Posts tagged prompt
I invoke the Muses, but where
are they in this psychedelic age, where we
are held in hospital rooms by
somniferous drips that muddle our
minds? The doctors say that they
will cure this delirium that creeps in
from the dark and entropic corners of a
psyche marred by razorblade rivulets running
from my wrists and dripping
from my fingers. The doctors say that they
will kill my Muses.
I invoke the Muses, but where
are they in an age where the gods
have been chased from the sky, where
Prometheus tramples the
imperfect perfection of the
Moon? The doctors say this age is
glorious, they boast of science
and bury me in toroidal magnets
mapping the corners of my deepest
secrets, the ones never spoken, laid
out in liquid crystal where the
doctors can point and say “This means that
you are…”
The Heliconian slopes sleep silent, the
slender-ankled Muses driven out.
Helios has fled the sun, leaving a silent
furnace of hydrogen and helium.
The Nereids have left the shores of the sea
and the stars, seeing no more, are swallowed by
the lights of cities, the past paved over.
I know where the Muses have gone, the
doctors tie them to gurneys and lock them in
wards, where those who would sing of wonder
instead wander in hospital gowns and,
diagnosed, their dreams slowly drown.
In the late along a road
from a city lights in fade
back to bleak, cold and quiet
through the silver wash of car splash,
inside her head, a car crash,
the moon held her soul
instead of crumbs of bread
she trailed tears, each one a silver drop
little lakes for ants
slugs on gravel black, a puddle
on she walks
stiletto through rubble
an ankle wobble
slip sprained and collapse
her head a hit
with the bricks
above she looked
heavens bruised
purple blue
and curtains pulled
and sky revealed
a ballerina of herself
grace and circles swam the clouds
and twist around
a glowing globe
of eyes
of wolf
of wooded
of treaded path
and paper shredded
letters, undelivered
no more, no more, talking
no more his eyes
no more his mouth hanging
no more, no more sorry
the raindrops tapping fingers
the fields combing, waving
the house stood a still gravestone
and the road a car running headlights
beside the kerb a cold kill reminder
an outstretch, a far reach
to a path
an island safely
she contemplated
she diving board readied
she open lips spoke
a final thank you upward
for the black, the tarmac bed
she cracked like a nutshell
while the moon
held her soul._______________________
prompt by
lacerations across my skin
shake me from this dreaming state
lazy eyes, deformations
a minotaur face pressing mine
I’m trapped in a horror, undefined
my legs strapped, entwined
a web of razor wire splitting my seams
dreams waking, breaking, shaking me
an eruption of screams
a dream encased stupidity
elongated limbs, the trees sway
as I get wheeled away
We hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break, holiday season, and/or new year celebration. We have a few different things to talk about here so we ask our followers to be please read through this entirely. Any questions, comments, or complaints should be sent here.
First matter of business. YES. Our submission box is closed.
I apologize this memo wasn’t out sooner to clarify everyone’s confusion. Yes, our submission box is closed. There are many reasons for this. The main one is that we simply weren’t getting enough variety. Yes, we were getting numerous submissions but too many were from the same people again and again. As we strive for diversity this was hindering our overall goal.
So, as such, we originally decided to get rid of the submissions altogether. After spending some days musing on it though we have now come to the decision that the submission box will, in fact, remain open but only one day a week. It will be open and accepting submissions from 5PM Friday nights to 5PM Saturday nights (Alaska time!).
- ONE POST PER PERSON PER WEEK. If you submit more than once, ALL will be deleted.
- You may submit multiple links ONLY if you’re suggesting blogs OTHER than your own.
- DO NOT send us a link to your blog, it will be deleted. Send us a link to a SPECIFIC POST on your blog.
- Please realize that, at times, we do delete posts from our Queue/Draft folder if we feel we have been giving a particular blog too much attention. That means that even if we have “hearted” a post of yours it is not guaranteed to be posted.
- Submissions will not be posted immediately. At times our Queue is frightfully long and other times scarce.
Secondly, we figured since it’s the New Year we might as well try something new, so here it is!
Guest editors. This is a new feature we’ll be offering to anyone who would like to participate. Every once in a while (mostly when there is a moderator free to coordinate it all) we will choose someone and for a three day span the only posts we will publish will be ones hand-picked by the guest editor. This will give the guest editor a chance to showcase either the type of creative writing they are interested in, the Tumblr writers they think deserve some more attention, or simply their favorites.
- This does not mean we will be giving our password out to just anyone! Your dashboards will not be spammed with, well, spam (or inane posts).
What this entails is, first of all, people deciding if they want to participate. This is how it will follow:I really hope that this was clear enough! Please, if there are any questions do not hesitate to ask!
- You make a post on your blog stating, “I want to participate in the new Guest Editor feature of Spilled Ink’s blog.”
- Make sure to tag it with #guesteditors and please note there is NO space between the two words. We will only track this tag! Do not message us stating you would like to participate. Your message will be deleted because you obviously didn’t follow the directions.
- Then a Spilled Ink moderator (probably Bethany) will visit the tag’s page and choose, at random, three names. There is not a set time table for how often, and when, this will occur. It is dependent entirely upon the schedules of the moderators.
- The names will go into a ranking system of Main, First runner-up, and Second runner-up. But do not be confused! This is not a contest! We are simply doing it this way so that if the first person doesn’t respond within 24 hours accepting the role as Guest Editor, we will have already contacted two other people letting them know they are runner-ups and hopefully out of the three we’ll land ourselves with one guest editor.
- So, you will be contacted and hopefully you will accept. Then you will, within another 24 hours, compose a list of at most 50 links, at least 25. These links will be sent to my email and not through Tumblr.
- After inspecting each link to make sure it’s not spam or porn (even though we all love it) and it is, in fact, creative writing, we will set everything up in our Queue and there will be a special link at the bottom of each post stating, “Chosen by our current guest editor, ________.”
- Rinse and repeat.
And lastly, our January prompt.
It’s a New Year, it’s a new you! That’s the cliche, yes? Well, because it is, our prompt is also all about you. But we don’t want to hear about your resolutions. We’re more focused on all of the new people you’ll be meeting this year. If you had to give them a disclaimer, a warning of sorts, about yourself, what would it be?
- Specific prompt: Write a disclaimer about yourself to the possible new people you’ll be meeting this new year.
- Tag with #spilled disclaimers and please remember the space! We will only be reblogging from this tag.
Some reminders about the Spilled Ink blog:
- Links should not be submitted through the new FanMail feature Tumblr has debuted. Links sent as “FanMail” will be deleted automatically. Submissions are, now, only accepted from 5PM Friday nights to 5PM Saturday nights (Alaska time) via the Submit box.
- We do not give reviews and advice on pieces of writing. We’re sorry but we just don’t have the time and that is not one of the points of this blog.
- We try our hardest to give your dashboard a variety of poetry and prose.
- Sometimes we give some extra attention to the same writer more frequently than other writers but mostly this was because of the submit feature and that will be changing.
- Sometimes we reblog people that already have a ton of notes or followers, etc, because at what number of notes or followers should we state that they do not deserve any more attention?
- Please know, though, that we do try hard and we are very thankful for all of the support we’ve received and take that as everyone, for the most part, being satisfied with our effort.
We look forward to a wonderful new year with you all! Please do not hesitate to reach out with ideas or suggestions for the further growth of our blog.
<3Spilled Ink Mods
Please read.
We hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break, holiday season, and/or new year celebration. We have a few different things to talk about here so we ask our followers to be please read through this entirely. Any questions, comments, or complaints should be sent here.
First matter of business. YES. Our submission box is closed.
I apologize this memo wasn’t out sooner to clarify everyone’s confusion. Yes, our submission box is closed. There are many reasons for this. The main one is that we simply weren’t getting enough variety. Yes, we were getting numerous submissions but too many were from the same people again and again. As we strive for diversity this was hindering our overall goal.
So, as such, we originally decided to get rid of the submissions altogether. After spending some days musing on it though we have now come to the decision that the submission box will, in fact, remain open but only one day a week. It will be open and accepting submissions from 5PM Friday nights to 5PM Saturday nights (Alaska time!).
- ONE POST PER PERSON PER WEEK. If you submit more than once, ALL will be deleted.
- You may submit multiple links ONLY if you’re suggesting blogs OTHER than your own.
- DO NOT send us a link to your blog, it will be deleted. Send us a link to a SPECIFIC POST on your blog.
- Please realize that, at times, we do delete posts from our Queue/Draft folder if we feel we have been giving a particular blog too much attention. That means that even if we have “hearted” a post of yours it is not guaranteed to be posted.
- Submissions will not be posted immediately. At times our Queue is frightfully long and other times scarce.
Secondly, we figured since it’s the New Year we might as well try something new, so here it is!
Guest editors. This is a new feature we’ll be offering to anyone who would like to participate. Every once in a while (mostly when there is a moderator free to coordinate it all) we will choose someone and for a three day span the only posts we will publish will be ones hand-picked by the guest editor. This will give the guest editor a chance to showcase either the type of creative writing they are interested in, the Tumblr writers they think deserve some more attention, or simply their favorites.
- This does not mean we will be giving our password out to just anyone! Your dashboards will not be spammed with, well, spam (or inane posts).
What this entails is, first of all, people deciding if they want to participate. This is how it will follow:
I really hope that this was clear enough! Please, if there are any questions do not hesitate to ask!
- You make a post on your blog stating, “I want to participate in the new Guest Editor feature of Spilled Ink’s blog.”
- Make sure to tag it with #guesteditors and please note there is NO space between the two words. We will only track this tag! Do not message us stating you would like to participate. Your message will be deleted because you obviously didn’t follow the directions.
- Then a Spilled Ink moderator (probably Bethany) will visit the tag’s page and choose, at random, three names. There is not a set time table for how often, and when, this will occur. It is dependent entirely upon the schedules of the moderators.
- The names will go into a ranking system of Main, First runner-up, and Second runner-up. But do not be confused! This is not a contest! We are simply doing it this way so that if the first person doesn’t respond within 24 hours accepting the role as Guest Editor, we will have already contacted two other people letting them know they are runner-ups and hopefully out of the three we’ll land ourselves with one guest editor.
- So, you will be contacted and hopefully you will accept. Then you will, within another 24 hours, compose a list of at most 50 links, at least 25. These links will be sent to my email and not through Tumblr.
- After inspecting each link to make sure it’s not spam or porn (even though we all love it) and it is, in fact, creative writing, we will set everything up in our Queue and there will be a special link at the bottom of each post stating, “Chosen by our current guest editor, ________.”
- Rinse and repeat.
And lastly, our January prompt.
It’s a New Year, it’s a new you! That’s the cliche, yes? Well, because it is, our prompt is also all about you. But we don’t want to hear about your resolutions. We’re more focused on all of the new people you’ll be meeting this year. If you had to give them a disclaimer, a warning of sorts, about yourself, what would it be?
- Specific prompt: Write a disclaimer about yourself to the possible new people you’ll be meeting this new year.
- Tag with #spilled disclaimers and please remember the space! We will only be reblogging from this tag.
Some reminders about the Spilled Ink blog:
- Links should not be submitted through the new FanMail feature Tumblr has debuted. Links sent as “FanMail” will be deleted automatically. Submissions are, now, only accepted from 5PM Friday nights to 5PM Saturday nights (Alaska time) via the Submit box.
- We do not give reviews and advice on pieces of writing. We’re sorry but we just don’t have the time and that is not one of the points of this blog.
- We try our hardest to give your dashboard a variety of poetry and prose.
- Sometimes we give some extra attention to the same writer more frequently than other writers but mostly this was because of the submit feature and that will be changing.
- Sometimes we reblog people that already have a ton of notes or followers, etc, because at what number of notes or followers should we state that they do not deserve any more attention?
- Please know, though, that we do try hard and we are very thankful for all of the support we’ve received and take that as everyone, for the most part, being satisfied with our effort.
We look forward to a wonderful new year with you all! Please do not hesitate to reach out with ideas or suggestions for the further growth of our blog.
<3Spilled Ink Mods
I do apologize that it is already the middle of December and I am just now putting out this memo. But as many of us are on break from school, work, etc, I imagine everyone has ample time to complete at least one of these! However, for anyone that completes all of these prompts by December 31st and sends us a message with the appropriate links leading to each post, we will have a special post made to thank you for your participation. [If you do not send us all four links that work your message will be deleted. Apologies.]
Mistletoe (Please tag with #mistletoeink)
Describe a kiss through prose or poetry. We encourage you to exceed 100 words. Use whatever details to shape the environment, the other person, or the motions of the kiss itself to lend readers a clear image. Although it does not have to actually be related to a mistletoe experience, since the holidays are about it would be nice to see some follow that theme. This can be a kiss you’ve experienced or want to experience. Delight us.
Christmas Characters (Please tag with #xmascharacters)
Have you ever truly considered the characters of Christmas? Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, the elves, etc. Take one of these characters, or any others that strike your fancy, and create a bit of prose or poetry relating to these characters. Feel free to use any characters that have sprouted from religious celebrations, as long as they are in relation to winter holidays.
Stripping Christmas (Please tag with #strippingxmas)
Describe Christmas, or any other holiday you celebrate, while avoiding the cliches. So, for Christmas, things that wouldn’t be included: a tree, presents, decorations, fireplaces, Santa, etc. Through poetry or prose render what Christmas means on a deeper level. Although we all love our family, you will not be taking this prompt in a creative manner if you solely go on about the presence of family.
A Holiday Letter (Please tag with #holidayletter)
Consider the people in your life during this holiday season. Now, although we love and appreciate all of the constant presences in our lives, consider a recent friend, lover, or new family member that was not in your life last holiday season. Write them a letter. That is all. I will not say what you must write, only that it should be a letter or poem of some sort that is addressed to them. It’d be great if you sent it, but of course that’s not something in our power to demand. (Many of us meet new people continuously through Tumblr and we would be happy for you to include whoever you wish even if you may not be friends outside of this site.)
Please be sure to tag your posts properly. We will only be reblogging from the particular tags stated above. Do not submit links to us of these prompts! If you’d like some extra holiday reading I would suggest tracking each of these tags to see how everyone interprets the prompts. Questions, comments, complains deposited here.
I do apologize that it is already the middle of December and I am just now putting out this memo. But as many of us are on break from school, work, etc, I imagine everyone has ample time to complete at least one of these! However, for anyone that completes all of these prompts by December 31st and sends us a message with the appropriate links leading to each post, we will have a special post made to thank you for your participation. [If you do not send us all four links that work your message will be deleted. Apologies.]
Mistletoe (Please tag with #mistletoeink)
Describe a kiss through prose or poetry. We encourage you to exceed 100 words. Use whatever details to shape the environment, the other person, or the motions of the kiss itself to lend readers a clear image. Although it does not have to actually be related to a mistletoe experience, since the holidays are about it would be nice to see some follow that theme. This can be a kiss you’ve experienced or want to experience. Delight us.
Christmas Characters (Please tag with #xmascharacters)
Have you ever truly considered the characters of Christmas? Santa Clause, Mrs. Clause, the elves, etc. Take one of these characters, or any others that strike your fancy, and create a bit of prose or poetry relating to these characters. Feel free to use any characters that have sprouted from religious celebrations, as long as they are in relation to winter holidays.
Stripping Christmas (Please tag with #strippingxmas)
Describe Christmas, or any other holiday you celebrate, while avoiding the cliches. So, for Christmas, things that wouldn’t be included: a tree, presents, decorations, fireplaces, Santa, etc. Through poetry or prose render what Christmas means on a deeper level. Although we all love our family, you will not be taking this prompt in a creative manner if you solely go on about the presence of family.
A Holiday Letter (Please tag with #holidayletter)
Consider the people in your life during this holiday season. Now, although we love and appreciate all of the constant presences in our lives, consider a recent friend, lover, or new family member that was not in your life last holiday season. Write them a letter. That is all. I will not say what you must write, only that it should be a letter or poem of some sort that is addressed to them. It’d be great if you sent it, but of course that’s not something in our power to demand. (Many of us meet new people continuously through Tumblr and we would be happy for you to include whoever you wish even if you may not be friends outside of this site.)
Please be sure to tag your posts properly. We will only be reblogging from the particular tags stated above. Do not submit links to us of these prompts! If you’d like some extra holiday reading I would suggest tracking each of these tags to see how everyone interprets the prompts. Questions, comments, complains deposited here.
Have you played this before? It’s a game where you and another person, or multiple other people, sit and go through a scenario of where you would rather be. You can include people you’d rather be with, alternate locations, ages, and life situations, etc. Please stay in this reality.
I could sit and explain how I’d rather be sixty-three and a cat lady, and go through the reasons why. Or I could omit my reasoning and simply render the scene. It’s all up to you how you take this prompt.
If you have any questions or clarifications please feel free to contact us.
Tag with #anywhere prompt. Do not submit links to us, we will only be reblogging pieces from this tag.
If you’ve created a project/prompt for the Tumblr writing community and you’ve made sure there’s as much information as possible stated in the post and that there is an appropriate tag, then use the #twcp tag so that we can find your post easily. [Note: if you’ve already published your post and go back to just add the #twcp tag, your post may not show up. You may have to post it again, and not as a reblog. We apologize for Tumblr’s occasional bitchery.]
- Suggested by Lillian at Spilled Ink
- Deadline is November 30
- Appropriate tag: #becomethetree
- Essentially, write a prose or poetry piece personal to you of a time when you had to bare all and be naked to those around you (envision a tree in autumn/winter losing all of its leaves).
- Do not submit links for this project. Pieces will only be reblogged from the above tag.
- Suggested by Bethany at Spilled Ink
- Deadline is November 30
- Appropriate tag: #futureappreciation
- Essentially, write a prose or poetry piece of something in the future that you believe you will be thankful for. Try and keep the pieces personal so really think about what little thing would be special or mean something to you that hasn’t happened yet. [Little things only. No births, marriages, graduations, etcetera.]
- Click here for an example by Lillian and Bethany.
- Do not submit links for this project. Pieces will only be reblogged from the above tag.
These are some current projects/prompts going on in the community right now. Please remember to use proper tags appropriate to each project for your prose and poetry pieces if you decide to participate in any of these projects, and do not use the tag #twcp.
If you’ve created a project/prompt for the Tumblr writing community and you’ve made sure there’s as much information as possible stated in the post and that there is an appropriate tag, then use the #twcp tag so that we can find your post easily. [Note: if you’ve already published your post and go back to just add the #twcp tag, your post may not show up. You may have to post it again, and not as a reblog. We apologize for Tumblr’s occasional bitchery.]
- Suggested by Lillian at Spilled Ink
- Deadline is November 30
- Appropriate tag: #becomethetree
- Essentially, write a prose or poetry piece personal to you of a time when you had to bare all and be naked to those around you (envision a tree in autumn/winter losing all of its leaves).
- Do not submit links for this project. Pieces will only be reblogged from the above tag.
- Suggested by Bethany at Spilled Ink
- Deadline is November 30
- Appropriate tag: #futureappreciation
- Essentially, write a prose or poetry piece of something in the future that you believe you will be thankful for. Try and keep the pieces personal so really think about what little thing would be special or mean something to you that hasn’t happened yet. [Little things only. No births, marriages, graduations, etcetera.]
- Click here for an example by Lillian and Bethany.
- Do not submit links for this project. Pieces will only be reblogged from the above tag.
- Suggested by Kate
- Deadline is TOMORROW. Spilled Ink will post a few of our favorites throughout the day so you still have plenty of time to post.
- Appropriate tag: #lovesongforkatie
- “I want you to write a love song for me, and Jen, or me AND Jen. Or just me. Or just Jen. Or some other person and tell us you wrote them Just For Us. Because that’s awesome.”
You’re Better Than You Think You Are
- Suggested by Gary
- Apparently this is now closed but I found it on BurningMuse and she gave the wonderful suggestion of still using it as a prompt. So, we at Spilled Ink are now tracking this project and will be reblogging pieces from it. Even if you don’t write anything for it, go explore the tag yourself. There is some amazing poetry and prose there.
- Appropriate tag: #you’rebetterthanyouthinkyouare [don’t forget to include the apostrophe!]
- “Write yourself a compliment. No one knows you better than you. No one knows, better than you, what you absolutely suck at. So it should be the same thing the other way around. The purpose is, well- to be uplifting and shit. To make yourself feel better, and if nothing else- it’s a free pass to be narcissistic, vain and self centered.” [Click here for more details please.]
- Suggested by Noelle
- Appropriate tags: #burningmuse & #vicesandvirtues
- “Simply write about any experience [doesn’t have to be from childhood] that has had a profound [or amusing] effect on your personality/ behavior/ beliefs/ habits/ outlook—especially related to values, strengths, qualities, or flaws that have influenced who you have become.” [Click here for more details please.]
- Suggested by Noelle
- Appropriate tags: #burningmuse & #shadowsonthecavewall
- “Write a piece about seeing the world [a person, place, or thing] from a different perspective. Examples would be: A personal experience, conversation, a news story that blew your mind, writing fiction from the point of view you would not usually express.” [Click here for more details please.]
Questions, comments, corrections to any of the above projects, etcetera etcetera, should be sent here. Feel free to reblog this post (you can condense it so it’s not so very long) so that we can get as much participation for these projects/prompts as possible!
-Spilled Ink Mods
(Note: You could even reblog this and save it to your drafts, instead of publishing it, so that you have it handy for some writing ideas when/if you get stuck one night.)
