Option One: Pick Three

Spring scarce had greener fields to show than these
Of mid September; through the still warm noon
The rivulets ripple forth a gladder tune
Than ever in the summer; from the trees
Dusk-green, and murmuring inward melodies,
No leaf drops yet; only our evenings swoon
In pallid skies more suddenly, and the moon
Finds motionless white mists out on the leas.
- Edward Dowden, In September

Pick at least three of the following nine words, and write a paragraph, scene, flash-fic, essay, blog entry or poem using them. It’s fine to change tenses, or pluralize if you want to, but please bold the words you choose.

drop, evenings, glad, mist, motionless, murmur, pallid, rivulets, swoon

1. Knight on Bended Knees, to His Beloved, by Leonard Blumfeld
2. Nine Words, by Janet
3. Carcosan Idyll, by Tiel Aisha Ansari
4. All the Women in the Family, by Melissa A. Bartell
5. Autumn of Life, by Medhini
6. A Rainy Evening, by Sumi
7. The First Drizzle, by Anu

* * * * *

Option Two: Can You Picture That?

Use the following photo to inspire an entry in any form - fiction, essay, poetry…

Photo Credit: Goldmund at iStockPhoto

1. Latter-Day Variant of an Older Story, by Niebla

* * * * *

Option Three: Poetry

silence
seeks the center
of every tree and rock,
that thing we hold closest-
the end of songs
- Michael McClintock, Letters in Time

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about silence.

1. Pleistocene Remnant, by Tiel Aisha Ansari
2. Silence, Take 1 (and Take 2), by Mike
3. Addie Bundren’s Posthumous Sermon, by the scôp
4. Bread Rises, by Richard
5. Fisherman, by Gordon

* * * * *

Option Four: Fiction

She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last.
- Willa Cather

Write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving either standing in an orchard.

1. The Old Orchard, by Bobbi
2. Herakles in the Hesperides, by Tiel Aisha Ansari

* * * * *

Option Five: Timed Writing

He is outside of everything, and alien everywhere. He is an aesthetic solitary. His beautiful, light imagination is the wing that on the autumn evening just brushes the dusky window.
– Henry James

Take nine minutes (use all nine, but don’t go over), and write on the subject of being outside of everything.
This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format - fiction, essay, verse - is acceptable.

1. Being outside of everything (defined), by A~Lotus

* * * * *

Option Six: Seven Things

No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring.
– Samuel Johnson

In improvisation, one of our exercises is a game called “Seven Things,” in which we go around in a circle giving each other the challenge, “Give me seven things that [whatever].” We are not going to go around in a circle here, but if you’re drawn to lists, this prompt is for you.

So, give me seven tastes or scents that define autumn for you.

You are not required to provide any explanations, but it’s more interesting for readers if you do.

1. Seven Tastes or Scents That Define Autumn, by Janet
2. Feels Like Fall, by MissMeliss
3. Welcome, Autumn, by Bobbi
4. Seven Tastes/Scents of Autumn, by Michelle
5. Seven Tastes or Scents that Define Autumn for Me, by Tamy
6. Seven Things, by Sister AE
7. Seven Tastes and Scents of Autumn, by Mike

Don’t forget to comment on this post with the direct link, title, and selected option for each piece you create. Happy Writing!

This post will be updated as submissions roll in. Please leave your link on the October Project post.

Prompt #1: Poetry

1. For Zorro, by Melissa
2. Haiku, by Ghost
3. Rationality in a 3 Ring Circus, by sister AE

Prompt #2: Fiction

1. Books, Lies, and Costumes, by Wakela
2. Smoke and Mirrors, by Wintermutt
3. Paw Prints, by Melissa
4. Story Idea, by Ghost

Prompt #3: Timed Writing

1. Class, by Mike
2. Timed Writing, by Becca

Prompt #4: Seven Things

1. Seven Things About October, by Becca
2. Seven Things about October, by Jodi
3. Seven Things I Associate with October, by Janet
4. October - Seven Things, by Jeremy
5. October 7, by Sara
6. Octoberish, by MissMeliss
7. The October Seven, by Rana
8. 7 October Things, by Ghost
9. Seven Little Things About October, by Susan
10. 7 October Things, by sister AE

Prompt #5: Pick Three

1. The Nightmare, by sister AE
2. weeds of war, by Gautami Tripthy
3. Untitled, by MaryEllen (at the bottom of Janet’s post.)
4. A Sophia Moment, by Jeremy
5. Frogs, by Melody
6. Fog, by Sara

Prompt #6: Can You Picture That?

1. Masks, by Jeremy