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Creative Writing Prompts
Write A Way: Journey to Creativity
A lifetime without Love is of no account
Love is the Water of Life
Drink it down with heart and soul!
~ Divan-i-Shams 1190
When Writing of Love, Love the Artist Within
By Sandra Lee Schubert
Remembering First Loves
My first love was Popeye. Yes, the sailor man, the cartoon. As a young child Popeye was a
larger then life character. He would mumble incoherently, seemed unaffected by most things
but he did love his Olive. When necessary he could call forth incredible strength and defend
the defenseless. Well that is how I remember it. It is my story and yep I am sticking to it.
Think of a great love story. Dr. Zhivago. Romeo and Juliet. Popeye and Olive. What is your
favorite love story? What makes some stories tragic and others uplifting?
Let me be a seal upon your heart,
Like the seal upon your hand.
For love is fierce as death,
Passion is mighty as Sheol;
Its darts are darts of fire,
A blazing flame.
~ From the Song of Songs 8:6
Writing Love Letters with Heart
Writing of love, about love or while in love can be challenging. We all have read sappy,
soapy and drippy love stories. They infuriate us with overt sentimentality as other
well-written stories make us weep. Writing of love asks us to almost take the middle
ground. On the other hand the danger is having a story without passion. Then there
are tales that have nothing to do with love between two people. There is love for the
earth, great music, and a pet. There is love that exists on a higher spiritual plane.
Some stories seem to have nothing to do with love yet love is in every word.
Where do you start?
First decide what you want to write. Once you have established the "what"
then establish the how. That is, what approach could you take? Are you optimistic or
cynical? Have you been hurt and want to share your sad tale? You could write a love
sonnet, a play, short story or even a screenplay. The choices are endless and depend
on your abilities and sense of adventure. Annie Lamott, Stephen King and other
established writers suggest writing the bad first draft. Write it all down. Sometimes
the words lead you in the direction you should take. A great love sonnet was on your
mind but what shows up on the paper is the story of your most favorite teacher in
grade school.
When
writing about love,
the surprise is in what gets revealed.
"It is sometimes easier to acquire an artist than it is to access the Artist inside
our own body, the one who's been waiting patiently, with fervent prayers for freedom."
Loving the Artist Within
Where do you feel love? I feel love in my heart; sometimes it is like a rush in my belly.
I feel love in places, church, outdoors, or eating out with friends. Love or lack thereof
provides us with a well of creative material. In his book
Writing from the Body,
John Lee devotes an entire chapter to loving the inner artist.
If we can't love the artist within us, we won't create. Through loving ourselves and
creating we can love others more fully. The best gift to give the world is our creativity.
Love takes courage. It requires an open heart, it asks us to rise to the occasion and be
an active participant in life. As artists, we must be engaged fully in living otherwise our
art can be lifeless. Take time everyday to do your craft. Art is not a selfish act. Great
artistic creations can benefit the world for centuries. Maybe your art will not become
well known but actively participating in it will send ripples out into the world. You may
never know how your well-turned word has helped another. While exploring this idea
of love remember to love yourself first.
Creative Writing Prompts
1) Remember the first person or thing you loved. Was it a parent, toy, character, pizza?
Take five minutes and write about that first love.
2) Take five minutes and write about the love that got away.
3) List 25 things you associate with the word heart. As an
example - Valentine's Day, weddings, surgery, chocolate, babies, exercise. Looking over
the list choose a couple to explore. Write the word on the top of the page and begin to
free associate. Let the words flow without editing for at least 15 minutes. Look over what
you wrote. Were you surprised by what you wrote? Disappointed? See if you can expand
on it or pull a line or paragraph and create something entirely different. Try this with several
of the words on your list. You may find new thoughts and ideas emerge from your list.
4) Read. Watch. Read great love stories. View movies about love. Dive into love and drink it up.
There is a prayer from Saint Patrick that I use sometimes when I wake up. The prayer sets
the tone for the day. You feel powerful and full of love when you have the strength of
creation with you.
I arise today
Through the Strength of Heaven,
Light of Sun,
Radiance of Moon,
Splendor of Fire,
Speed of Lightning,
Swiftness of Wind,
Depth of Sea,
Stability of Earth,
Firmness of Rock.
May you express love in your every word and your every action.
Sandra Schubert is the creator and instructor for the Self-Healing Expressions
e-course
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own.
To learn more about Sandra and her course, click here:
Copyright © 2004 Sandra Lee Schubert. All rights reserved. If you are interested
in publishing this article, please email
.
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