WRITE HERE
Writing Prompts: Be a Little Brave
This week’s writing prompts are all about working through resistance
As Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic, without creativity our lives remain small. So why do we put off being creative? Too often, we resist because of our fear: Fear that we’ll write something crappy; fear that we’ll write something good and no one will read it; fear that we’ll write something great and everyone will read it but that they will hate it; the list goes on and on. But as Steven Pressfield writes in The War of Art, “Resistance by definition is self-sabotage.”
So listen. This week, we’re going to break through resistance. We’re going to stop procrastinating and making excuses, and start writing that thing. You know the thing. The thing you’ve been resisting.
To be featured in this week’s roundup, publish your work on Medium and tag it #Writehere so we can all find each others’ work on the Write Here page.
Plus, everyone is welcome to join me and my colleague Harris Sockel for an open writing hour, Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. ET (this week through March 31). Spend that time to write to these prompts or to work on a project of your own. You can use this meeting link to join (the passcode is: Medium). See you there!
THIS WEEK’S PROMPTS
What Keeps You From Writing?
When you get blocked, where does your resistance come from? Is it the voice of your 8th grade English teacher who said you weren’t a good writer? Is it the voice of your college professor who said you were a good writer, who you’re afraid of disappointing? As Pressfield puts it, our fear fuels our resistance. So tell us: What’s fueling your resistance?
What Do You Wish You Could Write?
The foundational text in your field. A great poem. A letter that says what you really need to say to the recipient (that you’d never actually send). The “brief bio” of yourself you wish was accurate. A love story you’d like to live. The résumé of your future self. What do you wish you could write?
What Would You Do If You Were Your Bravest Self?
Would you quit your job and move to the jungle? Run a marathon? Write the book that would really piss off your dad? Stop dieting? Shave your head? Start your own business?
QUESTIONS ABOUT WRITE HERE?
Leave them in the responses and we will try to address them all. Don’t forget to check back here every Monday for new prompts and tips.
Write Here guidelines and last week’s prompts:
