An Apocalyptic Writing Exercise from Brandi Wells
This week’s writing prompt comes from Brandi Wells, author of the just-released This Boring Apocalypse (Civil Coping Mechanisms). You can respond in the comments or by email to amy@realpants.com for a chance of publication at Real Pants. (We will only reply if you win, or if we would like to publish your piece.)
The inability to properly express your feelings for another is a very small sort of apocalypse. This is why we feel hurt when a relationship ends. It is our own apocalypse, though the rest of the world rolls on without experiencing it. Let’s explore these apocalypses.
- Write about a person you love very much, but write about them as though you despise them. Pretend there exists hatred between the two of you. What do you enact upon your loved ones? What terrible guilt might you feel? Do you try to stop yourself?
- Write about a person you love as though they are your pet, as though you keep them. How do you maintain this person, this pet?
- Write about a person you love as though they are inanimate. How does this change your relationship? How do you manage it?
- Write about a person you love, but pretend you are that inanimate object. How might your feelings surface and be expressed?
- Write about a break up without being boring.
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