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Literary – March 22
“Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure’s source.” -Billy Collins, born this date in 1941. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a gift your protagonist gives obviously brings more pleasure to your protagonist than the gift’s recipient.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – March 22
“It is better to conquer our grief than to deceive it.”Lucius Annaeus Seneca Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about your experiences and observations of these two approaches to dealing with sorrow. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must settle for distracting her/himself from sorrow instead of overcoming it.
read moreBig Questions – March 22
Whose murder have you plotted? 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 22
“Nice is different than good.” -Stephen Sondheim, born this date in 1930. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is forced to choose whether to be good or nice.
read moreMystery – March 22
“When you’re right, that’s all you get to be.”- James Patterson, born this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which being correct about something earns your protagonist negative responses from her/his colleagues or friends.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – March 22
“You know, coming back in time, changing history … that’s cheating.” – James Tiberius Kirk, born this date in 2233. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist changes the conditions of a no-win situation.
read moreSecondary – March 22
Billy Collins, who was the US poet laureate from 2001-2003, was born on this date in 1941. Compose a poem about the transition from winter to spring.
read morePrimary – March 22
Poet Billy Collins was born on this date in 1941. Write a poem about your favorite school subject.
read moreNews flash: Economics applies to publishing, too!
Virginia Postrel has a great article on publishing and Amazon’s new lending library (which works sort of like Netflix for e-books) that’s worth reading in its entirety: click here to read it.Here’s the most important takeaway: A former publishing executive recently told me he simply didn’t believe that “if I really want a book for $9.95 I don’t also want it for $10.95 or $12.95.” People in publishing say things like that all the time. While they admit that charging $100 for the typical hardback would be foolish, they don’t...
read moreLiterary – March 21
“Words can sting like anything, but silence breaks the heart.” -Phyllis McGinley, born this date in 1905. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference.
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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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