IWSG: Writing From Art

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the month. You know what that means! It's time to let our insecurities hang out. Yep, it's the Insecure Writer's Support Group blog hop. If you're a writer at any stage of career, I highly recommend this blog hop as a way to connect with other writers for support, sympathy, ideas, and networking.

If you're a reader, it's a great way to peek behind the curtain of a writing life.

The awesome co-hosts for the February 5 posting of the IWSG are Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson! I hope you'll check out their blogs as well as some of the others on this blog hop after you see what I have to say.

February 5 question - Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?
____________________________________________________

I write from photo/art prompts with some frequency. Each October, I play along with Bliss Morgan's Nightmare Fuel project, writing a daily piece of flash fiction based on a creepy art piece. I've also really enjoyed Andy Brokaw's Wording Wednesday, a challenge she holds every couple of months.

Mostly, I use prompt writing just to have fun. Since I changed my hobby of writing into a side-hustle, I've had to take it more seriously, so there's a balance to be struck between fun and productive work and I use prompt writing for fun.

That's not to say that I never go back and finish that work, honing those pieces into something more complete.

In fact, a piece of fiction that started as a picture prompt is about to be included in a horror anthology later this year ("The Cleaning Lady" in Stories We Tell After Midnight from Crone Girls Press).

I've had a couple of others grow into something that has or might yet be published.

But that's not the point for me--the point is reconnecting with the playfulness. Working from a prompt makes it feel like a game again, something I'm playing at because it's fun, and it's important to hold onto that joy.

Looking forward to hearing other stories from my #IWSG colleagues today. Thanks for coming by!