This weekend, a stunning (and macabre) event will appear to half the world—the ‘Super Blood Wolf Moon’ total lunar eclipse. Any one of these words might inspire writerly composition, but together? A creative bonanza. This week’s prompts focus on scary, campy, and intriguing intersections inspired by this special astronomical event. May they be fruitful for you even after the moon’s face comes back.
- Gauzy curtains, dancing ninjas, and chalices… Take a couple of characters and props from Bonnie Tyler to create a scene.
- The ‘blood moon’ totality will turn the moon red. Write a scene or stanza in which something loses its natural color or adopts an unusual hue.
- Borrow a wolf idiom and consider it literally in a short piece.
- Write a poem or piece of prose in which blood is significant but no violence occurs.
- Using these explanations for eclipses for inspiration, imagine your way into an eclipse-derived metaphor.
- Try out some found language from Teen Wolf (1985) for a poem or piece of prose.
- Names can be weird. Make your own name for some exceptional natural phenomenon (real or otherwise) and use it in verse or prose.
- Ahoooooooo! Embrace the howling o’s of blood moon by using oodles of double vowel words.
- Wolves are part of the Canidae family that communicates via scent and vocalizations. Draft a scene or poem in which smell and/or sound guide you.
- There are many more moons than just our own. Research one or more of the moons of a different planet, and let your imagination run from there. Write a poem about the moon, set a story there, or just describe it in great detail.
- Invent a list of pulp fiction titles (complete with at least two subtitles) for the superwolf blood moon—find inspirational examples here and here.
Did you miss earlier prompts lists? Here they are. Did you miss the wolf moon? Don’t worry, they roll around every January. But you’ll have to wait much, much longer for the super blood wolf moon. The next lunar eclipse alone won’t arrive until 2021.
If you like what you’ve written, consider turning it into something bigger and better, like a short story or essay (or a novel?). If you aren’t enamored or inspired by it, try putting it away for a bit. There’s a chance you’ll like it, or that it will inspire you, down the road. If it turns into a lovely thing that you want the world to see, submit. If you have feedback, or ideas for prompts, please get in touch.