PROMPT: Launch from the sentence-starter, “If you hold me up to the light…,” and keep your pen moving for 6 minutes.
Peek into the hidden corners of your characters by having them do this prompt.
As always, you’re encouraged to post your unedited response(s) to the prompt in the comments section of this post. By doing so, you stand up for this important, but oft-neglected, wild and wooly part of the creative process.
If you hold me up to the light, you will see that all of my organs are now in place—my heart is not in my throat, my stomach is not dropped too low, my appendix has never been removed. It’s a big job in this life keeping everything in place, especially when one never knows when the light will be shined on them, when they will be the chosen one for excrutiating examination. It’s always a good practice to be prepared, to hold your head high, shoulders back, spine in place. Visit your chiropractor often, only buy shoes with competent arches, and use your knees when you lift. Be determined. Picture yourself as being transparent to others. Look in the mirror—do not live the unexamined life. Do not be a ghost until it is time. If you hold me up to the light, I am going to stretch my arms and legs as far and as wide as they can go, relax my hips and put the swing back in swinger. Don’t let my foot hit you. If you hold me up to the light, you had better be prepared for what you will see.