How to Build the Habit of Writing: One-Word Prompts
Word for the Day: “Bookmark”
If my life were a book and if I would want to go back to a particular moment, I would place one bookmark in between pages 172 and 173 where you approached me, sitting by the shore, and you said, “The storm before the calm?” There was a brewing storm in the horizon, and we were waiting for the calm. You sat next to me.
But I wouldn’t place a bookmark on a page where you liked someone, and I was hurt. I’ll just memorize the page number in case I need a reminder to move on.
I close the book.
Memories can slip away easily.
I open the book again.
I browse through the pages, trying to find that exact moment.
But I don’t remember the page number anymore.
I wrote the text above from a writing prompt I did for myself last August 2020. I listed down words for each day of August, and then I would come up with something that should include those words.
As you can see, the Day 6 prompt should have been on August 6th, right? But I just went with the flow. I didn’t force myself to write when I didn’t feel okay or when I needed to rest. Just let the ideas come through.
One-word writing prompts help in building the habit of writing, especially when you’ve gone through weeks or months or years of not writing anything much. It gets you to reflect on the word itself, its meaning, its etymology, its translation to another language, its connotations, and whatnot. It might lead you to another thought, memory, or feeling, prodding you to dig deeper, to look closer, and to shift perspectives. Having just one word to focus on gives you time to reflect on it and ask questions: “What could the word ‘statutory’ mean for a lawyer, for a lay person, for an auditor?” or “Is there someone I have met who was ‘holy’ in heart and soul?”
When you get an idea or angle, start writing immediately. Begin whatever that you can connect to another thought, so that the story would continue.
Here’s another word I had from last year: “Carpenters”
The first thing that came to my mind was the duo consisting of Karen and Richard Carpenter. Another association was Saint Joseph the Carpenter. Playing around more with the image of a carpenter led me to the verb ‘build.’ Then I came up with this write-up:
We weren’t carpenters.
We couldn’t build our home—how much more our marriage?
That’s how short it was. You get to say how much you want to write! Don't hesitate to write longer, but also, don’t hesitate to write something simple, short, and strong.
To start, I’ll share with you my words from August 2020. Feel free to share with me what you’ve written with these words!
Tame
Calendar
Boxes
Storm
Crater
Finite
Buttons
Noise
Silence
Arrange
Discard
Matter
Theorem
Lungs
Soil
Chase
Strings
Ampersand
Carpenters
Foster
Hunger
Eggplant
Know
Bookmark
Hands
Sink
Light
Delivery
Conversations
Thrive
For less pressure, remember that some habits don’t have to be done daily. You don’t have to push yourself too hard to write every day. You can set an easy goal for now like writing every Sunday. List down four words for the four Sundays in a month, if you want—anything just to kick-off your stint again in writing.
And soon, you’ll be surprised you’re in a 42k run already.