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Literary – October 7
“We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills and meaningless jargon.” -William Zinsser, born this date in 1922. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist uses frills and jargon to disguise an important truth from a close relative.
read moreBig Questions – October 7
Does anybody really know what time it is? 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 moreJournaling + Fiction – October 7
“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.”Thornton Wilder Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the person who’s shuffled off this mortal coil for whom you’re most grateful. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist pays respects to the surviving family members of an important ally.
read moreRomance – October 7
Diane Ackerman, born on this date in 1948, wrote about her husband’s stroke journey back to language: “As a result, the hundred little pet names he used to have for her before the stroke have been replaced with non sequiturs like ‘my little bucket of hair’ and ‘spy elf of the morning hallelujahs.’ ” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist tells a romantic partner that the pet name the partner applies to your protag is intolerable.
read moreMystery – October 7
“Expect the worst and you won’t be disappointed.” -Helen MacInnes, born this date in 1907. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist expects the worst and discovers his/her expectation was a best-case scenario.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – October 7
“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future.” -Niels Bohr, born this date in 1885. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s prediction about how an event will occur is proven disastrously and spectacularly wrong.
read moreSecondary – October 7
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” -Desmond Tutu, who was born on this date in 1931. Use examples from your life or that you’ve learned about to prove this Nobel Peace Prize winner is correct.
read morePrimary – October 7
On this date in 1916, Georgia Tech’s football team beat Cumberland University 222-0 in what has since remained the most lopsided football score ever recorded. Explain whether Georgia Tech should have run up that kind of score or someone should have called the game after it became obvious Cumberland couldn’t win.
read moreEverything you write makes you a better writer.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Friedman at a Writer’s Digest program; she’s since left that august publication and joined Virginia Quarterly Review. Lucky for all of us, she still offers terrific advice to writers on her web site. I found this post particularly useful as we head into National Novel Writing Month: 3 Steps for Using Prompts to Write Better & Get Published By Gabriela Pereira Because this is such a great article, I’m not going to extract from it — you should just head on over there...
read moreLiterary – October 6
“Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” -Thor Heyerdahl, born this date in 1914. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist cannot make progress because s/he needlessly complicates a situation.
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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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