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Literary – March 9
Vita Sackville-West, a prolific Victorian novelist and poet and Virginia Woolf’s inspiration for Orlando, was born on this date in 1892. She wrote in 1953, “I have come to the conclusion, after many years of sometimes sad experience, that you cannot come to any conclusion at all.” Writing prompt: Write a scene that decisively concludes on an ambiguous beat.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – March 9
“Ants are good citizens: they place group interests first.”Clarence Day Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned when you watched an important project fail because members of the group responsible couldn’t place individual interests second. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must choose between achieving an important individual goal and setting it aside to accomplish a different task that’s important to a group to which s/he belongs.
read moreBig Questions – March 9
What would you do with your time if you knew would have 48 hours completely alone? 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 the question in the voice of a character you want to know more about. Photo from Unsplash, the internet’s...
read moreRomance – March 9
Barbie appeared for the first time on this date in 1959 at the American International Toy Fair. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist describes Barbie to a young female relative.
read moreMystery – March 9
“Guys like you can’t escape the city. Hell, you a got a blood contract with this place. You’re married to the old girl.”- Mickey Spillane, born this date in 1918. Writing prompt: Describe from your protagonist’s point of view a place to which s/he has such a connection.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – March 9
“Dr. Franklin and others mention some paralytic cases, in which electricity seemed rather to make the patient worse than better.” On this date in Fred Saberhagen’s 1783, Frankenstein’s creature met Benjamin Franklin in Paris. Writing prompt: Write a diary entry by the most terrifying monster in the world you’ve created.
read moreSecondary – March 9
If you had to choose between having only one soulmate and no other close friends, or lots of acquaintances but no soulmate, how would you go about making your decision?
read morePrimary – March 9
What have you lost that you would most like to find, and why is it so important?
read moreLiterary – March 8
“I live my own life and nurse my own wounds.” -Jeffrey Eugenides, born this date in 1960. Writing prompt: Extemporize in the voice of your protagonist at least 500 words about a wound known only to your protagonist.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – March 8
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.”Lucius Annaeus Seneca Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time somone extended to you a kindness you at the time felt you did not deserve. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is refused a kindness that would cost nothing to the person who refuses to grant it.
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David B. Schlosser is an author of award-winning fiction and non-fiction, and an editor of award-winning fiction and non-fiction.
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