Imaginative Storm Blog
Our philosophy - our writers
The Imaginative Storm is all about generating material rather than trying to “write well.” We encourage you to write randomly, to write what you don’t know, to open up your pen to the gifts of your imagination. We like to call it a dance between the rational mind and the imaginative mind, with the imaginative mind leading the dance.
Most of the posts below are pieces written in 10 minutes by people who attend our Saturday “Prompt of the Week” Zoom session. We’ve chosen them to show you the power and freshness that the Imaginative Storm method generates.
Some pieces are obviously raw material, studded with powerful images and turns of phrase; other pieces are so tight and coherent that it seems impossible that they came out that way, straight onto the page. Even though the goal of Imaginative Storm writing is not to create a finished piece in 10 minutes, sometimes we just can’t help it!
Write amazing dialogue with random writing prompts
I say i say i say whoa mule! Dag nabbed seven-headed guard dog. Ugh! and i feel like my tongue is a mile long . . .
Create a memorable character in 10 minutes
What makes a memorable character? Many things: vividness, quirks, emotion, mystery. . . .
Overcome writer’s block by mining the gold of your imagination
Writer’s block often comes from fear: fear of not being a good enough writer, and also fear of where your writing might take you if you let your rational mind give up control. One way to overcome writer’s block is to . . .
“A pulsating sky”: find writing inspiration everywhere
Where can you find inspiration for your writing? Anywhere! Everywhere! From the snow outside your door to the whirring data banks at CERN, the quantum physics research facility—which was the prompt we offered in our Prompt of the Week online gathering when Susie Shipman wrote this atmospheric piece.
Louis Faber: from 10-minute writing prompt to published writer
Do you want to be a published writer? The secret to arresting, original writing is to write what you don’t know. Advance your goal of being a published writer by working with our writing prompts . . .
“The distant ring of the easy rider”: find your voice
Or we might say, “of the easy writer”! Have you ever had the thought, “I need to find my voice?” Here’s the trick to finding your voice as a writer . . .
The early bird gets the worm (and overcomes writer’s block)
Would you like to eliminate writer’s block for good? Check out the three magic ingredients of the Imaginative Storm method.
Life’s thread fraying: written in 10 minutes
He knew he was dying. With each breath, he could feel his life’s thread fraying, like the net cast by a spider across the maple leaves in the garden during the night …
A taxonomy of Chinese ghosts
There are those who like to disengage their heads and allow them to fly about, mostly in the setting of a bedroom. ..
We go together like a leek and a Fraggle - written in 10 minutes
I don't understand you but my heart syncopates with you. We dance. We collide. We struggle…
“How Could This Be?” - written in 10 minutes
Music is news to my kitten; paradise returned to me.
“Shortly After” - written in 10 minutes
“the unimaginable softness that puts butter to shame …”
The future was better - written in 10 minutes
Jagged memories of the future, can you hear me?
Written in 10 minutes: “I will wear white . . .”
“I will wear white, impossibly white, to my mother’s funeral . . .”
Written in 10 minutes: “cutting a piece of the past”
The last century just reared its ugly head,
“Meaningful Gibberish” - written in 10 minutes
“It has only been a year since the accident that stole her words from her tongue.”
Written in 10 minutes - playfully
“Let yourself be nonsensical, it’s a permission slip to come alive. “
Write without trying
When you’re curious, you forget about writing well. You just want to see what comes out. Curiosity and the inner critic cannot coexist.