Mystery – October 20

“The two women exchanged the kind of glance women use when no knife is handy.” -Half of Ellery Queen, Daniel Nathan (aka Frederic Dannay), born this date in 1905. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist finds him/herself between these two women.

Literary – October 20

“Morality is the weakness of the brain.” -Arthur Rimbaud, born this date in 1854. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist acts immorally to prove s/he is strong.

SciFi/Fantasy – October 20

Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin claimed they captured Bigfoot on film on this date in 1967. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns a popular myth in the world you’ve created is utterly fictional.

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...

Literary – October 19

“Betrayal can only happen if you love.” -David John Moore Cornwell, better known as John le Carré, born this date in 1931. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns s/he has been betrayed.

SciFi/Fantasy – October 19

“Very few people think that what they’re doing is bad, and usually for the people who think what they’re doing is bad it has more to do with guilt.” -John Favreau, born this date in 1966. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist gets caught doing something bad and refuses to admit any guilt about it.

Mystery – October 19

“You just don’t know writers. They’ll use anything, anybody. They’ll eat their own young.” -Philip Marlow in The Singing Detective as portrayed by Michael Gambon, born on this date in 1940. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist gets embroiled in a dispute between an authority and the authority’s child.