Writing for Life ~ with suggested writing prompts
Write A Way: Journey to Creativity
"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there."
~ Herb Caen
I have written about growing up in Astoria. The apartment building where I grow up was already a hundred years old. It was one of the first apartment buildings built with gardens in the back. Originally it had gas lighting and no bathrooms. The bathrooms were added later and formed columns in the back of the building. Behind the yards there used to be stables that my father worked in as a boy. Just outside, set into the sidewalk was a horseshoe marking the spot. Later
my father would plant a tree
at the former entrance. There was no insulation to speak of and winters we chipped the ice from inside our windows. The river rats from the East river were bigger then cats, a major heroin ring ran from a local diner, a porn ring was exposed across the street. A Satanist lived upstairs for a bit and a minor league drug dealer lived next door. The local chicken joint was in trouble for using the more voluptuous river rats instead of fowl for deep fry. I was surrounded by factories and lower and middle class families. In some ways it was like living in the Wild West; rough and untamed. It also was the place where I grew up.
I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer. ~ Colette, The Last of Cheri, 1926 French novelist
Today nothing remains of my former home except a couple of scattered rocks. Even the tree my father planted as a child was gone. Not a root was left for me to dig up and take home.
Who am I? Where does the story of who I am live?
Like me, you may not be able to go back the place where you grew up. The people, places and things that formed you may only be a memory. Yet they reside in you like links in the chain of your DNA. In each of us is a
storehouse of stories waiting to be told.
Have you thought about your book?
I hope so. I hope you have the image of your published book firmly fixed in your mind. Getting a big dream implanted in your heart and mind can invigorate your writing and make you want to bring pen to paper more often.
Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them. ~ Arnold Lobel
Your book could be a collection of short
stories of your life,
a book of love poems or maybe it is the great idea for a sci-fi series that you dream of completing. What would your book cover look like? Can you see it? If not, look at your favorite books. Take note of the colors, the text, and the feel of a book. Use some of the elements you like to the most and incorporate it into your book cover. If you are not artistic then just cut your name and a title and paste it on another book. Put the book on a table or bookshelf. Make certain it is something you can see every day. Pick it up and say, "This is my book."
What is your book title?
Can you see it? Energetically give your book life by titling now.
I created a cover for my book to aid me in my dream of becoming a published author. The cover is colorful and eye catching. It says across the top I am number one on the New York Times Best selling list with accompanying rave reviews, and testimonials. I copied some great blurbs from my favorite books making my book just spectacular. I might not have enough content yet but I have the vision of my book in physical form to urge me on.
We have talked about the ways you can
publish your writing.
You could do a few copies of your family history by printing on demand. Or you can create your own unique publishing house that showcases the kind of work you like to write and read.
If you're afraid to let someone else see your weakness, take heart: Nobody's perfect. Besides, your attempts to hide your flaws don't work as well as you think they do.
~ Julie Morgenstern, O Magazine, April 2004
The beginning of a year is always a good time to evaluate what you have accomplished over the last year and what is left to be done in the new one. Have you discovered a talent that you never knew you had? Last year I took Latin language lessons. I discovered I am no longer a good student. My weaknesses were apparent. But the flip side was that I also knew learning a difficult thing was not impossible. I have the textbook and the workbook and I will develop good study habits again. I was drawn to study Latin because I wanted to do some thing that was unexpected for me. I wanted to test my boundaries and discover my strengths and weaknesses.
Another potential weakness for me is getting stuck in learning mode. I love the process of researching and discovering new things. I am a process person but forget about the take action part. Are you that way too? Always buying the next new writing book? Taking workshops and improving yours skills yet not really writing?
Take heart. The next step is always right in front of you.
Learn, but take action moving your dreams into reality.
Write for Life.
A new day brings new opportunities to create goals; take action, and fulfilling your dreams.
To will is to select a goal, determine a course of action that will bring one to that goal, and then hold to that action till the goal is reached. The key is action. ~ Michael Hanson
Suggested Journal Writing Prompts
Write while waiting on line or on hold with customer service. Skip one television show a week to write. Put your goals first. Make your book cover and look at it every day and know this year you can achieve something that is important to you. Make writing a priority. It is as simple as writing something each day. If time is at a premium you can still make room for writing.
Learn something new and then take action. Play on your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.
Sandra Schubert is the creator and instructor for the Self-Healing Expressions online writing course
Writing for Life: Creating a Story of Your Own.
This creative journal writing course features interactive Web Tools. To learn more about Sandra and her
online writing course,
click here:
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Copyright © 2008 Sandra Lee Schubert. All rights reserved. If you are interested in publishing this article, please email
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