SciFi/Fantasy – June 20

Edward Cullen was born on this date in 1901. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters an obstacle in the form of someone who, or something that, is impossibly old.

Mystery – June 20

“Let me explain something to you, Walsh. This business requires a certain amount of finesse.” –Jake Gittes in Chinatown, which premiered on this date in 1974. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist acts in a way that contradicts his/her...

Literary – June 20

Lillian Hellman, born on this date in 1905, earned the enmity of fellow author Mary McCarthy, who famously said of Hellman, “Every word she writes is a lie, including and and the.” Writing prompt: List five similarly insightful and devastating insults your protagonist would like to say about her/his antogonist, but lacks the bravery to do...

Romance – June 20

“People change and forget to tell each other.” –Lillian Hellman, born on this date in 1905. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist fails to achieve an important goal because s/he has changed in a way no one else realized.

A word about self-publishing for writers so inclined.

The fact that no one in the legacy publishing industry knows what makes a best seller is indisputable. That fact does not mean everyone in the legacy publishing industry is an idiot. Even if J.K. Rowling experienced a dozen rejections before selling Harry Potter, and even if James Redfield self-published and sold more than 80,000 copies of The Celestine Prophecy from the trunk of his car, traditional (sometimes...

SciFi/Fantasy – June 19

“Contradiction is not a sign of falsity, nor the lack of contradiction a sign of truth.” –Blaise Pascal, born this date in 1623. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is forced to confront the fact that an opposing belief is as true as your protag’s most deeply held...

Mystery – June 19

“I hate admitting that my enemies have a point.” –Salman Rushdie, born on this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is proved wrong in dramatic fashion by your protag’s most insistent competitor.