promptings

The name "promptings" came to me and with it the inspiration and courage to start my blog.

So I have decided to do a blog based on writing from prompts - whatever those prompts turn out to be - from things that happen in my life, to things from the news, to memories, to using pre-packaged prompts from books.

This idea pleases me because when I’ve written from prompts in the past, I’ve found it’s a subtle means of self-disclosure – fulfilling the writer’s saw "show don’t tell." It puts the onus on the reader (yikes - what reader?!) to fit the pieces together. (Plus, my day-to-day life isn’t exactly page-turning material. When I write from prompts, I get to write all kinds of things - fiction, conversation, description, vignettes - material for which I plan on inventing to my heart’s content).

And then, like a parent, who gets around to checking the meaning of the name they’ve just given their newborn, I started thinking about all the meanings of "prompt."

A person can be prompted to action. Someone who is prompt is on time. When you prompt someone in theater, you remind them of their lines. A prompt can also help you recall an event or the thing that’s next in order. And we talk of being aware of the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

I hope this blog will prod me to write and rejuvenate my writing. I hope it will be on time. I hope it will help me dredge up memories, thoughts and reactions. But I hope the most this blog will be the last thing - written under the prompting of the Holy Spirit.