Tuesday 21 January 2014

Four Seasons of Creative Writing by Bryan Cohen

Four Seasons of Creative Writing is a follow on book to Creative Writing Prompts: Volume 2: More Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More, which I reviewed here.

Like its predecessor, this gem of a book is packed full of creative prompts to make you think and create blog posts, articles or stories, to explore issues, stimulate conversations or to share in creative writing classes. The prompts are arranged seasonally and designed to explore ideas rather than technique. Most of the prompts are specifically designed for younger people, but can be adapted to suit all ages and are ideal for schools and writers groups. There are plenty of ideas for nature writing, citizen science and for exploring environmental issues, in non-threatening ways, such as the examples below:



Summer

Sometimes it gets so hot in an area that people have to conserve their water because of
drought conditions. Imagine that there was a drought in your area so you couldn't play
in the pool or run through the sprinkler. How would this change your typical summer day
and why?

Imagine that you are a tiny hummingbird drinking from a feeder in a beautiful garden.
What would it be like to fly around so fast? What might be some dangers you would
face on a daily basis? Where would you live and why?

Fall
 
Create a conversation between two leaves that are about to fall from a tree. One is scared
and the other is excited about the long trip to the ground. What do they talk about and
why?
  
You have placed a tracker on an acorn in an effort to find out exactly where your backyard
squirrels go during the day. After a squirrel takes the bait, where does it go and why? Are
you surprised to find out where the squirrel stashes its goods? Why or why not?

 Winter
 
What do you think it would be like to be the following animals during the winter and why:
horse, gorilla, deer, and Chihuahua?
 
Many ancient cultures celebrated the winter solstice by constructing monuments or
holding wild celebrations. How would you have chosen to celebrate the solstice thousands
of years ago? What would your family today think about your celebration idea and why?

Spring

How do the smells of spring differ from the other three seasons? How do spring smells
make you feel? What makes spring smell the way it does?
  
Why did the bee fall in love with the flower and start the process of pollination? Create
a mythical origin story about when bees realized that flowers should be a part of their lives.

 Each prompt can probably be used to good effect many times over, so this book is a great resource for any writer.

Thanks Story Cartel for my free download of this book.

9 comments:

Caroline Gill said...

I like the sound of this! Writing and workshop ideas are always worth considering ... and I love the Hummingbird prompt!

Optimistic Existentialist said...

I really love that fall prompt :)

The Weaver of Grass said...

Occasionally I really need a prompt but as I write mainly about farming I find something most days.

Bill said...

The seasonal organization makes this of interest to haiku writers.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing this! I didn't know this site existed, and now I have a shiny new ebook!

A Cuban In London said...

I quite like the feeling of being a hummingbird! :-)

Greetings from London.

eileeninmd said...

Sounds like a great book, wonderful ideas and prompts. Summer and the hummingbird is a great prompt.

Unknown said...

Nice ideas. I like how you explored all the seasons in a unique way.

Little Miss Titch said...

that sounds fun,xx