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Three Things: Dictionary Edition

2017 April 3
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by Wren

Hi, folks. Wren here. We’re trying something new with Three Things. Hazel will still bring you her amazing visual prompts a couple times a month, but we’re going to switch things up and bring some non-visual writing prompts featuring three things, too. (Have other ideas for what we should incorporate into these writing prompts? Email us at hello@hazelandwren.com!)

Today, I’m thinking about dictionaries. I grabbed my nearest dictionary (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) and flipped to three separate pages, closed my eyes, and pointed at random. Here are the three words to either inspire or incorporate directly into your next narrative, story, and/or poem (it sounds a bit ominous, eh?):

hawk: n. 1. Any of various birds of prey of the order Falconiformes, and especially of the genera Accipiter and Buteo, characteristically having a short, hooked bill and strong claws adapted for seizing. See falcon. 2. Any of various similar birds. 3. A ruthless person who preys on others; a shark. 4. Informal. One who favors a militaristic version of his country’s foreign policy. In this sense, compare dove.

necromancy: n. 1. The art that professes to conjure up the spirits of the dead and commune with them in order to predict the future. 2. Black magic; sorcery. 3. Magical qualities: “the necromancy of female gracefulness” (Poe). See Synonyms at magic.

rim: n. 1. The border, edge, or margin of an object. 2. The circular outer part of a wheel, furthest from the axle. 3. A circular metal structure around which a wheel tire is fitted.

Three Things: The Birthday Balloon Edition

2017 March 7
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Today marks Hazel & Wren’s sixth birthday! While we celebrate quietly amongst ourselves, let’s write about a birthday balloon (or another occasion that calls for a balloon). Cheers!

 

Julie Blackmon, Birthday Girl, from Domestic Vacations. Photograph. www.julieblackmon.com

 

Jasper Oostland, Zwarte ballon (Black balloon), 2007. Acrylic/silver foil on canvas. www.jasperoostland.com

 

David Graeme Baker, Cutout, 2013. Oil on panel. www.davidgbakerpainting.com

 

Three Things: The Family Edition

2017 February 20
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This week let’s focus on family dynamics, or at least a moment in a family’s day. Will the moment you choose be mundane or fraught with emotion? Quiet or chaotic? Here are three moments in three different families to get you started.

 

Julie Blackmon, Stolen Kiss, from Domestic Vacations series. Photograph. www.julieblackmon.com

 

William Eggleston, Black family by the sea, published in Los Alamos, 2002. Photograph. www.egglestontrust.com

 

Larry Sultan, Close Up, 1992, from Pictures from Home series. Photograph. www.larrysultan.com

 

Three Things: The Empty House Edition

2017 February 6
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Let’s suppose your character finds her or himself in an empty house. What happens next?

 

William Eggleston, Untitled, from 10.D.70.V2. Photograph. www.egglestontrust.com

 

Anna Ådén, Untitled from Plainness series. Photograph. www.imable.se

 

Michael Cappabianca, The Aztecs, from The Material. Photograph. www.michaelcappabianca.com