DAVID JAMES MADDEN’S
WRITING PROMPT SERIES
My name is David Madden. I was a public school teacher in Connecticut for 35 years. Since I retired I’ve written a book of poems for kids in Grades 4-8 about Old Sturbridge Village entitled Sprung from the Soil. I’ve also written A Quaker Cupboard, a book about Quaker testimonies, and a novel entitled An Unknown Soldier.
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David James Madden
#1 | Habits
November 9, 2020
Today’s prompt is about habits. The dictionary defines a habit as “a usual way of behaving: something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way”. It’s not unusual to think of habits as something negative, but habits can sometimes be good for us as well. What is a habit of yours, either good or not so much, that you have now? What was a habit that you no longer have? How do you think people generally acquire certain habits? How do they break habits? Do certain habits strike you as being humorous?
#2 | Appreciation
November 16, 2020
When was a time when you really appreciated something? This could have been when someone did something knowing it would make you happy or when someone didn’t realize how much their action would be valued by you. Perhaps this was an experience where you were the giver, not the recipient, of an appreciated act or maybe this was something you did for yourself, knowing how much you would appreciate your own effort. Or maybe your appreciation didn’t come from an action, but just from realizing what was around you and happening at the time.
#3 | Neighbors
November 23, 2020
Who have been your neighbors over the years? Who comes to mind first, people who live near you now or people from your childhood? Are your memories of neighbors always pleasant? When Jesus was asked the question, “Who is my neighbor?” he answered with the story of the Good Samaritan. Robert Frost told us in his poem “Mending Wall” that “good fences make good neighbors.” Fred Rogers asked if we would be his neighbor. What makes a person neighbor? What are the essentials of living in peace with each other?
#4 | OBSTACLES
November 30, 2020
What was a time when you were really determined to do something and see it through to the end? In spite of obstacles that were put in your way you focused your energy and efforts on the task in front of you and stuck with it until it was finished. It’s one thing to get something done when the going is easy, but this was a time when you used your will power to do something that wasn’t a cinch.
#5 | Solitude
December 7, 2020
Do you enjoy solitude? How is solitude the same as and different from loneliness? Do you enjoy solitude more or less than you did in the past? What are some of the things you enjoy doing when you spend time in solitude? Do you ever deliberately seek out solitude or is this something that just happens from time to time? Have you ever had a special place where you have gone To experience solitude?
#6 | JOY
December 29, 2020
Joy is defined in the dictionary as being “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness”. What are times you have had an experience of joy? What are the conditions necessary for joy to be present? Is joy something that can be summoned by an act of will or is it something that comes to us more as gift? When was the last time you really enjoyed something?