Ocean

It’s the middle of the week: that bittersweet halfway mark, though Friday is still too far away. 

Let me cheer you up with this beautiful photo for today’s writing warm-up as part of my A to Z Blogging Challenge: 


O is for Ocean.

1. Write about someone sitting on the sand, gazing at the water. What’s on their mind? Why do they come here specifically? Describe the scene before them: are there dog walkers? People jogging by, looking disgustingly healthy and content with their lives? Does someone come along and interrupt their thoughts? Is it someone they know or a complete stranger (and a pesky one at that)? Scribble down your thoughts and see where it takes you.

2. Sketch a mind-map using the key word as the nucleus, then branch out in whatever direction you please. You might find yourself going in completely unrelated paths (which I personally prefer). Do a five-minute freewrite incorporating as many (or few) branch words as you like. Here is my mind map (created using the SimpleMind app on my phone).

3. Choose one of the following sentence starts and freewrite for a few minutes, letting the words tumble out without a second thought:

• My heart stopped when I saw it floating…
• I would sit there and imagine him coming back to me, coming right back out of the water…
• I woke with the tide coming in…

I find it best not to read my freewrites for at least a few days. Why not stuff them in a drawer and surprise yourself? It’s blatant evidence that our minds work in mysterious ways. Plus, I defy you not to find an array of story seeds amongst your work.

Do you have any writing warm-ups you’d like to share?

Take care,
Catherine x

Note: All photo prompts in the A to Z Challenge 2013 are my own. Feel free to use/copy/share to your hearts content. Help yourself. 🙂