Rupi Kaur’s Writing Prompts

The universe takes and gives everything you didn’t know you needed. These prompts are an invitation to step inside yourself and explore what balance means to you. Rupi Kaur

The universe is taking my Rupi Kaur writing prompts away. I am closing in on the final prompts in the boxes. The prompts have been an excellent way to step inside myself and examine gratitude, self-love, and balance. Now, what will I do without writing prompts?

In November, I may not notice as I will be working on writing 50,000 words with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Should I notice as I have written how many stories, poems/rhymes, and articles for Vocal and Medium?

It is hard to believe I won’t notice. Will my writing come to an end? Will I find others to follow their writing prompts, like Poppy on Vocal? Then there are others on Medium.

Should I try AI? Not yet and maybe never. Maybe I am just too old to go there. Should I work more on balance by getting better at being more of a planner than a pantser? NaNoWriMo talks about that. It is clear to me that I am a pantser. (Flying by the seat of my pants.)

How can I pull that off? Maybe I can try a list of topics, and a list of what’s next, then stick to the lists as closely as I can? Can you tell I am not there but I may have something? I have a general idea of what I am writing for NaNoWriMo.

Then I have no more than that, while planners have already begun to write, to have their title and an outline, and have already developed characters. That would make writing a book in a month so much easier I would think. When writing as a pantser, can you switch to being a planner?

Maybe I have solved this by marrying a planner and having planner friends that I work with regularly. I want to present right off the top of my head, while my co-presenters have to have everything written down and practiced before they start to talk.

Working with my husband and friends is how I find balance.

Rupi Kaur’s Balance Writing Prompts — An activity that depletes my energy is ______________. I continue to do it because ______________.

Right now it is decluttering. Not the actual work, but rather the thinking about it, listening to others about their decluttering. I continue to declutter because I really have the need to get rid of so much before I go.

Go where? To a seniors apartment building, to a nursing home, to my daughters, to the every lasting happy place. I just know it is not fair that someone else should have to go through my many bookshelves, and the many files of papers I have been saving just in case.

In the past few years prior I have imagined my children pulling up a dumpster and tossing everything of mine, filling it up, and hauling it off to the dump.

My husband would help them, as when he wants to give something away, it is almost always my stuff. He takes what he wants of mine and calls whatever it is his.

Rupi Kaur’s Balance Writing Prompts — Make two lists: one about how work enriches your life and another about how work makes life difficult. Reflect on how these two lists make you feel.

Work enriches my life: I am retired and work part-time. I want to work as long as it makes sense. Working gives me mad money. Money that can go for buying gifts, buying things for me that I couldn’t ordinarily afford, and once I get there, I love being with the group I am with.

Especially I enjoy the feedback I receive from group participants. And from my boss, whoever that is at the time. The agency, conference, business. I want to believe I made a difference. That something I said or did helped.

Working can be difficult at 70, because of my age, and health issues, body aches, that I never had when younger. I am slower and it shows. I don’t remember everything that I say or have plans to do.

I get up in the morning and don’t want to leave the house around nine for a 10 a.m. group. I try to schedule appointments in the afternoon. Speaking at a three-day training used to be energizing, now it takes 2–3 days to recuperate from the training.

Rupi Kaur’s Balance Writing Prompts — The last time I tried something new was __________________, and it made me feel __________________.

Poetry formats I try out regularly are new and this past week it has been the format below. I don’t know if it has a name but it was a prompt from a writer on Vocal Media. I enjoy new formats and look forward to using them as a contest for a Poem a Day in February.

Something new, whatever can I do?

Do some new poetry format writing.

Writing is my favorite pastime now.

Now that I am retired and not just tired.

Tired makes me sound so old

Old is a state of mind I’m told

Told from someone who knows it all

All I know for sure is that someone has a lot of gall

Gall when telling me it’s all in my mind

Mind your ps and qs while I unwind

Unwind and end this before it’s a grind

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Authors note: The format for the poem above does not have to rhyme. That is my thing, as I like poetry formats that rhyme.

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First published by Mercury Press on Medium.com