Month: June 2010

You Saw What? Writing Prompt 1

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

My first night in Indianapolis couldn’t have gone better. The hotel was awesome, entire table of Italian food delicious, company hilarious. We even went to a Jillian’s (like chucky cheese for adults). Everything had been unique and ideal until we got back to the hotel.

Right now you’re wondering what was missing or maybe who moved in to the room next door. But the neighbors were certainly okay, being friends of mine, and everything was in the same place I’d left it. No, it wasn’t until I pulled back the sheets that terror gripped my heart.

My first thought was holy malarkey there’s a g-string on my bed (well…that’s kind of what I thought). I looked closer, even better, a wad of Kleenex. Used Kleenex.  And, yes, I called and had the bedding changed.

How did it get there? Why didn’t anyone check the bed before new guests checked in? Use my unforgettably absorbing experience for your own writing purposes.

You Did What? Writing Prompt 1

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

So there are a few events one should never be late to; weddings (especially your own) and funerals (only my wife could pull that off).

After paying to park in the wrong parking lot five minutes before the start of the wedding, I graciously (#&*%#) accepted my wife’s plea to pull back onto the road and get closer to the church.  As we strode in, now three minutes late, a calm sigh left both our lips as the voices of other guests filled the foyer.

We even spotted my wife’s friends and immediately joined them, eager to walk in with other naughty late people. Following a brief greeting, I nudged my wife (which she loves) and motioned down the side aisle. After all, we didn’t want the bride to beat us into the church. My wife’s friends, however, were taking their sweet time.

Ready to execute let’s-get-going move two, a brief sleight of hand in the lower back region, my wife’s expression went from fake smiles to oh crap. Pulling back hand-that-would-have-been-chopped-off, I leaned in, expecting a forgotten gift or wrong undergarment disaster. Before I realized the happy situation, Wifey’s friend commented on how cute the flower girl was during the ceremony…

Please use my grand mistakes for your writing purposes.

Feed Your Writing Soul

/ J.R. Roper / Leave a comment

Today was supposed to be the last workshop for my group of middle school writers, but they insisted on a final meeting next week during the last week of school. Of course I said YES! They are doing a phenomenal job of writing and roundtable critiquing. Not that I expected anything less from them, but they are simply awesome.

This winter I taught them six workshops on the craft of fiction. Now we are sharing pages, reading them aloud, and providing constructive feedback. And the amazing part is the honesty and care they have been critiquing with. At ages 12-14 they are now speaking and writing with the vocabulary and insight few high school students possess. I used the acronym POV when critiquing a student’s work and by the next meeting many of them got the concept!

Why am I sharing this?

Treating people kindly (especially young people) and helping them with skills they want to improve upon will bring one more joy than one can hope to provide for others. Do something kind for someone else, it doesn’t matter whether it was planned or random. It will come back to you.

And writers, use the experience as food for your writing soul. You can bet that I’m building relationships with these young people and that the interaction will strengthen the characters in my middle grade and YA novels.

How have you combined acts of kindness with your stories? Try it! The experience will revive or maybe reawaken the sluggish muse on your shoulder.