Adventures in Writing: Lifeblood of Wordsmiths

Writers take from the reality around them and turn it into words.

Sometimes the words are real truthy things and other times they are fantastically fictional. Either way, sometimes it can be hard to get those words flowing. That’s when you can find something to inspire you. A word, an image, a phrase, a quote. Today I’m talking about the Lifeblood of Wordsmiths – Prompts.

When I started way back when I was a wee writer lass, (okay, now read that again in Rowena’s voice from Supernatural because I totally want to be her when I grow up) I wrote about the characters I played in the role-playing chat rooms on AOL. (Yes, I’m old.) I deviated from that to write smutty words not long after, but never posted anything online. I shared it with trustworthy people like my sister and best friend. Now I write for the world to see. Back then, I used my own imagination. I had no idea what I was doing. I’d write when the urge would strike me and when I felt blocked, I didn’t have a clue where to turn.

Now if I feel blocked, there are several places and people that I can turn to for assistance. Some are gloriously smutty and others are just questions. Sometimes, it’s just a word. But they’re all helpful to make me feel as though I accomplished something today. Even when it’s just 12 words. My goals are higher than 12 words a day of course, but sometimes just knowing that I did put something out there that might resonate with someone else helps me move forward with everything else.

If you’re having trouble writing, let me help you out by pointing out the places I love going when I’m feeling lost.

TMI Tuesday

I have done a couple of the prompts here – which are questions, usually personal (hence the TMI), that you need to answer. I would like to do more of these, but it’s usually a toss-up. If something doesn’t really go along with who I am, then I don’t participate. I will admit that I haven’t been paying close attention to it these days as I’m trying to work more offline than online.

Wicked Wednesday

Marie really has something going here. It definitely works. A word prompt accompanied by an image, but the image isn’t the prompt, just the word. You have a word count limit that you have to stay within and sometimes if I really end up loving the story I’m writing, I have difficulty doing that. I hope to do more of these in the future. Check it out.

Sinful Sunday

I will admit to never having participated in Sinful Sunday, but there are sisters of mine that have. I’m not shy really, I just have no desire to take photos of myself. This desire tends to wax and wane like the Moon. It all depends on how smutty I’m feeling. If I take a smutty photo, it’s usually shared privately. Sorry, not sorry. If you enjoy sharing yourself, or parts of yourself, chime in!

Kink of the Week

Need something kinky? Check out Kink of the Week. There’s a longer time period with this one and you can share a range of creative forms. If you feel like a photo one time and a poem the next, it’s all good. Keep yourself on your toes by pushing your [writing] boundaries while learning about various kinks by other creatives.

Story in 12

Wriggly Kitty and Molly’s Daily Kiss are responsible for this gem of a meme. Every day on Twitter, there is a prompt and using that word, you have to pick 11 more that make a story. The best part? All genres are welcome. Some of us have taken it upon ourselves to pick an image that goes with our words or we include a gif. It’s a range of excellent genres and ideas and maybe this will help you spawn a new story, so get cracking. Can YOU write a story in just 12 words?

SOSS

Not interested in doing a prompt but you read a ton of great stuff you want to help others find? Try Share Our Stuff/Shit Saturday. Here, you can cultivate links to what others have written that helped you in some way or just made you feel damn good. Tell people why you enjoyed the stories, articles, or whatever it is you’re sharing. Lift up others so that they can be seen in the light during these darkened days.

Having issues? Write about them. The more you write, the better you’ll clear the speed bumps from your mind. The better you’ll get at it, too. You can’t beat that, right?