Dorianne Laux Prompts From The Book Of Men

Staff Sgt. Mertz: Have you ever hated someone for something they have no control over? How do you forgive them for that? How do you forgive yourself for allowing that hate inside you?

A Short History Of The Apple: Dorianne Laux goes all-in describing an overwhelming amount of times the image of an apple shoes up in our mythology. Pick a symbol that appears frequently in religious and secular mythology. Go bananas on showing its importance.

Bakersfield 1969: Ghost line: I didn't know I ddn't know anything yet

Mick Jagger (World Tour 2008): Find two youtube videos of your favorite performer from two very different points in their career. How are they different? How are they similar? Which is your favorite?

Juneau: What's your commute from work to home like?

Learning To Drive: How did you learn to drive?

Superman: What does your favorite superhero do to relax? Your favorite real hero?

Monks In The Grand Chartreuse: There is an audience watching you all the time. Like you're the goddamned Truman Show. What is your audience like? Do you enjoy knowing they're there?

Homicide Detective: A Film Noir: Tell a story where pretty much the entire set dressing is smells in place of visuals or emotional triggers.

Mine Own Phil Levine: If your muse had physical attributes, what would they be? For the purpose of this exercise, your muse isn't the subject of your writing but the general feeling of inspiration that gets you writing. 

The Beatles: Everyone loves to scapegoat poor Yoko Ono for the downfall of The Beatles, but surely there were other factors at play. Find a relationship in your life where you have always blamed a certain person, thing, or event for the breakup. Go back and consider, what if it was something else.  It's totally acceptable to discover, through this exercise, that you were right all along.

Foster Child: "I didn't know our family owned a _____ until..."

Fog: Create an abbreviated highlight reel of a universe in just one page of writing.

Dog Moon:  Why do dogs howl at the moon? Why do(n't) you?

To Kiss Frank: Who or what do you think of when you are being kissed by the wrong person?

Roots: Ghost Line: Who among us/wouldn't give a year or more/to lean against the wind and gaze down into the void?"
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