grace grits and gardening

ramblings from an arkansas farm girl

  • Home
  • About
  • Media
  • Crafts
  • Farm
  • Food
  • Garden
  • Reading & Books
  • Sunday Letter
  • SHOP!
  • Privacy Policy

Familiar

June 21, 2013 By Talya Tate Boerner 18 Comments

For no good reason, I held my breath as I passed the sign welcoming me to Wind Gap, the way kids do when they drive by cemeteries. The row of houses along Main Street still stood, yet well-tended hydrangea had been replaced with cheap toys and mismatched clay pots filled only with dirt. A man in coveralls ambled past the General Store and waved as his gaze followed my ordinary rental car. I automatically pulled to the grass and lingered. The stand of cottonwoods near the edge of the school yard now towered above the town. Windows once offering escape for my wandering mind were trapped behind sheets of plywood. The air smelled familiar.

This exercise was written for the 7x7x7x7 Writing Prompt…

What is the 7x7x7x7 Writing Prompt?


  1. Grab the 7th book from your bookshelf.
  2. Open it up to page 7.
  3. Pinpoint the 7th sentence on the page.
  4. Begin a poem/a piece of prose that begins with that sentence
  5. Limit it in length to 7 lines/7 sentences.
Note:  The first sentence in italics was taken from Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. 

Filed Under: Life, Writing Tagged With: creative writing prompt

Wanna receive my monthly Newsletter? Sign up here!

Comments

  1. Lana88 says

    June 21, 2013 at 4:38 am

    I love all of these awesome writing ideas!! I am really wanting to do this one. ๐Ÿ™‚ You did an awesome job!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 4:48 am

      Thanks Lana! Can’t wait to read yours. T.

      Reply
  2. Gary Henderson says

    June 21, 2013 at 4:41 am

    Ooooh. I’mma so do this one. As soon as I figure out WHICH book shelf to pick the 7th book from. The paperbacks in my library? The hardbacks in my library? The ‘to read’ shelf in my bedroom? The stack of books on the piano? ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 4:48 am

      This one was really cool. I just reached behind my desk, counted the seventh book and went for it. Happened to be a great starting sentence!

      Reply
  3. Kathy says

    June 21, 2013 at 5:25 am

    Awesome job Tayla!!! I might have to give this a whirl myself.

    Kathy
    http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com

    Reply
  4. Corinne Rodrigues says

    June 21, 2013 at 7:15 am

    Wonderful, Talya. I sneaked your link into the linky! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 9:00 am

      Thank you Corinne! I hated to miss the linky period…

      Reply
  5. Richa Singh says

    June 21, 2013 at 8:51 am

    A lovely take on the prompt ๐Ÿ™‚ and will find out more about the book you have mentioned ๐Ÿ™‚

    Richa

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 8:59 am

      Thank you Richa! Gillian Flynn in an amazing author…Her most popular is probably Gone Girl.

      Reply
  6. Dances With Vodka says

    June 21, 2013 at 10:02 am

    Fantastic job!

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 1:12 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  7. Tim Hardin says

    June 21, 2013 at 1:32 pm

    Thanks for taking us readers with you on your visit to Wind Gap…It’s funny, but the school there brought to mind the junior high building I once attended. Awesome piece of writing, Talya.

    Reply
  8. Bryan Jones says

    June 21, 2013 at 2:33 pm

    You’re just getting better and better, what’s next taking the first and last words of a story and continuing?

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 21, 2013 at 5:08 pm

      Great idea!

      Reply
  9. Suzy says

    June 21, 2013 at 7:56 pm

    A bit of nostalgia nicely portrayed. Somehow sensed an air of mystery too.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 22, 2013 at 3:15 am

      Thank you Suzy.

      Reply
  10. Bhavya says

    June 21, 2013 at 10:08 pm

    Loved your mysterious story….
    Never heard of the Author you mentioned. I think I should look him up.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      June 22, 2013 at 3:16 am

      Thank you Bhavya. Gillian Flynn is a female author. You should definitely check her out.

      Reply

COMMENT: Cancel reply

Talya Tate Boerner


Hi! I'm Talya. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

Click to BUY NOW!

Talya Tate Boerner books
Gene, Everywhere

Never miss a blog post! Subscribe via email:

Receive my Monthly Newsletter?

Most Popular Posts…

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Yum Yum Cake - old southern recipe!
  • SHOP!
  • Nana's Strawberry Cake (the real one)
  • How to Create a Certified Monarch Waystation

Most Recent

  • Chicken Tortilla Soup
  • Sunday Letter: 01.29.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.15.23
  • Sunday Letter: 01.08.23
  • Sunday Letter: 12.18.22

Grace Grits index

Prior Posts

Search Categories

Tags

A to Z April Blog Challenge Autumn BAT Book Reviews childhood Christmas creative writing prompt Dallas Desserts Eureka Springs Fall Fayetteville Food Gracie Lee Halloween Hemingway-Pfeiffer home humor Johnson Family Keiser Lake Norfork Lucy and Annabelle Mississippi County Mississippi Delta moving Munger Place Nana nature Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Osceola poem Reading Schnauzer simple living simple things spring spring gardening Summer sunday letter Talya Tate Boerner novel The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee Thomas Tate Winter Wordless Wednesday
Follow on Bloglovin

Food. Farm. Garden. Life.

THANKS FOR READING!

All content and photos Copyright Grace, Grits and Gardening © 2023 ยท Web Hosting By StrataByte