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Literary – February 4
“Human love has little regard for the truth.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born this date in 1906. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s love makes him/her blind to a truth everyone else clearly sees.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 4
“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”Edith Södergran Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a subject that kindles your inner fire but that you haven’t done enough to sustain. Fiction writing prompt: Write the scene in which your protagonist first encountered that which ignited his/her inner fire.
read moreBig Questions – February 4
When you think about the number of sexual partners you’ve had in your life, do you consider the number too high, too low, or just right? 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...
read moreRomance – February 4
“Aging is not lost youth but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” -Betty Friedan, born this date in 1921. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which circumstances force your protagonist to question Betty’s wisdom.
read moreMystery – February 4
“Be someone you don’t love so much, for once.”- Stewart O’Nan, born this date in 1961. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which circumstances force your protagonist to be someone s/he doesn’t much love.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – February 4
Writing prompt: Finish this scene, started by Robert Coover (born this date in 1932) in his 2010 book Noir: “You are at the morgue. Where the light is weird. Shadowless, but like a negative, as though the light itself were shadow turned inside out.”
read moreSecondary – February 4
If given the opportunity to receive a single lesson from the leading expert in any field, living or dead, what would you choose to learn from whom?
read morePrimary – February 4
Rosa Lee Parks, who became a civil rights icon for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person, was born on this date in 1913. Describe the bravest stand you’ve ever taken.
read moreLiterary – February 3
“If you’re not ready for everything, you’re not ready for anything.” -Paul Auster, born this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene proving your protagonist is unready for everything.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 3
“No one is is sure of his premise as the man who knows too little.”Barbara W. Tuchman Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a different perspective on a topic about which you believe you’re overconfident. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns the hard way that s/he didn’t know as much as s/he believed.
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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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