Postcrossing Blog

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

November was long, and it’s been getting cold here, so I’m thinking cosy thoughts here and planning on snuggling up. Of course, I’d usually choose a book… but even I have some favourite movies that I like to watch over again, at least once a year. So that’s our writing prompt for this month!

When I mentioned I was picking this prompt, I immediately said that I’d have to flip a coin and choose between Howl’s Moving Castle and Apollo 13, two movies that have almost nothing in common except that I’ve watched both at least a dozen times. Miyazaki’s animation is gorgeous, and I love Calcifer (“here’s another curse for you: may all your bacon burn!”)… but then, you know, Apollo 13. Even though they get safely back to Earth, I still choke up every time.

Of course, there are many other movies I could give an honourable mention. The more I think about it, the more they crowd my mind! Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, of course, and the extended cuts of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, and—on a completely different note again—Amélie.

How about you? Is it an easy choice? Do you have a long list of favourites to share? We’d love to hear in the comments, and don’t forget: you can write about this on your postcards this month if you’re stumped for what to write!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

The monthly writing prompts we suggest are often just really fun, like sharing awesome local stuff and imagining what kind of superpowers we’d like… but this month I thought we’d go in a different direction, and share some sage advice!

Advice can be so tricky and situational: I think one of the most life-changing bits of advice I got was from a teacher when it came to picking which university to go to. He told me to visit the campuses, and decide if I felt comfortable there. I refused to even apply to Cambridge on that basis (and admit it, I don’t think I’d have got in anyway), and ended up staking all my hopes on Cardiff University, even deferring entry for a year so I could attend Cardiff specifically. I was very happy and loved my university… and I do tend to use that experience more generally as proof that going with my gut can be a very powerful way to make a tough decision!

For more general advice, my grandma always had some pithy sayings, some of which were more intelligible than others. My favourite to share is this: “You can’t educate pork.” She was never that willing to explain (we’re still not certain about “If you don’t want to fight, wear a really big hat”, though there are theories) but the family have always taken this to be a caution about taking part in arguments that you’ll never win because the other person isn’t listening. I use it to remind myself not to reply to random people on social media…

And finally, I’ll leave you with the advice my dad gave me in a letter, back when I was deciding on which modules to take in my second year of university. He declined to comment on what might be useful to study, and instead told me that if I was ever trapped in a basement or something with only a jar of pickled gherkin, a battery and jump leads, I could put a current through a gherkin to achieve an eerie green light… and hot food.

Make of that what you will, and we’d be excited to learn what great pieces of advice you’ve received, both serious and silly! You can write about it on your postcards this month, and share in the comments as well if you like.

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

The year’s flying by, but for now the summery weather is still with us here in the UK, and I’m looking forward to a few more sunny bike rides before I have to figure out where my jacket went and start thinking about warm gloves! So while I’m still holding onto summer, I’ve picked a prompt that seems appropriate:

I actually find it hard to pick favourites most of the time—and I have a solid runner up I really must mention—but my favourite song of the last few years always makes me think of summer: it’s Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer’s “Tanglewood Tree”. It always brings up such pictures in my head: “Young lovers in the tall grass with their hearts open wide / When the red summer poppies bloom…” (You can check out the full lyrics here.)

But in justice to another favourite, let me put in a word for the Cowboy Junkies’ “Crescent Moon” (lyrics), which I really like to sing along to: “Raise your eyes to a moonless sky / And try to wish upon a rising star…”

There are dozens of other songs I could mention (especially old favourites), if I had the space and time and didn’t think it’d get boring, but these two are ones I came across rather randomly, which stuck with me and to me for the last few years. So it seems like an excellent theme for something to write on your postcards this month—there should be plenty to say for a lot of us, especially if you’re as indecisive as I am about what your favourite might be! Feel free to use that as a nudge if you’re stumped, or tell us all about your favourite songs in the comments here!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

August has snuck up on me this year, but it’s actually my birthday month! Which means I’m hoping to get good and spoilt, of course, and that will hopefully include some chocolate and sweets. Which inspired me to pick this month’s prompt: maybe you can all give me some ideas about what to try!

I thought this would be an easy way to answer, but hmmm, what’s my favourite?! I guess at the moment it’s a ridiculously sweet little bar my dad started buying for me: the McVitie’s Gold Bar. They have a biscuit centre, covered in a caramel-flavour coating. They really are very sweet, but I like that, and I especially enjoy how crunchy the biscuit part is.

For a slightly more traditional British sweet, well, I’d have to go with the aniseed flavour chewy sweets called Black Jacks, and the related fruit-flavoured Fruit Salads. I don’t get them a lot, because it’s not very professional to go around with my tongue stained black… but sometimes, as a little pick-me-up!

What about you? What’s your favourite treat? Is it something global, or a local secret? We’d love to hear from you in the comments here, and if you’re stumped for something to write a postcard, you can use this as a prompt!

The writing prompts invite postcrossers to write about a different topic on their postcards’ messages every month. These are just suggestions though — if you already know what you want to write about, or the recipient gives you some pointers, that’s great too!

Sometimes we pick a writing prompt from someone in the forums, and this month’s was posted a while ago, and comes from Helen (aka helenis). She was curious about what painter from past centuries you’d order your painting from—which sounds like a fascinating question to me!

I have to confess that I couldn’t answer this off the top of my head. I’m not a very visual thinker, so I’ve never had a big interest in art. (Cringe! I’m sorry.) But I did know the style I really like, so I poked around the internet and ended up with a very firm favourite: Alphonse Mucha, a Czech artist who had a strong influence on the Art Nouveau movement.

There’s actually a fan artist who does Art Nouveau portraits of people’s Final Fantasy XIV characters, very much in this style, so maybe I really will order “my” portrait in this style. My character has much better style for it, let’s be honest.

Now’s the part where I get to learn more about all kinds of artists across the world! Which artist would you order your portrait from? Maybe someone local, or someone who created a style of their own? You can share it in the comments here, but you can also use it as a prompt for something to write on your postcards this month.