Don’t Envy – Improve

A few years ago, when I finished Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin while doing the eleventythousandth revision of my own novel manuscript, I closed her book and looked at mine and thought, “Why bother?” The bother is that I’ve got my own story to tell. It’s not Atwood’s story, or Melville’s or Twain’s, or even yours. You’ve got your own story, too. Because it’s your story, the issue isn’t whether you write as...

Literary – December 15

“In our deepest moments we say the most inadequate things.” -Edna O’Brien, born this date in 1930. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s well-intentioned words have exactly the opposite effect on a loved one in crisis.

Journaling + Fiction – December 15

“Knowledge is proud that it knows so much;wisdom is humble that it knows no more.”William Cowper Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you don’t know about a topic about which you’ve earned significant expertise. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which an ally humbles your protagonist by asking a question that reveals your protagonist isn’t as...

Big Questions – December 15

How would you respond if you lost everything you owned today? Journaling prompt: Spend 15-20 minutes writing your answer in the spirit of exploring yourself and the world around you. If you can answer with a simple “yes” or “no,” explain the sources or implications of your response. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene that forces a character in your story to answer the question, or spend 15-20 minutes answering...

Romance – December 15

“She said the reason that love is so painful is that it always amounts to two people wanting more than two people can give.” -Edna O’Brien, born this date in 1930. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist finally realizes that a suitor is withholding something the suitor could freely give.

Mystery – December 15

Writing prompt: Write the scene of your protagonist’s most self-deceptive presumption of victory.

SciFi/Fantasy – December 15

“Rompu, rompu la murojn inter la popoloj.”- L.L. Zamenhof, born this date in 1859. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s effort to accommodate a different language leads to...

Secondary – December 15

Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, was born on this date in 1904. The women in the story’s family are described as “made out of thin invisible steel.” Write five similarly evocative metaphors that describe your family.