Writing prompt – what’s behind the window?
No Comments »3rd February, 2013; Category: Fiction, Short Fiction, Short Stories, Short Story Starters, The Writer's Life, Writing prompts
Windows in the Kasbah des Oudaias, Rabat, Morocco
On our visit to the Rabat, the capital of Morocco, my attention was grabbed by this intriguing, yet, beautiful, set of windows in the Kasbah des Oudaias.
The writer in me started wondering: what’s behind the windows?
Who lives here? What are the stories of the people living here?
If the windows could tell, what stories would they weave.
This quaint, simple scene is evocative of the mysterious, magical Morocco we experienced throughout our tour.
Could this be the setting for a poem?
A short story?
A murder mystery – or a tearful romance?
Good writing.
Pots on a wall
Pots on a wall in Rabat, Morocco
We saw these beautiful, ornate pots while visiting Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. Our guide took us on a meandering walk through some narrow lanes in the Kasbah des Oudaias. I was fascinated by this set of large pots on a wall next to someone’s front door. They appear to have been recently cemented in place. Why? I have no idea.
We visited a number of sites while in Rabat, this older part being a UNESCO World Heritage area.
Writing prompt:
Use your imagination to answer one or more of these questions:
- Why are the pots on the wall?
- Who put them there?
- What have they been used for?
- Who lives behind the wall?
Incorporate some of your answers into a story about a person who lives in this old city. Or tell the story from the point of view of one of the pots.
Good writing.
Drumming up a story
Colourful character in Rabat, Morocco
During our visit to Rabat, the capital city of Morocco, we went to see part of the old fortified city. As we alighted from our bus this colourful character came towards us banging on his drum. This was obviously part of the experience of visiting this spot, but our guide didn’t explain why the drummer was there. He was also trying to drum up business, but I was too mean-spirited to give him a tip. Seeing he knew I had taken a photo of his, he was probably a little miffed that I didn’t give him a tip.
Writing prompt: use your imagination to tell the following:
- What is this man’s story?
- Where has he come from, and what is his background?
- Why is he dressed in this way?
- What significance has the drum?
Freshly baked bread
“I do not have to eat freshly baked bread to love it. The scent is nearly as delicious, nearly as much the satisfaction as the thick slice of bread slathered with butter and homemade apricot jam.”
Julia Cameron in The right to write.
One of my most enduring memories of freshly baked bread occurred during a holiday in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. My wife and I, accompanied by our daughter and her little dog, headed off to one of our favourite camping spots towing our caravan. After a long day of travelling we set up camp overlooking the magnificent southern edge of Wilpena Pound. We could look out of the window or sit in the sunshine next to our van and admire the full beauty of the range.
Because we didn’t know how often fresh bread was available in the small park shop, we decided to take our bread making machine with us. To wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread in the small confines of the van was like sleeping in a bakery. Then to top off the experience we had homemade apricot jam to enjoy with the fresh bread. I think we probably had homemade peach and pineapple jam as well. Heaven.
As I remember, there was a downside. On the first day I came down with a heavy cold. I survived – probably only because to the fresh bread baked every day.
WRITING PROMPTS
- Write about your encounters with fresh bread.
- Write about baking homemade bread in your home when you were a child.
- Write about special food you enjoyed on a holiday.
- Write about a holiday spoiled by illness.