Typescript posts a new challenge each Wednesday to encourage creativity and inspire conversation. Feel free to talk about the challenge or share your writing results in the comments section below by leaving an excerpt and/or a link to your own site or blog.

The spark of inspiration can be found anywhere you choose to look. From a title of a song to a sketch found on a napkin, from an overheard conversation to a line of poetry, these stories are waiting to be discovered and told.

Writers have a relationship with words that is undeniable. They are able to manipulate language to bring characters to life, unveil emotion, and offer the reader experiences through the comfort of a story. Poets weave that same magic, with meaning given to every single word. So often, there are lines that stand out and speak to the reader, that linger long after the poem has been read. These are words of wisdom and thought nestled in stanzas full of style and imagery and, sometimes, even a little bit of unconventional punctuation.

Emily Dickinson
Emily Dickinson was a 19th century American Poet best known for titles such as “Hope is the Thing With Feathers,” “Because I Could Not Stop for Death,” and “Heart, We Will Forget Him” (ironically, her original poetry lacked titles). Having lived a fairly secluded and private life, Dickinson published few works throughout her lifetime, though her collection of nearly 1800 poems was published posthumously beginning in 1890. Dickinson’s writing style is easily recognizable and is marked by short lines, the personification of nature and abstract thought, and unconventional capitalization and use of dashes; however, her imagery and subject matter can also be easily distinguished and attributed.

Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poets for her writing on the subjects of life, death, and love, as I often find simple messages of wisdom and inspiration tucked between those notorious dashes and capital letters. What meaning will they spark for you?

Challenge: Use one of the following prompts from Dickinson’s poetry to create a new short story or poem:

“the Heaven we chase”

“I know that he exists somewhere, in silence.”

“he lived where dreams were born”

“the hands still hug the tardy glass”

“lead the wandering sails”

“I should have been too saved”

“I years had been from home”

“a door just opened on a street”

“ashes denote that fire was”

“I know a place where summer strives”

Talk-back: What’s your writing style?