placewriting

In the following exercise, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and make several suggestions of ideas for writing. Often, in response to these guidelines, people write in lines rather than sentences and paragraphs, a poem rather than a narrative. As we go through this process, in response to each set of directions or questions, you might want to write only a phrase or a single word on a line.

If your writing is moving along and you don't need the questions I'm asking, try to ignore my voice and stay on your own path. The prompts are meant to help you when you need a new idea, but you don't have to answer them.

You might know this place very well, or only slightly — perhaps you've been there only once -- or you might be making it up as you go along. Despite that, please be as specific as you can. It might be an actual address (room 287, 1345 Park Place, Atlantic City, New Jersey), or it might be more of a narrative address (Aunt Berthamae's old house on Grove Street in Valdosta, Georgia) or even someplace more vague (that cove on the beach in Loiza Aldea where I went on vacation). Write the place as specifically and completely as you can -- it's probably coming to mind right now. Write down whatever place idea feels strong for you, whether you can explain the reason or not. Don't worry. You won't have to defend your choice. Just take a chance — write the place at the top of your sheet. If you feel uncertain about the choice, remember that you can repeat the exercise at a later time with a different place. For now just choose a place as a heading for the work; choose it for the sake of the exercise.
 * I will read the following guidelines for composing** **(**[|Perl]**):**
 * Bring up one of your photos on the screen. Where was this picture taken? What's the place that you associate with it? Even if you don't know where this is, make up a place where it would be.
 * "Look" at the place in your mind. What do you see there? Go closer towards it. Do you have to turn to go inside? Which way do you turn, right or left? Keep moving towards it. What do you see now?
 * Is there a color to this scene? Are there many colors?
 * What do you hear? Do you hear music?
 * Who's there? Is anyone there? Does someone speak? What is said?
 * Is there food? Can you smell it? Is someone cooking?
 * Does anyone else come in? Is there talk? Record the talk as well as you can.
 * Write for a few more minutes on anything you've already thought of, or a new image.


 * You could turn this writing into a poem:**
 * Put line-breaks in after interesting, important, meaningful words.
 * See if it seems to be breaking up into verses for you.
 * Make it a free-verse poem. Don't worry about rhyming.


 * Or you can leave it as a stream of consciousness, a narrative, a memoir, or a fiction about an imaginary place...**