Looking for all Articles by Rachel Gray?
Scotland's Stories writing prompt: Community friendships
A story writing prompt inspired by our Scotland's Stories: Friendship campaign.
You can also access this prompt in Gaelic.
Scottish Book Trust is asking people all over Scotland to submit their true, personal stories of Friendship. Use this story prompt to find inspiration for your story and ideas of things to write about.
Community friendships (acrostic poetry)
These are the friendships we formed from the causes that are most important to us. Whether that’s advocating for equality, volunteering at a local care home or the monthly nature walk we share with like-minded folk, connecting with those around us gives us purpose and reminds us that we’re part of something bigger.
“You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.” ― A.A. Milne
This writing exercise will help you explore the friendships you gained through shared causes and experiences through acrostic poetry. Acrostic poetry is a poem where the first letter of each line of poetry spells out a word when read vertically.
Brainstorm – Mind map
To begin, get yourself and your brain warmed up. Grab a blank piece of paper and write community in the middle of it. If you prefer a list, make Community the heading of your page.
Then begin to write down all the words and thoughts that come into your head. It could be groups you belong to; communities you feel a part of. Perhaps list names of people who you consider friends you have made through these memberships.
Set a timer for 5 minutes of free writing. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar, just aim to get as many words and phrases related to your communities and the connections you have made with others onto the page.
Warm up
Have a look at the words and phrases you have written down in the brainstorm task. Do any jump out at you? Is there a certain community your brain kept bringing you back to? Or any person that you couldn’t stop writing about?
Focus on that area. Start to think about an experience of friendship you had in that community. Or a moment where a friend supported you with actions or words. How did you feel in this moment? What were your senses experiencing? What could you see, hear, taste, smell and touch?
Acrostic poem
An acrostic poem is formed of lines of poetry where the first letter of each line spells out a word vertically down the page.
It can be helpful to choose a word to begin the writing process, perhaps the name of the group or community you belong to? Or the name of the friend that you met through a group? Or an experience you went on together.
If this doesn’t work, try writing a few lines of poetry, with no concern for the first letter of the line. How does this feel? Do any phrases or lines stick out to you? Try going back to your vertical word, does it need changed or altered slightly?
Remember to think about the friendship you made, and the experiences and support you have received from this special someone, and the connections you have built.