Songwriting Without Boundaries (27 page)

Your turn. List two other things that
arrest
, then find related nouns, verbs, and adjectives for each member of the list. Try to apply them to
policeman.
Write a sentence or a short paragraph for the good ones.

DAY #11

PLAYING IN KEYS:
USING LINKING QUALITIES

Okay, here you go again. Today you’ll be working with two prompts and will be asked to create two responses for each one—four explorations in all. Take your time.

Start with the noun
cathedral.
Here are some qualities:

It inspires.

What else inspires?

SUSAN CATTANEO:
Moon

Moon inspires
: astronaut, mysterious, faraway, remote, glowing, controlling tides, waxing, waning, eclipse

The cathedral eclipsed the other buildings in the city and its congregation waxes and wanes depending on people’s need for faith.

Music inspires
: flowing, in time, rhythmic, scored, fluid, toe tapping, expressive, cadenced

The cathedral rose up from the street, a melody in fluid stone that harmonized beautifully with its stained glass windows.

CHANELLE DAVIS:
Teacher

Teacher inspires
: knowledge, learning, patient, wise, keeper, books, information, instructs, delivers, pass on, link, education, school, old

The cathedral is a patient teacher, linking generations with divine knowledge.

Your turn. List two other things that
inspire
, then find related nouns, verbs, and adjectives for each member of the list. Try to apply them to
cathedral.
Write a sentence or a short paragraph for the good ones.

Here’s another quality of a cathedral:

Being at the pinnacle.

What else is
at the pinnacle?

SUSAN CATTANEO:
The Super Bowl

St. Peter’s Cathedral is the Super Bowl of churches, dominating over the city, a giant spectacle for all to see.

KRISTIN CIFELLI:
Rolls-Royce

Decorated in Michelangelo frescoes, and bigger-than-life-sized marble statues, St. Peter’s Cathedral is a Rolls Royce: expensive, bursting with pride and status, and only to be used for extremely special occasions.

Now, your turn. Write your own.

DAY #12

PLAYING IN KEYS:
FINDING LINKING QUALITIES

Once again, you’ll respond to two prompts. List at least three qualities for each prompt. Then, for each quality in your list, ask, “What else has that quality?” and look for related nouns, verbs, and adjectives, and apply them as usual. Write a sentence or a short paragraph for each one.

Maple Tree

ANDREA STOLPE:
Is beloved

What else has that quality?

A family heirloom
: worn as jewelry, precious, vintage

The maple tree is a family heirloom, draping around the neck of the lush green yard.

CHANELLE DAVIS:
Changes colour

What else has that quality?

Woman
: makeup, blusher, eye shadow, dress up, naked, beauty, elegance

The maple tree slowly undressed herself to reveal pale smooth skin, her red dress gathered around her feet.

SUSAN CATTANEO:
It sprouts

What else has that quality?

Rumors
: tongues wagging, painful words, whispered behind backs, the cut of the words, tattletale, gossip, secrets

The maple tree gossiped with the wind, leaves whispering secrets about the coming autumn.

Go ahead and list three qualities of a maple tree.

Now ask, “What else has that quality?” and look for nouns, verbs, and adjectives related to the new object, and apply them as usual. Write a sentence or a short paragraph for each one

Here’s your second noun to work with:

Traffic

What quality does traffic have?

ANDREA STOLPE:
It’s congested

What else has that quality?

Congested:
Nose, bulbous, pointed, used for smelling

The traffic was an allergenic nose, a bulbous stack of congestion along the wrinkled highway.

SUSAN CATTANEO:
It’s slow

What else has that quality?

Old man
: baggy pressed pants, wisps of gray hair, yellowed teeth, wheezing, shuffling feet, stooped shoulders, a folded newspaper under his arm, sensible shoes