Imitation of Life

So it's obvious that calling this thing "Friday's Just Write" is completely inaccurate.  I can try and excuse it away all I want, but at this point and time in my life I just don't seem to be able to consistently post on Fridays.  (In all honesty I'm simply not making it a priority which isn't necessarily a failure so much as I have other things I put before it.)

Anyway, the name will change, but I'll still try to be (somewhat) regular.  And in keeping with this theme of change, this week I'd like you to think about fairy tales.

Pick a classic fairy tale, any one will do, and rewrite it.

What you choose to rewrite is up to you.  You can change the beginning, middle or end.  You can bring the tale into modern times or change the point of view from which it's told.  You may alter whatever you like, but the important thing is - whatever you do, Just Write . . .

This week's prompt isn't so much about creativity and imagination as it is a meditation of sorts.  I want you (and me) to think about time. 

We're all busy and it seems always in search of that precious commodity - more time.  Whether it's the kids, the laundry, work, television, working out, afterschool activities . . . it seems that we're constantly being pulled in SEVERAL directions and that no matter how much we plan and organize there is never enough time to get it all done.

So how do you find the time to write?  How do you make writing a priority?  Or haven't you figured out how to yet?

I really want you to think about this and come up with practical solutions as to how you can make writing a necessary part of your routine.  Whether that means daily or weekly or whatever time you want to give it, how can you make your writing one of those things that you MUST do like eating or working?   

I've got a few ideas which I will share with you once I figure out how I'm going to incorporate them myself.  Hopefully I'll finally be able to keep up with this blog every week after I'm done  :)

I missed another week.  Two actually.  And I realize this.  Well, actually I knew I missed one week and it just occurred to me, just now, as I watch the Oscars that I missed posting a prompt for this week as well.

You know I always have an excuse.  Not necessarily a good excuse, but a reason all the same.  This time I have two reasons.  (Two weeks, two reasons)  First of all, I missed my first Friday post because I was apparently suffering from pneumonia.  I didn't know it at the time, but a doctor informed me that it was pneumonia several days later and after antibiotics I was feeling much better.

Then it was time this week to start catching up on all that I'd missed (except my writing prompt obviously) while I was ill.  I'm about to start a new job, on the third shift no less, and so you can imagine the preparations - meetings and appointments - and just plain staying up late.  Which is why I'm posting this now.  I'm staying up late and I realized I needed to write . . .  You get the idea.

Watching the Academy Awards reminds me that as a teenager, and even a young adult in my twenties, I used to have this dream that one day I would write an Academy Award nominated screenplay.  That's right.  I wanted to walk down the red carpet with Matt Damon, George Clooney, Gwyneth Paltrow and the like and I wanted to be a part of that night, but to experience it from the inside.  I always wonder what people talk about during commercial breaks or what it's like to be at the infamous Vanity Fair party.  It's probably all quite normal, but I'd like to experience it for myself.

So tonight I want you to think about some of your childhood dreams and write about them. Did you want to be a doctor or an actor?  Did you want to own your own business or travel the globe?  Why didn't your dream come true?  Did you outgrow it or has it just not happened yet?  I guess what I want you to do most is tap into that "I can do/be anything" spirit of your childhood and be re-inspired by one of those dreams.  And then, Just Write . . .

I am reading an incredible book - "Diary of a Mad Housewife," by Sue Kaufman.  I'm not even 50 pages in and I LOVE it.  It's about a woman, a housewife, who decides to begin writing down her thoughts on paper as she experiences some sort of "madness."  Not really sure yet if she's any kind of crazy - maybe just human and unhappy with the path her life has taken - but her diary entries are real and raw and honest and it has already got me thinking about a potential writing project.

Anyway, in her first entry, Tina, makes a list of the things she's afraid of.  She rattles off at least a dozen or so before stopping because the list is getting long and she could go on for quite some time.  She lists elevators and subways, disease, dentists, etc.  And it got me thinking about myself.

So this week I want you to make a list of your fears.  They can be personal, professional, with regard to your writing . . . Just get them down on paper so you can confront them.  Decide which ones may just be phobias - fear of heights or spiders - and which ones are raw and emotional fears.  (For example, one of my fears is that something will happen to me and I will leave my children without a mother.)  Which fears might you be able to conquer?  Are there any that are paralyzing for you? 

And you might try making the same list for one of your main characters.  It's a great way to get to know them and provides material for conflict while adding humanity and depth to their personalities. 

Whatever you do with the list (keep it hidden away or out in the open to give you strength in confrontation) - Be sure to just write  :)

(I want to point out that not only am I not late this week, I'm early!!! Yay for me!!)

It is absolutely pouring outside as I write this.  Cold, no frigid, droplets of rain - just a degree or two away from turning to ice - and a wind that burns any body part exposed to the elements.  So today's prompt keeps us indoors where we can feel the warmth of the heat and give our full attention to the immediate world around us. 

Take 5 minutes and write down everything you see, hear, smell, touch and even possibly taste in the room you're writing in.  Really focus on the details. Make note of everything no matter how small or seemingly irrelevant - that's usually where you find the good stuff.

***I didn't make a note of where I found this prompt when I wrote it down in my journal, but thank you to whoever you are!!!