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Literary – March 5
“You don’t have anything if you don’t have the stories.” -Leslie Marmon Silko, born this date in 1948. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a relative tells your protagonist a story your protag does not want to hear.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – March 5
“There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.”Aldous Huxley Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about something you know you don’t know. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns that s/he doesn’t know something s/he was sbsolutely confident s/he knew.
read moreBig Questions – March 5
What decision your parents made has most influenced your life? 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 source of freely usable...
read moreRomance – March 5
On this date in 1946, Winston Churchill gave his “Iron Curtain” speech in Fulton, Missouri, defining the boundaries of what came to be known as The Cold War. Writing prompt: Write a letter to your protagonist from a paramour from whom your protag is separated by an invisible but insurmountable barrier.
read moreMystery – March 5
Maddie Hayes: Wipe that stupid grin off your face.David Addison: This is the smartest grin I know. Moonlighting premiered on this date in 1985. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must complete an important task in cooperation with an insufferable wiseass.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – March 5
“If you try to make such projects, unseen by others, as perfect as any human could, you’ll develop skills that other professionals don’t have.” – Steve Wozniak of the Homebrew Computer Club, which met for the first time on this date in 1975. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist comes to appreciate the humble origins of the most influential tool in the world you’ve created.
read moreSecondary – March 5
Gerardus Mercator was born on this date in 1512. In 1569, he developed a technique to map the globe that accurately projects a sphere onto a flat surface so the earth’s longitude and latitude lines are at right angles to each other. Polish mathematician Alfred Korzybski famously said, “The map is not the territory.” What does that mean to you?
read morePrimary – March 5
Gerardus Mercator was born on this date in 1512. In 1569, he developed a technique to map the globe that accurately projects a sphere onto a flat surface. How would you get someplace if you didn’t have an accurate map?
read moreLiterary – March 4
“I was not much used to women except for mothers. Everything I did, they did different.” -Daniel Woodrell, born this date in 1953. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s bewilderment at the behavior of someone of a different gender sparks a conflict.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – March 4
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”Albert Einstein Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about your reflections on the first time you experienced something you considered miraculous at the time. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist denies a moment of serendipitous magic.
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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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