If You Were a Tree, What Kind of Tree Would You Be? #JusJoJan

I’m

compelled to do it,

you’re compelled to do it, at least if you are a part of

Just Jot It January #JusJoJan.

Writing. Again I was writing, for the second of a three-part creative writing workshop I am in the middle of this month.

We were talking, in that workshop, about what the compulsion is that means we “must” write. The writer who was leading reads us a poem each time. She gives us an object. Last week it was

vehicles and animals.

This week it was different kinds of trees. We had to list trees we’ve known, from our lives somehow, and then write six short chapters on one of these trees. We have seven timed minutes, a chapter to explore our memories and recollections of what one of these trees has meant to us and our lives.

We are either coming from our perspective or that of the tree.

🙂

We’re asked to describe the tree and our relationship to it, using our five senses. This allowed me to think back to a time when I had sight as one of those five, as I have it less and less now.

I chose the tree from my front yard growing up. It is gone now, sadly, but it played an important role in my childhood. We played under it, around it, and even up in it. It looked down on our front yard, our house, and on us.

Carrie says not to stop writing, from the first minute to the seventh, and to even write out the alphabet if you are unable to think of something to say in that moment.

That sure made for some funny rereads at the end of the morning.

🙂

I brought my braille display, electronic braille machine, so I could write and then be able to read mine with everyone else at the end.

Maybe I will post some of that here, in a future post. I was quite happy with what I came up with, some of it anyway. What Carrie says is true, and that’s why I wanted to take one of her workshops.

It might all be crap, or nonsensical, or it might just turn out to be something great and completely unexpected.

I am compelled to write and I was compelled to take a creative workshop from Carrie Snyder.

Check out even more wisdom from Carrie here.

There is one more morning of the workshop left. I will be sad when it ends. I wish it could continue.

One more week of this jotting everyday in January thing too.

Today’s prompt is from

Willowdot21,

and the rules

can be found right here,

if you feel compelled to give it a try or to just find out what it’s all about.