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Literary – February 18
Chloe Anthony Wofford — better known as Toni Morrison — was born on this date in 1931. Her 2008 novel A Mercy begins, “Don’t be afraid. My telling can’t hurt you in spite of what I have done….” Writing prompt: Finish a scene that begins with your protagonist saying these words.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 18
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”Martin Luther King, Jr. Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time in your life when dawn broke after it was darkest. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist refuses to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
read moreBig Questions – February 18
To what is it hardest for you to say, “Yes”? 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 – February 18
“Nearly every glamorous, wealthy, successful career woman you might envy now started out as some kind of schlep.” -Helen Gurley Brown, born this date in 1922. Writing prompt: Write the scene in which your protagonist must undertake the worst job of her/his working life.
read moreMystery – February 18
“If the storytellers told it true, all stories would end in death.”- George Pelecanos, born this date in 1957. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist tells an untrue story to avoid hurting a vulnerable crime victim.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – February 18
Wallace Stegner, the novelist who launched Stanford’s creative writing program, was born on this date in 1937. His novel The Big Rock Candy Mountain begins, “He was a strange child.” Writing prompt: Finish the scene that begins with your protagonist’s mother saying those words.
read moreSecondary – February 18
On this date in 1884, Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was first published. Defend your position on whether it is right or wrong to help someone who is breaking an unjust law.
read morePrimary – February 18
Describe what you would do if you could learn to play any musical instrument.
read moreLiterary – February 17
On this date in 1913, the Armory Show forever changed the world of art by forcing Americans to confront modernism. Writing prompt: Describe from your protagonist’s point of view the scene portrayed in this work from that show, George Bellows’ painting Both Members of This Club. Link to larger image.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 17
“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”Eleanor Roosevelt Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about an experience in which you observed the impact of using the head when the heart was called for, or using the heart when the head was called for. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist arouses a hostile response by applying his/her head when the heart would have been a better solution.
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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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