“Genius is nothing but continued attention.” -Claude Adrien Helvetius, born on this date in 1715. Explain why you think Helvetius is wrong or right.
read more“The outrageous is the reasonable, if introduced politely.” -Charles Hoy Fort, who was born on this date in 1931. Tell a story about a time this happened to you.
read more“On the outskirts of every agony sits some observant fellow who points.” -Virginia Woolf, born this date in 1882. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which one of your protagonist’s acquaintances describes in detail his/her observations about something your protag would rather not have been noticed.
read more“Without execution, thinking is mere idleness.”Winston Churchill Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about something you’ve been thinking about doing but have not yet done. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist suffers a setback because s/he did not do something s/he had been procrastinating doing.
read moreIs it better to seek job advice from people your own age or people older than you? 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“Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequence than to have a really affectionate mother.” -William Somerset Maugham, born on this date in 1874. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes that her/his partner’s parental hang-ups have fatally damaged their relationship.
read more“Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatsoever to do with it.”- William Somerset Maugham, born this date in 1874. Writing prompt: Write a scene that forces your protagonist to have something to do with it.
read more“Men have an extraordinarily erroneous opinion of their position in nature.” -William Somerset Maugham, born this date in 1874. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s erroneous opinion of her/his position in nature puts someone else in mortal danger.
read moreThe novelist W. Somerset Maugham was born on this date in 1874. He once said, “The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned.” What do you think he meant by that?
read moreDescribe what you think about when you don’t have anything you’re supposed to be thinking about.
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