Category: tips from the bar

Tips from the Bar: Sure, By Its Cover

Tips from the Bar

Tell a story about a book you find on the street/in an airport/on the shelf of someone you don’t have much in common with.

Tips from the Bar: Excavation

Tips from the Bar

A recent archaeological dig in Melbourne unearthed more than a thousand teeth extracted by a 19th-century dentist’s office.

What horrors will future investigators discover in your own ruins?

Tip from the Bar: Hindsight is High-Gloss

Tips from the Bar

Consider the duct tape recently painted over at the Cantab Lounge. Now consider a time when you thought you had made some real self-improvement, maybe enough to tell somebody about. Did it go as well as you dreamed?

Tips from the Bar: A Better Horrible

Think back to (or, sorry, just look over your shoulder at) a terrible boss you’ve had, one whose actions were bad for you, your co-workers, your customers, and the culture of the business. Write the apology from them that you are owed.

Alternatively: what could you do differently if you were in charge?

Tips from the Bar: Literally a Poem About Your Favorite Pizza

Tips from the Bar

Try and find a piece of writing that stumbles over objectification of a person (or somehow makes the act of objectification seem lovely) and let it inspire you to write about something you are passionate about. Express this without mentioning a person in any way.

Tips from the Bar: Dreamself vs. You

Tips from the Bar

Wait for a moment when you are completely exhausted. Try writing down a few lines, or ideas, or an outline for a piece of writing. Once you are more rested, pick up where you left off; start with these key lines or ideas and work to finish the idea.

Tips from the Bar: Comedy, Tragedy

Tips from the Bar

Why is the gay mermaid late?

Tips from the Bar: Shark Week, Cantab Style

Tips from the Bar

Explain a scar you don’t remember getting.

Tips from the Bar: Flood Warning

Tips from the Bar

This week, you may have noticed that your phone provides a very loud and emphatic emergency weather warning (even if you are one or more counties away from the potentially dangerous weather). Imagine another alert you really wish your phone would give you to help you avoid disaster.

Tips from the Bar: Sara Brickman’s Nightmare Prompt

Tips from the Bar

Guest workshopper Sara Brickman offered a two-part prompt in a workshop before her show:

FIRST: Write down your most recent nightmare. If you can’t remember it, write down an anxiety dream, or a recurring nightmare you can remember.

THEN: [Highlight this text only after you’ve completed step 1.] Imagine you are on a dinner date …

Continue reading