Patchwork 3.5 recap and prompts

This recap is late, I apologize. Our last session was delightful, although/because so many of us were experiencing “brain not braining” issues.

Our first prompt was from the book “The Writer’s Gym.” We revisited an existing piece of writing, and rewrote the story from the perspective of a non-point-of-view character.

Our second was a two-part prompt, divided into two sections. First, we wrote for ten minutes about an unexplored location (real or fictional). This writing was in a specific form – writing only about what we expect to find in the space. (ie – “I expect there to be shag carpet. I expect the room to be overly warm.” etc.) Then we set this writing aside.

We wrote for fifteen minutes on prompt came from Ursula K. le Guin’s book “Steering the Craft” – we wrote for 15 minutes using no adjectives or adverbs. It was challenging, but rewarding! Definitely an exercise I will come back to when my brain is braining.

Finally, we came back to our second exercise and wrote a story in the environment we had set expectations for.

Despite the amount of fog in our heads last Sunday, we got some good writing and thinking done! I am excited about the progress we’ve each made.

For your Wednesday prompt this week, I want to encourage you to do something a little outside our usual sit-and-write practice. Take a bunch of sticky notes, or index cards, or open up a Scrivener file if that’s a program you use, or Evernote, or Mind Node, or a big sheet of paper for a mind map or whatever else works for you, and map out your characters and story so far. We’ve each spent significant time in the fictional worlds that we’re creating, and sometimes it can be difficult to see the trajectory of our stories or the amount of work we’ve actually accomplished. Map out your story as it exists now, and sketch in the gaps where you have an idea of the storyline but haven’t had time/inspiration/inclination to write the prose. Make note of areas where you may need to do more research, and areas that you’re particularly excited out. On Sunday, we’ll talk about where we’re at, and what Writing in the Margins can do to help sustain your writing practice beyond this group.

This coming Sunday is our last meeting in this round of Patchwork. I am looking forward to writing with you folks one last time in this group! (Of course, you are *always* welcome to join future Patchwork rounds as well!)

– Tiffany