What if (part one).

Birth and Death

-Her eyes were closed, covered in goo… she had little hairs sprouting from the top of her head… 10 fingers, 10 toes… now where the hell was her dad?

-His hands were cold, face white, body still, just like mine.

Love and Hate

- I couldn’t stop thinking about him, he was always on my mind, was this love? Or lust?

- They said the first few months would be like a honeymoon… they were wrong, it didn’t last but a few days.

Rich and Poor

-Credit cards extended from my fingertips, I was unstoppable.

-I sighed as I looked at the kitchen table, papers piled high, reminding me of how deep in debt I had become.

Where were you last night?

“where were you last night”, she hissed. I looked at her, with a frustrated heart. I sighed, turned around, and never looked back. It had all become too tiring.

Where were you last night, read the letter addressed to me. There was no stamp, and no return address. Who wanted to know, I thought?

Changing your life (rewriting the story in different voices).

My mom had cancer when I was 4. My sister and I were left with the neighbor lady. We were at McDonalds in midway one day, and I got spanked. I don’t remember what I did wrong. I was mad that she spanked me, after all, she was not my mom.

Jane had cancer, so I was in charge of her two kids. The older one obeyed the rules (and me). The younger one was only 4, but she could have been better behaved. I spanked her once, because she wouldn’t quit bugging me. Damn kid, wasn’t even mine, I never signed up for this.

I tried to take care of my little sister when my mom had cancer. I was 11, old enough to take care of a 4 year old. Our neighbor helped out, while mom was gone, but I didn’t much care for her. She was always stepping on my toes. Didn’t she know that I was supposed to be in charge of my sister? Mom left me in charge.

Ways to describe age:

Crows feet (around the eyes)

Age spots

Sitting a certain way (like they used to)

If her joints ache

If she eats dinner early

Any “quakes” in her voice

The typical “old lady” voice

Use of old language

Type of shoes (old lady nurse shoes)

Blouse/Cardigan?

Hairstyle

What she smells like (old lady smell)?

How many pills she takes

What the pictures in her house look like (b&w)?

Any grandkids running around?

Any drawings by kids/grandkids?

What kind of stories she shares (about war, the depression, etc)

Naming your characters:

Petty thief: Robert Wagner the Third

Bitter woman: Katrina Grosslova.

Shy young man: Sanjay Sharma.

Lecherous boss: Jerry.

Lottery winner: Miss Louise.

a couple of writing prompts

1. Write a poem about a lost love. This can be any kind of love. It can be a love of someone, romantic or otherwise. It could be the love of a stranger, or an ideal love (that you have theoretically, or maybe actually) lost. It can be a love of an animal, stuffed or real. It can be the love for an inanimate object, such as a piece of furniture, an article of clothing, etc. Write about a lost love, in which you don’t say “I miss you everyday, like the sun misses the moon”. Write about a lost love in a way that describes your appeal to the person/place/thing, and what has happened since you are no longer together. You can write about the interactions you had (try to be creative here, use words that will help us feel your loss—without saying directly that you are at a loss). You can write about hopes for the future, perhaps a new love or a rekindled love. If you choose, you can write about a person/place/thing without ever telling us who/what you are writing about. The goal here is to elicit emotions, to show us how you feel, without having to explain it word for word. Try to avoid clichés. It is okay to use an idea (of a cliché), but avoid the actual wording.



2. Many people find it easier to write when they are sad, depressed, or angry. It is often a challenge to write about happy experiences, but this documentation can prove very useful in the future, especially when one is feeling down. Write about a time when you felt detached from the world. If possible, write about a positive time. For example, if you run, think back to a time when you had an amazing run. What made it different? How did you feel? Did you feel part of your body? What did it (the run) smell like? Taste like? Was there a breeze? Sun? How did nature’s elements affect your body, your mind, and your run? Rather than say “the sun warmed me from head to toe”, think about the cosmic/deeper ways the sun moved you. Did it energize you? If so, how? Did it inspire you? How? How did you feel when you were on your run? Did you see other people? Did other people see you? What made it so memorable? If you had this experience and it was not on a run (perhaps it was during meditation, or a mindless activity like shoveling snow or cutting the grass), note that. Dive in to how you felt doing this mundane activity, and why it mattered? What changed (either in you, or in the activity)? The idea here is to remind ourselves of what our bodies are capable of, and how far we can push them (or pamper them). We want to try to connect the spiritual and physical parts of our existence, in a way that is poetic and reflective, but not superficial or fluffy.



3. Write a letter to God. It can be any god, or multiple gods if you’d like. In this letter to god, feel free to ask questions. You can ask about the afterlife or about your present life. If something is not going well, tell god about it, and ask for guidance. If you don’t believe in god, tell him/her why you don’t believe in them. If you do believe in god, tell him/her what they mean to you, and how they play a role in your life. In your letter to god, it’s okay to be angry. If you want to tell god a joke, that is fine too. It is an open letter to god. Think of this as similar to writing a letter to “Santa”, but without the North Pole and reindeer (and hopes of a 5 year old thinking that Santa exists). Your letter can be serious, funny, sad, argumentative, or cautionary. We wont share these letters with the class (unless you really want to), and I will read them (privately) unless you don’t want me to. If you don’t want me to read your letter to god (since I am not god), that is okay, but you will have to write something else (for me to read) in addition to writing your letter to god. Since we are at a public school, I can probably get into some trouble for having you write letters to god, so here is my preface/warning. I am not saying that you need to believe in god to complete this assignment. God (for this assignment) can be anything, or anyone. I do not care if you believe in god or think he/she is bogus. The purpose of the assignment is to get your mind thinking about the ideas of “greater powers”, and to ask questions. There are no right or wrong answers, just lots of questions to be asked. You will not be graded on your views of god, or your questions of god. All that is asked is you put an honest effort towards listing and asking these questions, and don’t hold anything back.