Day 12: “Where” Writing

I am following the outline in “SONG-WRITING WITHOUT BOUNDARIES” by Pat Pattison. I hope to be learning to be a lyricist and Pattison uses timed writing. I ordered his book and started this challenge because of another Vocal author.

The picture above is for one of the prompts listed.

Today is “Where” writing. I have done Who, What, When, and now it is Where writing. It is good to make small changes to keep from getting bored!

The prompt “Where” is being timed and the idea is to include as many of the following listed as I can; sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, body, and motion! I continue to be more focused on the timing than the words.

Remember that the timer can go off in the middle of a sentence, or word. Please complete it the best you can using your thoughts! Thank you.

This is day twelve prompts:

Timed for 5 minutes: A cliff by the ocean.

A few years ago I took a trip with my daughter and her two teen boys. They were 14 and 16 years old. She had decided that because they would soon be out of the home and on their own, she wanted them to have a memorable trip for just them.

I was so fortunate to be able to go along! We went to San Francisco. I hadn’t been there nor had they. It was still the pandemic and we weren’t really sure what our experience would entail. We planned to spend time eating delicious food and going to fun places.

We went to the ocean and the three of them walked on the beach, while I waited in the car, catching up on my social media posts. I have seen the ocean several times.

We crossed the Golden Gate bridge. Again, I have crossed bridges and saw a cliff by the ocean. My favorite cliffs have been by Lake Superior, however!

We went to the redwood forest and loved that experience …

Timed for 10 minutes: Park bench in the city.

My sister was an artist, and she was a sculptress. She did some fantastic artwork in her lifetime. I was visiting Mounds Park in St. Paul one day and came across a sculpture that our cousin did. He was a couple of years older than my sister.

I sat on a bench thinking about how my sister gave up sculpting to bring back woodland pottery to our reservations and our people in Minnesota. The other thing I was very aware of is how much healing is involved in working with clay.

She would have groups of people find and mine for clay. Then they would work with the clay until it was ready to use for pottery. That was a process. I always thought you just purchased the clay already made from the store. Not my sister and I’m sure not others.

They would work the clay by moving in the clay with their bare feet. They would put clay on their faces and other parts of their bodies. A spa treatment of sorts.

As I sat there, I thought about my sister who died from cancer in 2010.

Last year, I saw another of my cousin Dewey’s sculpture work in Grand Rapids. The time and energy that has to take. Again, sitting on the bench, I wondered what all goes into putting something like that together. Dewey and Carrie are Native American artists as is his wife, Bambi.

When I thought about that piece, I thought of just how many artists I know. I watch my daughter and granddaughter as they create art. I watch my grandson and I struggle to do one simple piece. Some people have it and others don’t.

As I sit on the park bench in the city, I am so aware of art in all its forms and I am okay with the form I am getting better at and that is writing. I always thought I would “Do theatre” in retirement. I haven’t gone there yet. But I’m only 70. If there are no lines to remember I could still do…

Timed for 90 seconds: Hotel bar.

Even though I am a woman in long-term recovery, meaning I haven’t drunk alcohol or used drugs for over 43 years, I never drank in a hotel bar. I have probably been in a hotel bar more in my sobriety, than when I drank.

So does that mean I have no interest in going into a hotel bar or staying in a hotel…

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First published by Penny Press