FICTION WRITING Finding Forrester

Jamal Wallace (Robert Brown) is an inner-city kid from the Bronx who has an aptness at basketball and a
genius at writing. While always a C student, Jamal comes to the attention of a prestigious New York prep
school when he scores highly on his standardized tests. While Jamal is given a heavy load at his new
school, both he and the school know that the real reason they took him on is for his prowess on the court.
Befriended by fellow student Claire (Anna Paquin) and helped along by Pulitzer-prize winning author
and recluse William Forrester (Sean Connery), Jamal pursues his dreams both on and off the court while
overcoming obstacles placed by his bitter literature teacher. As Jamal is shaped by Forrester, he finds that
he is changing the old writer as well, forcing him to confront his past...and his future.

Using various prompts from

Minos by Marcos McPeek Villatoro, Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie and The Screwtape
Letters by C. S. Lewis

DIRECTIONS:
1. Choose one of the following lines from Minos, Reservation Blues and The Screwtape Letters.
2. Once you have chosen the prompt that intrigues you, start to type/write out the entire prompt as if it
were the first line of your story.
3. Keep writing. See where the prompt takes you. GO! No thinking- WRITE. WRITE FROM YOUR
HEART.
4. Use your brain later. Fix the piece later.

Prompt One (page 1- Minos)

Planning makes this easier. He’s learned that the hard way. Do something, do it right.

Prompt Two (page 12- Minos)

I’ll never get used to it. That’s when I cried, of course, standing before the mirror.

Prompt Three (page 129- Reservation Blues)

They sat on the grass for a long time. Neither wanted to rise and leave the rest stop, because Seattle
waited somewhere down the mountain. Seattle. Seattle. The word sounded like a song.

Prompt Four (page 235- Reservation Blues)

“Please,” she said, her only prayer. She lay on the bed, closed her eyes, and prayed. She prayed until she
fell asleep, and then she dreamed.

Prompt Five (page 50- The Screwtape Letters)

All mortals tend to turn into the thing they are pretending to be.

Prompt Six (page 172- The Screwtape Letters)

The more one thinks about it, the worse it becomes.