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SciFi/Fantasy – January 16
“What scares me is what scares you. We’re all afraid of the same things. That’s why horror is such a powerful genre.” -John Carpenter, born this date in 1948. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist encounters something s/he doesn’t know to be scared of.
read moreSecondary – January 16
The Constitutional amendment prohibiting the “manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction” went into effect on this date in 1919. Explain your reasons for thinking prohibition works or doesn’t work when it comes to preventing people from doing things that a majority considers “bad” for them and society.
read morePrimary – January 16
Dian Fossey was born on this date in 1932. If you could help humans relate better to one animal, what animal would you choose and what would you tell other people about it?
read moreLiterary – January 15
“Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., born on this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which an event or object means something entirely different to your protagonist than it does to everyone else.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 15
“The mental flexibility of the wise man permits him to keep an open mind and enables him to readjust himself whenever it becomes necessary for a change.”Malcolm X Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a topic of current interest about which you could afford to be more open-minded. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s mental inflexibility unnecessarily complicates what otherwise would have been a simple transaction.
read moreBig Questions – January 15
What would you do with an unexpected gift of US$100? 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 15
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., born on this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write the scene following a scene in which your protagonist expected but did not receive vocal support from a friend.
read moreMystery – January 15
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., born on this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which a conversation turns violent because one person can’t understand what the other is saying.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 15
“A man who won’t die for something is not fit to live.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., born on this date in 1929. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s best friend must choose to die for something important.
read moreSecondary – January 15
“Education which stops with efficiency may prove the greatest menace to society.” -Martin Luther King, Jr., born on the 15th of January in 1929. Explain your understanding of why King feared efficient education.
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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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