul but no promises)!  I will try to catch up on some of the ones I have missed, but for now, this week’s WOW prompt:

The Write on Wednesday Spark: Small Expectations
As I am thinking about education and learning, kindergarten and university, I have taken this week's writing exercise from one of my early childhood books. It is an activity I do with small children and one that always inspires so I thought it would be fun to see what the exercise inspires in adults. So, your prompt is: Imagine yourself as tiny as your thumb.Where would you live? What would you do?

I know this might be a difficult exercise but it's all in the name of exploration. Try and make it work for your own writing needs. Write a children's story, write a fantasy piece or work it into a fiction or non-fiction piece.  Wherever the prompt takes you. Keep your post on the short side: up to 500 words OR a 5 minute stream of consciousness exercise. Link your finished piece to the list and begin popping by the other links. Oh, and enjoy!

Sometimes I feel so small.  It is as if I am but a fragment of myself, no bigger than my own thumb.  The ever changing world is transforming around me, shifting, moving, growing into something greater and yet here I remain stagnant, dormant, tiny.  I maneuver through life fluidly without making so much as a ripple, let alone a splash.  But as I reflect, I remember that it is the tiniest and most determined of creatures that are able to eventually fly.  The caterpillar morphs into a beautiful butterfly to spread its wings.  The scientific anomaly of a bumblebee insistently takes to the air.  So too may I one day fly.

No quite what I originally started with, but I kind of like where it ended up.  Seems a bit choppy though – as if I started in one direction and then flowed into another.

Sometimes, being small takes gumption.

Write on Wednesday: Everything Happens for a Reason

It has been awhile since I have done a WoW post … time continues to escape me during the week!  But, this week I have found just a few minutes to squeeze in some writing time.

Here is the prompt from INKPAPERPEN:

The Write on Wednesday Spark: Agent Chin- Wag
Pay attention to the conversations around you: at the dinner table, in the supermarket, while DVD Returning, wherever. You are looking for one line, one tiny sentence of dialogue. You may find your words lurking in a D&M or perhaps you will choose a phrase from everyday chatter. Write down your line. Use it to inspire your Write on Wednesday post. Keep your post on the short side: up to 500 words OR a 5 minute stream of consciousness exercise. Link your finished piece to the list and begin popping by the other links. Oh and enjoy.

REMEMBER: Creative writing is still on the WoW cards in 2012 but consider exploring other writing styles as well. Write fact or fiction. Link up a real life piece, a blog post, a Haiku, a letter, a poem, even a photography narrative. Tell us a STORY, by whatever means you fancy. Wherever the prompt takes you...

“Everything happens for a reason.”  I have said it a million times over the years to many different friends.  I have written it in hundreds of diary entries.  I have whispered it to myself during some of those terrible moments in life where I have struggled to remain calm and in control.  It probably comes in at the top of my most commonly used phrase list, likely preceded only by “I love you” and “how are you?”  That one simple line is something I have always believed in, trusted in, relied upon.  And yet, I often can’t help but wonder: what could possibly be the reason?

Unlike all of my other WoW posts which have been fiction, even if loosely or closely based on fact, this post is completely non-fiction – a pure reflection.  Reflections take gumption!

Write on Wednesday: I Remember ...

For the Christmas Season, WoW is having an open link, meaning I might have time to catch up on some of the past prompts that I have missed!  I randomly starting with this one because it caught my eye.  I din't even think of what I was going to write ... it just started flowing almost faster than I could type it out.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 3 - I remember: Write "I remember" at the top of your page. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Use "I remember" as your prompt and write down the first words that come into your head for 5 minutes. Stop when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. I will try to do it every morning this week. I'll let you know how I go...I am hoping that the thought of having to tell you all about my progress will be the motivation I need to keep at it!

I remember … only bits and pieces of my former life now.  It has not been so long since I have lived in it, just over a year, and yet it seems like forever ago.  For months I held on so tightly that I thought I was going to snap.  I refused to let go, to be fully ripped from a life I loved and thrown into one I had long ago out grown.  As time passed though it got harder and harder to hold on to the life I loved.  My grip was slipping as days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and now months into a year.  I often wonder where I would have ended up in that life, the life I loved, the life I had planned down to every detail. 

This was definitely therapeutic ... may have to expand on it in the future.  Expressing your feelings so openly takes gumption!

Write on Wednesday: Cup of Sunshine

After taking a few weeks off, I am back to Write on Wednesdays!  I hopefully will be able to make up some of the prompts that I missed, but in the meantime, I will try to just keep up.  :)

This week’s write on Wednesday uses the words of Emily Dickinson as the prompt.  What a tough act to follow!  But here goes:

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 19 - Sunshine in a cup. Write the words of Emily Dickinson: "Bring me sunshine in a cup" at the top of your page. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after the prompt. Don't take you pen off the page (or fingers off the keyboard). Stop only when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. Write beyond 5 minutes if you like, you can link it up as an extra post.

“Bring me sunshine in a cup.”

“What do you say?”

“Please.  Please bring me sunshine in a cup, Mommy.” 

Karly turned away from her young daughter and walked the couple paces to the fridge.  She pulled open the door and stuck her hand inside, reaching for the giant jug of orange juice.  She smiled as she glanced at the label – Sunny D.  Since the first time she had told Marissa that the orange juice was a brand called Sunny D, Marissa had always called it sunshine.  Whether by mistake or intent, Karly wasn’t quite sure but she loved it nonetheless.

Karly grabbed Marissa’s my little pony cup out of the cupboard and placed it on the counter.  She poured the orange juice, filling the cup about half way.  She twisted the lid back onto the orange juice.  The last time she had failed to do that immediately after pour, half of the juice ended up on the floor and the furniture and the walls. 

Karly walked around the island to where Marissa was sitting on the other side.  She leaned down and kissed Marissa’s head as she placed the cup in front of her.  “A little sunshine for my little sunshine” she whispered in Marissa’s ear.

I thought of this idea as soon as I read the prompt.  I am not even sure what sparked it, because I don’t even drink Sunny D!  But I think it turned out ok.  I might choose this one in the future to clean up or add to a little bit.

Taking time off from writing takes gumption, but returning to it takes more!

Write on Wednesday - Great One Liners

I am typically a rather verbose writer. I like words and use a lot of them. I think it is better to have too many than not enough. In law school one of the assignments called for us to write a memo with a page limit maximum of 10 pages. When I completed my first draft, my memo was more than 20 pages long. Needless to say I had to pare it down quite a bit.

This week’s Write on Wednesday challenges us to use words wisely and frugally.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 13 - A Great One Liner...This week you need to come up with one good line to describe a part of your day. It can be 'real life' or fiction. But it must tell us 'who did what'. It has to be an amazing line, like a tiny little paper plane that must travel a big distance (figuratively speaking) with only a few folds ... Every word in that line must earn its place, or be cut as excess baggage. Let's get thinking about each sentence as though every word counts, like working one group of muscles to show how much weight they can carry.

I tried a couple of times, and came up with 3 one liners to share:

As she pulled the seatbelt low and tight across her hips, she stared out the tiny window and wondered why it never got easier to say goodbye, no matter how many times she did it.

Leaving one home for the other is the burden of living two lives, I realized as I bid farewell to my friends to return to my family.

Thoughts of him remained dormant in her mind, strategically buried so they would not surface at inopportune times, but as she inhaled the familiar scent of his cologne she could not help but take a solitary walk down memory lane.




Using less words but making every word count takes gumption!

Write on Wednesday - Take a Walk

This week’s exercise was a bit more detailed than normal.  It included taking a walk, writing to evoke the emotion of the walk, and then editing the piece to really make sure the emotion came through.  I did not have time this week to take a nice relaxing walk as I had wanted to do, but I did take a walk.  I hope you enjoy the experience that was my walk.

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 11 - Take a Walk: "Come back home and write what you encountered. Try to write so that your sentences feel the way the walking felt." Let's toss the 5 minute sprint aside this week and instead take a lingering stroll through our exercise. Participants are encouraged to write a first draft (the point being to get it out on the page), then to go through and edit their piece before posting. We're aiming to get from one place to another, taking the reader with us - economically, gracefully, elegantly. 

Perhaps start with the usual stream of consciousness exercise if you are having trouble getting started. But then stop and take a look. Edit your sentences and try to get them "feeling" the way your walk felt.

Click, click, click, click, click, click, click … my simple black heels made a terribly loud sound as I walked down the near empty street.  I was running unusually late, but still within the appropriate time to arrive at the event.  But I just hate being late, even by a few minutes.  It was unavoidable though.  There was no way I was paying $10 to park for 2 hours.  I was left with no choice but to circle until I found a spot on the street. 

I stopped at the corner waiting for the light to change.  The little orange hand stayed steady as the seconds ticked by.  Finally the little white walking man appeared telling me it was ok to cross.  I stole a glance at my blackberry as I stepped off the curb.  Click, click, click, click, click, click … It should only take another 2-3 minutes to get to the hotel. 

The sun is setting and the street lights are flickering on as I turn the corner.  I can see the hotel now.  Just a few more steps and I will be there.  Click, click, click, click, click, click …

I inhale the warm night air as I reach for the ornate door handle.  The door swings easily for its size.  Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack … my heels make an even more obtrusive sound hitting the tile, the noise echoing in the otherwise quiet lobby.  Oh thank god, there is a sign and I don’t have to ask anyone where to go. 

Clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, clack … my heels continue beating the floor like a drum as I walk out of the lobby.  I spot the room on the right, just a short distance ahead.  My blackberry buzzes as if protesting the death grip applied to it by my hand.  No time to check the message now.  I slip the phone into my purse so I won’t be tempted to sneak a peek during the presentation.  I try to slip into the room of people but tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap … thanks to the wood floor my heels give me away.

When I first saw the challenge this week I was not overly thrilled.  I thought it would be difficult and I felt uninspired.  But, I think taking a walk from my everyday life, as opposed to trying to take a walk for the sole purpose of writing about it made the exercise more enjoyable. 

Taking on ordinary moment in your life and finding something inspiring in it takes gumption!

Write on Wednesday - Piqued!

This week’s WoW prompt provided me with a chance to develop some of the story lines that I have started.  The prompt (as you can see below) involves using the word “piqued.”  Instead of doing just one piece, I decided to do three pieces – one piece for each of the definition. 

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 10 - A Gift of Serendipity... Take Felicity's Word ofthe Week. Write it at the top of your page. Set your timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after the Word of the Week. Stop writing when the buzzer rings. 

Felicity's Word of the Week is...

Piqued:
A state of vexation caused by a perceived slight or indignity; a feeling of wounded pride.tr.v. piqued, piqu·ing, piques

1. To cause to feel resentment or indignation.
2. To provoke; arouse: The portrait piqued her curiosity.
3. To pride (oneself): He piqued himself on his stylish attire.

PIQUED: TO CAUSE TO FEEL RESENTMENT OR INDIGNATION  

The first words that came out of the partner’s mouth piqued her.  What did he mean she didn’t have gumption?  She was the most driven person she knew.  If there was something Emory wanted to do she did it, if there was something Emory wanted she got it, but only because she put an excessive amount of effort and an endless amount of time. 

Contrary to popular opinion things did not come easily to Emory.  Her classmates only saw her grades, not the daily 6-9 hour study sessions in the library.  Her bosses only saw her immaculate finished product, not the nights she spent sitting at her kitchen table writing, rewriting, and proofing.  Her friends only saw the cards and presents she made them, not the days it took her to conceive the idea and the weeks it took to execute it. 

The partner was still talking but Emory had lost him after “gumption.”  That had to be the worst of it right?  What could be worse than telling her the one thing that cut deep to her core?  But the next words did more than just pique her, they infuriated her. 

PIQUED: TO PROVOKE; AROUSE

Sam anxiously tapped her pen against the top of her desk.  She bit down on her lower lip as she gripped her blackberry and punched in the numbers she knew all too well.  It had been a couple days since Sam had received that unforgettable voicemail.  Despite her aversion to Joe’s voice she had replayed it countless times.  She could deny it all she wanted, but voicemail had piqued her interest. 

Sam knew the instant she heard his voice that she would have to call Joe back, but she had been actively avoiding just that.  Why did he have to call her?  Why now when things were finally starting to go right for her?  

Sam closed her eyes as she hit the green button on her blackberry and raised it to her ear. 

It rang once. 

It rang twice. 

Maybe it will just go to voicemail Sam thought as she heard the ringing a third time.  Then there was the unmistakable click of a person picking up on the other end. 

PIQUED: TO PRIDE (ONESELF)

Jamie had always piqued herself in maintaining composure in situations where other people turned into puddles on the floor.  She just had a special knack for keeping her emotions in check, but she was about to lose it.

“Are you serious?” she repeated a little more forcefully this time.  Drew reached out for her hand and Jamie snatched it off the table before he could touch her.  “We have known each other forever Drew, and now just because you are seeing some girl we can’t even be friends anymore?” 

“Jane is not just some girl Jamie.  Things are very serious between us and she is not comfortable with the relationship you and I have.  You and I will always be friends, I just can’t spend so much time with you.  Jane thinks we do too much together, especially without her.  I mean all the baseball games, restaurant tours, cooking events.  She just feels like a third wheel in our relationship which is not how she should feel.  She is my girlfriend, maybe more in the future.”

“So we can be friends that don’t talk and never see each other.  That sounds like a blast!”  Jamie seethed.  “Why didn’t I think of that?!”

“Jamie, come on.  I need to focus on my relationship with Jane.  She is special and I want to give it the best shot I can,” Drew pleaded. 

“Oh she is something special alright.  So has she given you special permission to come out with me tonight?  Should I call her next week and get her ok to wish you a happy birthday?  What about Christmas cards?  Should I send them to her office so she can screen them before you see them?”  Jamie questioned as she wadded up her napkin and placed it on the table.

“Jamie, you are being ridiculous.”

“I’m being ridiculous?  Are you serious?  Have you listened at all to what you told me tonight?  You know what, just forget it.”  Jamie was so angry she was practically shaking as she stood to leave.  Jamie took a couple steps toward the door but whipped around suddenly to face Drew again.  She knew she should not say anything.  She knew saying it would make it worse.  But she just could not help herself. 

This exercise was enjoyable, but like so many of the others, definitely a bit challenging.  The first piece relates to the piece I wrote for WoW – Think with Character.  The second piece is a continuation of the very first WoW exercises I did, WoW – Write the Music.  The third piece is from the WoW – Status Anxiety exercise and I was finally able to give those characters names!  I am not entirely sure where I want the second and third pieces to go.  I have a few ideas, but nothing has seemed to click yet.  Maybe a future WoW exercise will help me out with that. 

It takes gumption to pick up stories after several weeks and try to further develop the story lines! 

Write on Wednesday - Think with Character

This week’s Write on Wednesday prompt is at its core a character analysis.  It is interesting but also difficult, especially since in at least a few of my entries I have failed to name the characters.  When I start writing and cannot come up with a name quickly I often just put in the corresponding pronoun (he or she) so that I can just move on with the story.  I always tell myself that I will go back and add a name when I am done, but by the time I have finished I typically cannot find a name that matches up to the character.  Since this is an ongoing problem, I am going to challenge myself to name a character and then develop his/her story so as not to find myself with tons of nameless characters.

But, names or no names, the writing must go on, and who knows, maybe in developing one of my nameless characters, I will uncover an appropriate name.  Here is this week’s prompt:

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 9 - Think with Character. Choose a character from your writing posts. You can still do this exercise if you are new to WoW - select a character from another piece of your writing or simply work through the exercise from scratch.   Now, think about the character in regards to their: gender, age, occupation, physical appearance and mood at this moment. Is your character in the city, the country, inside or outside? Do they live in rich or poor surroundings? Alone or with others? Answer all, some or one of these questions. Now, set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words about your character that come into your head. Stop when the buzzer rings. This may be one week where you feel you need to throw the timer and take your time. Do whatever works for you. You may also like to consider: Complexion, Style of dress, Hair colour/style, Speaking voice and likely vocabulary, Strengths/Weaknesses, Mannerisms

During law school Emory had been so enamored with how her life as a lawyer would be that she often forgot to live in the moment.  She was always looking forward to the next big thing.  She could not wait for school holidays and vacations.  She would count days until graduation, excited about what was ahead.  She must have wished a million times for days, weeks, semesters to be over so that the next one could start.  Now standing in front of the mirror Emory had only one wish – she wished to take back all those previous wishes. 

As Emory removed her makeup, washed her face, and brushed her teeth, she looked in the mirror just as she had every night as long as she could remember.  Her ocean blue eyes stared back at her but there was something missing in them, that formerly ever-present sparkle was gone.  The face starting back at her was practically that of a stranger. 

At just twenty-five years old Emory had accomplished a great deal, but that did not matter to her.  Her 26^th birthday loomed just a few days ahead and her life was not anywhere close to where it was supposed to be.  Just a year ago she was living in Southern California, in her own apartment.  Her schedule was full of things to do, both personal and professional.  Weekends were filled with showers, birthday parties, dinners with friends and the like.  During the week she put in at least 20 hours of work at the law firm where she clerked, gave tours at the law school, planned and attended networking and academic events, and spent countless hours researching, reading, and writing for her 6 classes and law review.  Her days were overwhelmingly full and she loved it. 

“Why did I wish it away?” Emory muttered as she placed her toothbrush back in its holder and wiped her hands on the small green towel hanging next to the sink.  She grabbed a rubberband out of the second drawer and scrutinized her face.  The laugh lines she had grown to love had been replaced by worry lines.  Her once glowing skin was now almost transparent since the constant San Francisco fog hid her beloved sun.  The somewhat golden tresses adorning her head also had seen better days, days where she had religiously kept hair appointments to ensure that the color and style remained near perfection. 

Emory swept her hair into a loose ponytail.  She turned her head first to the left, then to the right.  She leaned in close to the mirror and then pulled back.  She ran a delicate finger over the dark circles under her eyes and her gaze fell to her small pink lips.  She wondered how long she had been wearing that terrible frown. 

Emory knew intimately the events leading up to this very moment, but until now she had not realized how they had changed her.  The vibrant person she once was had slipped away leaving just a shell, a whisper of the person she had once been. 

I think bits of Emory have appeared in previous posts, even unintentionally.  She is a character I want to develop more fully when time permits.  BTW for those who are wondering, this piece definitely took more than 5 minutes. :)

Developing and exploring characters takes gumption!

Write on Wednesday - The Clock Winked

Time for another Write on Wednesday.  I missed last week’s because I was out of town, but I may go back to it in the future, so keep an eye out.  Here are this week’s directions:

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 8 - The clock winked...Write the words "The clock winked" at the top of your page. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after the prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings. Do this exercise over and over if you wish. Write beyond 5 minutes if you like, you can link it up as an extra post.

THE CLOCK WINKED devilishly as it struck 2am.  She sighed heavily and put her head down on the table.  There were books and papers strewn about as if a tornado had ripped through the room.  Stacks of multicolored notecards teetered in stacks that were piled too high.  Neon highlighters glowed among the sea of black and white text.

Never enough time in the day she thought as she reached out her hand.  She clasped the Starbucks cup and brought it to her lips. 

“Ugh, cold,” she muttered as she placed it back on the table.  She let out a deep breath and contemplated continuing.  Her back was sore from hunching over, her eyes were red from reading page after page after page, and her hand was still cramped from writing out all those notecards.  This is impossible she thought.  Another day gone and still not caught up, not even close.

If you know me at all, you will EASILY be able to figure out the inspiration for this particular piece.  It was very easy to write and I definitely could have kept going.  I may have to continue with this one in the future. 

Sharing your writing, in particular a personal story, takes gumption!

Write on Wednesday - Status Anxiety

Yes, I realize that it is no longer Wednesday, but the point I believe is to find the time and inspiration to write … soooo … better late than never right?

This week’s Write on Wednesdays challenge was as follows:

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 6 - Status Anxiety: Log onto your Facebook/Twitter page and write down the first status update you see.  Set a timer for 5 minutes. Write the first words that come into your head after your prompt. Stop when the buzzer rings.

Since I was late on this one I decided to write twice.  Both statuses are from facebook friends.  The first is when I clicked the Top News tab, the second was from the Most Recent tab.  Thanks to those two indiviudals who let me borrow their status update (if you even read this!)  Enjoy!

LESSON LEARNED.  NEVER ASK THE QUESTION UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED FOR THE ANSWER.  She sat in front of him in total silence, stunned to her core at what he had just said.  Things had not been right between them for a while, but still, had it really come to this? 

“Are you serious?” she asked still not believing the words that had just come out of his mouth.  How could he not want to even be friends anymore.  They had been friends forever.  They grew up together, went to grammar school and high school together, left for college on the same day and spoke almost every day they didn’t see each other in that four year span., they applied for grad school together, went to grad school together … everything … together. 

They had met for dinner because he was supposed to be telling her something great like he got a promotion or he put in an offer on a house he had been looking at or he closed his latest deal.  Anything but this … anything but telling her that his new girlfriend essentially forbid him from seeing her. 

THERE ARE NO WORDS.  JUST LOVE.  Alexis looked into those big beautiful brown eyes and sighed as she encircled him in her outstretched arms.  He was warm and solid.  He was always there when she needed a hug, always there when she got home from a hard day at work, always by her side to celebrate the best of times and help her cope with the worst of times.

She pulled away and smiled.  Theirs had been a long relationship starting in grad school when they first met through a mutual friend who had wanted to pawn him off.  An overzealous, rowdy, pain her friend had called him. 

Despite the lovely description, Alexis agreed to meet him.  It was love at first sight.  She knew she was in trouble as soon as his little brown paws slid into her hands, he wagged his tail and merrily licked her face.  There were no words, just love. 

This challenge was quite enjoyable and really show how anything could be a form of inspiration to write.  Again thank you to those who provided the status updates.

As last time, it takes gumption to share your written work!

Write on Wednesdays - Write the Music

I recently came across the blog Ink Paper Pen quite by accident.  The author of the blog has started a challenge called “Write on Wednesdays”.  The premise is simple: read the prompt that is given, set the timer for 5 minutes, write until the timer goes off, and that’s it!  I have always had an interest in writing (I think it came along with my profound love of reading) so I figured I would give this a try. 

Here are the “directions” from the original blog:

The Write On Wednesdays Rules: First of all, I am not a big fan of rules. Feel free to get creative with the writing exercises. But please try to visit the other members of Write On Wednesdays to leave a comment. You can grab the button for Write On Wednesdays from my sidebar.

And now for this week’s prompt:

Write On Wednesdays Exercise 5: Write the Music - A bit of choice this week: Pick your favorite song and write down the first line of lyrics OR turn on the radio and write down the first line of lyrics you hear. Then set your timer for 5 minutes and write the first words that come into your head after your writing prompt.  Stop when the buzzer rings! Do this exercise over and over if you wish. 

Extra Credit: After you do the exercise, try it again but this time play the song while you write. Could be an interesting way to get the creativity going... 

I had a hard time picking a “favorite song” so instead I just went to my itunes and picked the most played song.  There were 2: Close by Rascal Flatts and Everything but Mine by the Backstreet Boys.  So ... I decided to write both!  :)

Close – Rascal Flatts

It’s just another simple voicemail message or at least that is what Sam thought when she dialed in to retrieve it.  Probably just Mom checking in or Adam asking if I want to see a movie tonight or maybe it’s my trainer rescheduling our 5am session tomorrow … oooh please let that be it, Sam thought as she waited for the message to play. 

“You have one new message.  First new message,” the recording droned on.  Then there was silence on the other end of the line as if the caller had hung up or something. 

“Bummer” Sam muttered as she pulled the phone away from her ear.  Then she heard the voice from her past that she thought she had buried years ago. 

“Hey Sam … It’s Joe.  I, uh, I uh just thought … well, I don’t know what I thought.  Nevermind.  This was a bad idea.  Just nevermind.  Forget I called.”  Sam stared at the phone in shock.  She had not heard Joe’s voice for nearly a decade.  And she wished to God she had not heard it tonight.  Joe never did anything on a whim, which meant there was a reason he was calling, which meant she was going to have to call him back … even though he was the last person on the face of the planet she ever wanted to talk to again.

Everything But Mine – BSB

Walkin' along the sky, floating in the breeze, carefree and simple.  That’s what she wanted her life to be like – just like the birds.  They had the freedom to go anywhere and do anything they wanted.  They could be in a park one afternoon with adorable little kids and then the next night be on the top of the opera house listening to the most fantastic music seep through the walls.  If they did not like where they were, they just flew away and found another spot.  That was such a contrast to her planned by the minute, go-go-go lifestyle where she worried about her career and her family and her friends and her volunteer work and her political aspirations and her health and her looks and her soul and her religion and about a million other things. 

She never found the time for herself to just be free.  Even now as she was gazing out upon the birds longing to be with them, she sat inside a tall office building listening to the deposition from hell.  She had worked so hard to get here, but is this where she really wanted to be?

This “Write on Wednesday” challenge was a lot of fun and just took a few minutes to complete.  I was unsure about publishing these pieces, but part of writing is sharing.  So I hope you all enjoy and that you join me in writing on Wednesdays!

Writing and then sharing your written work takes gumption!