*with a rule!

Make Writing Prompts Great Again

Wanna hear an idea I’ve had and repeated internally a bajillion times?

~~~I should use writing prompts - ya know, just to get the juices flowing. Starting is the hardest part, so if I don’t have to come up with the topic I’m going to write about, it should just pour out, right?~~~

Well, Survey Says: it’s true. I should’ve gripped onto that monologue much sooner. I’ve been digging into some of the physical resources I’ve hoarded in my home library over time - the famous ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron, ‘Culturemaking’ by Houston White, Jr, ‘Wild Mind’ by Natalie Goldberg, to name a few. I’ve been enjoying utilizing this new (to me) subcategory of creation within the medium of the written word, but I can only handle so much of it in one sitting - lingering inwardly for too long makes me feel shifty; my legs often start to tingle.

But then, a refreshing take on the traditional formula was presented to me on the timeline, right here on Substack: a prompt a day, BUT each prompt comes with a rule to follow while journaling out your thoughts! Maybe I’ve just had my head in the dirt and that’s always been a thing, but the person who brought it to my attention gets the credit in this context. She has been inspiring me for the last few months here on the app. Even more specifically - when I was in that bitter, cynical stage of ringing in the new year and swore off the concept of resolutions as a whole - she posted a straightforward piece, simply entitled, ‘you should start’.

Her name is AMANDA, aka Certified. (her newsletter), and I keep coming back to her work week after week. Aside from all the expected follows I had pre-planned for, back when I first opened my Substack account with dreams of grandeur swirling just behind my forehead, AMANDA was one of my first big inspirations that I found organically. In the hours when you should definitely be sleeping, but convince yourself you’re being more responsible because you’re on Substack instead of Instagram, you can dig out incredible trenches of discovery in these hallowed halls of inspired binary. On one of those nighttime blue-light journeys, somehow luck (and the algo) brought me to her page.

She’s given my work direct attention - in the boundless sea of all the words she could take the time to read - and has been gracious with her flowers; in these elementary stages of publishing my writing, that’s indistinguishable from a standing ovation. She’s Restacked my writing, my very own writing, for goodness sake. What an honor.

Go check out her work. You’ll be happy you did.

All said, Day 4 of her January writing prompts *with rules! was such an obvious question to address. That’s not to diminish the originality of her prompts - I must be clear on that. The magic lived in the rule she paired with this particular prompt:

prompt: What are you afraid your writing might reveal?

rule: Handwrite if you can.

Go try it. Seriously, right now. Ditch this, come back if you feel so kind, but this is far more important. Whether you’re a writer or an artist of another variety, fill in the proper blanks and put your answer down on paper, however that applies within your own ability. The key is to step away from the keyboard. Maybe you speak your answer into a recording device in a silent room. Maybe you sketch, paint, or sculpt your answer. Maybe you compose a beat and lay down some spoken word over the top of it. It might be just be one of the most important self-interrogations you ever conduct.

My response to the prompt was relatively short, but also majorly impactful to my psyche. It showed me that what I fear most might just be the most valuable thing I could offer to myself as I develop my craft. And as I mentioned, the magic came out of the rule for me - seeing my already wild, slanted handwriting become more and more erratic, until I physically had to recompose myself, led me to a succinct conclusion that nourished my soul.

In just a few words, I became a better writer, and more importantly, came to understand myself on a deeper level.

I’ve included images my original handwritten copy, and you’re welcome to try and read it - if you dare lol. I transcribed it below for those who don’t desire a headache. Lemme know your thoughts!

Thanks, AMANDA!

Transcription:

“I fear discovering that I’m basic, uninteresting, uneducated, forgettable, disposable, useless, arrogant, self-centered, egomaniacal, DUMB.

Sadly a lot of these descriptors I already apply to myself - so through the natural vulnerability that writing requires (or begs of the creator), all my deepest fears and anxieties are put into clear focus, under a microscope, on the world stage (at least potentially speaking, not literally or factually so).

My initial instinct was to ignore the rule for this prompt, which was to handwrite if possible. It felt more inconvenient on first impressions, then my hesitancy became so intensely and obviously a prime example of the privilege I claim to want to shake.

Not only do I have the physical and mental ability - an outright golden fortune all its own - to be able to do so, but I have copious quantities of paper, stationary, pens, markers, pencils, Sharpies, etc… not to mention -

THIS FUCKING KINDLE

********* breathe *********

I am thrilled, actually, that my writing may reveal all my faults, that I may acknowledge them and nurse them back to a form of energy that can be helpful, to myself and others. I hope every time I sit down to write, that something filthy may reveal itself, that I may then have the holy opportunity to cleanse the windscreen of my consciousness to better navigate the expressways of my universe.

Of our universe.”