I am not my right breast.

Uh, okay. I thought in response. I’ll take your word for it.

I was browsing the “For Sale” books at my local library, and that first line was the title, stretched out along the peeling spine of a hardcover. I continued looking over the assorted bundles, sniggering at the Mills & Boon titles (“Sheik For Hire!” and “Baby In The Boardroom!”) and rescuing the dejected pile of knitting magazines from tumbling lemming style off the table – all the while with a chunk of my brain chewing on the original title.

What if I AM my right breast? What would that mean? I like my bosom buddies, so that’s kind of a compliment. What if I’m not my right breast? What would I be best summarised as; my left bicep? My odd little toes? Why them? Why not? That is a clever title for a breast cancer survivor book though… If I was going to write a book about something I know what would I call it? “Can I Please Have a Tazer? A Guide to Surviving Divorce”? Maybe “7000 Reasons to Eat Dessert/First”? Then I realised I was running late (libraries ambush me all the time) and I had to shove the whole discussion into the impossible, universe-deep drawer labelled “Inspiration” and go buy carrots and toilet paper. And that right there is what frustrates and delights me about inspiration – you never know when you’re going to dodge a falling piano, or get smacked upside the head with an insistent alien tentacle.

Or if you have a huge, perfect (or even fair-to-middling but fascinating snippet of an) idea, are you going to remember the idea, or remember where you put the reminder or prompt (Pinterest is what I’m using at the moment for my online ideas). Of all those I know who write, they don’t schedule in time to get ideas. Sure, many of them carve out allotted time to write, but as for dancing at precisely 6:15am with their muse… The muse is a little commitment-phobic shall we say.

Then, if it’s not the absence of ideas, there’s being petrified that I can’t do the idea justice. That maybe I could do something worthwhile with it, but I’d need to work out the plot, then characters and maybe flesh out some conversation and I just don’t have seventeen hours right now!  I know several people who signed up for NaNoWriMo, or who are blogging every day for November. I like the idea of just letting the words foam and froth, dribble and dry out onto the page or screen – just to be writing something and not overthinking it to oblivion.

So let’s try something – take a phrase out of this post, or one of the prompts below, (or something from one of the comments!) and give me a chunk of words. Nothing huge – it can be a bit of a conversation, or the next two sentences in the action. It could be something totally unrelated, but inspired from what you read. The prompt or phrase can be the first, middle or last bit of your comment, or not included at all. Just don’t think about it – let the words tumble out. And feel free to add something that inspired you lately.

1. So, I licked the kitchen floor.
2. The sound of a soft-drink can opening.
3. A glob of slobber the size of a Volkswagon landed
4. My shadow scares me.
5. The sun shouted Alleluia
6. Truth or dare, my rules.
7. Hey, wanna start a fight?

Related posts:

1. I Write?
2. You’re Invited: Segullah Studio Night
3. A Call for Essays from BYU Women’s Services