Blog
Romance – January 22
“Why do they call me misanthrope? Because They hate me, not I them.” – George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron — better known as the Romantic poet Lord Byron, born this date in 1788. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist meets someone s/he has been told is one type, but who turns out to be completely the opposite type.
read moreMystery – January 22
“He felt that the job was not particularly hazardous physically but was incredibly hazardous emotionally and too often led to divorce, alcoholism, and suicide. No, policemen were not danger lovers, they were seekers of the awesome, the incredible, even the unspeakable in human experience. Never mind whether they could interpret, never mind if it was potentially hazardous to the soul. To be there was the thing.”- Joseph Wambaugh, born this date in 1937. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must explore the home...
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 22
“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.” -Robert E. Howard, born this date in 1906. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is treated discourteously by a person your protag believes to be much weaker.
read moreSecondary – January 22
“A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.” -Francis Bacon, born on this date in 1561. Explain your understanding of this idea.
read morePrimary – January 22
“Truth emerges more readily from error than from confusion.” -Francis Bacon, born on this date in 1561. Explain why you think Bacon preferred to be wrong rather than to be confused.
read moreLiterary – January 21
“We like to invent ‘what if’ scenarios — what if x had never happened, what if y had happened instead? — because we like to believe that individual decisions make a difference: that, if not for x, or if only there had been y, history might have plunged forever down a completely different path.” -Louis Menand, born this date in 1952. Writing prompt: Write your protagonist’s fondest “what if” scenario.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 21
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”T.S. Eliot Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time you pushed the envelope with positive results. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist goes too far.
read moreBig Questions – January 21
How do you feel about a romantic partner earning significantly less money 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 moreRomance – January 21
“If we all were judged according to the consequences of all our words and deeds, beyond the intention, we should all be condemned.”-T.S. Eliot in his play that premiered in New York City on this date in 1950. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a stranger’s generous intervention prevents an ugly break-up between your protagonist and her/his romantic partner.
read moreMystery – January 21
“For a man of society, even for a civilian, a small Browning was as obligatory and as useless an accessory to his toilet as a tie or a cane.”- Leonid Sobolev in Major Repairs, describing the influence of John Moses Browning, born this date in 1855. Writing prompt: Write the scene that explains the origins of your protagonist’s preferred weapon, style of fighting, or decision to avoid any type of physical confrontation.
read more
David B. Schlosser is an author of award-winning fiction and non-fiction, and an editor of award-winning fiction and non-fiction.
Read More...