Writers’ Well – Who’s the Driver?

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cars, creative writing, creativity, imagination, story, writing, writing prompt, writing workshop

There are many highlights and prompts I could share from the first two writing gatherings I’ve held so far this year. It’s been such a joy to return to the magic of collaborative creativity. The one I’ve chosen to share today brought much fun and laughter, and some very colourful stories.

Each writer was given a small blank piece of paper and asked to write the details of a car – any car – real or imagined. Specifically; the make, colour, number of miles on the clock, name (if it had one) and briefly, anything else notable about the inside or outside.

The giggles started even before these simple notes were complete. They were then placed face down in the centre of our circle for each of us to randomly choose one. Here’s the one I picked…

Then, having read the description of the car, we wrote brief notes on the back about who we imagined drove that car. We invented a character…

Finally, the preparation was done – it was time to write a story, any story, with this character – and, if you wished, their car – at the centre. This was my attempt. It’s unedited, written in ten minutes, and the tenses are mixed up, quite apart from other flaws, but I had a lot of fun with it, and may work on it further. For now, in all its glorious rawness – Enjoy!

 

Priscilla climbed into the front seat of her beloved Saab, and tapped the dashboard –

“Morning Rita love,” slotting her black coffee in its bamboo cup into the expandable drinks holder.

 

“What shall we listen to today?” she asked the car. “Shuffle All. Good choice!”

 

Her phone sat on the docking station, and Leonard Cohen was followed by Abba was followed by instrumental harp music.

 

“No! No, no No!” Priscilla cries, and presses next.

 

She pulls into the car park at the local community college, and opens the back door, and finds an empty back seat.

 

“Shit! Shit, shit Shit!”

 

She pictures her bag, beneath the coat hanger, full of lesson plans.

 

She laughs, taps the bonnet. “Good idea Rita!”

 

She plugs her phone into the wall of her classroom, and is swiping through her playlists as her adult conversation students, advanced, come in for their weekly English lesson.

 

Thirty minutes later the head of the college knocks on the door, with the open day visitors in tow.

 

“And this is…” His jaw drops, eyes widen, as the five women (including the teacher) and a young man who appeared to be leading the dance, sing along to Karma Chameleon.

 

The principal recovers. “ – the adult conversation class, advanced.”

Priscilla beams, “It was Rita’s idea.”

 

 

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

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Writers’ Well – A Ripple Story

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creative writing, imagination, stories, story, the ripple effect, writing, writing prompt, writing workshop

Below is a link to a post from five years ago, when I wrote a ripple story of Joy for my mother, who was starting a new business.

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/a-ripple-of-joy/

 

As the final prompt for 2018, I’d like to introduce you to…The Ripple Story.

The Ripple Story is an idea I created more than five years ago, as a way of supporting my English Language students who were completing a month long residential intensive at the Findhorn Foundation Community, and who were about to go back out into ‘the real world’ and their ‘old lives’ wondering what littl’ ‘ole them could possibly do, how they could possibly use what they had learned, the qualities they had cultivated and grown during their time in community, to make a difference in the world.

We feel small. The world is big. We forget…

And sometimes those little things done with great love, and conscious intention, ripple out into the ocean of life to result in consequences larger than we could ever have dreamed of. The idea of the ripple story is to dream big – really, really big –  but ground it, centre it, at the start, in a single, practical, doable action.

We warmed up to this prompt by completing the following half sentences, each five times, with whatever thought spontaneously came to us.

I want… (complete x 5)

I need… (complete x 5)

I give… (complete x 5)

Then I asked people to read back, just for themselves, those fifteen sentences they’d just written, and find a single quality, a word, a feeling, a gift they’d like to grow and ripple out into the world. That word would then be written in the small central circle in a series of four or five concentric circles, drawn on a blank page.

In the second circle out from the centre, I invited people to write a sentence describing an action they could take, or had taken, to share this quality.

In the next circle, they were to imagine a potential consequence of that first action, as huge, as wild, as outlandish and wonderful as they could possibly imagine, and on, until all the circles were filled.

I am thrilled to be able to share two of those stories here, written by a couple of writers from last week’s group. It’s hard to describe the feeling in the room after we’d all read our stories. There truly was an almost tangible magic in the air – so much hope, and positivity you could almost have bottled it and shared it to be swallowed whole and taken as the best anti-cynicism medicine on the planet. What we do does matter. Our actions do have consequences, even if we don’t meet them face to face.

So, here are a couple of examples, one in its original ripple, and the other typed out for ease of reading. Enjoy 🙂

 

 

And if you want another example of the potential of the ripple effect, you might enjoy this wonderful film Pay It Forward, based on a book of the same name. Here’s the trailer.

 

What would you like to ripple out into the world in 2019?

 

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

Natural Rhythm, interrupted – Writers’ Well

Tags

creative collaboration, creative writing, creativity, dance, flamenco, imagination, morning pages, rhythm, routine, story, writing, writing prompt, writing workshop

Before holding my weekly writing group last Friday, whilst doing my morning pages (follow links below for more information about this practice) I found myself exploring my personal understanding of the words routine and rhythm, and the distinctly different ways I respond to these two words.

http://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/03/morning-pages-change-your-life-oliver-burkeman

In brief I wanted to reinstate some daily routines I know serve me well (morning pages among them) but it felt too ‘shouldy’. Cultivating them as part of a natural personal rhythm, on the other hand, felt playful, responsive and a joy.

I often make use of what’s alive in me when preparing these sessions, so we began with a three minute warm up, where I invited participants to write freely in response to the phrase ‘a break in the routine’. There was palpable joy, rebellion, freedom and relief among the responses.

Later, I gave each writer three small pieces of paper, and asked them to write on each one an example of a natural rhythm being broken or interrupted. We folded these up, placing them in the centre of the circle, and then we wrote for three minutes on what it feels like when a natural rhythm is broken or interrupted. This piece was not shared, rather it was intended to feed into the main focus of this prompt – to write a story inspired by one of the examples written on the pieces of paper in the centre.

I was very moved by the powerful narratives that grew from these humble beginnings, the imagination on display was truly impressive. However, for now, I have only my own response to share. When I opened the little piece of paper I’d picked it said ‘a guitarist breaks a string’ (written in just 10 minutes, raw and unedited!)

 

The silence was like friendly walls, keeping the world out and the drama in. Breath was held and the dancer stood; bold, beautiful, staring out at somewhere or something nobody else could see, except through her. The audience anticipated seeing the story stamped out before them, and waited for the opening line.

The guitarist and the dancer exchanged a nod, and the silence went darker, deeper still. The story began, music and movement joined by the lightest, tightest of threads, each giving the other full freedom and full support. It was a story of love, betrayal, strength; stamped out and strummed out, sending this world within walls spinning.

A guitar string breaks, the sound alters, missing a thread. The dance continues. As the guitar goes silent and still, someone begins to clap, another to sing. The dancer has not missed a beat, and the broken string has spun a larger thread that binds the audience into its own living, breathing musical instrument of many parts. They take their cue from each other, and from the dancer, finding and creating the melody in each magic moment.

Another guitar has been found, and the guitarist picks up the story again, but the audience continue to feed their music into its phrases. The collaboration is fed by all the lives lived, hearts beating together, woven through with their own stories of love and betrayal and strength. The dancer opens her body to let her feet find the rhythm of it all; the rich, full mess of the every life. 

A final strum, stamp, clap. The silence is back, like the closing of a book, and each audience member carries a volume away with them, but each story has a different title, and the events within are unique too, bound only by the threads of love, drama and life’s dance.

 

That afternoon, at home after the session, I searched for local Flamenco classes. Sometimes writing has a very direct impact on my life, and the choices I make and adventures I have…

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

…light… – Writers’ Well

Tags

creative collaboration, creative writing, creativity, imagination, light, play, poem, poetry, writing, writing prompt, writing workshop

 

And a new season of creative collaboration in a circle of courageous and compassionate creatives has begun! It’s been a joy to return to the weekly writing workshops I teach, and I’d like to share with you one of our recent prompts.

 

Each week, I share on this blog one of the writing prompts used in my workshops, along with an example of what was written in response. This week’s prompt was one that took me by surprise. It was light (:-) and playful, appealing to both the crossword/scrabble part of my mind (though I’m terrible at both – I don’t have the patience!) and the imaginative, creative and lyrical part.

 

Take a sheet of paper and write as many words or short phrases (each phrase can have up to 3 words) containing the word light. If you’re doing this as a group, write one and then pass the paper on to your right, receiving on your left, and adding to the lists collectively. Once this gathering is complete use the ideas generated to inspre a poem (or if poetry is not your thing, a piece of prose or a story).

For example:

delight

the light dazzled

moonlight on water

starlight…. etc etc

 

I actually did this prompt twice this week, with different groups. and I’m going to include both the pieces I wrote in response, because it fascinates me how differently we can respond to the same prompt on a different day, and within a different circle, although now I read them again, there are similarities! Enjoy:-)

 

So, here’s ‘Take one’:

 

Will you be my lighthouse?

I fear the rocks

and storms are raging

 

Will you light my nights

oh silver moon

and keep me safe till day wakes?

 

and will you teach my feet

to tread softly

leaving only sole kisses on my path

 

and will you light the flame

that grows wings to lift me

into a flight of faith

 

that gives my perspective

enough height to see

the moving patterns in the shadow.

 

And  ‘Take two’:

The spotlight is searching

but truth

sinks in the shadows

while the lighthouse

that used to warn

ships of the rocks

remains dark

and the moon does her best

but still the ships come

risking it all

on nights of no welcome

lightning flares

and captures faces

alive with shock

for a bright second

until obscurity returns

as the spotlight searches

the hungry restless waves.

 

Do you have a preference?

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

My Writer’s Box

Tags

celebration, craft, creativity, elements, imagination, play, writing, writing prompts

Last week I shared a post by http://www.itmeanshappyone.wordpress.com about creating your own ‘Writer’s Box’ in which to collect inspiration and food for the imagination! Well, this afternoon I made mine…

 

This Writer’s Box is made of Flowers, Failure, Friends and Family, and honours the four elements; one side each for Earth, Air, Fire and Water.

Flowers: because the original box held the base of a bouquet of flowers sent to me by a dear friend, and part of the top is made of crocheted flower petals which were…a

Failure: …because they didn’t turn out the way they were supposed to, and weren’t used for their intended purpose…but I kept them. The scarf which lines the box also failed to turn out well enough to become the gift it had been intended as, but now softens and warms this nest, also fed by…

Friends: several of the items contained in the box were given to me by friends and…

Family: … including the card which I cut up and shared across the box’s four sides:

 

We must not allow the clock

and the calendar to blind us to the

fact that each moment of life

is a miracle and a mystery

H G WELLS

 

As I was making the box it occurred to me that creativity needs us to be soft, open and yielding as FLOWERS if we are to grow our unique gifts, and we must never fear FAILURE for if we do we’re beaten before we begin, and besides, this is how we grow and learn, as long as we have FRIENDS and FAMILY around to support and encourage us when we’re struggling, and to celebrate us when we shine.

 

 

This box of wonders and wanderings – through the memories and thought trails lit up by the responses arising from connecting with these items – will ever remain open and incomplete, as I will no doubt continue to add and use and discard elements of its contents, but I will share with you a few to be found there now…

Images:

 

Miscellaneous:

 

Gifts from nature:

 

Bits of previous creative projects:

…among other things.

 

While making this treasure trove of trinkets I chanced upon another aspect of creativity:

Creativity is endlessly inventive and generous, for I found all that I needed immediately to hand. The urge to create, if truly opened to, will overcome any obstacles or perceived ‘lack’ and find abundance and beauty in all that it meets.

 

I’ll let you know how I get on the first time I make use of the box, but for now I DARE you to make your own! It’s soooooo much fun! And the process feeds itself – who knows what you’ll find when you start searching… Enjoy!

Blessings

Harula x

 

 

Writer’s Box

Tags

creativity, imagination, writing

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What a wonderful way to feed our imagination and inspire our writing! I will return this time next week to …

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Wednesday Writers’ Well

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blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, first time, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, river, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome back after a brief break, to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

My recent trip to Scotland included several visits to my mother, who still has a couple of shelves of my ‘ unthrowable away stuff,’ some of which will eventually become ‘throwawayable’, when I have time to sort through it. Among all this I found some personal treasure – a collection of writing prompts and some responses from the very first creative writing sessions I held, five years ago, filed in a folder I’d made immediately after that first session, driven by the buzz of joy and playfulness I’d been left brimming with. I made it from a gift bag left over from my birthday.

This week I’d like to share a very simple prompt, which was part of that very first writing workshop I held – when I had just one participant. It’s super simple and has never failed to bring lots of playful laughter, and some rather random stories. I’ve used it several times since, especially when I’m writing with just one other person.

Each person writes the first sentence of a story, anything at all, and then passes it to the other person who then writes the second sentence and passes it back etc etc writing just one sentence at a time. The speed helps the imagination as does the cross pollination with someone else’s style and ideas. If you want to try this on your own…I guess you could write two stories at a time, alternating between them, and adding just one sentence at a time to each.

This is one of the stories my first ‘student’ and I co-wrote, five years ago. I think I originally set the task at 10 minutes, but we couldn’t stop so I think it ran longer! This particular story ended up in a style for children…I don’t know why, just because. If you look at the photo closely you can see the different styles of handwriting, and the blue VS black ink marking our different contributions. Completely spontaneous and unedited, written in about 10/15 minutes. Enjoy 🙂

Once upon a time there was a wizard living at the bottom of our garden. This wizard really wanted to build a fish pond so he could observe the fish swimming. Of course, with magic, it doesn’t take long, and with a wand he built the pond, filling it with beautiful fish. But then he thought of something else the pond needed, was it a bridge or a swing? He closed his eyes and asked the fish what they wanted, to make their pond even more beautiful and grand.

The fish were not aesthetic experts, but they knew an architect just down the road. The architect was a toad who went by the name of Mr Knowit. Mr Knowit was delighted to come over – he loved giving advice, especially to lowly fish. In his superior way he made his own slow hopping round of the pond and declared, ‘I know exactly what this pond needs!’

They all clamoured to hear this pronouncement, but first he said it needed a brass band as an introduction to his speech. Well, where would they find a brass band at such short notice they wondered, and asked Mr Knowit, ‘Would a chorus of birds do?’ 

Yes they would do, but only if they first had a practice. Could they sing God Save The Queen for example? Well of course, that was one of their favourites the head fish assured Mr Knowit, and with a loud splash he called the birds to the nearest tree.

But Mr Knowit suddenly had a moment of shyness; perhaps he didn’t really know what was best for the fish! There was a loud intake of breath – Mr Knowit DIDN’T know it, so NOW what were they going to do!? Perhaps they could have an attunement, but alas they had no hands to hold, only tails. So they all faced out and, like the most skilled synchronized divers, touched their tails together in the centre and closed their eyes.

A strange silence came over the group and the wizard appeared and said, ‘What did you get?’

There must be a bridge woven from reeds that all may come to seek the wisdom of the fish!

Mr Knowit knew some other toads and a neighbourly beaver who, when called upon, were more that happy to lend their skills to building the bridge.

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, first time, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, river, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (take about 15 mins in total) begins with completing the following sentence five times – ‘It was the first time…’

Now, for the next ten minutes or so choose one of those sentences, and expand on it… This is what I wrote:

May I introduce…the river Findhorn. I’m heading up to Scotland today – can’t wait!

 

It was the first time she’d spoken to the river. It didn’t feel like anything special. Actually it felt entirely natural, the most natural thing in the world. It didn’t occur to her until later that she may have been seen, overheard.

‘Help me,’ she’d begun. ‘Take this away.’

The immediate wordless response took her breath away. It was gone! She looked all around her. It must be a trick. Who? What? Nothing. But the sadness she’d arrived with really had disappeared. She began to giggle, and it felt like the rapids mimicked her joy as they rushed, white-tipped and wild, towards her. She began to sing, directing her song to the movement of the water, until her new lightness turned into a contented emptiness. She sat on a rock and watched; not anything in particular, just watched.

She began to play ‘what if’. What if I jumped in, where would it take me? What if I knew how to build a shelter and stayed for a night right here on the river bank? What if I could ask this rock to tell me all that it’s seen and heard? What if I were perched on the top of that tree, light as a bird – what would I see? What if being me weren’t so different from anybody else? What if I belonged? Fitted in…

The game stopped. She didn’t fit in, but just maybe that was a good thing. She stood, with new resolve, and bowed to the river. As she turned to walk uphill, back the way she’d come, it didn’t feel like she was climbing, for inside she was already ‘up’, and could see more clearly where she wanted to go.

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

blackout poem, compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, found poem, gratitude, hero, heroism, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, poem, poetry, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (allow around 15/20 mins total) is in two parts, and is on the topic of – heroes or heroism.

To begin, take no more than 10 minutes to just write whatever comes as you reflect on this topic. You might describe an individual whom you consider to be a hero, or you might explore the qualities or demands or what we term heroism. Just write.

Now, for the next ten minutes or so you’re going to read what you’ve just written and extract, carve out, discover…a blackout poem. This simply means you underline, or circle, or in some other way highlight words (or parts of words) from the text to make a poem. Ideally you won’t change the order or form of the words at all.

This is what I ended up with:

Unsung heroes

meet

daily living

with honest graft, heart

write them

sing them

the world wouldn’t turn

without them

mothers go without

so children thrive

bus driver leaves his seat

to help

never mind the timetable

everywhere heroes

keeping us human

hearts standing strong

hope alight

your stories all around me

make lots

of little differences

 

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/

 

 

 

Wednesday Writers’ Well

Tags

compost, creative writing, creativity, fable, gratitude, humour, imagination, job, joy, mistakes, nature, soul food, spring, story, TED talks, well, well being, work, writing prompt, writing workshop

“The aspiring poet is constantly lowering a bucket only half way down a well. coming up time and again with nothing but empty air. The frustration is immense. But you must keep doing it anyway. After many years of practice, the chain draws unexpectedly tight, and you have dipped into the waters that will continue to entice you back. You’ll have broken the skin on the pool of yourself.”

 – SEAMUS HEANEY

Welcome to this regular slot each Wednesday, which I call Writers’ Well because: it’s intended to be a source of nourishment and inspiration for the writer in you, it expresses my belief that creative writing can benefit our well being on many levels, and…I love the above quote from Seamus Heaney. It gives me goosebumps every time. It also resonates with my own intention when leading writing workshops. It’s not about producing good writing, it’s about brave, real writing. Writing that goes down deep within to draw up something unexpected.

Writing Prompt:

Each week, I share one of the writing prompts used the previous Friday in my weekly workshop, along with an example of what was written in response. Today’s prompt (allow around 5 mins) is to write briefly on the topic…but something else happened instead.

This prompt was inspired by this TED talk, which I watched recently. It gave me and my perfectionist tendencies plenty to think about. Check it out:

 

This is what I wrote:

Something else happened instead

They say God laughs when you plan because, so often, something else happens instead. That something is an invitation to trust I guess, though sometimes I don’t want to ‘invite’ or ‘welcome’ that something else at all! I want everything to go exactly as I’d hoped, wished, made for it to happen – but then I would’ve missed out on so many important moments – moments of joy, learning, surprise, the opportunity to grow and practice my resilience and responsiveness. 

I thought that poem would go down a storm. But something else happened instead. I was scared to send that email, expecting an angry response – but something else happened instead.

Life likes to keep me on my toes!

 

If you enjoyed this prompt, then you can find more here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/upcoming-writing-workshops-and-some-prompts-for-you-to-play-with/

and here:

https://wordsthatserve.wordpress.com/writing-prompts-the-elements/