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Big Questions – January 9
What do you do with your time when you eat alone at a restaurant? 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...
read moreRomance – January 9
“If you lose your heart to something that is wrong for you, you can return it.” – Judith Krantz, born this date in 1928. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist loses her/his heart to something or someone that s/he can’t return.
read moreMystery – January 9
“Sometimes when you’re too close to something, you can’t see it clearly.”- Stuart Woods, born this date in 1938. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist earns a new perspective by backing up.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – January 9
“The custom is, sir, that those who know a situation handle it and those who don’t watch and learn, or get out of the way.” -CJ Cherryh in Downbelow Station, in which the Alliance takes Pell Station on this date in 2353. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist refuses to watch, learn, or get out of the way despite having no clue about how to handle the situation.
read moreSecondary – January 9
Describe the most important and interesting place that you intend to travel in your life, and why you want to go there.
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A word about self-publishing for writers so inclined.
The fact that no one in the legacy publishing industry knows what makes a best seller is indisputable. That fact does not mean everyone in the legacy publishing industry is an idiot. Even if J.K. Rowling experienced a dozen rejections before selling Harry Potter, and even if James Redfield self-published and sold more than 80,000 copies of The Celestine Prophecy from the trunk of his car, traditional (sometimes called legacy) publishing remains the surest path to selling large numbers of high–quality books. Thanks to technology, it is no...
read moreLiterary – January 8
“The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.” -David Bowie, born this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist mistakenly believes s/he is setting out on a great journey.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – January 8
“If you can let go of passion and follow your curiosity, your curiosity just might lead you to your passion.”Elizabeth Gilbert Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about something you’re curious to explore more deeply. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s passion interferes with the curiosity needed to understand a situation accurately.
read moreBig Questions – January 8
Is it worse to be early or late? 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...
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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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