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October 2011: Autumn

01 Saturday Oct 2011

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Welcome back to Cafe Writing. I realize we’ve been dormant for nearly a year – there were a lot of family crises between January and June, and since then, I’ve been debating whether or not to try this again. I miss you all so much, however, that I have to make one more attempt.

Our original launch was in October, so it seems fitting that we return in October. Appropriately, this month’s theme is “Autumn,” which you’re invited to interpret as broadly as you like.

This project will remain open until October 31st. The Next project will open on November 1st.

* * * * *

Option 1: Picture It

Harvest

October 2011: Harvest | Source: istockphoto.com

Use the image above to inspire a piece of writing. Your piece can be fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or any other form that suits you. (Please remember to copy the image to your own server.)

* * * * *

Option 2: Poetry

For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.
~Edwin Way Teale

Use the quotation above to inspire a poem about gathering together or scattering abroad.

* * * * *

Option 3: Pick Three

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came -
The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.
~George Cooper, ‘October’s Party’

Use at least three of the following words from the quotation above to create a short piece of writing in whatever form (poetry, prose, fiction) you wish:
October, party, hundreds, leaves, dancing, wind, band, carpet

* * * * *

Option 4: Tell Me a Story

A wind has blown the rain away and blown the sky away and all the leaves away, and the trees stand. I think, I too, have known autumn too long.
~e.e. cummings

Use the quotation above as inspiration and tell me a story about a literal or figurative storm.

* * * * *

Option 5: Seven Things

Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.
~Carol Bishop Hipps

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.

Give me seven of your favorite things about Autumn..

* * * * *

Option 6: Short and Tweet

Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin…. We anxiously anticipate it every year.
~Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer, October 2010

Do you have a Twitter account? If so, use the quotation above as inspiration, and tweet about why you do or don’t celebrate “pumpkin season”: @cw_barista.

* * * * *

Bonus Option: Time It: For an extra challenge, set a timer for ten minutes when you sit down to respond to one of these prompts, and stop writing when the timer goes off!

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November-December 2010: Do You Believe in Magic?

13 Saturday Nov 2010

Posted by in 2010, Projects

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Welcome back to Cafe Writing. Now being served in the Bistro: our return! In honor of the coming winter holidays, the changing autumn weather, and the first half of the last Harry Potter film, our theme this month is “Do You Believe in Magic?”

This project will remain open until December 10th. The Next project will open on December 15th.

* * * * *

Option 1: Picture It

nov-dec2010

Source: iStockPhoto | Click to embiggen

Use the image above to inspire a piece of writing. Your piece can be fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, or any other form that suits you. (Please remember to copy the image to your own server and credit the photographer.)

* * * * *

Option 2: Poetry

“Love and magic have a great deal in common. They enrich the soul, delight the heart. And they both take practice.” – Anonymous

Use the quotation above to inspire a poem about love and magic.

* * * * *

Option 3: Pick Three

“When two people meet and fall in love, there’s a sudden rush of magic. Magic is just naturally present then. We tend to feed on that gratuitous magic without striving to make any more. One day we wake up and find that the magic is gone. We hustle to get it back, but by then it’s usually too late, we’ve used it up. What we have to do is work like hell at making additional magic right from the start. It’s hard work, but if we can remember to do it, we greatly improve our chances of making love stay.” — Tom Robbins

Use at least three of the following words from the quotation above to create a short piece of writing in whatever form (poetry, prose, fiction) you wish:
meet, magic, naturally, gratuitious, gone, hustle, work, hell, love, chances

* * * * *

Option 4: Tell Me a Story

“I’d like to bring magic back to the place it used to be 100 years ago.” — David Blane

Use the quotation above as inspiration and tell me a story.

* * * * *

Option 5: Seven Things

“Alcohol is like love. The first kiss is magic, the second is intimate, the third is routine. After that you take the girl’s clothes off.” — Raymond Chandler

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.

Give me seven examples of every-day magic.

* * * * *

Option 6: Short and Tweet

“After being in Harry Potter, I believe a bit more in magic than I did before.” — Rupert Grint

Do you have a Twitter account? If so, use the quotation above as inspiration, and tweet about why you do or don’t believe in magic to: @cw_barista.

* * * * *

Bonus Option: Time It: For an extra challenge, set a timer for eleven minutes when you sit down to respond to one of these prompts, and stop writing when the timer goes off!

September/October 2009 Project: Libraries

16 Wednesday Sep 2009

Posted by in 2009, Projects

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Earlier this week, I read that ALL the public libraries in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will be closed effective October 2nd, because of state budget issues. Not just one branch, the entire library system. While I don’t live anywhere near Philadelphia, and while I personally prefer bookstore-cafes to libraries, I grew up haunting the public libraries in various cities, and this strikes me as deeply tragic.

The theme for this Project, then, is LIBRARIES.

This theme will remain open until October 16th or 17th. Please remember to include the option number, your name as you want it posted, and your direct link in comments.

* ~ * ~ *

Option One: Seven Things

A good library will never be too neat, or too dusty, because somebody will always be in it, taking books off the shelves and staying up late reading them.
~Lemony Snicket

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.

Give me a list of seven things that make a library good. These can be real or imagined, physical or intangible. Have fun with it. As always, explanations are welcome, but not obligatory.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Two: Pick Three

The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.
~Carl Sagan

Pick at least three of the following words, and build a piece of writing around them. The form is up to you: poem, scene, flash-fic, essay, or general blog entry. (As always, you can pluralize, change tense, or alter the part of speech, if necessary.)

civilization, culture, extracted, history, insight, knowledge, support, tiring

* ~ * ~ *

Option Three: Can You Picture That?
Use the the following photo to inspire a piece of writing in any form (poetry, prose, whatever).
(Please remember to copy the image to your own server, and include the photo credit when it is known.)

090910cafewriting

Photo Credit: track5 via iStockPhoto
Click for larger image.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Four: Poetry


The library is not a shrine for the worship of books. It is not a temple where literary incense must be burned or where one’s devotion to the bound book is expressed in ritual. A library, to modify the famous metaphor of Socrates, should be the delivery room for the birth of ideas – a place where history comes to life.
~Norman Cousins

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about devotion expressed in ritual.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Five: Fiction

What a place to be in is an old library! It seems as though all the souls of all the writers that have bequeathed their labours to these Bodleians were reposing here as in some dormitory, or middle state. I do not want to handle, to profane the leaves, their winding-sheets. I could as soon dislodge a shade. I seem to inhale learning, walking amid their foliage; and the odor of their old moth-scented coverings is fragrant as the first bloom of the sciential apples which grew amid the happy orchard.
~Charles Lamb

Using the above quotation as your inspiration, write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving an old library.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Six: Timed Writing

Libraries are reservoirs of strength, grace and wit, reminders of order, calm and continuity, lakes of mental energy, neither warm nor cold, light nor dark…. In any library in the world, I am at home, unselfconscious, still and absorbed.
~Germaine Greer

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

* ~ * ~ *

Don’t forget to comment here with your name, the title of your piece, the selected option number, and the direct link to it.

Happy Writing, and Happy Book-browins

May/June 2009 Project: The Magic of Milne

18 Monday May 2009

Posted by in 2009, Projects

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The actual Pooh (and friends) today.

The actual Pooh (and friends) today.

From the moment I was first introduced to Winnie the Pooh as a child, I was entranced as much by the story as by the author’s use of language. As I grew older, I was given books of A. A. Milne’s poetry, which is equally enchanting. For the very late May/June Project, I therefore ask you to indulge me in this celebration of A. A. Milne. I think you’ll find that he has much to offer adult readers, just as he always had much to offer children.

This project will be open until June 14th, or so.

* ~ * ~ *

Option OneFiction

The Queen said,
“Oh!”
And went to
His Majesty:
“Talking of the butter for
The Royal slice of bread,
Many people
Think that
Marmalade
Is nicer.
Would you like to try a little
Marmalade
Instead?”
~A. A. Milne, “The King’s Breakfast”

Using the above quotation as your inspiration, write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving breakfast.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Two: Timed Writing

“Well,” said Pooh, “what I like best — ” and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was a moment just before you began to eat it which was better than when you were, but he didn’t know what it was called.
~A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Take seven minutes (use all seven, but don’t go over), and write on the subject of anticipation.
This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format – fiction, essay, verse – is welcome.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Three: Seven Things

James James
Morrison Morrison
(Commonly known as Jim)
Told his
Other relations
Not to go blaming him.
James James
Said to his Mother,
“Mother,” he said, said he:
“You must never go down to the end of the town
without consulting me.”
~A. A. Milne, “Disobedience”

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.

Give me seven things your parents often told you, when you were a child.. Alternatively, give me, seven naughty things you did as a child.You’re not required to explain the items in your list, but it’s more fun for readers if you do.

* ~ * ~ *

Option Four: Pick Three

Then he began to think of all the things Christopher Robin would want to tell him when he came back from wherever he was going to, and how muddling it would be for a Bear of Very Little Brain to try and get them right in his mind. “So perhaps,” he said sadly to himself, “Christopher Robin won’t tell me any more,” and he wondered if being a Faithful Knight meant that you just went on being faithful without being told things..
~A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Pick at least three of the following words, and build a piece of writing around them. The form is up to you: poem, scene, flash-fic, essay, or general blog entry. If you want to be really daring, write in the style of Milne. (As always, you can pluralize, change tense, or alter the part of speech, if necessary.)
bear, brain, faithful, going, muddling, perhaps, sadly, wherever, wondered

* ~ * ~ *

Option Five Can You Picture That?
Use the the following photo to inspire a piece of writing in any form (poetry, prose, whatever).
(Please remember to copy the image to your own server, and include photo credit when it is known.)

2009may-june

Photo Credit: Tony Campbell

* ~ * ~ *

Option Six Poetry


“Let’s frighten the dragons.” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted , “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!” – and off they flew.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”
~A. A. Milne, “Us Two”

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about a real or imaginary best friend

* ~ * ~ *

Don’t forget to comment here with your name, the title of your piece, the selected option number, and the direct link to it. Please note that comments from new participants or with more than one link are held for manual approval, and may not show up immediately.

Happy Writing!

July/August Project

20 Sunday Jul 2008

Posted by in 2008, Projects

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Mamma mia, here I go again
My my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again
My My, just how much I’ve missed you?
Yes, I’ve been broken-hearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know
My my, I should not have let you go
– “Mamma Mia,” ABBA

Welcome to the July/August Project at Café Writing, and many apologies for being late. Again. This month’s prompts are light and fluffy, and, in honor of the opening of the movie Mamma Mia, based on the songs of ABBA, so put on your favorite retro clothing and find a beat you can write to.

For guidelines, please see The Rules. Remember that you should leave a comment with your link, including the title of the piece that you wrote, and the appropriate option number. Also, I would encourage everyone to visit the blogs of CW participants – most of our Regulars have amazing writing on their sites throughout the month.

If this is your first time here, please be aware that comments from first-time posters are held in queue until they’re approved by a live person.
* * * * *

Option One: Seven Things

Half past twelve
And I’m watching the late show in my flat all alone
How I hate to spend the evening on my own
Autumn winds
Blowing outside my window as I look around the room
And it makes me so depressed to see the gloom
There’s not a soul out there
No one to hear my prayer

Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Won’t somebody help me chase the shadows away
Gimme gimme gimme a man after midnight
Take me through the darkness to the break of the day
–”Gimme Gimme Gimme,” ABBA

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, gimme (give me) seven things that cause shadows in your life
OR
Gimme seven things that you do to chase the shadows away.

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

* * * * *

Option Two: Pick Three

I don’t wanna talk
About things we’ve gone through
Though it’s hurting me
Now it’s history
I’ve played all my cards
And that’s what you’ve done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

The winner takes it all
The loser standing small
Beside the victory
That’s her destiny
I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence
Building me a home
Thinking I’d be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear

The winner takes it all
The loser has to fall
It’s simple and it’s plain
Why should I complain?
– “Winner Takes it All,” ABBA

Pick at least three of the following eight 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.

talk, belong, victory, destiny, plain, strong, rules, dear

* * * * *

Option Three: Can You Picture That?

Use either or both of the following photos to inspire an entry in any form – fiction, essay, poetry.. Bonus – somehow connect the two photos in a single piece.

Photos courtesy of iStockPhoto. Please copy them to your own server, if you wish to include them in your post.


Photo Credit: iStockPhoto


Photo Credit: iStockPhoto

* * * * *

Option Four: Poetry

Sleep in our eyes
Her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake
I let precious time go by
Then when she’s gone
There’s that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt
I can’t deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
Well some of that we did
But most we didn’t
And why I just don’t know
– “Slipping Through My Fingers,” ABBA

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about precious time going by or about planned adventures – or both.
* * * * *

Option Five: Fiction

The summer air was soft and warm
The feeling right, the Paris night
Did it’s best to please us
And strolling down the Elysee
We had a drink in each cafe
And you
You talked of politics, philosophy and I
Smiled like Mona Lisa
We had our chance
It was a fine and true romance

I can still recall our last summer
I still see it all
Walks along the Seine, laughing in the rain
Our last summer
Memories that remain
– “Our Last Summer,” ABBA

Write a flash-fic, scene, or short story involving either a fine and true romance or memories that remain.

* * * * *

Option Six: Timed Writing

You are the dancing queen
Young and sweet
Only seventeen
Dancing queen
Feel the beat from the tambourine
You can dance
You can jive
Having the time of your life
See that girl
Watch that scene
Diggin’ the dancing queen
– “Dancing Queen,” ABBA

Take eight minutes (use all eight), but don’t go over), and write on the subject of dancing. Alternatively, use the words seventeen and/or tambourine as your inspiration, and see where they lead you.
This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format – fiction, essay, verse – is acceptable.

* * * * *

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