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Literary – January 18
“You will be better advised to watch what we do,” advised Alan Alexander Milne, born this date in 1882, “instead of what we say.” Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist says one thing while doing its opposite.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 18
“Everyone has his own day and some days last longer than the others.”Winston Churchill Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about your feelings and experiences observing someone (who might be you) receive an honor or reward the person did not deserve. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must participate in a celebration for someone (who might be your protagonist) who doesn’t deserve the recognition.
read moreBig Questions – January 18
Who would you rather be? 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 – January 18
“There is nothing so powerful as truth, and often nothing so strange.” -Daniel Webster, born this date in 1782. Writing prompt: Write the scene in which your protagonist uncovered the strangest truth s/he ever encountered.
read moreMystery – January 18
“We need to have a talk on the subject of what’s yours and what’s mine.”- Stieg Larsson’s Mikael Blomkvist, born this date in 1960. Writing prompt: Write such a dialogue between your protagonist and someone who’s unclear on the matter.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 18
[three knocks] – Andy Stone, born this date in 2025. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which an antagonist taunts your protagonist with knowledge your protagonist inadvertently revealed.
read moreSecondary – January 18
“I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should seem a fool, but be wise.” -Charles de Montesquieu, born on this date in 1689. Explain whether you think this is a good or bad approach to success.
read morePrimary – January 18
Alan Alexander Milne — better known as the creator of Winnie the Pooh — was born on this date in 1882. The stories he wrote were about a young person who went on grand adventures with his toys. Write a story about going on an adventure with your favorite toy.
read more10,000 Hours
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers: The Story of Success, he details the concept of the 10,000-hour rule. That’s a reasonably well-accepted theory that to become thoroughly proficient at something, a person needs to practice for about 10,000 hours. Gladwell’s most famous examples include the Beatles and Bill Gates. Prodigies — the exceptions who prove the rule — are popularly known. However, they account for a very small percentage of the people we consider “successful” at anything — music, sports, business, math,...
read moreLiterary – January 17
“Love, friendship and respect do not unite people as much as a common hatred for something.” – Anton Chekhov, born this date in 1860. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a particular contempt shared by your protagonist and antagonist leads your protag to make a costly mistake.
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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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