Welcome to the September Dig!
Just for fun, I’m sending our first-ever Dig to everybody on The Raft! I hope you enjoy this taste of what’s coming!
The Dig is a monthly set of writing prompts to help you “dig” deeper into the current of your own creativity and benefit from its flow.
Want to get future Digs, once a month? Make sure that (1) you’re a paying subscriber and (2) you’ve signed up for The Dig mailing list. Details at the bottom of this post.
About this Dig . . .
This Dig includes three different strokes (or prompts). Respond to one (or more) in whatever form tickles your fancy—journaling, poem, story, essay . . . the possibilities are endless.
Be playful with the prompt, or serious . . . or seriously playful. Practice old ways of writing, or try a fresh new approach. Write alone, or with a friend. Maybe even collaborate on a single piece, or write back-and-forth in dialogue!
Most of all, write for yourself. Write what you enjoy, even if it’s occasionally difficult. Write what’s true—in the soul sense.
Stroke #1: A one-word writing prompt
Create in response to this word: STEW.
Stroke #2: An ekphrastic writing prompt
Ekphrastic writing involves a creative response to, or engagement with, an existing piece of art (or music, dance performance, etc.). In this instance, I invite you to write on the basis of one of my own photographs.
This is one of my favorite photos of Peter Schneider, husband of the poet Pat Schneider—both dear friends. (Now deceased.)
Here are just a few options for “conversing with” this photo in your ekphrastic writing. As always, feel free to go in your own direction:
Write in the voice of Peter, or in the voice of the door, the chair, the clarinet—anything visible in the photo.
Or, imagine what was happening at the exact moment when this photo was taken.
Or, imagine what the music being played sounds like . . .
Stroke #3: Inspiration from a poetic pattern
Read the following poem by Langston Hughes.
DREAMS Langston Hughes Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly. Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a barren field Frozen with snow.
Now write something that somehow makes use of this pattern:
“Hold fast to _________, for if (you don’t), life is a _________.”
Want to share?
Share your work with other Diggers. Swap ideas. Ask questions. Reveal insights.
This concludes the September Dig. If you want to become a monthly subscriber to the Dig, keep scrolling. If you’re already a Digger, I’ll see you next month!
Here’s how to get “The Dig”!
Become a paying subscriber on The Raft, at any donor level. If payment is a hardship at this time, contact me for a gift subscription. (If you’re already a paying subscriber, hooray! Proceed to #2.) Remember, becoming a paid subscriber gets you other perks, too, like 30-day quests, Deep Dives, special Rafter groups, and more.
IMPORTANT! You must also update your Raft subscription preferences to include “The Dig.” Here’s how: Click the button below. On the “Notifications” list on the new screen, locate “The Deep Dive” near the bottom. Click the button on the right side. The gray slider will turn green. All set! (Need help? Contact me.)
Stew
A late fall and winter dish
My mother
Constructed from a little of this
And a little of that
From previous meals
Discovered in the refrigerator.
Add a helping of spice
Simmer for an afternoon
Enjoy steaming hot
In a thick oversized mug
Or bowl
With a fresh slice of a
Favorite bread.
Stewfully satisfying.
Stew
An everyday dish served by my mother,
Though she preached that
She never stewed about
Anything
In reality she stewed about
Everything.
Constructed from a little of this
And a little of that
From previous conversations and situations
Add a helping of self-righteousness
Simmer for a day…or a week,
Enjoy sharing it with anyone who would listen
With an inflated sense of importance.
Stewfully satisfying.
Yes, when I copied and pasted them in, the dividing space between them disappeared.