Where Am I?

Words on Wednesdays - Writing Prompt

Photo by Andy Li on Unsplash

I’m reading a fascinating book.

From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way, by Michael Bond, is a grand mix of neuroscience and storytelling. As someone who gets lost easily (it seems I may have some faulty neural wiring to blame), I am well familiar with the experience of being completely disoriented, considering my options carefully, and then turning in the opposite direction to the correct one.

Perhaps because I grew up at a time when I was free to roam, get lost, and find my way home, I don’t stress when I’m lost. Generally, I’m confident that at some point, something will look familiar, or I’ll find a friendly person to ask for help. So far, I’ve always managed to get where I’m going – eventually.

PROMPTS

Have you ever been lost? How did you manage to navigate your way out of trouble?

Have you ever lost a child (or an aging parent)? Which situation caused you more stress?

For those who prefer fiction, put your character in a situation where he or she is completely lost. How did they wind up in this situation? How do they react? How do they figure out where they are and what they need to do next?

Being physically lost is one thing.

What about being lost when it comes to making a decision? Knowing what to say? Feeling hopeless or powerless? Write about the feeling of being metaphorically lost. Consider writing a piece that combines both types of experience, perhaps alternating between the two. Are there parallels between the two kinds of being lost? Do you solve your wayfinding challenges in similar or completely different ways?

For the poets in the room, write a poem with the title, Lost.

Welcome to Words on Wednesdays!

Because I’ve been sharing so much of my learning to draw journey here, some people don’t realize that I was an author first (with a deep fear of drawing anything). But, once a writer, always a writer! For years, I’ve led workshops and run writing groups while I was writing and publishing lots of stuff myself.

These prompts started out in the Writers on Fire online community, but I thought it would be fun to share them here as well. Watch out for writing prompts in your in-box every Wednesday!

Feel like sharing? By all means !!

Either drop a link to your response (if you post it somewhere) or drop your writing into a comment – I’d love to see what you do with these prompts!