Find a place to write where there is some kind of scene or situation in front of you. Along the left-hand side of the page, write down words that describe what you are taking in from your surroundings. What words evoke what you see, hear, taste, smell and feel on your skin? Make a list that runs the length of the page. Reread it. Draw a line that separates the list from … [Read more...] about A List, Plus …
Observation
Yucky Food
Write about the foods that you do not or cannot eat. First, name the food by printing it in capital letters. Then write down everything that you find distasteful about this particular food. What is the origin of your revulsion? Does your relationship with this food have a history? Have you ever eaten the foods that you dislike? How do you react? Meditate upon all … [Read more...] about Yucky Food
The Shapes
Situate yourself in front of some kind of scene, indoors or out. Concentrate on the shapes that you see in front of you. Rather than naming the things that you see, name their shapes: triangle, rectangle, circle, square, oval, blob. Begin drawing the shapes as you see them. Spread them out on the page in the same way they are spread out in front of you. Write some … [Read more...] about The Shapes
A Tale of a Table
Find a table. They are everywhere--in houses and restaurants, on sidewalks and in parks, at work. You also have tables in your memory and in your imagination. Write a story, true or invented, that includes this table. You could write the history of this table in the world, or the history that a person has with this table. Your history, or someone else's. Write anything … [Read more...] about A Tale of a Table
For Example
Before you start writing, set up your page. Draw a line where the title will go and mark off some space for illustration. Then collect a half-dozen or so good words. A word is a good one when it jumps out at you for some reason. Maybe you think the spelling is odd. Maybe it reminds you of something. Maybe it's a word you don't know how to pronounce. Maybe it names something … [Read more...] about For Example