If you are just joining the Sound Cliff Writing Spa, you have found us during a very exciting week! Every Monday, Writing Spa members receive writing prompts by email based upon a thematic word. There is a private forum to chat about the process each week and share work (a poem, essay, or journal entry generated from the weekly prompt). Sign up anytime!
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This week, the word is “mix.” It’s actually one of my favorite weeks because it’s so easy for us creatives to get stuck from time to time. Right? When we “mix” up our ways by changing where we write, how we write, or when we write, it can be wonderfully motivating.
I’m not going to prompt you with words this week. Images from the “Cliffs” off the Long Island “Sound” will be your guide. The slideshow below contains four rotating images of the same location. Why do they look so different?
This week shake it up. Whatever that means to you. I wrote an article on writingyoga about writing in a Burger King while drinking coffee and eating cheese sandwiches (I don’t eat meat): http://writingyoga.blogspot.com/2011/09/writing-to-cheeseburger-changing-your.html
I also love this article by one of my favorite poets, Nicole Cooley. She is the director of the Queens College MFA in Creative Writing program and author of several books of poetry (I own ALL of them and highly recommend!) Click here to read her sing the praises of “ugly writing spaces”: http://aboutaword.org/2011/06/05/nicole-cooley-in-praise-of-ugly-writing-spaces/
If your writing space is beautiful, go make it ugly. Listen to music when you write, go outdoors if the weather allows, buy a new journal, write with a friend, take your own pictures and write about them. How can you shake up your world?
So now, listen to some music, dim the lights, grab a cup of tea, and watch the show. Then, when you feel ready, write.
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A NOTE TO SPA GOERS AS WE HEAD INTO WEEK 4:
Thank you so much for staying with the spa! I’m thrilled with the feedback I’ve received and the work that you have written.
Just a couple of points to keep in mind.
1) This is YOUR writing practice. Posting work in the forum is always OPTIONAL. The goal is to provide community, inspiration and peer feedback. If you have the time and inclination to share what you’ve written we’d LOVE to see it, but it is certainly not required.
2) Your peers will provide feedback and hopefully you will do the same for them. We have amazing writers in the spa – 30 of them! I provide this space for our community, weekly prompts, and will occasionally comment on work but I am not able to comment on all the individual poems posted each week. I wish I could, but there are not enough hours in the day! In the future, I hope to run a smaller course where this option will be possible.
3) The forum will be changing soon to be more streamlined. Here is the link for the current space: http://groups.google.com/group/writingspa2011. You must be signed up to access this forum. Go to google to sign up and be sure to check your email to confirm membership if you are not already in.
4) Anyone can post general comments right here on the blog by clicking on “leave a comment” at the bottom of this post. Do you have an immediate thought about the slideshow? Your writing space? Or maybe you wrote a poem right on the spot and are brave enough to publish it right now! How’s that for mixing it up?
Thank you so much for joining me each week! – Stefanie
http://www.writingyoga.com - http://www.stefanielipsey.com – http://soundcliffwritingspa.com
