Mentoring Message (#1?)

[alexpgp]

Do not let your mind get wrapped around the axle when considering The Prompt.

I mean, here we are, a good dozen weeks into the competition. Has anyone ever heard of a contestant being thrown out for failure to write to the prompt, or even getting a warning? (I certainly haven't, and I wrote in seasons 5 and 6 as well!)

That said, I do not mean to say that the prompt ought to be ignored willy-nilly. But it's also not something to lose cycles over.

About the only time you should start right in with writing is if an idea springs fully formed in your mind, urgently waiting to be committed to pixels and storage. (If this happens a lot with you, consider engaging a literary agent.) Otherwise, Googling the prompt is an excellent practice, even when you understand the prompt perfectly, because sometimes, you will be surprised.

In the actual execution, however, I would contend that the less sense a prompt makes to you, the better off you are, as you are less likely to tread that other, more-traveled-by path in the yellow wood of your mind.

Here, for example, is my impromptu take on this week's prompt, in the (approximate) form of a drabble. And believe, me, it does incorporate this week's prompt.

"I want the money you owe me."
"Not now. Talk to my secretary."
"Seriously? You're blowing me off like that?"
"I'm running late. Call my secretary."
"Don't give me that! Stop stalling and pay me."
"Eventually, I will. But not now. Get lost."

"Blunt force trauma, that's for sure. You need something?"
"Angle that spotlight so that it shines over here, will you?"
"Say, have you found any evidence?"
"Evidence is where you look for it."
"But will it lead us to the killer?"
"After it's processed, probably yes."
"Lovely. I hate unsolved cases."
"Let's get it to the lab."

Cheers...

Comments

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Getting "wrapped around the axle" was an expression an old boss of mine used to use, and with my easily impressionable imagination, it was certainly something I didn't want to have happen to me.

Dunno about Axl Rose, but in all the hubbub concerning Aguilera's rendition at SB XLV, I am reminded of how Robert Goulet made words up while singing the anthem in front of a heavyweight prize fight, and how Jose Feliciano may have gotten all the words right, but nobody in the stadium recognized the tune.

Thanks for reading.

Cheers...

[kittenboo.livejournal.com]

I agree with not adhering too closely to the prompt at times. there are times when I thought about the prompt and it got me nowhere, so I put it away so to speak, and let myself just think about writing. Then when I came up with something either I would be surprisedto find it fit with the prompt because my subconscious was helping me, or if it didnot fit with the prompt in any meaningful way, I would make it fit. Most of the prompts are abstract enough that there are many different ways to include it in a piece.