Day 12 - 14 Discovering the Writer Within

Discovering the Writer Within by Ballenger & Lane. It’s a 40 day program to exercise your creativity and imagination. I’m giving a general feel for the assignment and a little bit of what I accomplished.

Day 12: Pick a dramatic experience that lasted only a few minutes or even seconds. Free write for 5 minutes describing the moment as vividly as you can.

Glass shattered
but lives still intact
Turning to the backseat
a mother’s voice laced with fear
My son’s head tuck under
his hands protecting his head
A drunk driver
nearly taking what I hold dear
If not for an angel
whispering in my son's ear

Okay got tears in my eyes. My son told me he heard someone say "watch out" just before we were hit. He denied it soon afterward probably because I made I big deal out of it.

Day 13: Look over the work you’ve done. Pick a entry that seems to be asking you questions and answer these by free writing for ten minutes .

Day 14: Write down all the reasons why you shouldn’t write - these are your Demons of Doubt. Now to combat you demon: 1) Seek out authors who feed your desire to write. 2) Make a list of all your best writing experiences. 3) Read interviews with other writers and copy down quotes that make you want to write. Refer to these when the demon of doubt strikes.

Here is a quote I recently fell in love with. I read it in Glimmer Train Guide to Writing Fiction. Elizabeth Cox keeps this quote above her text - it’s from theologian Niebuhr:

OFFER A LIFE, NOT A TEXT

This quote inspires to me write. It reminds me to explore a character - to make him/her real to myself and to the reader.