Find three Writing Prompts from “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor. If you are interested in writing about the the face, the heart, the body, or the spirit you may find a prompt that's intriguing and inspiring! Happy writing!
Write a character sketch for Tom. T. Shiftlet, whom we meet in “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor. Use the following description from the story to begin, and aim to write 250 words, combining observations and assumptions: “His face descended in forehead for more than half its length and ended suddenly with his features just balanced over a jutting steeltrap jaw. He seemed to be a young man but he had a look of composed dissatisfaction as if he understood life thoroughly.” Write an exchange between a man and a woman, using only dialogue. Do not include descriptions of anything. Start with the man saying the following sentences from “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor: “‘A body and a spirit,’ he repeated. ‘The body, lady, is like a house: it don’t go anywhere; but the spirit, lady, is like a automobile: always on the move, always…’” Write a scene where several characters talk about the human heart. You may use the following sentence from “The Life You Save May Be Your Own” by Flannery O’Connor as your epigraph, or incorporate it into your scene: “‘There’s one of these doctors in Atlanta that’s taken a knife and cut the human heart—the human heart,’ he repeated, leaning forward, ‘out of a man’s chest and held it in his hand,’ and he held his hand out, palm up, as if it were slightly weighted with the human heart, ‘and studied it like it was a day-old chicken, and lady,’ he said, allowing a long significant pause in which his head slid forward and his clay-colored eyes brightened, ‘he don’t know no more about it than you or me.’” Follow The Ways of Black InkFor free writing resources, information and announcements about reading and writing classes, and that random poem.For questions and comments:https://waysofblackink.wordpress.com/waysofblackink@gmail.comWeChat: nazlusha