You’ve been prompted to . . .
You’ve made it to the penultimate “page” of this project where I wanted to compile other writing “prompts” and miscellaneous items that sort of fit with other topics but not quite:
I play with the overlap and juxtaposition of words and visuals throughout this project, but how about going really simple: what if you took some pictures of your own? Try to take a picture that fits the theme of what you are writing? Or a potential setting you could use?
This TedTalk on the SuperMario Effect is one of my favorites. You could use it to consider quite a few different things: What does it mean to make a “game” out of something? Do you and/or your characters have the growth mindset or a fixed one? How does that alter what you or your characters do? How do you (or your characters) go about identifying a problem and then finding a solution?
Along with these (especially if you considered the idea of “grit” earlier in this project) you could review this article and / or this podcast (second half) which extends this idea further as it looks into the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment on delayed gratification.
To transition from a video that references Super Mario to poems with constraints, there is the middle ground of what I call “13 Ways” poems. This link will take you to a Google doc where I saved a link to the original “13 Ways” poem and a Super Mario themed response to that poem. How would you write your own “13 Ways” poem? In what ways would you change and/or keep the same flow, content etc?
There are so many more ways you could work with writing in constraints, particularly when I think about poetry, but how could you apply that to other genres? If this list seems daunting some of my favorites to start with are the Minute poem, the Pantoum, and the Villanelle.
Do not think of this page as truly the end! Writing / creating is almost always a recursive process. You will start a piece and revisit it many times during its life. There is that old expression that a piece of art is never completed - only abandoned. I don’t want to end with abandonment, instead, I like to think of the creative process as as hopeful and resilient as an annual flower. Go out there and plant your seeds of creativity!
Still want more?
2 - Trying to decide what genre you are actually working in?
11 - Maybe you want to have some more question time?
22 - Did you miss the earlier section that was about “grit”?