Blog
Literary – January 24
Edith Wharton, who famously compared a woman’s interior life to great house full of rooms, was born on this date in 1862. She warned against a “common symptom of immaturity, the dread of doing what has been done before.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist decides to do something s/he fears will fail simply because it’s the opposite of what’s caused her/his failures in prior similar circumstances.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 24
“It is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something.”Gordon B. Hinckley Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you’re best for. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist does something wrong because it seems like the right thing to do in the moment.
read moreBig Questions – January 24
How do you start? 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 images.
read moreRomance – January 24
“Life is always either a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope.” – Edith Wharton, born this date in 1862. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must decide between two potential partners — one who would make your protagonist’s life easy, and the other who would make it interesting.
read moreMystery – January 24
Abstract artist Robert Motherwell was born on this date in 1915. Among his paintings is this untitled work from 1967, a memorial tribute to poet and critic Frank O’Hara. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters this image in the home of a person your protagonist is trying to understand.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 24
“The way was the strangest she had ever known. There was, she thought, no such passage in all the world save here.” -Catherine Leigh Moore, born this date in 1911. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must travel through a passage unlike any other in her/his world.
read moreSecondary – January 24
On this date in 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter’s mill in California, launching the “Gold Rush” in 1849. Describe a discovery that would make you move a long way and what you’d do when you got there.
read moreKilling clichés
One rule writers learn early is to kill clichés. To prove the point, I will define my terms with a tired trope of the copywriter: cli·ché /klēˈSHā/ Noun: A phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought. A very predictable or unoriginal thing or person. If anyone asks why writers should eliminate clichés from their work, the answer is usually brief, to the point, and wrong: “It’s boring.” Well, not actually wrong … just incomplete. Neurology and psychology explain why clichés bore us: We...
read morePrimary – January 24
On this date in 1848, gold was discovered at John Sutter’s mill in California, launching the “Gold Rush” in 1849. What do you think would make a lot of people move a long way today, and why would they do it?
read moreLiterary – January 23
Marie-Henri Beyle, better known among his scores of pen names as Stendahl, was born on this date in 1783. The first practitioner of realism in fiction, he was also a voracious plagiarist. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s most loyal friend discovers your protag cheating.
read more
David B. Schlosser is an author of award-winning fiction and non-fiction, and an editor of award-winning fiction and non-fiction.
Read More...