Write: A Room with a View

Exercise:  Imagine you  have just walked into a room not your own.  It could belong to a neighbor, a waiting room, a stranger, or an imaginary being.  Maybe you walked into your subconscious' room.  Maybe you don't know where you are yet. 

Wherever you walked, begin to describe it.  Write what you see, what you feel, what you smell.  What does the room say to you?  Is the person living here a person you would like to meet?  Does it remind you of a relative?  Does it make you want to curl up and sleep or run away and scream? 

The door opens with the faintest of squeaks and closes softly behind me.  I gaze around the room, brows furrowed in confusion.  There seems to be everything in here and no order to it.  The large room looks like a small library has been turned into a home office.  Bookshelves line three walls, pausing only for the door and light fixtures.  It should be gloomy, but the wall of windows makes it anything but.

The wall of glass pulls me farther into the room, stepping around a delicately carved chair that is home to a pile of blankets.  The windows give a magnificent view of a wild wood.  Branches sway in the breeze and somewhere, far off, there is a sound of a waterfall.  There, and there, a bird flutters between the leaves, dancing to the song of a mate. 

I watch him until he disappears into the greenery, then I turn back to the room.  An open book beckons from the large desk.  I run my fingertips over the warm wood and move behind it, spinning the globe on it's axle and watching the continents spin about.  With a smile, I raise my eyes to the rest of the room.

I can tell from here that the pile of blankets is nothing of the sort. It is a golden lion's mane stretched across the chair.  Where did that come from and why?  Maybe the owner went on safari and brought back a souvenir.  Maybe they were wearing for some golden coat.  Or maybe they had to fight a lion and won.

A laugh escapes my lips at my imagination and I shake my head.  Out of the corner of my eye, I spy the telescope next to the window.  On tripod legs, its body is angled upwards to spy into the heavens once night falls.  The shelf behind it is full of star charts and globes painted with scenes of the constellations.  A model of the solar system hangs from the ceiling and calls me.  I reach up and barely touch the moon.  How many people have been inspired by that wish?  How many stories have been written?  How many discoveries have been made?

With a sigh, I pull myself away from my reverie and pick up the stack of papers I was sent for.  Neat and orderly on the desk, the notes sing themselves off the page.  Just looking at them is beauty.  Hearing them played is exquisite.

I pull the door closed behind me with a wistful sigh, shutting off the room of wonder and inspiration.  Thus the life of working for a Muse.

Write: Choose a Path

Sorry about the late post.  Kiddo is sick so I stayed home.  I'll get better about this, I swear! :)

Exercise:  You stand at a crossroads.  Down one path, you are surrounded by people you know laughing.  Drinks and gorgeous food are served to you.  Down the other path, you are surrounded by the homless, the lost.  You are serving them basic good food and they smile at you.

What path would you choose?

Friends called me on the way out the door, inviting me to dinner with a few other people.  They were going to a fantastic restaurant, one we had been talking about going to.  The reviews were amazing.  They even said that there was a guy they wanted to introduce me to. 

But I had other plans.

I pulled my car into the lot, feeling bad when I made sure it was locked.  I knew some of the people here, but it wasn't them I was worried about.  This wasn't the best neighborhood and I knew someone who had their car stolen last week.

Davey waved at me from his perch by the door.  A smile lit my face as I made my way across the yard.  "I'm glad to see you," he said, standing up as I approached.  He shook my hand and opened the door for me.  The smile that covered his face was brighter than a light bulb and brought out the lines by his eyes.  "I got a job," he burst out happily, his back straight with pride, "I start tomorrow."

"That's wonderful, Davey!" I exclaimed, pausing before crossing the threshold to give him a hug.  "Congratulations!  See, I told you that it would happen.  You just couldn't give up."

"I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you and the others," Davey shrugged, following me to the kitchen of the homeless shelter.  "You all make us feel human again.  Like we mean something.  We don't have anything but you make us feel like we are worth more than the air we breathe.  Thank you."

Write: Self, Community, World

Today's post isn't really a writing exercise or piece of writing.  It's more about taking the time to look within yourself and discover three things you want to accomplish this year.  I read about this in one of my books and I cannot figure out which one it was now.  I also can't find where I wrote down my list...

Anyway, the exercise is this.  Write down a goal that you want to accomplish this year in three areas: Self/Home, Community, World.  What can you do to better these areas in your life?  How can you help in these areas?

I made a list last year and I've accomplished my goals for this year, so I am impressed with myself.  Let's see what I need this year...

Self:  Have confidence and pride in my work and my self.
Community:  Step up into a more active leadership role.
World: Stick to my values and ideals on corporations/society, no matter how hard it may be.

What changes are you going to be in the new year?

Write: What's the weather like?

Exercise:  Write a paragraph after looking out your window.  Maybe it is snowing.  Maybe it is raining.  Maybe the sun is shining brightly.  Maybe it's the middle of the night.  Find the Muse living in the weather outside and see what She says to you.

To read what Mine said, click on read more:

Write: Against the Boy

Writing Exercise:

Take the nearest (long) book and open up to page 234.  Count down to the fifth line and over to the sixth, seventh, and eighth words.  Use these words to inspire your writing.  They can be used together or separately depending on preference and what words you ended up with.

My words for this exercise were "against the boy" from Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso, found in Reader's Digest Condensed Books, volume 3, 1959.  Yes, I know I messed up how to cite the source, but I don't have my book with me.

My writing ended up fitting better as a poem than a short story.  Read it after the break.

Create: Freebie, Exercise Journal

My previous post focused on my creative goals for the year and I completely spaced my family and personal goals.  One is spending time with my son, the other is getting fit.  I eat pretty healthy, granted not as healthy as I could, but vegetables and fruit are regular companions of mine.  But I don't exercise.  When I had part time jobs I was always on my feet and moving stuff around.  In my office job, I do a lot of sitting.

Since I'm going through a 'write it down!' phase, I figured an exercise journal would be a great thing to start keeping.  Something to stare at me when I haven't done anything, and something to keep my snacks on track.  I looked through a lot of the DIY templates and several others but they all either measured calories or body mass.  I just couldn't find one I liked.

So I made my own.

There is a section for meals, boxes on the right for water intake, and a place you can list your exercises, how many repetitions, and how many sets you do.

Print it duplexed and cut across the middle.  Fold and you've got a weeks worth of pages to keep track of your habits. Granted, it's not the best, but it's something quick I made before work.  I hope to revisit and improve upon it (for instance, making it look pretty).