Writing Prompt #18
Spring anticipation and solitude
Yesterday was the spring equinox and the official start to a new season. Being in touch with the seasons is fundamental to my approach to ecological writing, so I like to use these transition points to either look ahead or reflect.
Writing Warm-Up
Choose one or both and write for five minutes:
What did you learn this past winter?
What are five things you are looking forward to this spring?
While I have yet to read Lydia Millet’s fiction, I am enjoying her recent anti-memoir called, We Loved It All. I learned about the book in a recent interview Millet did with author, Lisa Wells, for Orion Magazine.
Here is a brief excerpt:
Lisa: It’s not a straight memoir in any sense. There’s a layer about your life, then these intergenerational layers about your kids and your family of origin. And then, of course, all of these wonderful and terrible vignettes about the other species you’ve encountered in your work. It all compiles and coheres in a way that resembles life, if not linearly. So I wonder how you approached the construction?
Lydia: Originally it was much longer, sort of a sprawling bestiary. I had to weed out—and I felt really guilty doing it—but I had to weed out so many critters. And plants: the book has too few plants in it and I regret that. But I had to be the mercenary as I was cutting it down because it had started to feel like the homemade encyclopedia of animals my brother made when we were kids. It got whittled down so it wouldn’t overwhelm.
This book covers a lot of terrain and touches on Millet’s experience as a mother and long-time wildlife and climate advocate. Her investigation into her own experiences in nature and with animals, has brought up a lot of questions for me as an environmental writer.
The privacy of the mind gives us freedom, but at the price of a piercing aloneness.
Early spring is a contemplative time for a lot of religions and cultures. As an example, this year the season of Lent started on March 5th. I have been trying to spend a lot of time outside noticing the change of seasons. New growth in the garden, new bird song. At times I feel a deep connection to the plants and animals around me, but I sometimes also feel alone.
Writing Prompt
When was the last time you were alone in nature? Where were you and what were you doing—walking down the street, sitting in a park, hiking deep in the woods? How did you feel? Did you enjoy your solitude? Did you feel a sense of connection or did you feel alone? Did any particular organism stand out to you?
Create a scene and let us know all the exterior and interior details. What did you see, think, and feel? Write for 15 minutes.