writer

A Picture’s Worth . . . How Many Words? # 2

/ Gerry Wilson / Leave a comment

Here’s the second photo in the series that began a couple of weeks ago:  A Picture’s Worth  . . . How Many Words? (Click on the link to see the first one.)

The point? A prompt that’s the opposite of a photo challenge. Instead of finding or shooting a photo to suit the word/s, you bring the words to the photo.

Maybe it’ll trigger a memory or  prompt a story or poem.  The possibilities are as limitless as your imagination!

So jump in . . . Write about what’s happening in the picture. Write what came before. Write what comes after. Take it anywhere you like . . .

I would love to see what you do! Post your first 100 words or a few lines of a poem in a comment. Or share a link to a longer piece.

Happy writing!

[The photo has a title, but I’m not going to give it to you!]
http://www.istockphoto.com / photo by CREATISTA

Worthy Words: A Peculiar Crossroads

/ Gerry Wilson / Leave a comment

The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location. 

—Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964), Mystery and Manners, part 2 (1969).

Railway
Image courtesy of samurai / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How profound is this concept, and how true? 

Flannery O’Connor is one of my favorite writers. A master of the short story, she is famous for blending the gritty and the mysterious into as motley a crew of characters as you’ll ever hope to meet.

If you’ve never read her work, I encourage you to sample her stories. Here’s a link to “A Good Man Is Hard to Find,” which is often anthologized.


Have you experienced moments in your own writing where—somehow—the real and the mysterious come together? Tell me about it in a comment!

A Picture’s Worth . . . How Many Words?

/ Gerry Wilson / Leave a comment

Something New at The Writerly Life: Photo Prompts

For years I kept a folder of photographs (yes, real ones, printed out or clipped from magazines and newspapers) and used them as writing prompts for my students. I would set the pictures up around the room and let the students browse until something “struck them” about a photo. Then they were to take it back to their desks and free-write. Those early drafts often led to striking memoirs, stories, or poems.

Dive into a Photo, Come Up with a Story 

What I’m proposing is the opposite of a photo challenge (which I love), where a particular word sparks the search for an image. Here, the image sparks the words.

Every other week, I’ll post a photo. You’ll supply the creativity!

Maybe the photograph will trigger a memory, prompt a story or a poem, or even a blog post! Take the situation and run with it. Write about what’s happening in the picture. Write what came before. Write what comes after. Take it anywhere you like . . .

Your reward, if you choose to accept the challenge, is the pleasure of writing something new!

Let me know how this works for you. You might even post the first 100 words or so—or a few lines of a poem—in a comment. Or share a link to a longer piece. Whatever you do, have fun. Happy writing!

Here’s the first photo:

“Jumping Into Swimming Pool” by Ian Kahn
Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net