Ten thousand fools proclaim themselves into obscurity, while one wise man forgets himself into immortality.
—Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968)

I can imagine a good handful of exercises based on Mr. King’s quote:

• If you prefer to journal about issues that are important to you, try journaling about what this quote means and/or how it applies to you, your role models, today’s politicians and celebrities, various famous people from the past, and/or the person from your life you consider to be the most wise.
• If you prefer to write non-fiction essays, write an essay about what Mr. King meant and/or how it applies to you, your role models, today’s politicians and celebrities, various famous people from the past, and/or the person from your life you consider to be the most wise.
• If you prefer to write fiction, write a story that includes a fool who proclaims himself into obscurity, and a wise man who forgets himself into immortality.
• Write a character sketch of a fool who proclaims himself into obscurity, and/or a wise man who forgets himself into immortality.
• Write about the nature of foolishness and wisdom or obscurity and immortality.
• Explore how you might forget yourself into immortality.
• Explore whether you believe this quote to be true, or, if it was once true, whether it still is now.

Forget gracefully–age vividly! What do I mean by aging vividly? Age with style. Age with panache. Age with direction, focus and drive. Today, write numbers down the side of a sheet of paper starting at the top with your current age and working your way down to end at “1.” At the top, write “The N best things about turning N,” where N is your current age or a recent milestone. Fill out the list with things that amuse you, enlighten you, make you feel grateful, or anything else that seems appropriate.

For a fun example (and a viewing of the blog post that inspired this exercise), check out The 45 Best Things about Turning 45.

People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Apply this Emerson quote to the main character of your current story or novel–how does your character’s opinion of the world reveal his character? What might it reveal that he doesn’t want revealed, or that he would deny if it was brought to his attention? How can you use this to subtly explore him within your writing without having to spell everything out for the reader?

You could also journal about how this quote applies to you. How do you see the world? What might this reveal about you? Try to find at least one difficult truth about yourself in Emerson’s quote.

“I don’t tell my characters what to do. I just take dictation!”
Shirts, mugs, more

I somehow missed my husband’s latest postings in his blog. Guess I’m not very awake lately. Anyway, the following quote from one of those posts immediately sent me scurrying off to post here:

If you don’t act with integrity all the time, where does it begin and end? Do you start acting honorably when you leave the house in the morning? On the drive in to work? When you clock in? Only after your second coffee? When talking to your own people? Existing customers? Potential customers? When you preface your words with “Simon says?” If you don’t display good character and integrity at all times, why should I trust that you’ll act uprightly when dealing with me?

Free-write on this topic, or apply to a fictional character–in any way that appeals to you.

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

What if… you woke up one day and had an epiphany? You suddenly realize you’re on the wrong track. It’s time to eat organic and get in shape, to quit your job and do something you really love, or leave your emotionally abusive spouse and learn to be independent. In just one realization, everything changes.

Start writing.

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

This morning I came across a fascinating philosophical blog entry regarding religions and traditions that contain both “inner” and “outer” teachings:

By the by, you get the same theme in western alchemy, the idea that the outer teaching - about turning lead into gold and all that - is really a distraction, or veil, for the inner teaching - which is about (perhaps!?) immortality, perfect knowledge, etc.

The author gives other examples as well, from Taoist alchemy, Christian metaphysics, and even modern politics. He then goes on to speculate on the purpose of these levels of meaning:

The different levels of teaching allow everyone to pick a symbol intepretation which they are comfortable with, without needing to feel like they are contradicting those who use another level of intepretation. The belief (meta-belief) in a higher level of meaning - the inner teaching - allows everyone to happily follow the same behavioural path without having to challenge each other over inconsistencies in their symbol intepretations.

For today’s exercise, do one of the following:

• Free-write about the ideas expressed in the above-referenced blog entry.

• Free-write about how the ideas expressed in the above-referenced entry might lend insight into a tradition that you or your family subscribes to.
• Brainstorm how you might explore such a split-level set of teachings in a story.
• Brainstorm a religion or philosophy from the ground up (for a fictional world or our modern world) that engages in such split-level mysteries.

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, philosophy, religion, world building, write, writers, writing

How would your character react when put on the spot and asked to participate in something that would be funny but that would be done partially or largely at his expense? If you’re a non-fiction writer, how would you react to such a thing? Or how have you reacted to such a thing in the past?

Come up with a scenario and play it out on paper to explore your or your character’s reactions, emotions, and actions.

This exercise was inspired by the video of Brad Sherwood, Colin Mochrie, and Karl Rove rapping at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner:

Technorati Tags: characterization, journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

This morning I found a photograph/art piece called, “Do you trust yourself with your dreams?” Click through the below thumbnail to see the full piece by Erlend Mork, and examine it in detail:

Ask yourself that same question: do you trust yourself with your dreams?

Start writing.

Technorati Tags: journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

Today’s prompt-found-on-the-web is from Writers Write, entitled I wish someone told me:

Todays prompt is this:

I wish someone told me..

Begin with that line and go on to a paragraph or more.

Or, turn it into the opening line of a story.

Technorati Tags: journaling, prompts, write, writers, writing

It is a fact that cannot be denied: the wickedness of others becomes our own wickedness because it kindles something evil in our own hearts.
      ~ Carl Jung

Today, free-write about wickedness and how it might “spread” from one person to another. Or, write a story that examines wickedness as a theme. Try to avoid trite explanations (or the old lazy fallback of “he’s just eeeevil”). You might also try free-writing a list of some of the ways wickedness has been treated in fiction and literature before now, and perhaps some thoughts on how you might add to or diverge from those treatments. How might a wicked person (deliberately or inadvertently) tempt those around him with his wickedness?

Technorati Tags: free-writing, journaling, prompts, quotations, quotes, write, writers, writing