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Wednesday, February 5, 2020

The Insecure Writer's Support Group: February 2020



It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time to convene another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has rounded up another great group of co-hosts: Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson.

Be sure to check out the IWSG website for great writerly advice!

The optional question for this month is: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?

We all know as writers that inspiration is everywhere, and a great source of inspiration can be a fellow creative's work. That's one reason why photos and other kinds of art make for great prompts when it comes to online writing contests and blog hops.

Years ago I used to participate in a blog hop called Five Sentence Fiction. The idea was to write a story, only five sentences long, and to use a photo for inspiration. I did this at a time when I lacked confidence in my story-telling skills, and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of it. Here's an example of one of many short stories I wrote through this hop.

WEP is another example of such a hop, where there is both a verbal prompt and a badge to serve as inspiration. A lot of the time, the visual element inspires my work, and such exercises are invaluable. They provide us with a chance to hone our skills and lead us down paths of inspiration that may not have come to us otherwise.

Has a photo or piece of art ever inspired your writing?




9 comments:

  1. I would actually have time for 5 sentences.

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  2. That's why those prompts are so valuable.

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  3. I love your bell story. Great job. You've given me a wonderful idea for my next writers workshop. Thanks!

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  4. Good reminder that honing skills in brevity can help with writing in longer formats.

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  5. Love your bell mini-story, especially the ending. It made me laugh.

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  6. Well Laura Vincent van Gogh certainly inspires me, especially his Cafe Terrace and Starry Night. He was a genius.aa

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  7. I prefer dark art from Gauguin to Jean Michel-Basquiat for inspiration when writing shorts. Great post. Happy IWSG!

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  8. That Five Sentence Fiction prompt sounds like a lot of fun. It's interesting how writers can be inspired by so many different things. I never mentioned WEP in my answer because it's usually the words of the prompt that inspire me, not the image.

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