writing prompt

Writing Prompt: Everybody was haiku writing…

teaching, writing

This week my poetry class and I are working on haiku. I wrote this one as an experiment:

Persimmons. Only

enough to remember you:

famished until now.

The first letter of every word spells out a message: “poetry fun.” Super-gimmicky, sure, but enjoyable! First one to write an acrostic haiku in the comments wins the honor of being the first person to write an acrostic haiku in the comments.

Writing about the Grand Canyon

editing, writing

I’ve been working on a piece about the Grand Canyon that I’m hoping to finish by year’s end. Here’s an excerpt.

We walk to the rim after breakfast. A handful of us, me the only kid, gather in morning sunlight that takes its sweet time slanting through the juniper branches. The appointed pastor never comes, so a retired minister on vacation takes charge. I sit on the flattest rock I can find, but I constantly shift my skinny body. I draw in the dirt with a small stick. I bow my head and close my eyes when asked and say amen.

I open my eyes and watch the sun flick a switch, turning on the lights inside rocks that used to rest on the bottom of an ocean.

I have to cut this section, probably. We’ll see.

Guest Post: Every Damned Tangle and Knot

art, writing

 

This morning I have a guest post up at Ross Gale’s blog. It’s part of a series he’s doing on creativity. The whole series is worth a read. From Ross:

The Bereshit Bara Creativity Series asks 13 Creatives to wrestle with how they make the first move, write the first word, fling the first brush stroke, peel back the first layer of clay? What inspires them, what moves them, what drives them? I’d also like to hear from YOU. Send me your thoughts or a link to your post wrestling with these questions at rossgale4@gmail.com.

If you comment on today’s post you will be entered into a drawing to win David’s book Rookie Dad: Thoughts on First-Time Fatherhood. I’ll announce the winner over the weekend.

Creativity Series: David Jacobsen “Every Damned Tangle and Knot”

Head on over to Ross’s blog and let me know what you think in his comments.

Wednesday writing prompt: write an eight word story

writing

My friend Ross has a post up about very short stories. You may have seen those six-word-story prompts floating around, based on Hemmingway’s famous:

For sale: baby shoes, never worn.

There’s a lot packed into that, right? Well, today’s prompt gives you eight words. Just think what you can do with 33% more material! Here’s my first attempt:

Three brothers. Two hugs. One silent goodbye.

I still have another word—maybe I should toss in an adverb! I like this because it could be about a few different scenarios. But it could definitely get better.

What’s your eight word story?