Matilda Butler, SheWrites Guest Editor and Co-Founder Women's Memoirs

Writing Prompt #2, Who is Dorothy Parker?

Yesterday, I began a series of blogs featuring pithy quotes from Dorothy Parker. After posting it, I took off for a day at the coast with one of my sons. He's well-read, has a master's in English Literature and teaches English at the college level. So I knew he'd appreciate Sunday's quote from Dorothy Parker. Reeling it off, I figured this was the perfect one for him since I thought he'd love the reference to the Elements of Style. He laughed at the appropriate moment after the punch line. I added, "That's one of Dorothy Parker's quotes I'm featuring this week on SheWrites." He responded, "Who's Dorothy Parker?" When I mentioned, "Oh, you know. She was one of the founding members of The Round Table group of the Algonquin Hotel." When he said, "Where the Algonquin Hotel," and his look of confusion deepened, I knew I'd found another example of generational knowledge.

So, if you are of a certain age, then just skip this paragraph and move on to today's Dorothy Parker quote. Otherwise, here's a little background. Parker seems fairly modern (to me) since she lived through most of the sixties. However, her birth year of 1893 makes her seem somewhat ancient, even to me. But she was an amazing woman who knew how to hold her own in a male-dominated world. She sold a poem to Vanity Fair when she was just 21. At that point, she was on her own. Her mother died when she was five, her step-mother when she was nine, and her father when she was 20.

That poem was just the beginning. A few months after Vanity Fair accepted it for publication, she was hired as an editorial assistant at Vogue and then two years later, she became a staff writer for Vanity Fair. Through friendships made at the publishing companies, she and a small group of writers began to eat lunch at the Algonquin Hotel. In the photo on the left, you'll find Art Samuels, Charlie MacArthur, Harpo Marx, Dorothy Parker and Alexander Woollcott -- the founding members of The Round Table.

The Internet has considerably more information about Dorothy Parker's life so I won't repeat it all here. Just enough to remind you about her background or to introduce you to her.

For better or for worse, Dorothy Parker became known for her abrasive wit. That wit is clear in the quotes I'm using this week. I hope that you'll enjoy the ones I've chosen and the writing prompts I've put with them. Sometimes a sharp tongue isn't pleasant and certainly not if you are on the receiving end. But that type of wit can also help break through our thought ruts. 

Dorothy Parker Speaks and SheWrites Listens

In school, we were all warned about cheating on exams and about plagiarism. These were probably the two big no-nos if you wanted to do well in high school. Today, there are software programs that teachers use to ensure that an essay hasn't been copied from a website. Times change in implementation only. The warnings remain the same. 

As writers, we know not to copy someone's work, and yet we can learn much from emulating another author. To give this some thought, consider the following writing prompts.

SheWrites Writes: Writing Prompt #1

1. What author do you read and admire? Write five aspects of his or her writing that you think contribute to your admiration. Is it the subject matter? The use of language? The ability to develop an engaging plot line? The strong characters that linger in your thoughts even after you finish reading? Emotions that evoke your own feelings? The use of a specific point of view? Write for five minutes.

2. Open a book by this author and find a paragraph that you like -- don't spend too long looking for the perfect one. Read the paragraph carefully and then write for five minutes about why it is effective.

3. Now return to your own writing and craft the next paragraph in the style of your chosen author. No this isn't plagiarism of either content or style. It is learning by example. Consider how your author would write the paragraph in your manuscript. Look back at what you wrote about the aspects of writing and/or plot that you like. Write that next paragraph now assuming the chosen author has volunteered to help you out.

4. One final pass on this writing prompt: Think about your own style. Reflect on it that you have focused on how another writer might handle your paragraph. Now, rewrite it in your own style but with a heightened understanding of the process. 

SheWrites Writes: Writing Prompt #2

Of course, Dorothy Parker wasn't saying that Hollywood copied word for word. I don't mean to imply that either. Hollywood and the music industry have frequently found that it is a safe bet to crank out what ever was last popular. 

1. So here's your next writing prompt. Consider the contribution that your writing will make? In what ways do you find your inspiration for creativity? For unique content? Write for five minutes about what makes your art something that publishers will want? This is not just an idle exercise. You need to understand your contribution when you work on your book proposal. You need to understand your specific strengths.

 See you tomorrow with another Dorothy Parker quote and writing prompt. 

Matilda Butler is the award-winning author of several books including her co-authored memoir:

Rosie's Daughters: The "First Woman To" Generation Tells Its Story 

and the just released: 

Writing Alchemy: How to Write Fast and Deep,

both co-written with her business partner, Kendra Bonnett. Butler and Bonnett are the co-founders of Women's Memoirs, a website with tips and advice for writers and free ebooks for women interested in writing their memoirs as well as free videos based on advice from such well-known authors as: Annie Dillard, Ernest Hemingway, William Zinssser, Anne Lamott, Stephen King, Mark Twain, Elizabeth Berg, Elmore Leonard, Rita Mae Brown, Natalie Goldberg, David McCullough, and others.