“The cure for anything is salt water — sweat, tears, or the sea.” -Karen Blixen, better known by her pen name Isak Dinesen, born this date in 1885. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist requires and takes all three variants of Dinesen’s salt water cure.
read more“As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.”Joseph Campbell Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a jump you made that did not turn out as you’d intended. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist jumps across a chasm that’s wider than thought.
read moreWhat vacation experience would you pay to make sure you never had to do it again? 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 more“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” -Cynthia Ozick, born this date in 1928. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist loses something s/he took for granted because s/he lacked gratitude.
read more“I know that every good and excellent thing in the world stands moment by moment on the razor-edge of danger and must be fought for.”- Thornton Wilder, born this date in 1897. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must fight a dangerous fight for something good and excellent.
read more“If I had followed my better judgment always, my life would have been a very dull one.”- Edgar Rice Burroughs, who on this date in 1907 was promoted to manage the Stenographic Department of Sears, Roebuck, and Co. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist starts a great job s/he will regret forever.
read moreDescribe the person who is your favorite caretaker when your dad or mom is away.
read more“He was of the faith chiefly in the sense that the church he currently did not attend was Catholic.” -Kingsley Amis, born this date in 1922. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which the nature of your protagonist’s religious faith becomes the subject of a discussion between people s/he’d rather not discuss the topic.
read more“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.”Arthur C. Clarke Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about something you’ve always considered impossible for you to accomplish. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist discovers his/her limits.
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