May 28, 2008

Writing Prompts: Digging through People Watching and Picture Prompts ©

I've been reading about writing prompts. My head is full of stories but laying those stories out is hard for me. Especially now, not exercising the creative muscles and just writing for search engines.

When I was younger, I loved to people watch. My friend and I would sit on this rock wall in the mall and watch people go by. Some people were very interesting, appealing, and stories about what they were doing, talking about, or there for would just roll off my tongue. I could come up with some real humdingers back then. Sometimes I'd get my friend laughing so hard she'd fall off the wall. I should have written some of those stories down...

I miss those days.

Have you ever gone to a museum? My mother and I loved museum hopping. One I remember fondly. It was actually an old castle in Europe turned museum. We walked through admiring the displays, the portraits, the architecture. Of course you knew the history, but you didn't really know the people. I would look at those portraits and wonder, "What were they really like?"

Keeping that in mind, what kind of story could you develop from a picture? Picture prompts are used to spark a story in you. What kind of a story could you develop from these picture prompts?




My story starts something like this: When Sallie Mae married George Danker it was the perfect match. They bought a stretch of land far from the city and settled in to have 6 kids...In memory of their parents, the kids erected a roadside display. The windshield reads: "Not For Sale!"

...

These trucks sit prominently on the road to our neighborhood. The display fascinates me. I'm sure the property owners erected it to sway people from purchasing lots in a new development next door.

I'm a visual person. I love to see things and create something from it. I'm going work with picture prompts more to see where it takes my creative writing.
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8 comments:

  1. Whoa--those photos! That pink! Talk about a writing prompt!

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  2. Hi! I know that when I'm busy reading, that I can at times loose track of the story. The words start to blur until I come to an image. Especially one that rekindles an old memory. So for me, picture prompts do help to put my story across.

    Take Care and Thank You!
    Peter

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  3. A subject of perennial interest, of course. Thanks for a good read which brought back some (very) old memories. my favourite activity was to watch people in car parks. Amazing what folk do in car parks! There is always material there, I found.

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  4. I think picture prompts are a great source of inspiration.

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  5. Hi Conda,

    I just love driving by that display! I don't think I'd like it next door to my house though.

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  6. Hello Peter,

    I get that word blur myself. That's when I know it's time to leave the computer and do something else.

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  7. Hi Dave,

    Ah yes, I have a few of those memories myself. Now, those are some stories. Probably not suited to the blog though.

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  8. Hey Casdok,

    Inspiring is right! I need some more of that inspiration. I better get my camera out and start shooting.

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