How many times have you turned on the radio and come to a song that just begged for the rest of the story? It’s always been said that there’s a story behind every song and that music inspires.

Well, inspiration comes in many forms. And even the song writer had to have been inspired to write his music. But, what possessed them to write that line or tell that story? While we can’t get their point of view on what works, we welcome yours in this creative bent on lyrics.

We’ll offer you a verse from a song (all credit given where credit is due), and it may or may not be something you recognize. What we’d like to see is your story behind that verse. What do you think happened to have those lines so poignantly written?

With thanks to Darkest Dreams:

Today’s verse comes from Here Without You, and performed by 3 Doors Down :

Everything I know, and anywhere I go
It gets hard but it wont take away my love
And when the last one falls
When it’s all said and done
It gets hard but it wont take away my love

I’m here without you baby
But you’re still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
And I dream about you all the time
I’m here without you baby
But you’re still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl its only you and me

Here’s an exercise to get your thoughts moving. Pick a number (it has to be equal to or greater than 5) and write down something you see on your way to or from work that matches each number in quantity.

If you’d like to see an example, take a look at the Gratitude Countdown.

The idea behind Break Away is to let your mind go and see if it will break away from your normal thought patterns.

The first word is “Color”

Here’s how it works:

1. Write the Break Away Word in the center of a paper (or if you’re lucky - a whiteboard).
2. Write/Draw the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the Break Away Word.
3. Write/Draw the next thing that comes to mind.
4. Continue the process for 10 minutes or until nothing new comes to mind

Let your pen or pencil find its own way, don’t try to force any associations into a pattern.

When you’re done, take a look at your paper/whiteboard. Where did you end up? Are there any connections that surprise you?

An inspiration tag is just a phrase or two meant to give you a jumpstart on your creative expression. So read the tag below and interpret it in a creative way. There are no limitations on the medium. In fact we’d love to see a visual or listen to an audio interpretation. Admittedly, some of the tags will lend themselves more to a written format than any other.

So here it is - Tag! You’re It! Have fun!

In darkness hide the shadows of mistrust

Thanks to Gemini for this one!

Wow! We have enough “Say What?” prompts to warrant an index now! For some reason, the Related Posts aren’t picking up the “Say Whats?” correctly, so here’s an index of the first ten! Below that are links to two examples of how they’ve been used. Hopefully this will make it easier for anyone wanting to use a quote as a prompt!

What is “Say What?”

Say What? - Here are the original guidelines for the Say What? exercises.

“Say What?” Prompts 1-10

Say What? Take One
Say What? Take Two
Say What? Take 3
Say What? Take Four
Say What? Take Five
Say What? Take Six
Say What? Take Seven
Say What? Take Eight
Say What? Take Nine
Say What? Take Ten

“Say What?” Examples

More Than One Face
Hunter’s Face

An inspiration tag is just a phrase or two meant to give you a jumpstart on your creative expression. So read the tag below and interpret it in a creative way. There are no limitations on the medium. In fact we’d love to see a visual or listen to an audio interpretation. Admittedly, some of the tags will lend themselves more to a written format than any other.

So here it is - Tag! You’re It! Have fun!

The keys to success are everywhere.

Here’s an exercise to get your thoughts moving. Pick a number (it has to be equal to or greater than 5) and write down something on your desk that matches each number in quantity.

If you’d like to see an example, take a look at the Gratitude Countdown.

Here’s this week’s Say What?

Somethings have to be believed to be seen.
–Ralph Hodgson

The idea behind Break Away is to let your mind go and see if it will break away from your normal thought patterns.

The first word is “Karma”

Here’s how it works:

1. Write the Break Away Word in the center of a paper (or if you’re lucky - a whiteboard).
2. Write/Draw the first thing that comes to mind when you look at the Break Away Word.
3. Write/Draw the next thing that comes to mind.
4. Continue the process for 10 minutes or until nothing new comes to mind

Let your pen or pencil find its own way, don’t try to force any associations into a pattern.

When you’re done, take a look at your paper/whiteboard. Where did you end up? Are there any connections that surprise you?

Here’s a simple, but not necessarily easy exercise to expand your creativity and attention. For each letter of the alphabet, come up with a city. Note the state or nation next to each city if you can.

Can you complete the list without using an atlas? How many can your friends come up with? Which letter was the most difficult to find a city for?
How many of the cities you listed spawned mini-lists? How many have you visited? How many of the cities brought back memories? Did any make you think of movies, television shows or songs?