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Big Questions – February 5
What deliberate choice over which you had total control has most influenced your life? 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 – February 5
Consider the early lives of your protagonist and your antagonist. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which each gets to explain what they most miss about being a child and what they are most glad to have left in childhood.
read moreMystery – February 5
“The police are the public and the public are the police.”- Robert Peel, founder of the Metropolitan Police Force in London (after his names, its officers were called Peelers or — more famously — Bobbies), born this date in 1788. Writing prompt: Write a scene demonstrating a notable divergence between the two.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – February 5
“We affirm that the world’s magnificence has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed.” -Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in “The Manifesto of Futurism,” published by Gazzetta dell’Emilia in Bologna, Italy, for the first time on this date in 1909. Writing prompt: From your protagonist’s perspective on the milestone date on which your protagonist’s culture marks the transition from childhood to maturity, write your protagonist’s manifesto of his/her future.
read moreSecondary – February 5
“Your public servants serve you right.” -Adlai Stevenson, born on this date in 1900. Explain your understanding of Stevenson’s ambiguity.
read morePrimary – February 5
“A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular.” -Adlai Stevenson, who was born on this date in 1900. Describe the difference between being popular and unpopular and how the designation affects people.
read moreThe 99/1 Rule, WOM, and Your Best Effort
One of my Facebook groups is discussing The Red Pen of Doom’s article “The Twitter, it is NOT for selling books.” The author, @speechwriterguy, posits an important point: “Twitter isn’t built to sell books. Or anything else.” I agree. His post, which is long, analyzes a range of variables in terms of mass media, name recognition, numbers of followers, etc., and arrives at a very challenging conclusion: “The new math: to sell thousands, you need to reach millions.” While I generally agree with that statement, it’s not always true. If you...
read moreLiterary – February 4
“Human love has little regard for the truth.” -Dietrich Bonhoeffer, born this date in 1906. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s love makes him/her blind to a truth everyone else clearly sees.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 4
“The inner fire is the most important thing mankind possesses.”Edith Södergran Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a subject that kindles your inner fire but that you haven’t done enough to sustain. Fiction writing prompt: Write the scene in which your protagonist first encountered that which ignited his/her inner fire.
read moreBig Questions – February 4
When you think about the number of sexual partners you’ve had in your life, do you consider the number too high, too low, or just right? 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...
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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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