And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self doubt. - Sylvia Plath
Life . . . mine
Lists of all kinds of things: stuff I need to buy; people I need to talk to; memories that come to me
Notes to myself
Emotions . . . anger, sadness, excitement, wonder
Memories
Every vivid memory holds some essential truth about your vision of the world. - Kim Stafford
Fragments of life that strike me ("that's weird . . . "; "why did that happen?")
Drawings: especially when I can't write any more about something but I'm still thinking about it
Photographs, postcards, receipts, messages, notes from friends
Questions
Quotations that make me think and respond, "Yes, that's exactly how I feel."
Song lyrics
Secrets
Doodling and responses to quick writes or other writing exercises (a place where I experiment)
Scratchouts, crossouts, messy writing, notes in the margin of a page, sideways writing
Attempts at poetry; playful language
Writing pieces I abandon because I lose interest of have no confidence in
Writing prompts I create: things I think will help my students write
Story, essay novel titles
First tries with a genre I'm not comfortable with
Detailed sketches of people and places to practice descriptive writing
Things not to forget to do
Things other people say that strike me as important or stupid or that I don't understand
License plates that make me want to respond
Books I've read and what I thought about them
Visuals: plate, heart, hand . . . with related words for memories of ideas for essays
Poems I love
Sometimes journal-kind-of-entrires, but usually not that orderly
LIFE
Life . . . mine
Lists of all kinds of things: stuff I need to buy; people I need to talk to; memories that come to me
Notes to myself
Emotions . . . anger, sadness, excitement, wonder
Memories
Every vivid memory holds some essential truth about your vision of the world. - Kim Stafford
Fragments of life that strike me ("that's weird . . . "; "why did that happen?")
Drawings: especially when I can't write any more about something but I'm still thinking about it
Photographs, postcards, receipts, messages, notes from friends
Questions
Quotations that make me think and respond, "Yes, that's exactly how I feel."
Song lyrics
Secrets
Doodling and responses to quick writes or other writing exercises (a place where I experiment)
Scratchouts, crossouts, messy writing, notes in the margin of a page, sideways writing
Attempts at poetry; playful language
Writing pieces I abandon because I lose interest of have no confidence in
Writing prompts I create: things I think will help my students write
Story, essay novel titles
First tries with a genre I'm not comfortable with
Detailed sketches of people and places to practice descriptive writing
Things not to forget to do
Things other people say that strike me as important or stupid or that I don't understand
License plates that make me want to respond
Books I've read and what I thought about them
Visuals: plate, heart, hand . . . with related words for memories of ideas for essays
Poems I love
Sometimes journal-kind-of-entrires, but usually not that orderly
LIFE