creative writing about a locket

• WordPress.org
• Documentation
• Learn WordPress

Keys For Creative Writing

When you’re facing a locked door — to a room, ideas, life, whatever — all you need is a key! Check out this post for lots of narrative ideas for “keys”.

Keys are clever little devices like final pieces in puzzling contraptions. Some are mundane hunks of metal, others magical or technologically advanced. A key can be the solution to a character’s problem or a narrative solution when you as a writer need to create a problem.

Check out some of the writing prompts below and take a browse through the various menus that follow for tons of ideas for “keys” in your narrative writing or in your roleplaying games.

Writing Prompts for Keys

• While scanning the beach, your metal detector goes bananas. You get on your hands and knees and dig until you find a bottle that contains a note and a key. Where will this take you?
• A neighbour leaves you a key for emergencies. When they sell the house, strange new folks move in. You wonder if the old key will work.
• You are a member of a clan who has guarded a secret locked in a box for centuries. One day you come of age and are given the key to the box. Can you resist temptation? Can you prevent others from taking the key?
• Your grandmother leaves you a gift as a last gesture before she passes. It’s a key with a strange inscription. She used to talk about a special place but you never really paid attention. Now it seems maybe that was important. What do you do?
• You open a locked box with a key and find something strange . What is it and why do you lock it up again so quickly?
• You lose your car keys and you’re late for a meeting. A stranger approaches and they have your keys. They dangle them in front of you… but ask if you’d be kind enough to give them a ride. Doesn’t this sound like a good idea?
• You find a key on the floor of your office building that looks like it belongs to a locker in the gym. You pop it in your pocket and forget about it. Working late, you find it in your pocket. No ones around. Do you go check it out?
• At a rummage sale, you find a box with strange objects in it. You decide to take it to someone who knows a lot about history. They tell you that some of the objects (little dolls, bones, wooden blocks) are special keys used by an ancient order. How are they used and what do they do?
• You find the master key to your school. No one knows you have it. What will you do with it?
• Your keycard at work fails to scan when you arrive in the morning. You try it again, but it just buzzes red at you. Then, security approaches and asks you to accompany them to your bosses office. What’s the news going to be?
• A lover leaves you a key for their place. Are you ready for that commitment? You thought maybe you were, but now that you hold the key in your hand, how do you feel? What’s next?
• A key to open the clasp on a bound book comes with some strange instructions. The words you utter as you turn the key will call forth strong magic. Do you dare test the spells that come with this key?
• You secretly joined the resistance to fight back against tyranny from the inside. You know the inner workings of the corrupt government. But now at this turning point, in the heat of the moment, you can’t remember the digits for the passcode of the key that you stole. Desperately you work your fingers over the keypad hoping all will go well.
• An old key is found… and it fits that old wooden panel in the cellar of that colonial era house; I wonder what’s hiding in there??
• As a dying wish, an elder gives you a special key with the only instructions given, “Keep it safe”… safe from what? from whom? and why?
• A key that your character enjoys may come with a curse… attached to it is a devious poltergeist!
• A crime took place, and because of police budget cuts, it is likely to get minimal investigation… so, you took it upon yourself as a detective to pocket a clue (a key) and investigate on your own time and own dime.
• An organized crime boss is looking for a special key, and guess who has it? That’s right… you do.
• A fortune teller at a carnival dies while you’re in their tent, but not before saying, “You’re the one!” and handing you a key.
• You lost your key and planned to get your house locks changed. But life got busy and you let it slide. Well, a burglar has found the key and now they’re in your house. Oops. Procrastination hurts.

Types of Keys

• skeleton key,
• master key, control key, locksmith key,
• change key, day key,
• car key, house key, shed key,
• locket, amulet, puzzle piece, keystone, fitted piece,
• magical key, rune key, crystal key, moon key, bone key,
• padlock key,
• dimple key,
• tube key, tubular key, cylinder key, radial, barrel key, ace,
• code, symbol, combination,
• retinal scan, fingerprint, biometrics,
• alloy key, half-cylinder,
• crest key, logo key,
• paracentric key,
• CAT key, heavy machinery key,
• pin tumbler key, lever tumbler key,
• ring key, voided key,
• valet key, restricted key,
• handcuff key,
• sidewinder key, laser cut key, internal cut key,
• cruciform key,
• transponder key, chip key, coded key,
• symbolic key, “key to the city,” “key to my heart,”
• bump key, 999 key, lock pick, slim jim, rapping key,
• patterned key, API key,
• antique key, vintage key,
• magnetic key, electric key, electronic key, energy key,
• key card, magnetic key, barcode key, holecard key, microchip key,
• proximity key, smart key, RFID key, electronic entry key, phone key, near-field key, biometric key,
• locker key, luggage key, briefcase key, cabinet key,
• keys could be made of lots of different materials: metal, iron, steel, aluminum, brass, bronze, bone, horn, tooth, wood, bark, stone, obsidian, crystal, glass, lacquer, plastic, ice, magical energy,

Parts of Keys

• cuts, the cut, groove, blade, bittings, teeth, notches, profile, edge,
• shoulder, bow,
• barrel, spine, pin, tip,
• coded immobilizer,
• burrs, nicks, cracks, breaks,
• “do not duplicate” stamp,
• label, coding, numbering,
• chain, fob, ring,

Stuff that goes with a key

• lock (duh?)
• bicycle lock, padlock,
• vault, safe, strong box,
• locker, storage locker, 
• shipping container, sea-can, crating, 
• chain, cord, fastener, clasp, bolt, 
• gate, shed, trap door,
• door, secret door ,
• vending machine,
• key chain, key band, key case,
• lanyard, cord, chain, necklace,
• locket, clasp, 
• locker, storage locker, gym locker, airport locker, bus station cubby,
• cabinet, cupboard, sideboard, china cabinet, drawer, chest of drawers, jewelry box,
• piano, guitar case, violin case,
• elevator access panels, system control rooms,
• key cutting machine, grinder,
• handcuffs, restraints, chains,
• luggage, brief case, case, satchel, saddlebag, 
• safe deposit box, secret compartments,
• cage, jail, cell, 
• security systems, control panels, control systems,
• weapons, trigger lock, gun safe, 

Characters related to Keys

• lock smith, key cutter,
• a dog (or other pet) with key on collar,
• security guard, police officer,
• military personnel, soldier, officer, staff sergeant, HQ S-4, sentry,
• zookeepers,
• facility managers, foreman, supervisor,
• temple oblate, chaplain, minister, nun, abbot, abbess, monk, scriptorium caretaker,
• custodians, caretakers, janitor, cleaner,
• landlord, motel operator, hotel maid,
• casino pit boss,
• handyman, laborer, hired help, gardener, groundskeeper,
• high level scientists, researchers, level 12 specialists,
• secret service, CIA, FBI, CSIS, spies, individuals with special clearance
• office manager, supervisor,
• equipment manager,
• valet, servant, driver, porter, butler,
• dead body, skeleton warrior ,
• restaurant night manager,
• guardian, protector,
• librarian, archivist, curator,
• wizard, druid (wooden key), dwarf master, elf ranger, gnome inventor, humanoid scout,
• mail carrier, city employee, bylaw officer,
• teen kid with house key on a lanyard,
• demon, hill giant, ork king, angel, spirit, dragon (he’s sleeping on a Dwarvish key in his mound)
• gate keeper, toll operator,
• jailor, warden, guard,

Environments that use keys

• treasury, vault, bank, safes
• storage facility,
• armouries, weapons storage,
• office, business, shop,
• house, home, apartment, abode, domicile,
• police stations, evidence rooms,
• hospitals, asylums,
• cemetery , mausoleum, catacomb,
• restricted access areas, transitional access points,
• ventilation shafts,
• zoo, cage, cell, gated areas,
• certain sectors, areas, wards, blocks, ghettoized neighborhoods,
• wealthy communities,
• on caterers vehicles,
• fortification, castle, dungeon, prison,
• safe room, panic room, emergency shelter (once sealed),
• data centers,  file storage,
• mailboxes, utility room, utility facility,
• shelter, housing,
• places to keep people out (or in)
• research facilities, centers for disease control, quarantine areas,
• space ships, teleporter rooms, engine rooms, weapons decks,

Places to Hide (or find) Keys

• under a door mat or rug, under a rock, planter,
• on top of a wheel, gatepost, window sill,
• in the crook of a tree, wood pile,
• in a cup, in a shed (or in a cup in a shed!)
• swallow it, make someone else swallow it,
• imbed it in the skin, under the scalp,
• put it on a young tree so the bark grows around it… only if you won’t need it for 60 years!
• in the queen piece of a chess set, or a white pawn, or the board under a black square (based on some code, where if the other spaces are tampered with it will trigger a disastrous trap!)
• inside a desktop computer housing,
• shaped into the bottom of a pottery mug,
• statue, statuette,
• transported to a magical or other dimensional space,
• buried on a desert planet, lost on a forest moon,

Additional Notes on Keys

• Some locks will require simultaneous turning of keys (two or three-man systems) in order to protect us all from the actions of a single madman! Who in your story could such a system be designed to thwart?
• Keys can be many shapes and forms… think outside the box (or lock) for your narrative. Maybe your character makes a key out of origami, or hair, or fingernails, or dried up peas. Yum!
• Nothing beats a good old creepy skeleton key; what is the creepy thing it unlocks? Use the characteristics and feel of your key to foreshadow what’s to come.

305 Creative Prompts for Writing: Explore a World of Imagination

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on August 17, 2023

Categories Writing

You’ve hit a wall in your writing and can’t find the ladder to climb over? Don’t fret! Dive into this treasure trove of creative prompts we’ve assembled just for you.

They’ll not only spark your imagination, but also fuel your passion for storytelling. So buckle up, let’s venture into the world of creative prompts together and watch as they transform your writing journey.

Are you ready to unleash your creativity?

Key Takeaways

• Creative prompts serve as an oasis in the face of writer’s block.
• Mind mapping techniques, such as doodling and connecting random words, can boost creativity.
• Unconventional techniques, like writing with the non-dominant hand or narrating to an imaginary audience, can overcome writer’s block.
• Enhancing writing skills involves finding the perfect adjective, expanding vocabulary, and using metaphors.

Creative Prompts for Writing

Here are creative writing prompts for all kinds of creative writing:

Love & Relationships

• Write about your first crush. What did you like about them?
• Imagine you wake up one day as the opposite sex. Describe your day.
• Write a love letter to your partner apologizing for a fight.
• Describe the perfect date you’d take your crush on.
• Write a break-up letter to someone who hurt you.

Nature & The Outdoors

• Describe your favorite place in nature and what you like to do there.
• Imagine you’re camping and hear strange noises at night. Write the scene.
• You’re hiking and come across a beautiful waterfall. Describe it.
• Write about getting lost in the woods and how you found your way out.
• On a nature walk you discover a hidden grove or beach. Describe it.

Challenges & Overcoming Adversity

• Write about a injury or illness you recovered from.
• Describe a time you failed and what you learned from it.
• Imagine you switched places with someone very different from you. Write about your day in their shoes.
• Write about a challenge you overcame that made you stronger.
• Describe a time someone helped you when you were struggling.

Interests & Hobbies

• Explain how to play your favorite sport or game.
• Write a story featuring your favorite book or movie character.
• Describe the process of creating your favorite craft or art project.
• Imagine you could have any superpower. What would it be and how would you use it?
• Write a song or poem about one of your hobbies.

Imagination & Fantasy

• Describe a day in the life of your fantasy self (rockstar, wizard, princess, etc).
• Make up and describe a new mythical creature.
• Write a scene featuring a magic portal that leads somewhere unexpected.
• Craft a story featuring time travel.
• Imagine you find a magic lamp. The genie grants you 3 wishes – what do you wish for?

Travel & Culture

• Write a travel guide for your hometown. What landmarks and activities would you recommend?
• Describe your dream vacation – where would you go and what would you do?
• Imagine you wake up in a foreign country with no idea how you got there. What happens next?
• Narrate a day exploring a new city for the first time.
• Pick a cultural festival or holiday and describe celebrating it.

Memories & Reflection

• Write about your earliest childhood memory.
• Describe a family tradition or celebration.
• Recollect the house or neighborhood where you grew up.
• Pick an object that reminds you of an important memory and write about it.
• Reflect on a major milestone or accomplishment in your life.

Daily Life & Routines

• Explain your morning routine.
• Describe your commute to work or school.
• Narrate a typical day in your life. Don’t leave out any details!
• Write about getting ready for and going to a party or social event.
• Pick an everyday object and write a story about its origins and history.

Food & Cooking

• Write a descriptive essay about a family recipe and its significance.
• Imagine you are a food critic reviewing a new restaurant.
• Describe the most delicious meal you’ve ever eaten.
• Explain, step-by-step, how to cook your specialty dish.
• Craft a story featuring a magic fridge that can produce any food you ask for.

Personal Growth & Goals

• Write a letter to your future self with goals and predictions.
• List 10 things you want to accomplish in the next 5 years.
• Describe a personal quality, skill or virtue you want to cultivate.
• Explain a topic you want to learn more about and why it interests you.
• Write about a place you want to visit and what you would do there.

School & Work

• Imagine you could switch your career or calling. What would you do?
• Describe the most interesting class or workshop you ever took.
• Explain how you overcame a big challenge or obstacle at school or work.
• Narrate a typical day for you at school or your job.
• Describe your dream school, college or workplace. What’s it like?

Family & Friends

• Write a letter to a family member you haven’t seen in a long time.
• Describe a quirky or funny family tradition.
• Craft a story about a childhood adventure you had with friends.
• Write about a friend who impacted your life in a positive way.
• List 10 traits or qualities you appreciate in your best friend.

Neighborhood & Community

• Imagine you are leading a tour of your neighborhood or town. What landmarks would you include?
• Craft a story about discovering something unexpected down the street.
• Pick a local small business and write a positive review.
• Write about a community service experience that had an impact on you.
• Describe your ideal community. What’s it like?

Current Events & Social Issues

• Write a letter to a newspaper about a current event issue you care about.
• Describe how an important news story impacted you or your community.
• Craft a poem expressing your perspective on a social problem.
• Imagine yourself in a leadership role. How would you address a pressing issue?
• Explain why a certain cause or nonprofit matters to you.

Science & Technology

• Speculate on likely future technology and how it will change people’s lives.
• Describe your role model or inspiration in the sciences or tech field. Why do they inspire you?
• Craft a story set 100 years in the future featuring new, imagined technology.
• Explain a complex scientific concept or theory in simple, everyday language.
• Write a poem or metaphor to describe a process in nature.

Good & Evil

• Tell the story of an epic battle between good and evil.
• Craft a tale featuring magic used for good purposes.
• Imagine you can erase one evil person or event from history. Which do you choose and why?
• Write a superhero story featuring a character with an unlikely weakness or vulnerability.
• Describe a villain’s backstory showing how they became evil.

Mysteries & Suspense

• You’re a detective investigating a puzzling crime or mystery. Describe your findings.
• Craft a ghost story set in a haunted house or castle.
• Write a scene where a character realizes they’re being followed. Build suspense.
• Imagine you discover a secret room, passageway or object with a hidden history.
• Narrate a story where an ordinary object turns out to be more than meets the eye.

Humor & Satire

• Describe a comical day where everything goes wrong.
• Craft a scene featuring outrageously bad customer service.
• Imagine a world with silly laws. What funny laws would you make up?
• Write a playful poem or song making light of some everyday annoyance.
• Compose a humorous dialogue between two fictional characters arguing about something trivial.

Historical Fiction

• Rewrite a key historical event from an unusual perspective, like a soldier, servant, etc.
• Imagine yourself as part of an ancient civilization. Describe your daily life.
• Craft a fictional tale featuring figures from mythology or folklore.
• Set a story within a key event or era from history.
• Pick a historical landmark and write a fictional account of its beginnings.

Dystopias & Alternate Worlds

• Describe daily life in a future dystopian society.
• Craft a scene showing the moment a character realizes their “perfect” world isn’t so perfect after all.
• Imagine you discover life is just a simulation. Describe how you uncover the truth.
• Write a tale about someone encountering a portal to an alternate universe or dimension.
• Design your own fantasy or alien world. Describe key elements like geography, culture, creatures, etc.

Self-Improvement & Growth

• List 10 things you appreciate about yourself and why they make you special.
• Imagine your life 5 years from now if you make positive changes. How is it different?
• Describe a personal struggle and how you overcame it.
• Explain how an inspiring figure or mentor impacted your life in a positive way.
• Write about a place you visited or experience you had that led to self-discovery.

Learning & Education

• Outline the plot for an educational children’s book that teaches a lesson.
• Explain a complex idea or theory in your own words as if teaching it.
• Write a how-to guide about one of your skills or areas of expertise.
• Describe the most rewarding class, workshop or training you ever took. Why was it meaningful?
• Imagine you can take any course at a university. What do you study and why?

Loss & Grief

• Write a letter to someone you lost, saying the things you wish you could have said.
• Describe going through the stages of grief after a significant loss.
• Craft a story featuring a support group for people dealing with loss.
• Write about an object or memento that reminds you of a loved one.
• Reflect on how a loss changed your outlook or priorities.

Freedom & Confinement

• Imagine yourself in jail writing about your experience and dreams of freedom.
• Craft a story about someone trapped on a deserted island, trying to escape.
• Describe a character confined to a hospital or their home, and their changing perspective.
• Narrate a prison break scene from the point of view of the escapee.
• Write about finding freedom after an abusive or controlling relationship.
• Compose a tale about a deal with the devil. What are the terms and consequences?
• Craft a redemption story about a villain who turns over a new leaf.
• Imagine being able to peer into someone’s soul. Whose would you look into?
• Write about the gray area between good and evil.
• Describe a character realizing they were on the wrong side of good and evil.

Coming of Age

• Write about a rite of passage or milestone marking your transition to adulthood.
• Craft a bildungsroman novel featuring a character’s journey to maturity.
• Describe moving away from home for the first time.
• Narrate a scene where a character rebels against his or her parents for the first time.
• Reflect on a key life lesson you learned growing up.

Relationships

• Describe the meeting of two characters destined to be together.
• Craft a story centered on a lifelong friendship.
• Write about reconnecting with an old friend or relative after many years apart.
• Imagine characters with contrasting personalities becoming unlikely friends.
• Narrate a scene where two characters have an intense heart-to-heart talk.

Nature & Animals

• Personify an animal or object in nature and write its perspective.
• Craft a mythical legend explaining a natural phenomenon.
• Imagine you can communicate with animals. What do they say?
• Write a poem inspired by a natural object or scene.
• Describe encountering magnificent wildlife on a hike or safari.

Horror & Suspense

• Write a scary campfire story.
• Craft a horror scene using vivid sensory details and suspenseful build up.
• Imagine you notice something sinister about a seemingly ordinary object or place. Describe it.
• Write a thriller featuring mistaken identity or an unreliable narrator.
• Describe the creepy atmosphere of an abandoned building using vivid details.

Fantasy & Dreams

• Describe a vivid dream where magic felt real.
• Craft a fantasy tale set in a world unlike our own.
• Tell the story of someone caught between magical and ordinary worlds.
• Imagine discovering you have supernatural abilities. How do you react?
• Write about a prophecy coming true against all odds.

Culture & Tradition

• Write about a holiday, festival or celebration in your family or culture.
• Craft a legend or fable from another culture explaining something about their values or history.
• Imagine you wake up in another country. How do you manage day-to-day life?
• Write a fish out of water story featuring someone experiencing a foreign culture.
• Describe visiting a cultural landmark. Transport the reader there.

Slice of Life

• Pick an ordinary object and describe its significance in your life.
• Craft a story where small moments build to create meaning.
• Narrate a quiet scene showing time passing.
• Describe a nostalgic memory surrounding food.
• Capture the atmosphere and conversations at a local café or bar.

Flash Fiction

• Write a 50-100 word story with a beginning, middle and end.
• Craft a miniature flash fiction fantasy or sci-fi tale.
• Describe a scene from an unusual perspective in micro fiction form.
• Capture a relatable moment or emotion in a paragraph.
• Challenge yourself to very short fiction – stories under 15 words.

Poetry & Free Verse

• Try your hand at a form like haiku, limerick, sonnet or villanelle.
• Craft a free verse nature poem.
• Use metaphor and imagery to describe a feeling, place or memory.
• Experiment with sound and rhythm in a poem.
• Write a nostalgic poem about childhood.

Fan Fiction

• Explore “what if” scenarios by rewriting scenes from a favorite work.
• Craft a crossover story combining characters from different fictional worlds.
• Write a prequel or sequel to a favorite story.
• Describe a ficitional character’s childhood or backstory.
• Pick an interesting relationship between characters to focus on.
• Record your thoughts, feelings and experiences over a day or week.
• List goals and dreams for the future in a journal entry.
• Describe memories surrounding an old photo, letter or memento.
• Write about your shifting perspective on an important issue.
• Capture a description of someone important in your life.
• Write about a significant or life-changing event from your past.
• Craft a personal essay about an important lesson, insight or realization.
• Describe a place that shaped your childhood or a key period in your past.
• Recount an impactful conversation that stuck with you.
• Reflect on a personal habit, quirk or trait and its origins.

Creative Non-Fiction

• Write a profile of someone fascinating, like a local character in your town.
• Craft a thoughtful review of a book, movie, play or piece of music.
• Describe a place you’ve visited using all five senses. Transport the reader.
• Research an interesting historical figure and write a creative biography.
• Pick a topic that interests you and write an informative guide or “how to” article about it.

Screenwriting

• Outline a plot for a short film or indie movie. Don’t forget key elements like conflict and character arcs.
• Craft a scene showing character relationships through realistic dialogue.
• Imagine a film adaptation of a book. Write or adapt an important scene.
• Describe an opening scene that sets the tone and introduces the story.
• Brainstorm interesting characters, settings and themes that would come together in a compelling story.

Playwriting & Scripts

• Draft a scene for a playscript. Remember stage directions and line breaks for dialogue.
• Craft a monologue revealing a character’s inner thoughts and emotions.
• Imagine a comedic skit parodying everyday life. Outline the premise.
• Write a script for a video project you’d like to create on YouTube or TikTok.
• Plan interviews with interesting people for a podcast episode. Draft sample questions.

Advertising & Marketing

• Craft catchy slogans for imaginary products or campaigns.
• Imagine a commercial for an unlikely or absurd product. Describe the angle.
• Outline a viral social media campaign for a brand.
• Write basic copy for a brochure, mailer, or digital ad. Focus on benefits and persuasive language.
• Brainstorm creative guerilla marketing ideas and stunts that grab public attention.

Business Writing

• Draft a professional email corresponding with a colleague or client.
• Outline a proposal for improving operations at a company.
• Compose meeting minutes, agendas, and notes.
• Create basic templates for documents like expense reports, presentations, etc.
• Practice writing snappy social media posts that promote a brand’s voice.

Technical Writing

• Explain a technical process in simple, clear steps.
• Draft a FAQ page or user manual for a product. Anticipate reader questions.
• Outline a tutorial for software, tools, or a system at work.
• Describe specs for a new technology idea. Get creative.
• Write basic instructions for assembling or repairing a common device or object.
• Write a news article on an imaginary event, with attention to factual detail.
• Craft an editorial or letter to the editor on a current issue.
• Compose a profile of a compelling public figure.
• Interview someone in your field and write up the Q&A.
• Investigate an interesting local place or event and report your findings.
• Draft a blog post that announces news in your industry or niche.
• Create a list-based post with tips and advice for your target readership.
• Write a thoughtful review of a product or service.
• Compose an inspirational personal essay for your blog.
• Outline an idea for a video blog or vlog. What would you discuss on camera?

Other Genres

• Craft a Western, romance, thriller, sci-fi, cozy mystery or other genre tale.
• Outline a plot for a best selling epic novel.
• Describe the climax or key suspenseful scene in a fictional work.
• Imagine key characters and setting details for a future book idea.
• Draft a passage of witty dialogue between fictional characters.

Alternate Storylines

• Explore an alternate storyline for characters from a favorite fictional world.
• Compose a piece of fanfiction focused on “missing moments” from a story.
• Write a crossover scene combining two fictional worlds or characters.
• Create a prequel story about how two characters first met.
• Imagine one fictional world colliding with our real world.

Research Topics

• Outline key points and sources for a research paper.
• Draft an opening thesis statement and outline main arguments.
• Write an informative abstract summarizing your research and findings.
• Craft an annotated bibliography with summaries and assessments of sources.
• Brainstorm research questions on a topic you want to study further.

Persuasive Writing

• Compose a persuasive letter advocating for a cause or issue you care about.
• Outline arguments you would make in a debate speech.
• Draft an op-ed style column making an argument on a current event topic.
• Write a petition to leadership calling for a change or action.
• Craft a script for a video advocating your position on an issue.

Speech Writing

• Draft text for a commencement or graduation speech. Include inspiring advice.
• Compose a tribute speech highlighting someone’s achievements and character.
• Outline main points for a motivational speech to persuade and inspire an audience.
• Script remarks for an awards ceremony or charity gala.
• Brainstorm funny stories, quotes and anecdotes to include in a wedding toast.

Comedy & Humor Writing

• Craft a funny monologue in the style of a standup comedy routine.
• Parody modern life in a satirical news article or sketch.
• Pen a witty dialogue between two oddball characters.
• Describe an absurd imaginary scenario in vivid detail.
• Outline ideas for a comedic YouTube video, TikTok or webcomic.

Freewriting

• Set a timer and write freely without stopping about whatever comes to mind.
• Fill several pages fast with stream-of-consciousness writing.
• Scribble or type any words, thoughts, or phrases that arise.
• List random memories, ideas, dreams, worries, and interests.
• Let your mind wander loosely and follow where it leads.

Morning Pages

• Write 2-3 pages discussing plans, thoughts, and feelings to start your day.
• Jot down dreams you remember from the previous night. Analyze meanings.
• Vent about worries, frustrations, anger or other emotions cluttering your mind.
• Free write about what you hope to accomplish today.
• Make a gratitude list of things you appreciate in your life.

Dream Journaling

• Record any dreams you recall upon waking up. What details can you remember?
• Sketch images, scenes, or symbols that appeared in the dream.
• Reflect on possible meanings, messages, or interpretations of the dream.
• Note emotions you experienced or changes in the dream mood.
• Log any real life concerns that may have sparked dream themes.

Brainstorming

• Make lists of ideas related to a creative project or endeavor.
• Populate mind maps with related concepts and key words surrounding a central topic.
• Fill pages with raw material to gather thoughts on a subject.
• Outline potential scenes for a story- draw inspiration from memories, issues, and imagination.
• Define ongoing lines of inquiry to deeply explore over time in your creative work.

Observation

• Sit somewhere public and write detailed notes about the setting, people, and overheard conversations.
• Pick an object and describe it using all five senses with fresh, vivid language.
• Capture portrait-like descriptions of interesting looking strangers.
• Notice and record small oddities and curiosities around you.
• Document an eavesdropped exchange between two people word for word.

Travel Writing

• Chronicle impressions of a city or country you visited – sights, sounds, people, feelings.
• Compose a virtual tour depicting landmarks and atmosphere of a place you know well.
• Plan an ideal itinerary for visiting a new location – what would you want to do and see?
• Outline a local guide on hidden gems and favorite spots off the tourist trail.
• Capture a particularly impactful or transporting travel experience.

Nature Writing

• Paint a vivid wilderness landscape in words like anature poet. Transport the reader.
• Personify an animal, plant, body of water, land formation or natural force. Give it a voice.
• Reflect on a powerful personal experience in nature and what it meant to you.
• Describe encountering and interacting closely with a wild creature.
• Craft a micro-story from an unusual perspective like a tree, mountain, insect etc.

Food Writing

• Create mouthwatering descriptions of a delicious homecooked meal.
• Compose an ode or love letter to your favorite childhood dish.
• Review a local restaurant like a professional critic.
• Outline a recipe for your personal food specialty. Include prep and cooking instructions.
• Describe the experience and memories surrounding a meaningful family or cultural food tradition.

Wellness Writing

• Explain tips, practices, or philosophy from your particular approach to wellness and self-care.
• Describe your personal struggle and breakthrough with a health challenge.
• Outline a regimen or routine that helps you thrive in body, mind, or spirit.
• Craft a manifesto for living well – what would be the key principles?
• Tell the story of a wellness journey that radically changed your life.

Spirituality & Religion

• Imagine having a conversation with your higher power – what would you say?
• Compose a personal prayer, meditation, or reflection.
• Describe attending a moving religious service or spiritual community gathering.
• Analyze teachings and ethical models from faith traditions you admire. What wisdom resonates?
• Unpack the meaning behind a favorite quote, poem, or passage of spiritual literature.

Exploring the Concept of Creative Prompts

You’re now delving into the concept of creative prompts, aren’t you? It’s like entering an enchanted forest where each tree carries a unique story.

The prompt origin, akin to the seed from which these trees sprout, is often humble – a simple thought or word. Yet, it grows and branches out in your mind, creating a labyrinth of imaginative pathways.

This is the beauty of prompt evolution. What starts off as a vague idea evolves into intricate narratives dancing vividly within your thoughts. It’s akin to watching a magic trick unfold; one moment there’s nothing but silence and emptiness, then suddenly, there’s an explosion of color and life in your mind.

The Importance of Creative Prompts in Writing

Imagine yourself standing at the precipice of a creative drought. Your mind is as barren as a desert, with words refusing to take form. You’re not alone in this battle against the infamous writer’s block!

Now, let’s plunge into this riveting discussion on how creative prompts become your oasis. They boost your creativity, shatter the invisible walls of writer’s block, and enhance your writing skills like never before.

Boosting Creativity

Boosting creativity isn’t just about thinking outside the box. It’s also about embracing your unique perspectives and ideas. You’re a wellspring of originality waiting to be tapped.

Creativity cultivation is an art, not a science. Each person has their own way of getting those creative juices flowing.

Consider these mind mapping techniques:

• Doodling or sketching your thoughts
• Connecting random words and seeing what ideas form
• Using colors to categorize different concepts
• Associating images with specific thoughts
• Incorporating physical movement to stimulate brain activity

These aren’t just exercises; they’re journeys into the heart of imagination. Each color, word, image, or movement can spark an idea that could transform into a brilliant story.

Overcoming Writer’s Block

Overcoming writer’s block isn’t just a struggle, it’s an opportunity to delve deeper into your thoughts and redefine your narrative. It’s like standing at the edge of a dense forest, baffled about which path to take. Unconventional solutions dance around you like fireflies in this darkness.

A quirky idea could be writing with your non-dominant hand or narrating your story to an imaginary audience. Your creativity is a wild beast that sometimes needs goading, and unconventional Block Busting Techniques can help tame it.

Picture yourself inking stories on frosted windows or carving them into sand at the beach. These visualizations activate untouched corners of your imagination, lighting up new pathways in this daunting forest of writer’s block, leading you towards unexplored territories of creativity.

Enhancing Writing Skills

You’re not just battling writer’s block, you’re also honing your skills as an author. This isn’t a mere struggle; it’s a dance with words, a journey of language improvement and vocabulary expansion.

• The euphoria of finding the perfect adjective to paint your scene.
• Your mind, blooming like a flower on a spring day as new words take root.
• The satisfaction when you deftly weave complex sentences together.
• Being lost in the forest of metaphors, only to find your way out with an elegant turn of phrase.
• The thrill when the puzzle pieces fall into place forming a captivating narrative.

See it as mastering an art form rather than overcoming an obstacle. Embrace this process, for each word penned is a step closer to becoming the writer you aspire to be.

Different Types of Creative Writing Prompts

Imagine yourself diving into the vibrant world of visual prompts, exploring every pigment and pattern that could spark your creativity. Feel the thrill of sensory prompts as they engage not only your eyes but also your other senses, sending you on a journey through tastes, smells, sounds, and textures.

You’re about to embark on an expedition through these diverse landscapes of creative writing prompts – it’s time to embrace the adventure.

Visual Prompts Exploration

In your exploration of visual prompts, you’ll find they can spark wildly imaginative story ideas.

Through picture interpretation exercises, you’ll delve into a universe of visual inspiration sources that transcend the ordinary.

The warm hues in an autumn landscape painting, birthing tales of seasonal change

An old black and white photograph, whispering stories from bygone eras

A graffiti wall in a cityscape photo, screaming social commentary

The haunting eyes in a portrait, echoing untold sadness or unspoken joy

A surreal digital art piece, challenging the boundaries of reality

Each image is a doorway to countless narratives. They aren’t just pictures; they are worlds waiting to be explored and stories begging to be told.

Sensory Prompts Use

Diving into sensory cues, you’ll discover they’re a powerful tool to enhance your storytelling, stirring emotions and painting vivid images in the reader’s mind. You can almost taste the salty tang of sea air on your protagonist’s lips, or feel the gritty dust beneath their boots.

Sensory immersion techniques aren’t just for setting scenes, they’re vital for character development too. Imagine applying sensory-based character development strategies. How does your character react to the scent of fresh bread? Do they squint in bright sunlight or savor its warmth?

These details breathe life into characters, making them real and relatable. So next time you write, don’t just tell your story; let readers smell it, see it, touch it… live it!

How to Use Creative Prompts for Story Ideas

Using creative prompts can really help spark your imagination and generate unique story ideas. Picture this process as a treasure hunt for inspiration, where each prompt pushes you toward unexplored territories of your creativity.

• Prompt inspired characters with unheard stories waiting to be unveiled.
• Mystical lands or futuristic cities born from prompt generated settings.
• Unexpected plot twists that turn common narratives into captivating tales.
• Intricate relationships between characters that add depth to their personas.
• Striking dialogues that breathe life into these characters.

These elements collectively weave the vivid tapestry of your narrative, turning abstract thoughts into tangible words.

Boosting Creativity With Unique Writing Prompts

Harnessing unique stimuli for your narratives can significantly boost your creative prowess and help unearth exciting story ideas. Imagine a world where prompts personalization is at the core of every tale you weave, each prompt tailored to spark new dimensions within your storytelling sphere. The potential for prompt inspired artistry is boundless, as diverse as a painter’s palette.

Consider prompts that touch on forgotten dreams or hidden fears. Let them stir up memories drenched in emotion or transport you to unexplored territories of the mind. Picture yourself weaving such richly textured tales, fueled by these personalized cues.

Creative Prompts for Poetry Writing

Dive into the rhythmic ocean of words, where we’ll explore the diverse islands that form Poetry Prompt Categories. Each one is a unique muse to ignite your poetic prowess.

You’ll unearth techniques to seamlessly implement these prompts, transforming them from mere sentences into vibrant verses dancing on your page.

Poetry Prompt Categories

Exploring different poetry prompt categories can really expand your creative horizons and enhance your writing skills. Let’s delve into ‘Metaphor Mastery’ and ‘Emotional Elicitation’.

These aren’t just classifications, but invigorating pathways to artistic development.

Imagine a world where feelings take physical shapes; that’s the essence of Metaphor Mastery. You’re not just penning words, you’re sculpting emotions.

Emotional Elicitation is about stirring up hidden sentiments within your readers.

Consider these prompts:

• Craft a poem where love is a starved lion or courage, a towering mountain.
• Write about grief as an endless ocean.
• Describe joy as a blooming sunflower field.
• Convey anger like a volcanic eruption.
• Evoke nostalgia as an old, dusty attic.

Prompt Implementation Techniques

Let’s shift our focus to how you can effectively implement these poetic ideas into your verses.

Picture yourself in a vibrant landscape, wielding words as an artist uses colors. Each stroke of the brush is guided by prompt categorization, helping you navigate the vast palette of emotions and experiences.

Now imagine adding a personal touch—prompt personalization. It’s like infusing your own essence into the canvas, making every verse pulsate with authenticity. Feel the rhythm of words dancing to your unique beat, painting vivid images that echo your inner world.

Remember, it’s not about fitting into predefined boxes; it’s about shaping them around you. So let loose and weave stories with unabashed creativity and veracity.

Trust me, there’s no better way to make poetry truly yours!

Creative Prompts for Fiction Writing

You’ll find that using creative prompts for fiction writing can significantly boost your creativity and storytelling skills. Through exploring prompt variations, you’re given the freedom to mold concepts into your unique narrative.

Picture this:

• A deserted island where shadows whisper secrets.
• An antique locket holding a timeless curse.
• A city beneath the sea, untouched by human civilization.
• Two strangers locked in an elevator during a power outage.
• A diary detailing future events, written in an unknown language.

These genre-specific prompts stir something inside of you, don’t they? Your imagination begins to unravel storylines from these seeds of inspiration. Like the painter before his canvas, you have all you need to create your masterpiece.

Creative Prompts for Non-fiction Writing

You’ve danced with fiction, spun tales of fantasy that flirted on the edges of reality. Now, it’s time to pivot and explore the terrain of truth—non-fiction themes.

Brace yourself for a journey that is raw and real, where your pen uncovers life’s myriad hues and nuances.

Imagine standing at the cusp of an autobiography. You’re its inspiration; each chapter unfolds from your experiences. Your stories are not borrowed or imagined but distilled from your struggles and triumphs. It’s more than just writing—it’s reliving moments you’ve etched in memory lanes.

Non-fiction writing prompts guide you into this uncharted territory, shedding light on forgotten corners of your past. You’ll need courage because these writings excavate truths hidden beneath layers of consciousness.

The canvas awaits—paint it with words from your world!

Overcoming Writer’s Block With Creative Prompts

Battling writer’s block can be tough, but using thought-provoking stimuli can help you break through those frustrating barriers. Consider the effectiveness of creative prompts, which offer a diverse range of ideas to ignite your imagination.

• Picture a wave crashing against a lonely lighthouse. What story does it tell?
• Imagine being an ant in a bustling city park.
• Visualize the last dream you remember; could it be a surreal short story?
• Ponder about what lies beyond the edge of the universe.
• Think about an old woman’s secrets hidden inside her vintage locket.

These prompts are not just words or phrases; they’re keys unlocking uncharted territories of your mind. They embody prompt diversity and effectiveness, serving as lifelines when creativity seems elusive.

Creative Prompts for Improving Writing Skills

Don’t underestimate the power of these stimuli. They’re not only great for sparking ideas but also for honing your language skills.

Picture this: a wellspring of creativity, bubbling with potential, right at your fingertips through carefully chosen prompts.

Prompt selection isn’t random; it’s an art. It’s about selecting situations or phrases that ignite the dormant imagination within you, pushing you to weave stories in ways never thought before.

Creativity measurement is subjective yet invaluable in this context. You’re not just jotting down words; you’re painting vibrant tapestries of thoughts and emotions using nothing but alphabets as your colors.

Tips to Create Your Own Writing Prompts

Let’s delve into some strategies on how to craft your own inventing cues for better storytelling and improved language skills. Prompt personalization is key, allowing you to tailor prompts that resonate with your unique voice and perspective.

Consider the following:

• Envision ‘Genre specific prompts’. Imagine you’re a detective in a noir novel or an explorer charting uncharted territories.
• Use abstract concepts. Think about emotions, philosophies, or social issues that stir you.
• Get inspired by existing works. A line from a poem or scene from a film can spark marvelous ideas.
• Play with hypothetical scenarios. What if gravity stopped working?
• Incorporate memories or personal experiences. Your past can be full of captivating stories waiting to be told.

These strategies ignite creativity, enhance writing prowess, and make storytelling an enjoyable art form for you.

Real-Life Examples of Effective Creative Prompts

You’ve probably encountered real-life instances where effective cues have sparked great ideas. For example, a memorable quote from a book or an impactful scene in a movie. The trick is to harness these moments and transform them into creative prompts through prompt personalization.

Consider the whiff of your grandmother’s apple pie, the rustle of leaves underfoot on an autumn day, or the evocative imagery of a sunset over the ocean. These experiences are more than just memories; they’re potential narrative goldmines.

Prompt sourcing doesn’t need to be complicated. It can be as simple as jotting down snippets of overheard conversations or noting peculiar events around you. And remember, it’s all about making your prompts personal. Invest them with emotions and images that resonate with you on a profound level.

So, you’ve explored the realm of creative prompts. You’ve seen their value and used them in different styles to ignite story ideas. They’ve helped you overcome writer’s block and improve your writing game.

You even know how to craft your own prompts! Now, it’s time for you to dive into the world of words, armed with these creative catalysts. Remember, imagination is your playground. Let these prompts be your swing set!

How to personalize antique lockets to tell your story.

I’ve been on the hunt for unusual and beautiful lockets in the last year, and have curated a stunning collection of Victorian lockets for FrenchGardenHouse that will capture your heart. I focused on finding lockets that can be modern, and styled with other pieces in your jewelry collection. There are so many ways to personalize a locket, I’m sharing how to personalize antique lockets to tell your story today

Each of these antique lockets is a miniature work of art.  I can’t wait to send these one-of-a-kind antique jewelry pieces off to their new owners, to be personalized and treasured.

LOCKET: A small ornamental piece of jewelry consisting of a little case, typically made of gold or silver, that’s worn on a necklace and opens to reveal something of sentimental value, such as a photograph, a lock of hair or another type of memento inside.

Named from the Old French loquet , “door-handle” or “latch,” for the way the covers move on a hinge and close securely, like a little door. I n a world where everything seems public, lockets are a personal sanctuary to keep your most valuable photos and mementoes very private.

“The reason antique lockets are so special is because they were created for you carry around someone or something incredibly important to you close to your heart.  Lockets help you remember special celebrations, adventures, “firsts” and memorable travels. A locket is a piece of jewelry that represents your family like no other piece of jewelry can.” -Lidy Baars

Lockets cross all generations – young girls wear them with their favorite quote inside, moms wear tiny little photos of their babies in theirs, and grandmothers keep a treasured scrap of a love letter written to them.

There is really no limit to what can be put in a locket.  Lockets can be personalized to represent the people, times, and places we never want to forget.

HOW TO PERSONALIZE YOUR LOCKET

To create a memorable, personal and one-of-a-kind statement necklace, these suggestions are just what you have been searching for!

ADD PHOTOS YOU LOVE.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but I’m talking about more than the “perfect” photo here. It could be a slightly fuzzy photo you snapped on your phone, it may not be perfect. But if it is important to your heart, it’s the right one for your locket.

Photos are emotional, not logical. These days we’re all bombarded with images, snapped on our phone, we go through them and discard willy nilly.  But once in a while, a shot stops you in your tracks. It represents a moment in your history that you loved. A little snapshot of your heart and what matters to you. Print it out, and put it into your locket and you will be able to grab hold of that emotion whenever you look at it.

While we still can’t travel back in time, your small image of that time will instantly transport you back there . With all the feelings and joy of that day, week, or year.

ADD SOMETHING HAND WRITTEN.

Lockets aren’t just for photos. Fill your locket with a sweet note from someone you love.  Many times I find antique lockets with a tiny snippet of someone’s letter inside, from long ago. Worn close to the heart, these samples of writing {almost a lost art today!} of someone you love are so meaningful.

What other written things can you put in your locket? An inspiring quote you love. Lyrics from “your song.”  Your word for the year. Your list of goals that you want to accomplish this year. There is enough room for little scraps of paper in most lockets, so think what will fill your heart when you open your locket.

ADD SOMETHING MEANINGFUL.

Many of our FrenchGardenHouse clients add other things to their lockets. A snip of baby fine hair. Sand, from the beach where they went on their honeymoon. A snippet of their wedding veil or a piece of lace from the dress.

A client wears two antique lockets she bought from us, each one holds a tiny, miniature print of her children’s handprints from when they were babies. How sweet is that? Another client makes small watercolor paintings of her fur babies for her lockets, so that they will remain near her heart even when they are no longer with her.

ADD CHARMS.

You can customize your locket on the outside too. I’ve often said that we are blessed, you and I, because we have the beautiful craftsmanship of Victorian jewelry, but none of the r u l e s.  You can add charms to the chain, one or many, to make your antique locket more modern.  This makes your locket completely personal, and a one-of-a-kind statement piece of jewelry.

Another easy way you can up your fashion quotient with your lockets is to layer them. Either together, or with other chains. You can change things up, wear one, two or three. This really makes your antique locket necklace look modern.

The fashion runways in Paris and Milan for Spring 2020 featured a strong take on vintage and antique jewelry, lockets featured in a big way!

There are so many ways to personalize your lockets.  Consider putting a photo of someone who brings you encouragement and strength in your locket. An attorney client puts special pictures of her family in her locket when she is facing difficult negotiations. She feels comforted wearing a symbol of what matters most to her and says it helps her focus on what is important and what is not.

ONE LAST THING: 

You can change what you put in your locket!   Don’t think once you put the photo or note in there, it has to be forever.  Over the years I’ve changed up what is inside the antique lockets in my own jewelry collection.

Pictures of my girls as children, a photo of them and their husbands, pictures of friends who passed away. Quotes that meant something to me. The first little note my first grandchild wrote me {a printed out copy I shrunk into a small size.}

You can add memories of trips you take, a photo of your childhood home, whatever is meaningful to YOU. There are so many ways to tell your own story with an antique locket. As you change and evolve, so can what is inside your lockets!

LEARN MORE:

Collecting Antique Lockets >

Collecting Heirloom Keepsake Jewelry >

You can see all the lockets we currently have available here >

13 thoughts on “How to personalize antique lockets to tell your story.”

Lidy, what exquisite pieces! I have a rather large locket, a piece of mourning jewelry that I bought in Paris, with nothing in it. Thank you for the wonderful ideas of what to tuck inside.

Vicky, I hope you find the perfect thing to put in your locket! It’s what makes lockets such a pleasure to wear, knowing they have a “secret” that you wear close to your heart. 🙂 That auto correct doesn’t like my name…I fixed it. Hope. Your day is gorgeous!

Oops! Just reread my comment. I swear I typed Lidy NOT List. Darned autocorrect!

Beautiful lockets, I love them all! I have a couple of old ones that were my Gmother’s and Mother’s, now i have to look and see if they have anything in them!

I do wear them on occasion and always get compliments.

Thank you Lidy, have a nice day!

Theresa, how fortunate you are to have inherited your Grandmother’s and Mother’s lockets. I hope you find treasured photos in them!

Such beautiful lockets! And styled so lovely!

I have a funny story. My mom gave me one of her lockets. A gold heart with her monogram initials. She told me that her boyfriend years before she married my father gave it to her. I still have it and chuckle every time I see it. I display it with other hearts on a shelf. I tried to think what the age of it would be. This April 12th my mom would have been 102. So I am thinking this locket is 80 some years old!

Thank you for the memories! Happy Friday to you!

These are such beautiful pieces! I have one from my Great Aunt that I will always treasure. Thank you for sharing. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

I need to get my mother’s out and use it! It was gold plated, and I have wondered about replating it to bring it back to life. It would be 80 years old soon.

I love how you have displayed them and I think layering them and added charms is a great idea.

I have several lockets’s , being a dealer, but find it very hard to sell them because I love all of them! One in particular, an 18kt French mourning locket , late 1800’s or early 1900’s, I will hand it down to a special niece.

That does sound like a very special locket, Helen! How wonderful that you will give it to your special niece as a rememberance.

I just purchased a heart shaped locket from the 1940s with the monogram of my soon to be married name. It seems like there’s a little lip for over the photos, but I’m afraid to try to lift it and break it. Is it something that would usually open? Or should the photo somehow be tucked under? Appreciate any help!

Stephanie, congratulations! How exciting. I think you are speaking of the little metal “frame” – does it have a celluloid cover? You can carefully lift that up, I usually can wiggle it loose with the edge of my nail. Your photo goes underneath that, and that little frame should click right back into place.

Stephanie, there are usually little metal “frames”over the photo parts. You can very carefully try to lift it up. Congratulations! xo

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Quotes & ideas about locket *

* actually displaying results for locket

Most relevant :

Closely related :, found locket , or variations of, within descriptions of :, sign in or sign up for descriptionar i, sign up for descriptionar i, recover your descriptionar i password.

Keep track of your favorite writers on Descriptionari

We won't spam your account. Set your permissions during sign up or at any time afterward.

Log in or Sign up

You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser .

Locket in my Pocket

• Date: Recently Published
• Date: Recently Updated
• Date: Latest Comment
• Views: Most to Least
• Likes: Most to Least
• Rating: High to Low
• Reviews: Most to Least
• Title: A to Z

The Pink Hippo

A little true life conversation I had. Me, "Did you see the pink hippo?" Roommate looks at me weirdly, "Um..what? Where is this coming from?" Me, "It's the meaning of life," Roommate, "What?" Me, "The pink hippo, what else would I be talking about?" Roommate, "Where did this pink hippo even come up with anything we were talking about? How do you go from Mortal Kombat 10 to a Pink hippo?" Me, "Surely a pink hippo will appear in Mortal Kombat 10 too," Roommate, "I'm out of here," Where as one of our resident WF members was laughing in the corner of the room. "So weird," is what he said.

Screw You Too

You know what forget it about my shit. Forget about listening to my creations ever again since you think they are shit. Forget about me even wanting to help you with an attitude like this. I have always loved you for the things you have done for this family. But now you're a downright prick. I have never been so angry at you before. Never been so mad where I want to destroy what you have too. I have never hated you until now. And right now I really do hate you. You're suppose to be the person who was suppose to support me. It's why I am here. And yet you're not. You didn't sound happy about me getting published. Or me trying to find my own dreams. While someone actually behaves slovenly around here, playing 8hrs of video games all day while someone is out in college for 8hrs is not the same thing. Don't antagonize her, but antagonize me about responsibility. I'm the person who I cleaned up their mess for. I'm the person who throwaways his garbage. I ask, who's that garbage on that counter in the bathroom is? Yeah it isn't mine cause I threw my garbage away. Don't point your finger at the wrong person. But just know I have lost faith in you. I do not want anything to do with. Don't talk to me.

Saving this

Wrote on school comp: Dreams are a device of the soul to torture the mind. I sit in the dreary darkness of night, simply waiting for what I do not know. For whom I will never know. There is something so sweet and yet so maddening as I stare at the empty bed; sheets all made and ready for someone to crawl inside comfortably. But I fear sleep. I fear what my dreams, what my mind, what my own soul will tell me. I am afraid every day and every night to close my eyes. Because my own past crawls into my mind. These are not dreams I want. These are not dreams I desire. I no longer want to see these mad visions any more. I only want to sleep without waking up to the sheets stained in sweat, to not have to wake up to throw up from my own sick fantasies that were created by my very soul to torture; to me chain to its desire. I know it will never stop. I know it will not cease its next attack. I know that it is a desire from my own mind. My own concious, my own desire against me. And while I am afraid of my soul. I am reminded almost so, that there are men out there seeking their soul. Soul searching. They grow old and they’ll never find it. Those who do find it end up mad, delirious. Something I both deny and accept for acquiring my soul. For having even the selfish thought of finding my own indentity. Loneliness plagues me. My own obsessions cling onto me. And I know these desires the desire of mad men, the desire of a corrupted and selfish individual. I want my own succes, but how to achieve it. When my own wishes and dreams are not that of clearly of the sane. My own mind just a ramble. Just a conversation that keeps going and going never idling to a stop. Never a dull thought and that runs into my dreams as explained. This conversation, this itch, this raging madness springs within even my own life. I am simply haunted by my own madness. I do not deny it. I do not live in denial. They say if a man can clearly see his own mind, to be able to understand it’s tempermant…to understand his own behavior than he is clearly sane. But what if I am only fooling myself with such a gentle thought, to think I am not mad would be a laughable thought. There comes a feeble, soft, almost rhythmic knock on the door. Someone disturbing me while I drill my own head. While I crawl and dig my nails deep into my own temples. The person does not wait for me to invite them in. They simply invite themselves and I am reminded of why I am here as I stare at the figure in the doorway of my room. She is wearing a dark pinkish purple nightgown and her stark, jet black raven hair flows down like a waterfall cascading down. She has pretty features, that reminds me that one day she will blossom into something beautiful. She is only just beginning to bud. “Daddy, I cannot sleep,” she says to me. “Dad,” I replied, “Not daddy. Father or dad.” She only nodded while I stared at her. My gaze was steady, almost easing into the conversation; I have accostumed to the night darkness without even a nightlight. My gaze and even my reflexes have become almost cat like. I continued to stare without a word, without a phrase. She knew not to interupt, so she only waited. “Why?” I asked slowly, “Why can you not sleep?” “They keep piering through the window,” she said. Ah. So that was it then. They came back. I knew they would. She stared at me and I stared back. Neither of us would say anything and she knew not to interupt me. “Well…” I paused, “Did you remind them of their contract?” “Yes, but they are still there,” she said. “You can stare here if you like,” I said. I made sure to never talk down to her, I always made sure I spoke to her the way an adult should be spoken too. All though she was only six years of age now, soon she would bud and bloom into an adult. And I wanted her to know how to speak to people. I wanted her to know how to behave like an adult. I find it almost unfair that parents think a child just knows how to behave like an adult. You must show it in your words and in your actions. “Will you tell me your stories?” she asked slowly she knew not to interupt me; an yet she just did. “Which story?” I asked. “A new story,” she paused and frowned, “I never liked to repeat stories.” “Then I suppose I can tell you a new story,” I replied. “Tell me about you,” she said, “When you were my age.” “That story isn’t a very nice story,” I said, “And your mother wouldn’t like me telling you. All though I really would like to.” She purse her lips in that way and pouted. Her cheeks were filled with air and they were starting to turn red. Like bright little tomatos on the side of her face.

Geography Come Another Day

I am literally going to kill whomever thought Geography was a course everyone should take to get their associates. I really do not like my Geography class. Power Point presentations that are geared towards more audio and visual picture learners, do not help me. All though I am a visual learner, I am a visual textual learner. Meaning I need to read text and then a graph or a picture can help me visualize what I read. When you just show me a picture of a Strike slip fault, I'm like looking at a whole new foreign language. I do have a recorder to record the audio of the class, since the teacher talks way to fast for me. But I also feel that Geography is as specialized as trigonometry or calculus. The tools are useful if you were to one day become a Geographer. Longitude and Latitude. It feels like my Earth Science class had a baby with a world Atlas and they called it Geography. People do not talk to each other like this: Bob, "Hey come to my house on Friday?" Pat, "Where do you live?" Bob, "50degress N 69 degrees W" No. They talk in streets and relations to roads. People don't use degree, west, north, east, south, etc. It's all instinctual, at least for me. So I find it all a little bit silly really. It just isn't the way people talk nor navigate any more.

I only remember the fleeting feeling of dying I only remember the strange buzzing high Colors and dreams emotions seemed to plague me as I died But it was more like dreaming than anything else More dreaming these colors it was black and it was like I was asleep as if I'd stay asleep forever I crave this feeling It's like I crave this fleeting feeling The feeling of slipping through the confines of my own mind I require synthetic love to go to bed at night to simulate this feeling of death before I live again I require, crave, constantly strive to feel the feeling of rebirth again These dreams Emotions formed in the waves of colors This synthetic dream

Cypress Tree

Your sin is branching a branching tree of injustice and madness Oh had I have been a fool to see that you are not the person you use too be In this cold and dead winter I hear a snap of the cypress tree The branches of your sin are corrupting this world like thick shadows it strangles and holds those down We're lost in your shadow we're lost in the darkness you created The birds no longer sit upon the cypress tree Where we as children had made such fool hardy promises that we would always be together Now the branches of your sins are to much too great I had held a gun to your temple twice before Oh had I been foolish to spare you those times But I thought a gun would change the error of your ways Or at least scare you of it Can you hear it? The snap and the wither of our old mother the cypress tree The sins of your injustice weigh heavily on my mind Was it your jealously of following my footsteps that had morphed you into a mad man I do not know I will never know because I will never ask you as I pull the trigger Now dead Now gone the path of darkness that you took forging footsteps of madness and darkness I sit on cinder and ash of our dear old cypress tree

Rosemary Kiss

Her skin was white and ghostly There was subtle hints of her scent laid out in the room She came out to touch me stroking my arm gently her lips were rosy and her cheeks were flushed and pink I could feel the heat from her cold hands as she stared at me with fiery passion Lust we both had felt back at the theater I so impressed with her skill with words that I hadn't considered she was a quack And there as her bosom sunk into my chest and my hands stroked the back of her corset she uttered no words And I realized she spoke only to impress and get me home to smell her perfume Fleeing humiliation I am alone at my home thinking of Rosemary's kiss I still have the scarf she wooed me with I smell it now and then to get the last supple kiss from her dried out corpse

Word Fetish: Struggles of a Writer

I have realized I have made the mistake of "to" and "too" a lot on this site. I am not trying to make an excuse. But I have always had a bit of a struggle in my writing. But I live and breath, eat writing. Without writing I'd die. It's what keeps me alive and what keeps me breathing. It's this fire in my soul. I have been diagnosed before with autism. And autism and schizophrenia run rampant in my families genetics. I have had a bit of a word fetish for a while. And not just as in I like to write word fetish. There will be words that I hate to use and words that I like to use. Noticeably is: To and Too I don't know how to explain it. But I hate too. I don't like the double O If I had choose between: Gross and Nasty I would choose Gross because I like the way the double S sit together. And Nasty doesn't have the right er connection like Gross. It's hard to explain. But I got this word thing. Where certain words do not look good, imo. If it were up to me there wouldn't even be to and too. Just "to" and it would mean the same thing as both words. It's hard to explain my word fixations. I have mild Synthesia so the words I choose are also based on an emotion and feel. Colors and personalities. That makes no sense. Now I am rambling and trying to explain something that I myself cannot explain fully. Just there are words I like and words I don't. And it really messes up my writing sometimes cause I'm always a little weird in the head. I guess I'm crazy or something.

Hush Child [For the Riot]

Ssssh my child I know you must be scare, but you must must wipe those tears from your lovely face It will all be okay I know it seems scary now I know how scared you must be now child But sssh it will be okay Let my own smile wash away your fear even if it may be temporary I do not want to see you my child crying alone again

Quit Ignoring Me

I just have to rant a little here. This isn't a problem on WF, btw. Just a problem everywhere else. I feel like I am back in high school or even middle school. Like I am completely invisible and no one is paying attention to me. In my online life, I post something. Like for this example I posted a fully complete character in a RP OOC. Well it goes like this: Me- Character Sheet GM- Where my post is right below. Lilyac great post in the IC. Am I boring? How can you miss a post right on top of yours? The whole thread passes three pages and the GM hasn't acknowledged me. So I have to go off and ask, is this still accepting and is my character accepted. Oh sorry didn't see your post. Is the next reply. Then I am accepted. So it somehow shows a little how invisible my post was another. Another online example is when I play video games, like Call of Duty or Halo. The whole match can go either two ways, I don't die at all or I die all the time. However, most of the cases of the times where the whole entire match I don't die. People pass me. I guess other people would enjoy being invisible in a video game online. But for me the point is to shoot at each other. I feel like the weird ghost wandering around looking at the carnage of my dead comrades. People just always run pass me. And I'm like, they must have some bad eyesight cause they cannot see me. My offline life isn't as grand either. A recent example of how equally unimportant I am to people is when me and my sister unit went to Walgreens recently. The cashier, took his time to have a full length conversation with my sister. Talking about irrelevant stuff. And he even told her she should come over to his place some time he lives across the street. When I get there I tell him, hello. Try get a conversation going up. He completely ignores me, tells me the total, press this button, and do I want cash back. All business with me. Do I just have this sign that says, ignore this person? Am I as invisible as I feel? And why does it frustrate me so much? Sorry, a bit of a personal rant.

Her movement was as ghostly as dew droplets falling into the water Her dress was long and white and she appeared beautiful as a drowned woman Long flowing blond hair that glowed in the light of the moon pouring it's dazzling magic on her Weaving in and out of moonlight her pale flesh turned to that of nothing merely than earthly bones flesh, bone, flesh, bone back and then again She was getting ready for her wedding day forgetting that was fifty years ago Forgetting she was to weep in a moon drip of sadness and woe Like those ballerinas in music boxes forever fated to dance and prepare for an occasion they'd never attend

Author Note: This is not a suicide note. Nor is this some kind of sick depression poem. This is just a thought that came to me. Was inspired by a song I am listening to and this is what I heard in the strings of the violin. --------- I feel like I am underwater my hair gently floating back and the world underneath me is low and mumbled In the depths of this dark dank world I wonder if I'll die Another pain pill to make it go away another heroin shot to stop thinking Underwater with me are my demons They drag me down deeper Keep me from water will I die I ask myself their ghostly hands their faded hands dragging me back underwater Another this Another that I slip from reality so easily Am I crazy I wonder Will I die I hope it's tomorrow Keep me away from water Grab it Take it It calms us down It makes the pain fade But it makes the demons come back Will I die I hope it's next year Keep me from water

Title: Stranger Idea: What if one day you awoke in a strange couples home. You couldn't remember your own past life. But you were convinced this couple was your family ------------- There was footsteps coming up the stairs. The fan was whizzing and whirring. Spin like a spin top. Round and round. Whir whir, ssss, sss it went. The bed was not my own, instead it belonged to my aunt and uncle. But I liked the master bedroom always cooler in this sticky summer months. The door opened, my aunt walked in. Long blond hair drizzled down from her scalp onto her shoulders. Her eyes were an electric blue and she wore a casual black tank top and cargo shorts. Her skin sticky with sweat, she stared at me puzzled. "Who are you?" she practically shrieked. I was utterly confused at her reaction. People don't just forget their family. This was the aunt who took me to Colorado when I was younger. Than to the deserts of Nevada. Salt Lake City. And across the seas to the gray and foggy UK. I tried to laugh slightly in denial at the situation. "Aunty, this is some sick joke," I said practically bewildered. Another pair of footsteps stormed up the stairs. A grizzled man walked in. He wore a plaid shirt and his gruff appearance reminded me of a bit of a wild bear or even a wolf man. He wore working boots over his blue jeans. A burly and intimidating man. He pointed the shotgun at me and my aunt snuck off. I could hear the beep of the phone numbers. "Get off from there," my uncle said. I laughed again. "Okay, you can stop joking with me," I said. "Get off!" my uncle yelled his voice like a sonic boom. I finally moved from the floral patterned bedsheets onto the brown carpet floor and looked at the shotgun. I got the deep feeling that this was not a joke any more. My smile faded and I stared down the barrels of the shotgun. I almost choked on thinking of how I was going to swallow this situation. My aunt walked back in, she had tied up her blond hair in a ponytail. Giving way to her muscular tones. She had always been a hiker, someone who enjoyed the outdoors. "The police will be here shortly," she said. "Now, you're going to tell me directly who you are," my uncle said. "I am Percy," I said, "Your nephew." They stared at me. "Be serious with us now, we don't have any nephews," uncle said, "We don't even have nieces." "Well my sister is..." aunt added. "Still no normal baby would grow up that fast," uncle said. "I am Percy," I said. Uncle gave me a deep fresh glare, the kind of glare he only gave prey he was hunting. I didn't like being hunted by my own flesh and blood.... TBC [To be continued]

Reminded of Halloween

The howl of the night the rich evening in clear moonlight awaits those dreary dreamers I am reminded of Halloween the most passionate of the holidays It invigorates the soul awakens something animal within me I am reminded of those fall nights where for one day it is acceptable to be what you are not The world warping its own reality to show a more darker and somber world It's beautiful and romantic haunting and enigmatic I get this high off of the miasmic energy So dreary dreamers do you remember Halloween

Strange New Thing

A strange new thing is occurring to me. And it feels weird. Cause I feel all gooey inside. I have been on writing site after writing site. But none have been like WF. I have people who accept my writing. I have people who accept my ideas. And even friends. Its this strange new thing. That is different and new. And I'm not sure how to react.

Blog Description

Ideas I muse myself with, ideas I muse others with, riddles, and tantalizing stories about life thoughts. I suppose this is what a ghost does when he has, but eternity to observe and write his craft.

• Log in with Facebook
• Log in with Twitter
• Log in with Google
• No, create an account now.
• Yes, my password is:
• Forgot your password?

• Search titles only

Separate names with a comma.

• Search blog descriptions only

Useful Searches

• Recent Posts
• This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Accept Learn More... Dismiss Notice

• ▼   Fans

• Refer a Member
• Link To Writing.Com
• Copyright Policy
• Privacy Statement
• Do Not Sell My Info
• Terms of Service
• Close An Account
• Genre Listing
• Self Publishing
• Web Hosting
• Writing Classes
• Writing Prompts
• Newsletters
• Site Archive
• Get Started
• Writing.Com 101

Places of Interest: Unique Wedding Invitations for unique wedding needs. Color Copiers found here. Baby Names can be hard to pick. Hands-free hygenic toilet seats covers . Dramatic Music rocks. Vampires are people too. Write Poetry here. Try this Stock Market quiz. Teaching is a noble job. Get info on Tax Refunds .

Poetry Center

The Hattie Lockett Awards

Virtual Tour

Experience University of Idaho with a virtual tour. Explore now

• Discover a Career
• Find a Major
• Experience U of I Life

More Resources

• Admitted Students
• International Students

Take Action

• Find Financial Aid
• View Deadlines
• Find Your Rep

Helping to ensure U of I is a safe and engaging place for students to learn and be successful. Read about Title IX.

Get Involved

• Clubs & Volunteer Opportunities
• Recreation and Wellbeing
• Student Government
• Student Sustainability Cooperative
• Academic Assistance
• Safety & Security
• Career Services
• Health & Wellness Services
• Register for Classes
• Dates & Deadlines
• Financial Aid
• Sustainable Solutions
• U of I Library

• Upcoming Events

Review the events calendar.

Stay Connected

• Vandal Family Newsletter
• Here We Have Idaho Magazine
• Living on Campus
• Campus Safety
• About Moscow

The largest Vandal Family reunion of the year. Check dates.

Benefits and Services

• Vandal Voyagers Program
• Vandal License Plate
• Submit Class Notes
• Make a Gift
• View Events
• Alumni Chapters
• University Magazine
• Alumni Newsletter

U of I's web-based retention and advising tool provides an efficient way to guide and support students on their road to graduation. Login to VandalStar.

Common Tools

• Administrative Procedures Manual (APM)
• Class Schedule
• OIT Tech Support
• Academic Dates & Deadlines
• U of I Retirees Association
• Faculty Senate
• Staff Council

Department of English

M.f.a. creative writing.

English Department

Physical Address: 200 Brink Hall

Mailing Address: English Department University of Idaho 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1102 Moscow, Idaho 83844-1102

Phone: 208-885-6156

Email: [email protected]

Web: English

Thank you for your interest in the Creative Writing MFA Program at the University of Idaho: the premier fully funded, three-year MFA program in the Northwest. Situated in the panhandle of Northern Idaho in the foothills of Moscow Mountain, we offer the time and support to train in the traditions, techniques, and practice of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction. Each student graduates as the author of a manuscript of publishable quality after undertaking a rigorous process of thesis preparation and a public defense. Spring in Moscow has come to mean cherry blossoms, snowmelt in Paradise Creek, and the head-turning accomplishments of our thesis-year students. Ours is a faculty of active, working writers who relish teaching and mentorship. We invite you in the following pages to learn about us, our curriculum, our community, and the town of Moscow. If the prospect of giving yourself three years with us to develop as a writer, teacher, and editor is appealing, we look forward to reading your application.

Pure Poetry

A Decade Working in a Smelter Is Topic of Alumnus Zach Eddy’s Poems

Ancestral Recognition

The region surrounding the University of Idaho is the ancestral land of both the Coeur d’Alene and Nez Perce peoples, and its campus in Moscow sits on unceded lands guaranteed to the Nez Perce people in the 1855 Treaty with the Nez Perce. As a land grant university, the University of Idaho also benefits from endowment lands that are the ancestral homes to many of the West’s Native peoples. The Department of English and Creative Writing Program acknowledge this history and share in the communal effort to ensure that the complexities and atrocities of the past remain in our discourse and are never lost to time. We invite you to think of the traditional “land acknowledgment” statement through our MFA alum CMarie Fuhrman’s words .

Degree Requirements

Three years to write.

Regardless of where you are in your artistic career, there is nothing more precious than time. A three-year program gives you time to generate, refine, and edit a body of original work. Typically, students have a light third year, which allows for dedicated time to complete and revise the Creative Thesis. (48 manuscript pages for those working in poetry, 100 pages for those working in prose.)

Our degree requirements are designed to reflect the real-world interests of a writer. Students are encouraged to focus their studies in ways that best reflect their artistic obsessions as well as their lines of intellectual and critical inquiry. In effect, students may be as genre-focused or as multi-genre as they please. Students must remain in-residence during their degrees. Typically, one class earns you 3 credits. The MFA requires a total of 54 earned credits in the following categories.

12 Credits : Graduate-level Workshop courses in Fiction, Poetry, and/or Nonfiction. 9 Credits: Techniques and Traditions courses in Fiction, Poetry, and/or Nonfiction 3 Credits : Internships: Fugue, Confluence Lab, and/or Pedagogy 9 Credits: Literature courses 12 Credits: Elective courses 10 Credits: Thesis

Flexible Degree Path

Students are admitted to our program in one of three genres, Poetry, Fiction, or Nonfiction. By design, our degree path offers ample opportunity to take Workshop, Techniques, Traditions, and Literature courses in any genre. Our faculty work and publish in multiple genres and value the slipperiness of categorization. We encourage students to write in as broad or focused a manner as they see fit. We are not at all interested in making writers “stay in their lanes,” and we encourage students to shape their degree paths in accordance with their passions. 

What You Study

During your degree, you will take Workshop, Techniques, Traditions, and Literature courses.

Our workshop classes are small by design (typically twelve students or fewer) and taught by core and visiting MFA faculty. No two workshop experiences look alike, but what they share are faculty members committed to the artistic and intellectual passions of their workshop participants.

Techniques studios are developed and taught by core and visiting MFA faculty. These popular courses are dedicated to the granular aspects of writing, from deep study of the poetic image to the cultivation of independent inquiry in nonfiction to the raptures of research in fiction. Such courses are heavy on generative writing and experimentation, offering students a dedicated space to hone their craft in a way that is complementary to their primary work.

Traditions seminars are developed and taught by core and visiting MFA faculty. These generative writing courses bring student writing into conversation with a specific trajectory or “tradition” of literature, from life writing to outlaw literature to the history of the short story, from prosody to postwar surrealism to genre-fluidity and beyond. These seminars offer students a dynamic space to position their work within the vast and varied trajectories of literature.

Literature courses are taught by core Literature and MFA faculty. Our department boasts field-leading scholars, interdisciplinary writers and thinkers, and theory-driven practitioners who value the intersection of scholarly study, research, humanism, and creative writing.

Award-Winning Faculty

We teach our classes first and foremost as practitioners of the art. Full stop. Though our styles and interests lie at divergent points on the literary landscape, our common pursuit is to foster the artistic and intellectual growth of our students, regardless of how or why they write. We value individual talent and challenge all students to write deep into their unique passions, identities, histories, aesthetics, and intellects. We view writing not as a marketplace endeavor but as an act of human subjectivity. We’ve authored or edited several books across the genres.

Learn more about Our People .

Thesis Defense

The MFA experience culminates with each student writing and defending a creative thesis. For prose writers, theses are 100 pages of creative work; for poets, 48 pages. Though theses often take the form of an excerpt from a book-in-progress, students have flexibility when it comes to determining the shape, form, and content of their creative projects. In their final year, each student works on envisioning and revising their thesis with three committee members, a Major Professor (core MFA faculty) and two additional Readers (core UI faculty). All students offer a public thesis defense. These events are attended by MFA students, faculty, community members, and other invitees. During a thesis defense, a candidate reads from their work for thirty minutes, answers artistic and critical questions from their Major Professor and two Readers for forty-five minutes, and then answer audience questions for thirty minutes. Though formally structured and rigorous, the thesis defense is ultimately a celebration of each student’s individual talent.

The Symposium Reading Series is a longstanding student-run initiative that offers every second-year MFA candidate an opportunity to read their works-in-progress in front of peers, colleagues, and community members. This reading and Q & A event prepares students for the third-year public thesis defense. These off-campus events are fun and casual, exemplifying our community centered culture and what matters most: the work we’re all here to do.

Teaching Assistantships

All students admitted to the MFA program are fully funded through Teaching Assistantships. All Assistantships come with a full tuition waiver and a stipend, which for the current academic year is roughly $15,000. Over the course of three years, MFA students teach a mix of composition courses, sections of Introduction to Creative Writing (ENGL 290), and additional writing courses, as departmental needs arise. Students may also apply to work in the Writing Center as positions become available. When you join the MFA program at Idaho, you receive teacher training prior to the beginning of your first semester. We value the role MFA students serve within the department and consider each graduate student as a working artist and colleague. Current teaching loads for Teaching Assistants are two courses per semester. Some members of the Fugue editorial staff receive course reductions to offset the demands of editorial work. We also award a variety of competitive and need-based scholarships to help offset general living costs. In addition, we offer three outstanding graduate student fellowships: The Hemingway Fellowship, Centrum Fellowship, and Writing in the Wild Fellowship. Finally, our Graduate and Professional Student Association offers extra-departmental funding in the form of research and travel grants to qualifying students throughout the academic year.

Distinguished Visiting Writers Series

Each year, we bring a Distinguished Visiting Writer to campus. DVWs interface with our writing community through public readings, on-stage craft conversations hosted by core MFA faculty, and small seminars geared toward MFA candidates. Recent DVWs include Maggie Nelson, Roger Reeves, Luis Alberto Urrea, Brian Evenson, Kate Zambreno, Dorianne Laux, Teju Cole, Tyehimba Jess, Claire Vaye Watkins, Naomi Shihab Nye, David Shields, Rebecca Solnit, Gabrielle Calvocoressi, Susan Orlean, Natasha Tretheway, Jo Ann Beard, William Logan, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, Gabino Iglesias, and Marcus Jackson, among several others.

Fugue Journal

Established in 1990 at the University of Idaho, Fugue publishes poetry, fiction, essays, hybrid work, and visual art from established and emerging writers and artists. Fugue is managed and edited entirely by University of Idaho graduate students, with help from graduate and undergraduate readers. We take pride in the work we print, the writers we publish, and the presentation of both print and digital content. We hold an annual contest in both prose and poetry, judged by two nationally recognized writers. Past judges include Pam Houston, Dorianne Laux, Rodney Jones, Mark Doty, Rick Moody, Ellen Bryant Voigt, Jo Ann Beard, Rebecca McClanahan, Patricia Hampl, Traci Brimhall, Edan Lepucki, Tony Hoagland, Chen Chen, Aisha Sabatini Sloan, sam sax, and Leni Zumas. The journal boasts a remarkable list of past contributors, including Steve Almond, Charles Baxter, Stephen Dobyns, Denise Duhamel, Stephen Dunn, B.H. Fairchild, Nick Flynn, Terrance Hayes, Campbell McGrath, W.S. Merwin, Sharon Olds, Jim Shepard, RT Smith, Virgil Suarez, Melanie Rae Thon, Natasha Trethewey, Philip Levine, Anthony Varallo, Robert Wrigley, and Dean Young, among many others.

Academy of American Poets University Prize

The Creative Writing Program is proud to partner with the Academy of American Poets to offer an annual Academy of American Poets University Prize to a student at the University of Idaho. The prize results in a small honorarium through the Academy as well as publication of the winning poem on the Academy website. The Prize was established in 2009 with a generous grant from Karen Trujillo and Don Burnett. Many of our nation’s most esteemed and celebrated poets won their first recognition through an Academy of American Poets Prize, including Diane Ackerman, Toi Derricotte, Mark Doty, Tess Gallagher, Louise Glück, Jorie Graham, Kimiko Hahn, Joy Harjo, Robert Hass, Li-Young Lee, Gregory Orr, Sylvia Plath, Mark Strand, and Charles Wright.

Fellowships

Centrum fellowships.

Those selected as Centrum Fellows attend the summer Port Townsend Writers’ Conference free of charge. Housed in Fort Worden (which is also home to Copper Canyon Press), Centrum is a nonprofit dedicated to fostering several artistic programs throughout the year. With a focus on rigorous attention to craft, the Writers’ Conference offers five full days of morning intensives, afternoon workshops, and craft lectures to eighty participants from across the nation. The cost of the conference, which includes tuition, lodging, and meals, is covered by the scholarship. These annual scholarship are open to all MFA candidates in all genres.

Hemingway Fellowships

This fellowship offers an MFA Fiction student full course releases in their final year. The selection of the Hemingway Fellow is based solely on the quality of an applicant’s writing. Each year, applicants have their work judged blind by a noted author who remains anonymous until the selection process has been completed. Through the process of blind selection, the Hemingway Fellowship Fund fulfills its mission of giving the Fellow the time they need to complete a substantial draft of a manuscript.

Writing in the Wild

This annual fellowship gives two MFA students the opportunity to work in Idaho’s iconic wilderness areas. The fellowship fully supports one week at either the McCall Outdoor Science School (MOSS), which borders Payette Lake and Ponderosa State Park, or the Taylor Wilderness Research Station, which lies in the heart of the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area. Both campuses offer year-round housing. These writing retreats allow students to concentrate solely on their writing. Because both locations often house researchers, writers will also have the opportunity to interface with foresters, geologists, biologists, and interdisciplinary scholars.

Program History

Idaho admitted its first class of seven MFA students in 1994 with a faculty of four: Mary Clearman Blew, Tina Foriyes, Ron McFarland (founder of Fugue), and Lance Olsen. From the beginning, the program was conceived as a three-year sequence of workshops and techniques classes. Along with offering concentrations in writing fiction and poetry, Idaho was one of the first in the nation to offer a full concentration in creative nonfiction. Also from its inception, Idaho not only allowed but encouraged its students to enroll in workshops outside their primary genres. Idaho has become one of the nation’s most respected three-year MFA programs, attracting both field-leading faculty and students. In addition to the founders of this program, notable distinguished faculty have included Kim Barnes, Robert Wrigley, Daniel Orozco, Joy Passanante, Tobias Wray, Brian Blanchfield, and Scott Slovic, whose collective vision, rigor, grit, and care have paved the way for future generations committed to the art of writing.

The Palouse

Situated in the foothills of Moscow Mountain amid the rolling terrain of the Palouse (the ancient silt beds unique to the region), our location in the vibrant community of Moscow, Idaho, boasts a lively and artistic local culture. Complete with independent bookstores, coffee shops, art galleries, restaurants and breweries, (not to mention a historic art house cinema, organic foods co-op, and renowned seasonal farmer’s market), Moscow is a friendly and affordable place to live. Outside of town, we’re lucky to have many opportunities for hiking, skiing, rafting, biking, camping, and general exploring—from nearby Idler’s Rest and Kamiak Butte to renowned destinations like Glacier National Park, the Snake River, the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area, and Nelson, BC. As for more urban getaways, Spokane, Washington, is only a ninety-minute drive, and our regional airline, Alaska, makes daily flights to and from Seattle that run just under an hour.

For upcoming events and program news, please visit our calendar .

For more information about the MFA program, please contact us at:  [email protected]

Department of English University of Idaho 875 Perimeter Drive MS 1102 Moscow, ID 83844-1102 208-885-6156

Privacy Settings

Etsy uses cookies and similar technologies to give you a better experience, enabling things like:

• basic site functions
• ensuring secure, safe transactions
• secure account login
• remembering account, browser, and regional preferences
• remembering privacy and security settings
• analysing site traffic and usage
• personalized search, content, and recommendations
• helping sellers understand their audience
• showing relevant, targeted ads on and off Etsy

Detailed information can be found in Etsy’s Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy and our Privacy Policy .

Required Cookies & Technologies

Some of the technologies we use are necessary for critical functions like security and site integrity, account authentication, security and privacy preferences, internal site usage and maintenance data, and to make the site work correctly for browsing and transactions.

Personalized Advertising

To enable personalized advertising (like interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. Those partners may have their own information they’ve collected about you. Turning off the personalized advertising setting won’t stop you from seeing Etsy ads, but it may make the ads you see less relevant or more repetitive.

Personalized advertising may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of information under California and other state privacy laws, and you may have a right to opt out. Turning off personalized advertising allows you to exercise your right to opt out. Learn more in our Privacy Policy. , Help Center , and Cookies & Similar Technologies Policy .

Our House Rules

Get to know Etsy's legal terms and policies

• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Third parties

Sanctions Policy

Etsy provides a direct connection between buyers and sellers around the world. When you use Etsy’s services (we’ll refer to Etsy.com, Pattern by Etsy, our mobile apps, and other services as our “Services”), you are responsible for complying with this policy, regardless of your location.

This policy is a part of our Terms of Use . By using any of our Services, you agree to this policy and our Terms of Use.

As a global company based in the US with operations in other countries, Etsy must comply with economic sanctions and trade restrictions, including, but not limited to, those implemented by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") of the US Department of the Treasury. This means that Etsy or anyone using our Services cannot take part in transactions that involve designated people, places, or items that originate from certain places, as determined by agencies like OFAC, in addition to trade restrictions imposed by related laws and regulations.

This policy applies to anyone that uses our Services, regardless of their location. It is up to you to familiarize yourself with these restrictions.

For example, these restrictions generally prohibit, but are not limited to, transactions involving:

• Certain geographic areas, such as Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Belarus, and the Donetsk People’s Republic (“DNR”) and Luhansk People’s Republic (“LNR”) regions of Ukraine, or any individual or entity operating or residing in those places;
• Individuals or entities identified on sanctions lists such as OFAC’s Specially Designated Nationals (“SDN”) List or Foreign Sanctions Evaders (“FSE”) List ;
• Nationals of Cuba, regardless of location, unless citizenship or permanent residency outside of Cuba has been established; and
• Items originating from areas including Cuba, North Korea, Iran, or Crimea, with the exception of informational materials such as publications, films, posters, phonograph records, photographs, tapes, compact disks, and certain artworks.
• Any goods, services, or technology from DNR and LNR with the exception of qualifying informational materials, and agricultural commodities such as food for humans, seeds for food crops, or fertilizers.
• The importation into the U.S. of the following products of Russian origin: fish, seafood, non-industrial diamonds, gold, and any other product as may be determined from time to time by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
• The exportation from the U.S., or by a U.S. person, of luxury goods, and other items as may be determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, to any person located in Russia or Belarus. A list and description of ‘luxury goods’ can be found in Supplement No. 5 to Part 746 under the Federal Register.
• Items originating outside of the U.S. that are subject to the U.S. Tariff Act or related Acts concerning prohibiting the use of forced labor.

In order to protect our community and marketplace, Etsy takes steps to ensure compliance with sanctions programs. For example, Etsy prohibits members from using their accounts while in certain geographic locations. If we have reason to believe you are operating your account from a sanctioned location, such as any of the places listed above, or are otherwise in violation of any economic sanction or trade restriction, we may suspend or terminate your use of our Services. Members are generally not permitted to list, buy, or sell items that originate from sanctioned areas. This includes items that pre-date sanctions, since we have no way to verify when they were actually removed from the restricted location. Members are also generally not permitted to ship items to or from sanctioned areas. Etsy reserves the right to request that sellers provide additional information, disclose an item's country of origin in a listing, or take other steps to meet compliance obligations. It is important that members provide complete and accurate information regarding the origin of items on the Etsy marketplace to ensure compliance with sanctions programs. We may disable listings or cancel transactions that present a risk of violating this policy.

In addition to complying with OFAC and applicable local laws, Etsy members should be aware that other countries may have their own trade restrictions and that certain items may not be allowed for export or import under international laws. You should consult the laws of any jurisdiction when a transaction involves international parties.

Finally, Etsy members should be aware that third-party payment processors, such as PayPal, may independently monitor transactions for sanctions compliance and may block transactions as part of their own compliance programs. Etsy has no authority or control over the independent decision-making of these providers.

The economic sanctions and trade restrictions that apply to your use of the Services are subject to change, so members should check sanctions resources regularly. For legal advice, please consult a qualified professional.

Resources: US Department of the Treasury ; Bureau of Industry and Security at the US Department of Commerce ; US Department of State ; European Commission

Last updated on May 15, 2024

• ▼   Fans   Sliders

Daily Flash Fiction Challenge

• Refer a Member
• Link To Writing.Com
• Copyright Policy
• Privacy Statement
• Do Not Sell My Info
• Terms of Service
• Close An Account
• Genre Listing
• Self Publishing
• Web Hosting
• Writing Classes
• Writing Prompts
• Newsletters
• Site Archive
• Get Started
• Writing.Com 101

Places of Interest: Unique Wedding Invitations for unique wedding needs. Color Copiers found here. Baby Names can be hard to pick. Hands-free hygenic toilet seats covers . Dramatic Music rocks. Vampires are people too. Write Poetry here. Try this Stock Market quiz. Teaching is a noble job. Get info on Tax Refunds .

By John Montague

‘The Locket’ by Montague delves into his complex relationship with his mother, revealing hidden love through a locket she wore.

John Montague

His collections include A Drunken Sailor and The Dead Kingdom.

Poem Analyzed by Emma Baldwin

B.A. English (Minor: Creative Writing), B.F.A. Fine Art, B.A. Art Histories

Within  ‘The Locket’ Montague explores themes of mother/son relationships and love. The mood is solemn, and at times depressing, throughout. From context clues and the fact that the son is named “John” in the poem, the speaker in this piece is generally considered to be Montague himself. The relationship between himself and his mother is explored in other poems within his oeuvre .

Explore The Locket

• 1 Summary of The Locket 
• 2 Structure and Poetic Techniques 
• 3 Analysis of The Locket

Summary of The Locket  

The poem takes the reader through a series of moments, from his birth to his mother’s death. Their relationship was fraught from the moments of his birth. Montague describes how from the start his mother was disappointed and pained by him. He felt guilt over this and tried throughout his life to make her love him. She sent him away in his youth but he continued to visit her for a time until she told him to stop.  

The poem concludes with the revelation that throughout her life she wore a locket with the poet’s picture inside.  

Structure and Poetic Techniques  

‘ The Locket’ By John Montague is a seven stanza poem that’s separated into sets of six lines, known as sestets . These sestets do not follow one single pattern of rhyme . Instead, each stanza contains a variety of end and internal rhymes that provide the poem with a pleasing rhythm throughout.  

Montague also makes use of several poetic techniques in ‘The Locket’. These include alliteration , enjambment , and caesura . The latter, caesura, occurs when a line is split in half, sometimes with punctuation, sometimes not. The use of punctuation in these moments creates a very intentional pause in the text. A reader should consider how the pause influences the rhythm of one’s reading and how it might proceed an important turn or transition in the text. For example, line three of the fifth stanza reads: “lovely Molly, the belle of your small town”  

Alliteration occurs when words are used in succession, or at least appear close together, and begin with the same letter. For example, “wrong way” in line five of the second stanza. Or, another example, “cue to come on” in line five of the first stanza.  

Analysis of The Locket

Sing a last song (…) my first claim to fame.

In the first stanza of The Locket,’ the speaker asks that one final song be sung for his deceased mother. She was an important force in the poet’s life and caused him a great deal of pain and stress. In the third line, she’s referred to as a “fertile source of guilt and pain”. She made him feel both these things at once, as is depicted in the following lines.  

He speaks on his birth and entry into the world. The second stanza provides more details, but in this section, he alludes to a terrible birth and this being his “claim to fame”. The internal rhyme in this line helps the overall rhythm of the poem, especially as it comes at the end of the stanza.  

Naturally, she longed for a girl, (…) Not readily forgiven,

In the second stanza, he adds in additional details. He explains that his mother didn’t want a boy child, she “longed” for a girl. There was nothing that he could’ve done, as a sweet young child, to make up for the fact that he is a boy. There’s another more physical element of pain connected with the birth as well. He was born the “wrong way around,” making the birth even more painful for his mother. She could never forgive him for these two “ blunder [s]”.

Stanza Three

So you never nursed me (…) your favourite saying,

In the third stanza, he moves into the second-person narrative perspective , directing his words to his mother. He tells her that she never nursed him, and her coldness never warmed. His father sang kind songs, a hint at his overall personality , but the “lack of money” hurt their relationship. The poet references her “favourite saying,” about love flying up the chimney when poverty “comes through the door”. This is yet another element that damaged their family dynamic.  

Stanza Four

Then you gave me away, (…) drinking by the fire, yarning

One of the major sources of the poet’s own pain is the fact that she gave him away as a young child. He was sent to live with other family members as though his mother couldn’t stand to be around him. The only way the two maintained a connection at all is because the poet “cycled down / to court” his mother “like a young man”. He had to get himself to his mother’s home and remind her that he’s her son that he wants a relationship with her.  

Stanza Five

Of your wild, young days (…) wound into your cocoon of pain.

The speaker addresses his mother’s pain in the fifth stanza. He alludes to her lost youth, her previous beauty, and the now “mournful” state she exists in. The repetition of the “l” consonant sound in this stanza is powerful. It speaks to the rain and “lashes” that wounded his mother.  

Standing in that same hallway, (…) resigned to being alone.

In the most painful moment of the poem, Montague’s mother tells him that he shouldn’t “come again” to her house. She says it “roughly”. But, it appears that he understands her coolness and cruelty in this moment. She is “resigned to being alone” and his intermittent presence in her life is painful to her. But a reader can’t help but consider the fact that his presence is only intermittent because she sent him away.  

Stanza Seven

And still, mysterious blessing, (…) of a child in Brooklyn.

The poem concludes with one final stanza. It reveals that all the time that the two fought and the speaker felt unloved and lost, his mother was wearing a locket with his image in it around her neck. Her loving heart was unable to shake off its cold exterior and it is only after her death that the poet realized that he was loved by his mother.  

Home » John Montague » The Locket

About Emma Baldwin

Join the poetry chatter and comment.

Exclusive to Poetry + Members

Join Conversations

Share your thoughts and be part of engaging discussions.

Expert Replies

Get personalized insights from our Qualified Poetry Experts.

Connect with Poetry Lovers

Build connections with like-minded individuals.

Access the Complete PDF Guide of this Poem

Poetry+ PDF Guides are designed to be the ultimate PDF Guides for poetry. The PDF Guide consists of a front cover, table of contents, with the full analysis, including the Poetry+ Review Corner and numerically referenced literary terms, plus much more.

Get the PDF Guide

Experts in Poetry

Our work is created by a team of talented poetry experts, to provide an in-depth look into poetry, like no other.

Cite This Page

Baldwin, Emma. "The Locket by John Montague". Poem Analysis , https://poemanalysis.com/john-montague/the-locket/ . Accessed 24 June 2024.

Help Center

Request an Analysis

(not a member? Join now)

Poem PDF Guides

PDF Learning Library

Poetry + Newsletter

Poetry Archives

Poetry Explained

Poet Biographies

Useful Links

Poem Explorer

Poem Generator

[email protected]

Poem Solutions Limited, International House, 36-38 Cornhill, London, EC3V 3NG, United Kingdom

Discover and learn about the greatest poetry, straight to your inbox

Unlock the Secrets to Poetry

Download Poetry PDFs Guides

Complete Poetry PDF Guide

Perfect Offline Resource

Covers Everything Need to Know

One-pager 'snapshot' PDF

Offline Resource

Gateway to deeper understanding

Get this Poem Analysis as an Offline Resource

Poetry+ PDF Guides are designed to be the ultimate PDF Guides for poetry. The PDF Guide contains everything to understand poetry.

Creative Writing News

Support English at UGA

We greatly appreciate your generosity. Your gift enables us to offer our students and faculty opportunities for research, travel, and any number of educational events that augment the classroom experience.   Support the efforts of the Department of English by visiting our giving section.  Give Now  

EVERY DOLLAR CONTRIBUTED TO THE DEPARTMENT HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON OUR STUDENTS AND FACULTY.

verity healey @verityrhealey

To moscow- a brief look at the state of russian theatre.

Some Russian critics “ love to kill what they can’t control ” wrote John Freedman in the  Moscow Times  in 2015. He continued: “Theatre, of course, is bigger and messier and more lively than all of us put together.” After four consecutive nights watching new Russian plays (little performed in the UK) translated by Noah Birksted-Breen at London’s  Frontline Club —plays that are  consciously about the social state of Russia and her theatre, one could go away thinking Russia herself wants to kill what she can’t control. The question is whether and how this may happen. Is Russian theatre in peril? Sources comment that it is alive and kicking in the provinces, where most new plays are staged. But they are dystopian works “ that define Russia as an unconquerable, forbidden, illogical country where any social experimenting is drowned in the mysticism, viscosity, and waywardness of the Russian soul. ” The theatre critic Pavel Rudnev writes that Russia’s theatrical elders are expressing “anti-liberal” notes with stagings of some of Dostoevsky’s best-known works expressing the pointlessness of a revolutionary spirit . And the Putin government’s insistence on converting more and more theatres into state-run institutions and its  pressure on private landlords  who rent out space to the politically independent and outspoken theatres such as  Teatr.doc  must ring alarm bells. Softly, maybe, but ring they must.

On the first night of the play readings, a venture between the journalists’ charity,  Plymouth Theatre Royal , and  Sputnik Theatre , the choice of work,  Doctor (Notes of a Provincial Doctor)  was a good illustration of the present federation’s disintegration of social structures. The play explores how many hospitals in the Russian provinces are understocked, understaffed, or are being dismantled, often leaving patients with nowhere to turn. The play has been in rep at Teatr.doc for ten years as a result of its popularity with the medical community, in particular. Elena Iseva, the playwright, uses verbatim techniques to expound, word for word, the experiences of a doctor as he journeys from medical student to surgeon in rural Russia. Played with a hint of wistful yet slightly boorish sentimentalism by Alex Cox, drawing surely on Chekhov’s Mikhail Lvovich Astrov in  Uncle Vanya  or Tcheboutykin in  The Three Sisters ,  Doctor (Notes of a Provincial Doctor)  lays bare the sick, badly financed, and sometimes hilarious state of the Russian health system.

The reading of  Zhanna  the night after, by twenty-seven-year-old playwright Yaroslava Pulinovich, may, at first, seem to bear no connection. It’s a stark look at a self-made new Russian woman who outmaneuvers the mafia gangs in the lawless “ pop, glamour, and gangster ” period of the 1990s (the first chaotic decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union) to manage a small chain of boutiques, making herself wealthy in the process. We join Zhanna just as her toy-boy is about to leave her for his younger and pregnant “real love.” What follows is a hard-hitting account of Zhanna’s quest for revenge. While  Zhanna  has been commonly referred to by the critics as a “straightforward melodrama,” it charts an important psychological shift in Russia’s national character during Perestroika and the move from economic restraint to excess living in a “grab what you can” cultural moment.

If the first two plays deal with Russia’s immediate history,  Grandchildren  by Alexandra Polivanova and Mikhail Kaluzhsky, is an attempt to rationalize Stalinism. Dealing with territory written about so hauntingly and truthfully by Vassily Grossman in  Life and Fate , the play offers testimonies from the grandchildren of those whose family members were Stalinists, in the  NKVD , or members of the Communist Party. It deals with guilt, self-censorship, and with the need to excuse and the desire to forgive. It is original, for when do we hear about or from the relatives of mass murderers, executioners, or any kind of criminal offenders? Who tells their stories? They are often the ones forgotten in the mass outcry pitying victims and venting rage against the victors, and they are left to process the legacy of inherited guilt on their own, when in fact, one could argue, it should be a communal experience. But if this play is trying, in some small part, to do what the Nuremberg Trials did for Germany—to bring a country to face and therefore to reconcile with its past—the post-reading discussion, given by speakers Alexandrina Markov, Oliver Bullough, Vladimir Ashurkov, and John Freedman warned that Russia may be creeping back into the Soviet Era, not out of it. The fact that a new  Stalin educational center  has opened in Penza, Meyerhold’s birthplace, is not lost on Russia’s artistic community, yet it highlights a deep psychological conflict raised in the play. Russia has not processed Stalin and WWII, yet through censorship and political pressure ( Putin’s version of Stalin is to be taught in schools for example ) her government continues to inflict wounds on open sores before they have had a chance to be understood or heal,  a typical old-style KGB tactic . Is Russia heading back into the dark murky days of the USSR?

In December 2014, Vladimir Putin signed a  new cultural policy document  detailing Russia’s “rejection” of the “principles of tolerance and multiculturalism.” It goes on to caution against arts and culture that diverge from Russia’s traditional values, stating,  “No experiments with form can justify the substance that contradicts the values traditional for our society.” What must this do to a people?

The closing play, Mikhail Durnenkov’s  The War Has Not Started Yet , commissioned by  A Play A Pint & A Pie  and the  National Theatre of Scotland , perhaps has a preemptive imaginative answer—of sorts. Reminiscent of the style in Mark Ravenhill’s  Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat,  and premiering just as Russian troops occupied Ukraine, it is not about a war on a frontline, unless you see that line as a domestic one. Instead, using a large number of vignettes, it explores a variety of Russian characters suffering neurosis, psychosis, and schizophrenia as a result of what is happening to them in their own country. Characters are unable to function in a world that is increasingly lived through the pursuit of sensual fulfillment or, in equal amounts, internal and external oppression. They suffer mental and emotional overload and their natural human tendencies are suppressed, either by themselves or others. In the play, the characters fail to distinguish between what is real or not real (referring to Russian State TV’s tendency to fake news reports, or bend the truth of news stories to fit their agenda), they cross boundaries, abuse others, and look at the world through a filter of mysticism. One scene recounts a moment where a father feels that there is a connection between the simultaneous events of his son going missing and his ability to refrain from smoking at such a time of great stress. We don’t hear if the son is found and we presume that he is not. We realize that so many Russians are in jail, searching for meanings of their own, as the state’s official roads to truth dead end. Russia’s citizens look at their own lives and their country’s history, through the bars of state-led oppression.

What does the future look like for Russian theatre? It is unknown territory, though some fear one path may already have been laid out years ago in the Stalinist period. Teatr doc. itself is allowed to exist for the moment. But the authorities could shut Teatr. doc down if they wanted. Why don’t they? Perhaps it is something to do with why Putin invades other countries: he keeps himself in power by creating problems only he can solve. Perhaps the announcement that the Minister of Culture would vet new plays and since redacted because of a public outcry, was also a psychological trick. For now, though, Teatr.doc’s artistic director refuses to listen to what she calls the “whispers in her ear” or believe any “conspiracy theories” about the State’s real feelings about theatre, and the one she runs especially.

Putting in half measures against Russia’s artistic dissent by kicking Teatr.doc from building to building, yet allowing their plays to take place, or by threatening the censorship of new work but not following through with it, seems a fine line for the Russian government to tread and it forces the theatre world to be constantly on guard. Theatregoing in Russia is a serious business, though they reject it as a “time killing” enterprise. The 115 theatres in Moscow pride themselves on being almost completely sold out all of the time. Where else in the world does theatre matter as much as this? Putin is, for now, cutting just enough slack for theatre to survive as a much-muted place of dissent, but will it be enough for its people? Might they demand more? Theatre is “messier” and “bigger” than us, so it seems only time will tell.

This article was originally published by Howlround

– See more at: http://howlround.com/to-moscow#sthash.a87bQnpf.dpuf

Share this:

Leave a comment cancel reply.

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

The Creative Writing Breakfast Club Sunday 30th June 2024

Join writer Laurie Bolger for Creative Writing Breakfast Club, a chance to get scribbling from the comfort of your own space via Zoom.

Date and time

Refund policy, about this event.

• Event lasts 1 hour

The Creative Writing Breakfast Club as featured in Time Out is a Free Flow Creative Writing hour with writer Laurie Bolger.

This session is about letting your creativity lead the way, generating new and exciting writing in your own unique style.

During this 60 minute workshop Laurie will take you through fast paced writing exercises to boost mindfulness. All you need is a pen and paper and somewhere chilled to sit and let your imagination do it’s thing.

Laurie Bolger is a London based writer & the founder of The Creative Writing Breakfast Club. Laurie’s work has been widely anthologised & has featured at Glastonbury, TATE & Sky Arts. Laurie’s first publication Box Rooms celebrated community & her W10 roots.

Laurie was the winner of The Moth Poetry Prize & was shortlisted for The Sylvia Plath, Bridport & Forward Poetry Prize. Her latest books include Makeover & Spin celebrating the resilience of working class women, autonomy & love.

Laurie has collaborated with global brands, charities & organisations such as Google, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Liberty, Penhaligons, Nationwide, Glastonbury, Choose Love, Mind UK, TATE & Sky Arts.

Laurie has been teaching creative workshops for over a decade bringing people together to celebrate their own unique voices & scribbles.

“ If you ever want a cosy, creative, calming place to explore writing, Laurie's workshops are perfection…My heart is so full (I know what that means now)” Breakfast Clubber 2024

"My first workshop of Laurie's & definitely won’t be my last… ideas exploding all over the shop - thank you, loved it"

Writing: Water Participant 2023

“Laurie’s workshops are a safe & at the same time dangerous place for writing..."

Writing The Seven Deadly Sins Workshop Participant 2022

"Probably the best, most productive w/s I've ever attended. Fantastic. Thank you!"

Writing The Body Participant 2023

“If I could jump inside her poems I would…I imagine it’d be lovely & warm in there” Hollie McNish

Instagram @lauriebolger_ | Twitter @lauriebolger

www.lauriebolger.com

• Online Events
• Things To Do Online
• Online Classes
• Online Arts Classes
• #creativeworkshop
• #creativewriting
• #creativewritingbeginners
• #creative_class
• #creative_workshop
• #creative_writing_workshop
• #creativewritingworkshop

Organised by

• The Star ePaper
• Subscriptions
• Manage Profile
• Change Password
• Manage Logins
• Manage Subscription
• Transaction History
• Manage Billing Info
• Manage For You
• Manage Bookmarks
• Package & Pricing

People trapped in burning research institute near Moscow, officials say

Monday, 24 Jun 2024

MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least nine people were trapped on the upper floors of a burning electronics research institute outside Moscow, Russian emergency services and officials said on Monday.

Footage carried by the 112 Telegram channel showed some of the people smashing windows as black smoke billowed out of the building and flames licked its lower floors.

"According to preliminary information, there are 9 more people in the building," the emergency ministry said. "The rescue operation continues."

At least one person was saved by fire services, the ministry said.

Moscow regional governor, Andrei Vorobyov, said the fire had engulfed three floors of the building.

"According to eyewitnesses, there may be seven more people in the building. The search for victims continues," Vorobyov said.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Ros Russell)

Found a mistake in this article?

Report it to us.

Thank you for your report!

UTAR pushes the envelope with its students

Next in world.

Trending in News

Air pollutant index, highest api readings, select state and location to view the latest api reading.

• Select Location

Source: Department of Environment, Malaysia

Others Also Read

Best viewed on Chrome browsers.

We would love to keep you posted on the latest promotion. Kindly fill the form below

Thank you for downloading.

We hope you enjoy this feature!