Prompts

So, um....yeah, from time to time everyone has a hard time gets stuck.  Just can't come up with one of those things people write about. You know, a whatchamacallit - an idea.

Personally, it makes me crazy to be in a great writing mood (the adjective belonging to the mood, not necessarily the writing), only to find that the little men in the storage section of my brain haven't stocked the idea shelves in weeks. Aaaaarrrggghhhh!

There are tons of prompts available on line and, yes, there's an app for that.  I've found that a lot of what's out there is junk, and often downright ludicrous. For instance, I have an app that randomly pairs adjectives with nouns. That's it.  Who can write anything worth a fart in a wind storm about an "ecclesiastical budget" or a "gabby knife"?  If you can, I applaud you.  You're probably in line for a Pulitzer.  For the rest of us, that need a little more creativity to jump start our creativity, here are some ideas to get you scribbling.

• Go over to your neighbour's house and ask them to give you something.  Anything interesting they have hanging around will do.  Go back home and write about it.  Don't stay for a glass of wine if you're invited.  The whole day will be shot and you'll accomplish nothing.
• Open your favourite playlist.  Close your eyes and pick a song.  Use the third line of the lyrics as inspiration.  Don't use the actual line, in case you become famous and run into a big copyright hassle.  I know what you're thinking - what about fair use?  Despite what you may have heard, the industry can get pretty picky about even one line. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, maybe you should just go on to the next prompt.  Or pop it into your search bar and learn a thing or two but do that later.  No procrastinating.  You're writing, remember?
• Do your grocery shopping.  While you're there, eavesdrop on the conversation between those two women with their carts blocking the aisle.  You know, the ladies who obviously have no peripheral vision since they can't see you waiting to pass by even though you're only six inches away.  Take whatever bit of wisdom and wit they drop and build a whole character with it.  Then decide what sort of hijinks that fictional phenomenon might get up to.  Hey, if it doesn't work, at least you got your shopping done.