Remember Sunra Rainz’s delightful blitz poem, shared with us a few weeks ago? You may refresh your memory here.
She
used the pattern of repetitions specified by the form to magical effect
(especially as combined with particular words chosen from another
source). It got me thinking about repetition – about both the music and the power that
repetition can give our writing.
So this week I invite you to use repetition in your own writing – whether of words, phrases or sounds (e.g. the sound of a particular letter, or combination of letters). If you would like to try a blitz poem, please do! The instructions are here. But you may use any form you like, or none.
(Repetitive illustration by Amy Shamblen on Unsplash.)
If you preferto share something off-prompt, you may do that too.
Guidelines: new writing or old, poetry or prose, one post per person, and a maximum of 369 words.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Holiday Break
And now we're all going on holiday (at least from P&SU) for the next three weeks! We'll be back on January 6, when Magaly will see us into the new year with our next prompt: Reclaim, Rekindle, Rebirth.
We wish you Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukkah, a Blessed Solstice – or whatever you may wish to be wished. May we all have a peaceful and joyous time!
I finally got around to getting the family’s summer clothes
away to pull out our winter things. There’s a feeling of delight I get when I start
taking my comfy clothes out of the attic and put them into my closet,
especially when I think of how cozy I’ll feel wearing a favorite sweater or super warm
pair of leggings. What’s your favorite winter thing to wear?
In honor of my chunky sweaters, this week’s optional prompt
is cozy. Use the word in whichever way feels right in a piece of poetry or
prose. Or share an older piece instead. Just please be sure to keep your pieces
to 369 words or fewer, and one entry per person please.
Next week, to close us out for 2022, Rosemary will invite us
to use repetition in our writing.
Greetings,
my dear poets and storytellers. The year is nearly over. Can you believe it? Some
of you are probably excited about the upcoming holiday season, but my own
elation comes from the fact that this November and December bring (or brought back) some of my favorite TV shows: Criminal
Minds, His Dark Materials, and the show that inspired today’s
prompt, Wednesday.
What does this have to do with
today’s optional prompt? Well, you see, I wrote a short story about Wednesday Addams some
years back, and I was a bit shocked when I tried to remember what the story was
about… and remembered almost nothing. All I could recall was something about a
bleeding heart or bleeding hearts. So, of course, inviting you to create poetry
or prose that includes a bleeding
heart(figuratively
or literally) made complete sense… in my head.
Ifyour muse and you aren’t in a bleeding-heart
sort of mood, share any piece you prefer. Let said piece be new or old, fiction
or nonfiction, short or longish(369wordsorfewer). Add the direct link to your post; one link per participant,
please. Visit other writers to read (and comment on) what they’ve chosen to bleed
into ink and share.
next week,
Rommy will ask us to write about coziness or something that makes us feel cozy.
Have you found any interesting internet things for writers, lately?
I just learned of the existence of an online lit mag calledOff Assignment. It seeks submissions on just a few topics – most notably ‘Letter to a Stranger’ in response to the question, ‘Who haunts you?’ Some intriguing titles of pieces chosen are: To Paul, Who Sometimes Wore Red Cashmere Socks; To the Lost and Found Daughter; To My Parisian Gynecologist; To the Specter Who Haunts Our House. They beg to be read, don't they? I'll be revisiting until I've enjoyed them all.
During the first isolation of the pandemic, they also had a similar category – no longer operating – called ‘Postcard to a Stranger’. These pieces are described as ‘poignant messages to people we notice from a distance during this crisis’. Each message needed to be short enough to fit on one postcard. Titles of these, depicted as addresses on the postcards, include: To the Man No Longer in the Window; To the Man Doing Home Repairs; To the Stranger in the Park; To the Elderly Gentleman Dressed in a Royal Blue Velvet Suit.
If you're interested in submitting to Off Assignment, the link above will take you there. (They pay money and all!)
Meanwhile, I thought writing to a stranger would be a lovely idea to play with here, in either letter or postcard version. (We'll try the 'haunting' theme another time.)
So, for this week’s optional prompt, I invite you to write to a stranger. Not just any stranger, but someone specific you have in mind, whether observed or imagined. It doesn’t have to be someone you observed during the pandemic; but it could be if you like. Make the title of your piece 'Letter to' or 'Postcard to' the name or description of the person. E.g. mine will be, 'Letter to the Man Who Sits on the Steps Across from the Park'.
Our upper limit of 369 words is too long for a postcard – but we stipulate 369 words or fewer, so you could use the postcard idea. (Try writing your draft on an actual postcard if you're not sure of the length – or paper that size.)
On the other hand, 369 words would be far too short for a submission to the 'Letters' at Off Assignment (they really want essays) but plenty long enough for a letter you could share here.
Sorry we don't pay, lol, but we do read and comment.
And of course, if you would rather share something else entirely, please do!
Guidelines in either case: Old or new, poetry or prose, 369 words max, just one post per person.
(Don't forget, you can always subvert a prompt too – by doing the opposite of what it says, or by writing about why you refuse to write to it, or by deliberately misunderstanding it, or by going off at a tangent....)
Link to your post in Mister Linky below, visit each other’s posts, link back to us at your blog, and by all means have a chat to us in the Comments here too, if you wish.
Next week,Magaly will invite us
to create poetry or prose that includes a “bleeding heart” (figuratively or literally).
(Postcard image is from Unsplash by Ireland Rose.)
Hello, Word Artists and Admirers! I’m taking a beat to enjoy the small stretch of ordinariness between the frenzy of the US election season
and the beginning of the hectic holiday season. To honor that, I’ve decided to make the word “ordinary”
the optional prompt for this week. What does it bring up for you? I’ll take those
thoughts, or any others you care to share, in either poetry or prose form. Both
fiction and non-fiction are welcome. Just please limit yourself to one entry
per person and 369 words or fewer for your post.
For next week’s prompt, Rosemary will invite you to write to
a stranger.
“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”~Thich Nhat Hanh
The quote
above is taped to a glass dividing patients and pain management health care
providers, I noticed it while I waited for an enraged man to stop yelling at a nurse.
The nurse kept on trying to get a word in, but the man would just shout louder.
I read the quote, and thought, Irony has a peculiar sense of humor. I also thought that the word “dialogue”
might make an interesting prompt.
So, dear poets and storytellers, for today’s optional prompt, I would like you to
create poetry or prose that includes dialogue (literally
or figuratively, internal or external… your choice).
As always,
if the prompt doesn’t speak to you, share any piece of poetry or prose which
does. New or old, fiction or nonfiction, short or longish(369wordsorfewer). Share the direct link to your post. One link per
participant, please. After you share your words, visit other word lovers, and
start a dialogue.
next week,
Rommy will ask us to shape our thoughts around the word “ordinary”, and
whatever that brings up for us.
