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16 July 2008

Words on Wednesday: Writing Prompt

I stumbled across this site recently. One Word presents daily a single word writing prompt that is revealed when you press the Comment button. There is a 60 second timer that gently chimes (so much nicer than a clanking buzzer or gong) when the time has elapsed. Unlike timed standardized tests, you get to finish the sentence you're writing before posting.

I have used this recently for two purposes:
1. It's a good warm-up exercise before one starts to write.
2. Although it's only a minute, it's a great way to procrastinate while at work!

I don't spend too much time looking at what others have left. Like my own quickly jotted notes, most aren't very complete, and some are painful (or painfully boring) to read. I like this site and think I will continue to be a regular visitor for my daily one word dose.

Several months ago, I decided to start an occasional post on words, language, and writing on Wednesdays, that day chosen for the obvious reason of the alliterative sound of 'Words on Wednesday'. But, I haven't followed through with that idea and, in fact, have only posted on Wednesdays four times this year. Only two of those posts were even remotely about language and writing. Maybe, the occasional -- okay, I'll be truthful: sporadic -- Words on Wednesdays will appear with a bit more frequency in the future, but no promises! I have at least one post perculating about playing word games like Scrabble.

1 comment:

Mayland Writers' Group said...

Hi. Glad I "stumbled" across your blog. I love the One Word site and will pass it along to members of my writing group.
Susan M. Bell