AdventWord 2022

writing prompts for every day in Advent

I’m running a little low on words right now. Most of my screen time and creativity are given over to a big church curriculum project I’m writing. My summer procrastination preparation has left me with an ambitious daily word count if I’m to get it done on time. I’m actually enjoying the discipline of writing a lot every day whether I feel like it or not. Imagine what I could do if I applied myself like that all the time….

Grammarly (my spelling and proofreading program) tells me I used more unique words last week than 92% of its users. (I’m guessing words like diaspora, sanctification, Sanhedrin, theodicy—and more fun ones like those.)

Also, my most common mistakes are unnecessary or missing commas. (I just added the comma after “also” in that last sentence, thanks to Grammarly….)

In the absence of my own creativity, I am grateful for the prompts shared this time of year by AdventWord. They give us one word a day for the weeks leading up to Christmas. People share their own photos, writing, or reflection based on the words. You can read more, and join in here. AdventWord.

Here’s the full list, with words coming from the Sunday lectionary lessons.

a writing prompt

Today’s Advent word prompt is “mountains.”

My first thought is: I still have mountains of words to write today. My second thought is to write about the mountains I am missing since we moved—the view from our old front porch—and Mary Oliver’s words from “I Have Decided”

I have decided to find myself a home in the mountains, somewhere high up where one learns to live peacefully in the cold and the silence. It’s said that in such a place certain revelations may be discovered. That what the spirit reaches for may be eventually felt, if not exactly understood. Slowly, no doubt. I’m not talking about a vacation.

Of course, at the same time I mean to stay exactly where I am.

Are you following me?

What will your response be?

Photo by Alex Diaz on Unsplash