Depicting Desire

If desire is the life force of our creative practice (and I believe it is!), if desire is the the fuel that feeds our writing (hint: it is), then we must nurture our desire. We must lean into the wanting. To do that, we need to recognize our want, acknowledge it, greet it, and embrace it. We have to give it shape, substance, and texture. We have  want to want.

But what, exactly, does it mean ...  to want? What does it feel like, look like, sound like, smell like?

For this week’s writing prompt, begin with making a list of nouns that embody a sense of want, a sense of desire. Then, verbs—verbs that are laden with the hunger of wanting. Then adjectives. Then adverbs.

Once you have a wonderful, steaming basket of want-words, let your mind wander through your own history of desire. Make a list of times in your life when you have really, really wanted something.

After a while, settle on one of those experiences of wanting, and write about it. Did you get what you wanted? Why or why not? And, o…