Free writing with prompts

We did this exercise on the evening of 21st April 2026.

To start we were each given three small pieces of paper. We had to write an adjective on one, a verb on the second and a noun on the third and hand them back to our organiser who started to mix them up.

While he was doing that we had to start to free write about being in the woods. After few minutes we were then given a word from one of the pieces of paper which had to be included in our piece. As the exercise went on the time between each word being read out decreased so the following piece may not contain them all. Those that I did mange to include are in bold type in the following piece which s exactly as it was written at the time.

I was walking in the woods when my feet hit the soft ground.

It felt like a lush rich carpet. I stopped to the firm softness which gave my tired feet a rest. The sun dappled over me. Its warmth hit my face in different places. I wanted to stay, to rest, luxuriate and enjoy everything around me but I couldn't. Time was pressing, it was running out as quick as the sun set.

I picked up my suitcase. It felt lighter than before. I opened it. No longer neatly packed but a grotesque jumble of cloths and books. I didn't put them in there like that. I must have missed the alarm earlier and had to have a flying start to my travels. I researched the place. I was looking for skeletons and a bone from the past.

The dappling light carried on cascading over me. A fox darted across my path. It glanced at me as if to say "You poor bastard - all that luggage. Be like me. Run free."

It started to rain and it was dripping off the leaves. Each drop like a diamond of light that was lost forever as it hit a nearby bush. At least I could stay dry. Alan is lucky. He always stays dry wherever he goes. Deep down he is a peaceful soul as long as he stays dry.

Now it was getting chilly and he began trembling in time with the leaves caught in the breeze. What light was left made a stain glass window that was shiney. Like Mum's ancient kettle.

The nearby tree was withered and its bark was gurning. A deer's corpse lay near the roots of the tree where it had been slain. It had obviously had to run as it's fur was flecked with blood from a wound.

The fox came back and jumped on the carcass biting it in a sickening. It ran away when Godzilla jumped into the clearing.

Everyone at the end of this exercise mentioned how hard it was to keep going and how tiring the writing was. I will accept it as a complimet that someone saw fit to include me as a noun. I was mentioned as rescuing someone and helping someone else several times. Bearing in mind that my love of horses and riding gets mentioned quite a bit in these group meetigs someone even included me as a hunt master in full hunting turnout. I will take that as a compliment as well.