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Literary – April 10
“Fiction gives us the second chances that life denies us.” -Paul Theroux, born this date in 1941. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes s/he won’t get a second chance.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – April 10
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.”Maya Angelou Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a challenge you’ve persistently resisted. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must bravely face a humiliating defeat.
read moreBig Questions – April 10
How will the world most change in the next 100 years? 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 – April 10
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” -Anne Lamott, born this date in 1954. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist grows frustrated doing the right thing because s/he sees no indication of dawn.
read moreMystery – April 10
“Do you make up these questions, Mr. Holden? Or do they write ’em down for you?”- Leon Kowalski, incepted this date in 2017. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must face the never-confonted truth about him- or herself.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – April 10
“You see, to be quite frank, Kevin, the fabric of the universe is far from perfect. It was a bit of botched job, you see. We only had seven days to make it.” – Randall, who on this date in 1912 boarded RMS Titanic with the Time Bandits. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must procure a specific item from a location s/he knows is about to experience a catastrophe.
read moreSecondary – April 10
The Great Gatsby was published on this date in 1925. The story paid close attention to the characters’ visions of “the American dream.” Describe what the concept of the American dream means to you today.
read morePrimary – April 10
Anne Lamott, who was born on this date in 1954, tells the story of someone having to complete a huge project about birdwatching. The advice he received was to complete the project “bird by bird.” Describe how you go about completing a big project.
read moreLiterary – April 9
On this date in 1833, the USA’s first tax-supported public library was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Writing prompt: Write a scene that allows your protagonist to contrast his/her attitude about libraries at age 6 and age 36.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – April 9
“Life is 10 percent what you make it and 90 percent how you take it.”Irving Berlin Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about an even that at the time seemed important or signficant about which you now have a different perspective. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist fails to persuade a loved one to put a relatively minor event into perspective.
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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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