I thought I’d share a free writing prompt, shared in a recent LUNCH WRITING co-writing session. (Which, by the way, is a free monthly session you’re welcome to join.)

A prompt for beginning: TODAY

When we want to write but struggle to know where to start, ‘Today’ is a great entry point.

Above are two excerpts.

The first, from Ray Johnson, is actually from an advert. (Poetic ad!) The second are lines taken from Heidi Julavitz’s beautiful book A Folded Clock: A Diary.

Take a moment to read them, if you’d like.

In their simple repetition of the word ‘Today’, both excerpt has this very delicious rhythm. The lines, which are mostly ordinary and matter-of-fact observations, build into something bigger and mysterious, yet real.

Getting yourself to come back to writing is often the hard bit. ‘Today’ is an invitation.

Prompt: Start writing, using as your starting point, either ‘Today I’ or ‘XXXX today’

for example,

Today I saw a beautiful Great Dane, it made me think of you.

or

I didn’t see the sun today.

Write in this way for 45 minutes. What do you know, think, hear, see or taste in today? You might use your Today refrain to start every sentence and discover what emerges through the repetition. Go wherever you wish.

Do let me know if you end up using this prompt.

Feel free to share below what you noticed or thought when writing from ‘today’, or what did or didn’t work for you. You can also share a line or two if you’d like to – for my eyes only – I’d love to see them.