A Prophetic Writing Prompt from Caroline Cabrera
This week, Caroline Cabrera asks us to think about prophecy and obsession in a prompt themed to her new book of poems, Bicycle Year, now available for pre-order from H_NGM_N. You can respond to the prompt in the comments or by email to amy@realpants.com for a chance of publication at Real Pants. (We will only reply if we would like to publish your piece.)
A Bicycle Year Writing Prompt in Two Parts
Part 1:
- You may not have a year, so pick a time in the near future (the end of the day, the end of the week) and imagine there is a prophecy that says the world will end at that moment.
- Imagine that you don’t exactly believe this prophecy but you aren’t willing to rule it out.
- Meditate on this as often as you can.
- Choose several points at which to sit down and write all that has happened to you; every event, thought, and feeling.
- Trim or expand those notes into something that feels essential.
Part 2:
- Seek out the part of yourself that you hold most dearly and hide most fiercely from the world.
- Name her.
- Maybe draw her or build a model of her. Consider eating the model.
- Write to her, obsessively. Be as nice and as mean to her as you can.
Set these two pieces side by side and marry them.
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