At the end of May, I noticed a post on FB by my friend, AnnDee Ellis challenging friends to take The Book of Alchemy challenge this summer. This book contains 100 essays followed by 100 writing prompts. AnnDee taught a Memoir class at BYU. It was because of her class assignment that I started this blog. Again, I determined to do what she asked.
I invited my writing friends, Julie and Shelley to join me. For the last 100 days or so, we have been determined to keep up with this challenge. The book has followed me to Alaska, St. Louis and Newport Beach and this week I am finishing the prompts.
Can I just say that I LOVE a good writing prompt. This book is divided into 10 themes with 10 prompts for each theme: On Beginning, On Memory, On Fear, On Seeing, On Love, On the Body, On Rebuilding, On Ego, On Purpose and On Alchemy. Each prompt is preceded by an essay by a different author. Some were excellent containing real gems, some were good, and some were fair to not-so-great. When I got to a prompt I didn’t really care for or relate to, I wrote my own prompt, and carried on, and that was good.
I am coming away from this challenge with almost 100 pages of my own words, and I’m happy about that.
Here’s a sampling of some of the prompts I enjoyed writing about:
Identify two turning points in your life. Describe what led up to them, why you chose the path you did, an how they led to now.
Write a letter from a burning building. You are trapped and will not be able to escape. No rescue. You know this is the last thing you will ever write. Whom will you write to? What will you say?
Who taught you about work? What lessons did they pass down to you? How do you balance your labors with rest and reward?
Write about what drives you – not what you get paid for, not what others want you to do. Write about the thing you can’t stop doing.
Write about something you once took for granted but no longer do.
Write about the last time you felt someone was truly listening to you. What was it like—emotionally, physically, and energetically—to be heard?
