Writing Promt: What If?

What if you could change your age by snapping your fingers? What age would you choose? What if you could only change your age three times?

Word of the Week: Assail

ASSAIL (uh SAYL)

• verb: to attack with vigor

We hid behind the garden fence and assailed passing cars with rotten apples.

Now write!

Use the word assail in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

You wake up one morning and have suddenly lost your eyesight.

What happens that day?

How did you lose your sight?

Spit and Polish: Imagery

Authors rarely use the sense of taste in descriptions because we have such limited taste experience. Our tongues can only taste a limited range (sour, sweet, salty, bitter).

Describe the taste of a favorite food.

Now, think of something that you would not normally eat (and it doesn't have to be food). Describe the taste. (use your imagination, not your tongue)

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

• Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

What do you think Twain meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if all electronic devices stopped working at the same time? What would happen?

Word of the Week: Bemoan

BEMOAN (bi MOAN)

• verb: to lament; to mourn about

While standing on the ledge outside his office window, the stock broker bemoaned his recent losses.

Now write!

Use the word bemoan in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

You are sitting at a table. On the table is an empty glass.

What was in the glass?

How did the glass get empty?

Was it empty when you sat down?

Spit and Polish: Imagery

A writer can appeal to the sense of touch with descriptions of an object's temperature, its texture, or weight. Even explaining what type of material (metal, wood, plastic) can help with touch imagery.

Write about how the following items feel:

• a basketball
• a favorite pet
• a food that you dislike

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"It's a sure sign of summer if the chair gets up when you do."

• Walter Winchell (1897 - 1972)

What do you think Winchell meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you were the only person to decide what shows were broadcast on TV? What would you choose? Why?

Word of the Week: Cringe

CRINGE (krinj)

• verb: to shrink back with fear; to cower; to be servile or suck up in a horrible way

Igor cringed everytime the mad scientist yelled at him for dropping the jar that held the genius's brain.

Now write!

Use the word cringe in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Do you remember your favorite toy as a child?

Write about that toy as if it came to life when you were away.

Spit and Polish: Imagery

Some consider the sense of smell our most nostalgic sense. Certain odors can conjure past memories in vivid detail. Think about a scent that has strong association for you. Describe the scent and the emotions/memories it conjures.

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"We all learn by experience but some of us have to go to summer school."

• Peter De Vries

What do you think De Vries meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if there were no police to enforce our laws? (i.e., the laws still exist, but no one is paid to enforce them)

Word of the Week: Dissuade

DISSUADE (di SWAYD)

• verb: to persuade not to (the opposite of persuade)

The driver's ed instructor dissuades reckless driving with color slides of car accidents.

Now write!

Use the word dissuade in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Write a letter to the person you were ten years ago.

Spit and Polish: Visual Imagery

Most people receive the lion's share of their sensory input from their eyes, making visual imagery very important.

Think of a common object, maybe something with which you interact each day. Describe how that item looks to someone from another country/planet. This person/alien has never seen your object before.

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

• Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

What do you think Twain meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if stores encouraged people to steal?

Word of the Week: Congeal

CONGEAL (kun JEEL)

• verb: to jell; to solidify

A layer of grease congealed into a white mass when we put the stew in the refrigerator.

Now write!

Use the word congeal in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Think about your earliest memory with an animal (this could be a pet or wild creature). Was it positive or negative?

Now flip your experience and write about it. (i.e., a good memory turns out very badly)

Spit and Polish: Imagery

Imagery can appeal to any of the five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight). Using specific adjectives can help a reader experience the world a writer is trying to create.

Choose an object from home or classroom. Write at least one adjective for each of the five senses to describe the object. Blend your descriptions into a paragraph about that object.

Writing Prompts: Killer Quotations

"Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."

• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900), The Twilight of the Idols (1899)

What do you think Nietzsche meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you could change your skin color at will? What color would you choose? Why?

Remember, you can choose any color, not just natural skin tones.

Word of the Week: Aggrieve

AGGRIEVE (uh GREEV)

• verb: to mistreat; to do grievous injury to; to distress

The hideous behavior of the troll aggrieved the neighboring townsfolk.

Now write!

Use the word aggrieve in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

You have to hide.

Now.

Your life depends on it.

Where will you go? Will you wear a disguise? How do you feel? Who is looking for you, and why do they want you dead?

Spit and Polish: Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns. They can add detail and interest to writing, but beware: too many adjectives can really clog otherwise clear writing.

Add adjectives to make the following sentences more interesting:-

1. Bob wrote about an experience.
2. He flew in an airplane.
3. He ate food for dinner last night.
4. Bob's paper would have been more interesting if he had described his experience.

Remember, too many adjectives can hurt. Are there other ways to add interest to the sample sentences without adjectives?

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought."

• Wallace Stevens (1879 - 1955)

What do you think Stevens meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if your friend told you of a secret plan to run away from home?

What would you do?

Why?

Word of the Week: Harry

HARRY (HAR ee)

• verb: to harass; to annoy
  

Insurgents harry an opposing army; harassment is their main strategy.

Now write!


Use the word harry in a freewrite exercise. How many synonyms can you generate? How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Imagine you are the leader of a large church congregation. People look up to you, inspired by your rock-solid belief and unwavering faith. Write the speech/sermon/homily that you would deliver after you've decided to confess to embezzling church funds for the past ten years.

Spit and Polish: Verbs

Verbs are words that show action or state of being.

Walk, run, eat, read, and sleep are all action verbs. Am, is, have, was, and has are all verbs, too.

List verbs that describe actions in which you have engaged today. Try to choose the most ineresting forms...avoid state of being verbs and go for action.

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"Whenever evil befalls us, we ought to ask ourselves, after the first suffering, how we can turn it into good. So shall we take occasion, from one bitter root, to raise perhaps many flowers."

• Leigh Hunt (1784 - 1859)

What do you think Hunt meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you never attended school? How would your life be different? Would life be better or worse? What would you do instead of school?

Write about it. Feel free to post your response in the comments section.

Word of the Week: Ostracize

OSTRACIZE (AHS truh syze)

• verb: to shun; to shut out or exclude a person from a group

Mike was ostracized by the other boys in the locker room because he wore socks with his sandals.

Now write!

Use the word ostracize in a freewrite exercise.How many synonyms can you generate?How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

You've been working at the same job for ten years, and you love it. This morning, you receive a pink slip, indicating you've been laid off.

Write about your reaction, either as a journal entry (diary, etc.) or a short narrative in the first person.

Spit and Polish: Pronouns

Pronouns are words that can take the place of nouns. Personal pronouns include I, you, we, he, she, they, and it.

Try filling in these blanks:

1. Tyson borrowed my bike, but __________ never returned it.

2. __________ ate dinner before __________ finished my homework.

3. __________ like to play basketball more than I do.

How did you know which pronouns were right in each sentence?

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"A cynic is a man who, when he smells flowers, looks around for a coffin."

• H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

What do you think Mencken meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you could have a super power? What would you choose?

Write about it. Feel free to post your response in the comments section.

Word of the Week: Prattle

PRATTLE (PRAT ul)

• verb: to chatter on and on; to babble childishly

Nicole prattles endlessly about the only things that interest her: boy bands, shopping, and vampires.

Now write!

Use the word prattle in a freewrite exercise.
How many synonyms can you generate?
How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

While taking a shortcut through an alley, you find a $50 bill on the ground. A phone number is written in ink on the upper border. A few dark splotches mark the back of the bill.

What do you do with it?

Spit and Polish: Proper Noun / Common Noun

A noun is a word naming a person, place, object, or idea. Some name any object (common); other name a very specific object (proper). Example: teacher is a common noun. Mr. Polson is a proper noun.

Think of a few common nouns.


Now list proper nouns that name someone or something you see every day.


How does including proper nouns affect a piece of writing? How does it help the reader?

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

Anne Bradstreet (1612 - 1672), Meditations Divine and Moral, 1655

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if your pet could talk?

Write about it. Feel free to post your response in the comments section.

Word of the Week: Teem

TEEM (teem)

• verb: to swarm; to be inundated; to overrun
  

The pile of discarded food teemed with thousands of maggots.


Now write!

Use the word teem in a freewrite exercise.
How many synonyms can you generate?
How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Write the origin to the belief that a rabbit's foot brings good luck.

Spit and Polish: Misplaced Modifiers

On his way to the library, the dog chased Tim.

Sounds like Rover was a little distracted on the way to the local book repository. Wait...the dog chased Tim...oh. What we have here is a case of misplaced modifiers. The meaning of the sentence would be clearer if the modifier was closer to what it is modifying: On his way to the library, Tim was chased by the dog. Or reword the whole thing: Tim was on his way to the library when the dog chased him.

Clarify the following:

1. While driving to the gym, the dog slobbered on Isabelle's jacket.
2. John said he would stay home first, then he changed his mind and went to the movie.
3. The captain steered the boat into the pier blinded by the fog.

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"[Spring is] when life's alive in everything."

• Christina Rossetti English poet (1830 - 1894)

What do you think Rossetti meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if money didn't exist?

Write about it. Feel free to post your response in the comments section.

Word of the Week: Adjunct

ADJUNCT (AJ unkt)

• noun: something added to or connected with something else; an assistant

Reading is just an adjunct to Bob's real passion, which is writing.

Now write!

Use the word adjunct in a freewrite exercise.
How many synonyms can you generate?
How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Ah, imagery. The sense of taste is one that is used sparingly in descriptions because you only taste a limited number of things. Imagine how something you would not normally eat might taste. Describe it (with or without tasting it). Avoid poisonous items at all cost. Duh.

Spit and Polish: Subject / Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs must agree, meaning that singular and plural subjects take different verb forms.

Which verb form is correct below?

1. Saul (chooses/choose) to spend his time playing Resident Evil on the PS3.

2. John and Isaac (does/do) not seem to care much about their schoolwork.

3. Nick and Nate never (try/tries) their best in math.

4. Henry (walk/walks) to the zoo on Saturday afternoons.

Writing Prompt: Killer Quotation

"[Spring is] a true reconstructionist."

• Henry Timrod

What do you think Timrod meant by this quotation?

Use the quote as a prompt for freewriting.

Writing Prompt: What If?

What if you woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and saw another person's face?

Write about it. Feel free to post your response in the comments section.

Word of the Week: Accentuate

ACCENTUATE (ak SEN choo wayt)

• verb: to emphasize; to accent; to highlight

Ralph accentuated the positive by pointing out that his pants fit better after he gained five pounds.


Now write!

Use the word accentuate in a freewrite exercise.
How many synonyms can you generate?
How about antonyms?

Weekend Warm-Up

Think for a moment about all of the writing you do on a daily basis: lists, notes, text messages, email...

This weekend, write about what your life would be like if you were unable to write. Feel free to post your responses to the comments section.

Spit and Polish: Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns are a kind of personal pronoun that show ownership. My, mine, our, ours, your, yours, his, hers, its, and theirs are all possessive pronouns.

Rewrite the following paragraph using personal pronouns in place of some of the nouns.

Hector loved playing Hector's trumpet. Hector had talent, but Hector lacked the discipline to practice each day. Hector's dream was to one day play professionally. Hector's band teacher worried that Hector's band teacher's student would not reach Hector's goal if Hector did not start practicing more.