Celebrate light

Celebrate light

Gwynn Scheltema

In these stressful times, Diwali, the five-day Festival of Lights, celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world November 13 to 18, seems like precisely the sentiment I want to occupy my brain at the moment. This festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness and knowledge over ignorance is such a hopeful state, it lifts my spirit, gives me a break from the stresses that seem ever present in the shadows.

One of the ways people celebrate Diwali is with strings of celebratory lights and with fireworks. For this week’s blog, I decided that I would lighten up too and celebrate by giving you a fireworks display of writing prompts based on light and shadow.

So fire up your pens, and have fun!

“Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.”   Mary Oliver

  • Write a scene that “shines light” on something to see it as it really is.
  • Story starter: What appeared in the flames was certainly not what she was expecting.
  • Write a scene where “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”
  • “It’s okay,” she said. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
  • What imagery does the word “fireworks” evoke?

“When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow.”  – Ursula K. Le Guin

  • Story starter: The light blinded her….
  • It’s the holiday season and outdoor lights are everywhere…
  • Write a scene around the campfire.
  • Write a scene that takes place during an eclipse
  • Write a scene involving the lighting of a candle.

“There is the darkness that frightens, the darkness that soothes, the darkness that is restful. There is the darkness of lovers and the darkness of assassins. It becomes what the bearer wishes it to be, needs it to be. It is not wholly bad or good.”       Sarah J. Maas

  • Ask your character, “What’s the most evil thing you’ve ever done, thought or said?”
  • Is darkness a lack of light or a conscious decision to stay out of it? Write about someone who chooses the dark to hide from the world.
  • Are dark and light symbiotic? Write about a character who believes “It’s only in darkness you can see the stars.”
  • Every hundred years, the seven deadly sins meet for a tournament. The winner gets to be humanity’s most prominent sin for the next century. Who won in the year 2000?
  • Story starter: On Tuesday I discovered I had no shadow…..

“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”  – Stephen King

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5 thoughts on “Celebrate light

  1. “What appeared in the flames…” just launched a story with people and thoughts I did not know were in me. Are writers often strangers to themselves?

  2. Thanks Gwynn.
    Gave me an idea for a story about coming out of a tunnel with a choice of two possible directions, and exploring both of them.
    Judy

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