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Literary – January 21
“We like to invent ‘what if’ scenarios — what if x had never happened, what if y had happened instead? — because we like to believe that individual decisions make a difference: that, if not for x, or if only there had been y, history might have plunged forever down a completely different path.” -Louis Menand, born this date in 1952. Writing prompt: Write your protagonist’s fondest “what if” scenario.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 21
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”T.S. Eliot Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time you pushed the envelope with positive results. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist goes too far.
read moreBig Questions – January 21
How do you feel about a romantic partner earning significantly less money than you? 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 – January 21
“If we all were judged according to the consequences of all our words and deeds, beyond the intention, we should all be condemned.”-T.S. Eliot in his play that premiered in New York City on this date in 1950. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a stranger’s generous intervention prevents an ugly break-up between your protagonist and her/his romantic partner.
read moreMystery – January 21
“For a man of society, even for a civilian, a small Browning was as obligatory and as useless an accessory to his toilet as a tie or a cane.”- Leonid Sobolev in Major Repairs, describing the influence of John Moses Browning, born this date in 1855. Writing prompt: Write the scene that explains the origins of your protagonist’s preferred weapon, style of fighting, or decision to avoid any type of physical confrontation.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 21
This date marks two milestones in transportation history: In 1954, the first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, launched in Connecticut; in 1976, the world’s first and only supersonic passenger plane, the Concorde, entered service in Europe. Writing prompt: Write a scene that demonstrates how citizens of the world you’ve created perceive a revolution in transportation that radically changed their world … but remains inaccessible to virtually everyone.
read moreSecondary – January 21
To what tempation should you say “no” more than you do — and why don’t you?
read morePrimary – January 21
If you could invent a holiday to celebrate anything in the universe, what would your holiday be and how would people celebrate it?
read moreStory Masters and Hammer Heads
A couple of years ago, I spent a valuable weekend at a writing workshop, Story Masters, with three terrific authors who are also outstanding teachers: James Scott Bell is a novelist and Writer’s Digest favorite. Donald Maass is a literary agent and author of several outstanding craft books. Christopher Vogler is a story consultant and Hollywood icon for his work interpreting, among other things, Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces for screenwriters. Within the constraints of this brief post, and with apologies for this...
read moreLiterary – January 20
“Absurdity is what I like most in life,” said David Lynch, born on this date in 1946, “and there’s humor in struggling in ignorance.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist flails at something in ignorance and appears funny to everyone except your protag.
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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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