Hello, all. I was zipping down the sidewalk the other day, speeding along to pick my kids up from school (why such a rush? I don’t know) when suddenly I realized I’d turned onto the wrong street. It wasn’t a problem—I was just one block over from my usual route—but it clicked me out of my mindless zooming along. Suddenly, there was a whole block of new stoops and driveways to observe, a bush of forsythia. I hadn’t gone that far beyond my usual route, but it woke me right up.
(Writers who were with us last year will recognize today’s exercise. I think it’s worth repeating.)
today’s exercise
(with thanks to Twila Newey, who pointed me toward the Linda Gregg essay linked below.)
Go for a walk and record at least ten real things. Consider switching up your usual route, going more slowly than you want to, or looking up or down or otherwise shifting your focus.
As Linda Gregg says, your Real Things should be “not beautiful or remarkable things, just things.” Focus on nouns. Be sparing with your modifiers. No metaphors or gorgeous descriptive language. If you notice flowers, birds, dogs, etc you don’t know the precise name of, try to look them up.
If you’re moved to write more abour any of your Real Things—if they spark a memory or set you down an interesting associative path—you can. But today’s exercise is as much about noticing as it is about writing. If you’ve noticed ten Real Things, you’re doing great. You’re opening up the part of your brain that lets poems in.
two upcoming events
This Thursday, April 7 from 2.30-4.20PM eastern, I’m cohosting a reading, discussion, and generative writing exercise to celebrate my new anthology, The Long Devotion: Poets Writing Motherhood. It’s part of Stockton University’s Visiting Writers Series, and we’ll have contributors Jasminne Mendez, Kwoya Fagin Maples, and Joy Ladin to share their work and talk about their creative process. Following the discussion we’ll have a generative writing exercise, with time to share. It’s free, and open to the public via zoom (and on campus, if you happen to be in south Jersey). I’d love for you to join us. You can email info@murphywriting.com to get the zoom information.
And later this month, on Saturday, April 24 from 1-4pm eastern, I’ll be leading a workshop at Rutgers-Camden’s Writers House titled Writing through the Confetti Time of Caregiving. You can attend the workshop in-person or via zoom. The workshop is $60 or $10 for Camden residents. If you’ve enjoyed the prompts in this newsletter, I think you’ll really like the workshop. You can read more and register here.
I’d love to hear from you. You can always reply to this email, comment below, or find me on twitter (@nancy_reddy) and instagram (@nancy.o.reddy).