By guest blogger Milli Thornton
Welcome, writers and closet writers!
Using Bev's book, Sun Signs for Writers, plus the style of writing prompt from my book, Fear of Writing: for writers & closet writers, I've been exploring the zodiac with a new prompt each month. This month we'll be working with Scorpio.
At the end of this post you'll find links to the prompts for Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo and Libra. If you don't see your sign mentioned yet, don't let that stop you from having fun with these prompts! They can be used by anyone at any time.
Now, most of us, when we think of Scorpio, think intense. Bev's description of the Scorpio writer (Sun Signs for Writers, page 89) reinforces this model. “Passion and confidence make for an impressive and unstoppable writer. On the other hand, those two elements, if not kept in check, can leave a bad taste in other people's mouths. Scorpios work at such an intense level that most people cannot even hope to keep up with them.”
Bev says the Scorpio writer “has a deep and wide vein of fearlessness.” She says Scorpios “know how to work people and are often hypnotic and charismatic.” They can be forceful and demanding, but also steadfast and dependable.
And, what about that famous sting in the tail? Bev says that if a Scorpio truly wants to become a professional writer, stand aside, because nothing's gonna stop ’em! However, she cautions, “Scorpios must be careful not to leave broken souls and singed egos in their wake.”
With this fascinating personality makeup, let's put Scorpio into the driver's seat and see where she takes us.
To use this month's prompt, read the Scorpio story starter below and let it sink into your subconscious mind. Trust in your imagination and your own version of the storyline will surface.
If your imagination feels a bit rusty, check the links at the bottom of this post for the article “10 Tips for Using the Zodiac Writing Prompts.” These tips are guaranteed to get you started, one way or another.
SCORPULOUS Genre-hopping writer Raven McMannon wanted to do something different for Halloween this year. She was sick of all the usual stuff. She didn't want to deal with witches or goblins or the undead—and if she heard one more joke about her name, she was going to scream. Her intensity about all this had been building throughout the month. Finally, on October 30, she packed an overnight bag and her laptop and got in the car. She was going to drive across the state until she found what she was looking for. This was going to be a glorious writer's retreat for one, with the added intrigue of choosing her accommodations by intuition. What she found surpassed anything she could have planned for. And the souls she met at this “bed and breakfast with a twist” were better than any fancy costume party her friends back home could provide. Raven's imagination was so stimulated, she had to try to find a balance between writing the book that was pouring out of her and reacting to the various moods of provocation and revelation surrounding her.
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10 Tips for Using the Zodiac Writing Prompts
March writing prompt: Aries
April writing prompt: Taurus
May writing prompt: Gemini
June writing prompt: Cancer
July writing prompt: Leo
August writing prompt: Virgo
September writing prompt: Libra
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MILLI THORNTON is the author of Fear
of Writing: for writers & closet writers and still misses Australia, where she lived for 25 years. A bit of a gypsy, she currently lives in Ohio with her husband. Milli blogs at Fear of Writing and Milliver’s Travels.
