This week, I’ve been blogging about objects: the lure of possessions, the power of sacred objects, and the marvels of even the most commonplace objects we use everyday. This is Great Stuff for Writers Friday, so here are some of the resources I came across on my writing pilgrimage this week. I hope you find them useful.
How to Use Everyday Objects as Writing Prompts “One way of releasing ideas is to take time to be aware of the things around us,” writes writing teacher Val Mills on the WritingHood blog. Check out this straightforward post for a simple technique designed to stimulate creativity, break through blocks, and “open your heart to the ideas stored within you.” You can find Mills’ post at How to Use Everyday Objects.
How to Write about Personal Possessions Oubria Tronshaw outlines a clear-cut method for writing about personal possessions on eHow.com. Focusing on the relationship of possessions to memories and on the emotions the writer wishes to evoke, she takes the reader through a step-by-step process for capturing not just what personal possessions look, feel, and sound like, but the meaning that underlies them. Check out her post here.
Prized Possessions. Back in February, The New Hampshire Writers Network asked readers to write about possessions that meant a lot to them. The responses are well worth checking out for ideas about the prized possessions you could write about. They can be found on the Live to Write – Write to Live Blog.
Childhood Possessions Writing Prompt The Twenty Something Writers website posted a a great writing prompt several years ago. The links to responses no longer work, but the prompt is good enough to check out anyway: Twenty Something Writers.
Now, you’ll notice that none of these resources have to do with writing about sacred objects. There’s a reason for that: It’s because my search for material came up with a big fat 0. If any of you know of good writing prompts, exercises, blog posts, or essays on writing about sacred objects, I’d love for you to post them!
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a great quote from one of the masters of the American short story, Raymond Carver:
It’s possible, in a poem or short story, to write about commonplace things and objects using commonplace but precise language, and to endow those things—a chair, a window curtain, a fork, a stone, a woman’s earring—with immense, even startling power. (qtd. on Goodread.com/quotes).
Have a good weekend and happy writing!