Wake up, Muse! It's Saturday!

Welcome all, to another lovely weekend. I love the weekends. Why? I give my life five days a week for others (school, homework, job hunting, etc.) The weekend is mine to do with as I please (except for AP projects. Eep!) A picture-perfect weekend for me would be sitting in my room, relaxed with nothing to do, and writing on my laptop. That's it! I'm a simple person.

Thus, because of my lovely weekend (I am home because I am sick, not very "picture-perfect"), I have decided to post more prompts for those of you who just can't get themselves to write. I myself have done all of these prompts in the past, so I can assure you that (at least for me) they definitely get the writing-juices flowing.

1. Pictures! Picture prompts are so helpful when writing a scene, a poem, or any prose, because there's a vivid image already there for you. If you find a good picture, print it out, take a picture with your phone, something to keep that image fresh in your mind. You can even take short notes of what it looked like to you. Feel free to write anything: a poem, a scene, a short story, even random drabble. Just get writing. A few pictures to get you started: One, Two, and Three.

2. Wikipedia! Wikipedia's "Random Article" button is my best friend. Why? It creates prompts for me, for free! The link is on the left hand side of any Wikipedia page, in the top section. The words read, "Main page," "contents," "featured contents," "current events," "random article". Granted, some will be harder than others, but you're free to continue clicking it until something piques your interest. (I got "human anus" once, that was fun.)

3. Quotes! I know I mentioned in my previous blog post about how you can go onto a quotes site and write. However, why does it have to be a formal quote? It can be something you heard on T.V., something your friend said, hell, it can even be from something you've written previously! You can use the quote however you wish, just as a jumping off point for inspiration or include it in your story.

4. Moods! Pick an emotion or mood. Come on, any will do! Be it fear, contempt, or joy, write something that relates to that emotion. Whatever that word makes you think about, jot it down on paper. You could also do the opposite and take an idea (ex. waiting for relatives) and make a mood (ex. anxiety). Have fun with it. (Some of my favorite moods for this activity are anxiousness, rage, and contentment).

5.Music! I received a comment last week from someone that uses music to awaken their muse. I happen to agree with them; there are many songs that can make me angry or make me want to cry. Although I mentioned this last week, I'll say it again: music is amazing. There are lyrics to listen to and instruments to speculate. Either put your music player (I use iTunes) on "Shuffle" or pick a favorite song and write with whatever comes to mind. Try writing for the duration of the song and see what you have and then switch to another song, or keep with the same song (I put mine on "repeat") and continue your prose. (Some songs I've used are "Accidentally In Love" by Counting Crows and "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus).

Feeling more creative this time? Good, I'm glad. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...

Question: What are your favorite prompts? Why?