Writing Prompts
You’ve been given the opportunity to pick three fictional characters to have dinner with. For one night, the will come to life and you will have the chance to interact with them? Who do you choose and why? What would you talk about? What would you have/where would you go for dinner?
Everybody has a moment in his or her life where something strange happens that no one else would believe happen. Think about your life and recall any fantastic moments that happened to you, but no one else believes. Did the TV ever turn itself on? Were you practicing throwing a basketball with your back to the basket only to make it in… when no one else was around? Can’t think of a moment that’s too-good-to-be- true? Feel free to embellish on a typical experience and weave it into a tall tale.
My Name
(Excerpt from The House on Mango Street)
Sandra Cisneros
In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color. It is the Mexican records my father plays on Sunday mornings when he is shaving, songs like sobbing.
It was my great-grandmother's name and now it is mine. She was a horse woman too, born like me in the Chinese year of the horse--which is supposed to be bad luck if you're born female-but I think this is a Chinese lie because the Chinese, like the Mexicans, don't like their women strong.
My great-grandmother. I would've liked to have known her, a wild, horse of a woman, so wild she wouldn't marry. Until my great-grandfather threw a sack over her head and carried her off. Just like that, as if she were a fancy chandelier. That's the way he did it.
And the story goes she never forgave him. She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow. I wonder if she made the best with what she got or was she sorry because she couldn't be all the things she wanted to be. Esperanza. I have inherited her name, but I don't want to inherit her place by the window.
At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth. But in Spanish my name is made out of a softer something, like silver, not quite as thick as sister's name Magdalena--which is uglier than mine. Magdalena who at least- -can come home and become Nenny. But I am always Esperanza.
I would like to baptize myself under a new name, a name more like the real me, the one nobody sees. Esperanza as Lisandra or Maritza or Zeze the X. Yes. Something like Zeze the X will do.
Our names say a lot about us. After all, they’re often words with their own meaning, but that’s not enough to truly describe a person. Consider the definition of your name. Do you know it? Does it truly describe who you are? If not, think about who you are and what kind of meaning your name should have. Write a definition of your name that is unique and pertains only to you.
Examples:
April—opening, blossoming (Latin)
Karin—pure (Greek and Swedish)
Linda—pretty (German, Latin, and Spanish)
Dear Xbox One
V.S.
Through all the times we shared together—the bad, the good, even the confusing—you have been there for me. I know I get mad and threaten to throw you out my window. Even when I do, you still keep playing my games and videos for me. Yeah, you may crash from time to time, but it’s not your fault that the game is too powerful for you to handle. Every night and every day, you are there when I’m bored, lonely, mad, or have trouble sleeping. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to stand being inside for so long. And for that I thank you.
Write a love letter to your favorite person/thing/animal in the whole wide world. You can write it for your teddy bear, your dog, your favorite sneakers, or even your mom’s homemade cookies. Be as silly and creative as you want!
How to Catch a Poem
Irene Latham
Step into the tress
On a summer night-
Follow starshine
And cricketsong.
Be still, keep quiet;
Watch for the flicker.
(No chasing,
Let it come to you.)
Reach. Hold it in the safe
Cave of your fingers
Until the wings tickle.
Marvel at the glow
Then
Let it go
Today we are going to write a “How To” poem. Make a list of things you know how to do or that you are especially good at. This could be how to play basketball, how to make your favorite meal, how to greet a dog, and so on. What are the steps necessary to complete this task? Take the steps and form them into a poem. Try making each line rhyme, but it’s okay if they don’t.
Choose a random item from your household. Where did it come from? What memories are attached to this item?
Come up with 5-10 questions of what you would like to know more about your family member or a friend. Then go ahead and ask to interview them!
Learn to do something new (maybe cooking a meal, baking a pie, caring for a succulent, etc.) and write a how-to poem with instructions.
