WRITING PROMPTS

WRITING  PROMPT  THE  FIRST

1.  Select one particular memory you have as a patient (one blood draw, one interview with a physician, one surgical experience)

2.  Categorize the at least 3 individuals involved in this experience using the following fairy tale motifs:

Hero/ine (Self), Elder (Stationary), Donor, Villain, True Love, Friend, Messenger

individuals can fit more than one category (a tactless physician can be a donor and a villain, for example).

character types need not be human (the true love could be the demoral given after a surgical experience)

3.  Categorize at least 3 places associated with the experience using the following fairy tale motifs:

Home, Paradise, Limbo, Hell

places can include rooms (waiting room, examination room) or  parts of rooms (examination table, rolling chair)

4.  Write your medical experience, starting with Once upon a time, and using the elements you developed above.  For each stage of writing, remember how the medical experience felt rather than documenting everything that happened. If, in the process of writing you feel trapped by the need to represent the situation as it happened, release yourself from this by inserting a little magic (an object with a charm, three signs, a neutral individual with a piece of information, a song) something as far from what feels like real as possible.

WRITING  PROMPT  THE  SECOND

Download the MSword document:  FAIRY_TALE_BITS .

Select one or more of the fairy tale bits and modify it using your own patient experience. Then, using this as a start, continue the tale with incorporating your own emotional experience.   When you feel constrained by facts, throw in another modified bit from the document or a magical element such as a talking object, three helpful individuals, a dark wood.