01 Aug
Imagination Sparks Blogfest – Famous Last Words
Posted in Word Games, Writing, Writing Exercises
Today’s post is part of the Imagination Sparks Blogfest over at Charmaine Clancy’s blog Wagging Tales. The idea of this blogfest is for everyone to share their favorite writing prompt or exercise, then visit other blogs and try out new and different exercises. Well, as you already know, here at iggi&gabi we have no shortage of writing prompts and exercises, but today I’ll share with you one of my favorites called Famous Last Words.
I originally introduced this exercise in this post. This exercise is of my own creation (with the help of the writers who provide the last words, of course) and I love it because it makes you think about your story in a new way. Most writing prompts start you off at the beginning of a story and you have to write from there. In this exercise, you get the last line (usually a last line of a famous novel or story), and you have to write to it, ending with that line. Here are some Famous Last Words to help you spark your story.
Instructions: Choose one of these lines and write a story or scene in which that line comes at the very end.
- No one has claimed them yet.
- “Let me tell you about it.”
- Everything must go.
- “Make me pretty.”
- …and it was still hot.
- It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer. [She] was both.
Extra credit: Can you guess which novels I took these lines from? Bonus points to anyone who can! Here’s a hint: they’re all from books I love to read (so either children’s or teen literature).
For more awesome exercises, visit Charmaine’s blog and check out some of the other people doing the blogfest. And most importantly, have fun!
Call me Gabi (pronounced gah-BEE). I'm a writer, freelance teacher, and a lover of books and words. I'm also the instigator of DIY MFA. iggi's my sidekick, but he thinks he's the brains behind this operation.
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Comments on this post
What a twisty turny way to get your creativity flowing! Writing towards something… I’m not sure I can do that! I’ll have to give it a try…
1. August - 4:37 pmNice! I think I’ll go for “Make me pretty”. Oh, the ideas running around my head!
1. August - 4:41 pmOoh, this is a good one — “No one has claimed them yet.” That would be a fun exercise!
The Write Soil
1. August - 6:37 pmLOVE this idea! I have a book on my to read list (and on my shelf) and wondering if ‘Make me pretty’ is from Uglies?
I’ll let you know how I go with it 🙂
Wagging Tales – Blog for Writers
1. August - 7:42 pmI love this idea; very clever of you~
2. August - 5:50 pmThe last one was definitely Charlotte’s Web, and I ‘m guessing the make me pretty one was from Westerfield’s Uglies.
You are going to force me to come back to find out what the rest were! You simply must tell us. These are great lines!
4. August - 3:53 pmWhat a unique exercise! Looking forward to trying it. Thanks for sharing!
5. August - 3:10 pm…and it was still hot: Last line of Where the Wild Things Are.
7. August - 1:34 amRight on, Susan! I love that line because it can be interpreted in so many ways. See my follow-up post on Friday for details on all the lines. Yay to Charmaine for guessing Uglies and to Margo for getting both Uglies and Charlotte’s web.
7. August - 3:10 pm