Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Wednesday Prompts

I turned on the radio and water came out
Hatches, Matches & Dispatches
Thirteen ways to look at it
Because it dissolves
The electrician is out of contact
Riding the Yellow Trolley Car
You were being silly
He disappeared in the dead of winter
I sit in a dive on 52nd St
Knowing each other too well to talk
Out of the blue I remember. My father playing football
The brooks were frozen, airports closed
An island five miles inland
DECAY
They are living off their reputation but it cannot last
Catch 18, and it's going to get worse
That's a lovely offer, but
You were right my dear, even when you were mad
Mayfly
The best of times, the shittiest of times
If I grow up, I'm going to be a boy
The room was suddenly rich with soft light
Whacky Posters
Go tell it on the fucking mountain
TIN
Building new homes at Buschenwald
TACK
Time was away and somewhere else
I have a desert but no camel
The waiter does not come
I asked my son when was he getting married. In the afternoon, he said.
The day needs a plaster, a bandage
I stand for old values. Give the black man a fair crack of the whip
I dream of being loved by a chorus-girl
My guru says
I am old and I have too may layers of paint
There was a camp here

8 comments:

Sparks said...

hello Alex,

This is a great resource! Usually, I just give myself a page number of any old book and pin the tale to the prompt, as it were.

Thanks,

Jo

Alex Keegan said...

Glad to be of service, Jo.

What I find interesting is that one set of prompts fires off loads of writing neurons, another leaves me stone cold dead.


Alex

Sparks said...

Do you think that could be due, in part, to what you may be sub- consciously 'looking for' when you put the sets together?

Jo

Alex Keegan said...

I'm not sure that would make sense.

If I got "what I was looking for" wouldn't that make it easier to write a story?

If I have books to hand (poetry is best) and I browse for interesting phrases, certain poets seem much easier to write off. Don't know why. Maybe we have affinity for certain voices?

But, as I browse and post, "things get triggered"

eg:

I turned on the radio and water came out

RANDOM

Hatches, Matches & Dispatches

My parents reading the paper moons ago

Thirteen ways to look at it

RANDOM


Because it dissolves

RANDOM


The electrician is out of contact

RANDOM

Riding the Yellow Trolley Car
TITLE OF A BOOK


You were being silly
RANDOM, FROM A POEM, CHANGED


He disappeared in the dead of winter
POEM

I sit in a dive on 52nd St
PARTLY FROM A POEM


Knowing each other too well to talk
POEM


Out of the blue I remember. My father playing football

RANDOM

The brooks were frozen, airports closed
POEM

An island five miles inland
SOMETHING I HEARD ABOUT THIS WEEKEND

DECAY
RANDOM


They are living off their reputation but it cannot last
I WENT TO A RESTAURANT, AND...

Catch 18, and it's going to get worse
RANDOM


That's a lovely offer, but
RANDOM


You were right my dear, even when you were mad
RANDOM


Mayfly

PROMPTED BY A POEM


The best of times, the shittiest of times
OBVIOUS? RANDOM


If I grow up, I'm going to be a boy
RANDOM


The room was suddenly rich with soft light
RANDOM


Whacky Posters
RANDOM (I PUT SOME ON A WALL)


Go tell it on the fucking mountain
RANDOM


TIN

RANDOM (I OFTEN SPLIT LINES UP WITH ONE-WORDERS TO BREAK LINKS


Building new homes at Buschenwald

RANDOM


TACK
RANDOM



Time was away and somewhere else
POEM


I have a desert but no camel
RANDOM


The waiter does not come
PROMPTED BY A POEM



I asked my son when was he getting married. In the afternoon, he said.
FROM A REAL PHONE CALL



The day needs a plaster, a bandage
RANDOM


I stand for old values. Give the black man a fair crack of the whip
RANDOM



I dream of being loved by a chorus-girl

RANDOM


My guru says
RANDOM


I am old and I have too may layers of paint
RANDOM



There was a camp here
FROM A CONVERSATION



What I note here (today) is that I've very few poem-bits

That must be why today I cannot write

Sparks said...

no, what I meant (my fault for not being clear) was that you CAN'T write from some sets because you have moved away from what you were looking for at the time of putting the sets together.

Sparks said...

so nw we've agreed this is a great resource, how about kicking some ass with it and having a mini-blast between the two of us? six hours or something?

Alex Keegan said...

Jo, we are already "blasting" in the free-to-guests part of Boot Camp


http://bootcampkeegan.yuku.com/directory

Sparks said...

ok, i'm in. take a prompt from here and post in 'flashes'?