Ideastream №101?
All Change!
“All that you touch you Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God Is Change.” – Octavia E. Butler, novelist
Hello beautiful people,
So excited that TBI creator Xavier Van Holde decided we can all be IdeaStream contributors!
I love the format just as he created it, so I’ve tried to replicate it here — the only change I made was to add a limerick challenge. Hope you like it!
I’ve chosen Change for my inaugural topic because Change can be good, change can be challenging, but one thing’s for sure, change is always a-coming.
WRITERS PROMPTS
Poetry Salvage
Use these ten words in a poem!
Nikhedonia – the feeling of excitement or elation that comes from anticipating success
Whiffler- a person who frequently changes opinions or course
Petrichor – the pleasant smell that accompanies the first rain after a dry spell
Abomasum – the fourth stomach of a ruminant, such as a cow or a sheep
Bibble – to drink often; to eat and/or drink noisily
Gabelle – a tax on salt
Lollygag – to be idle and lazy or to waste time
Philodox – a dogmatic person who is especially fond of his/her own opinions
Frisson – sudden, passing shudder of emotion or excitement
Dowlas – coarse linen
Haiku Challenge
Write five related haikus about a time you surmounted a change you’d dreaded.
An Unlikely Scene For Fiction Writers
Choose one or all of these characters to write a story about.
- Pat, a gnome stolen from his garden trying to make his way home.
- Xavier the Dark Lord gets married — but loses his bride en route to the airport.
- Boris Jeeves, an honest politician
- Charlotte a fifteen-year-old genius scientist
- One of the lions in Trafalgar Square comes to life
Subject Matter Smash-Up
Looking for an article? Pick one subject to write on exclusively, or two subjects/keywords to smash together in an article, essay, or fiction story.
A day in the life of a Hippotherapist
Half of the earth’s population have died in the coronavirus pandemic, and the other half set out in spaceships to find a new planet beyond the stars
Prince Harry marries Madonna after unexpectedly divorcing the Duchess of Sussex
Pretend you’re a cocker spaniel for twenty-four hours
Polyandry becomes legal
Finish the Story
Take this short story introduction and run with it!
“She stood at the edge of the cliff, looking over…”
Recommended Reads
Not feeling this round of ideas? Take inspiration from a story below!
List of Authors from Top to Bottom: Agnes Louis, Ingela Canis, Demeter deLune, Chris Hedges, Kristen Hill, Marilyn Flower, Barry Davret, Jan M Flynn, Preethi Narayanan, Helen Cassidy Page
What’s it all about, Alfie?*
IdeaStream is the brainchild of Xavier Van Holde, Creative Writing Director & Founder of The Bad Influence.
“We are always looking for fresh voices at TBI, and our mission is to inspire creativity, give writers home to be their true selves, and thumb our nose at all the lame people out there that have no imagination (example: people that believe in censorship, corporate overlords, politicians, and religious people who don’t acknowledge others with different beliefs).
If you’re looking for a home for your writing with people that like to read & support other writers then we’d be honoured to have you no matter your skill level.”
Limerick prompt
This is a new limerick section, in which I offer writers a couple of lines which they then finish in accordance with limerick rules; namely a humorous five-line poem with a rhyme scheme AABBA.
The definition below is from Wikipedia:
“A limerick (/ˈlɪmərɪk/[1]) is a form of verse, usually humorous and frequently rude, in five-line, predominantly anapestic meter with a strict rhyme scheme of AABBA, in which the first, second and fifth line rhyme, while the third and fourth lines are shorter and share a different rhyme.
The following example is a limerick of unknown origin:
The limerick packs laughs anatomical Into space that is quite economical. But the good ones I’ve seen So seldom are clean And the clean ones so seldom are comical
Our limerick starter for IdeaStream №101? is as follows:
There once was a creator named Xavier
His publication would not be a failure…
Once completed, pls add the link for this Ideastream.
The limerick I deem my favourite will be featured in the next IdeaStream
IdeaStream Guest Writer Profile
Marla Bishop is a guest editor for IdeaStream, as well as editor for GetFitGang and The Narrative, and publisher of Lilith. A writer and relationship coach, she lives in London UK with her husband and youngest two children. You can follow her here.
*Listen to my favourite version of Alfie (Bacharach & Da vid,1966) here:
