Writing Prompts

For what it's worth, here are Neil Gaiman's writing prompts and my answers to them. I suppose this is a kind of literary equivalent to a FaceBook meme.


Why is January so dangerous?

Once the holiday lights dim, the season reminds us of the shadows behind our families.


What's the strangest thing that ever happened to you in February?

Two men spontaneously pick up wooden animal figurines & perform the *Litany of the Predator and the Prey*.


What historical figure does March remind you of?

The frantic mix of hail, sunsets, zipping clouds & triple-rainbows reminds me of Alberto Santos-Dumont.


What’s your happiest memory of April?

Skydiving over Arizona, I jump into my sky-mind. I back-flip in a perfect circle. Sun. Moon. Mountain. Me.


What is the weirdest gift you've ever been given in May?

One May Day, my black cat, Machka, awakened me by hacking up a hair-ball on my bed.


Where would you spend a perfect June?

All June, my husband and I toured museums and posed as the Bad Girls from all the works. Our son was mortified.


What is the most unusual thing you have ever seen in July?

In a cabin on an island in the Rhinelander river, I woke my friends at midnight to see an aurora borealis.


If August could speak, what would it say?

August would say "Soon you will know what you have chosen to sacrifice."


Tell me something you lost in September that meant a lot to you.

During sophomore calculus, I lost my belief that I would or could be Mr Spock--I didn't know how to be.


What mythical creature would you like to meet in October?

What Would Chiron Do? Hold Management Seminars? Run Men's Movement Workshops? Advise NASA? Sell cologne?


What would you burn in November, if you could?

I would burn letters that spelled "Make me a blessing unto others" on all the world's mirrors.


Who would you like to see again in December?

My dead relatives wouldn't appreciate being summoned so I could compare them to childhood memories.