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Journaling + Fiction – February 22
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”Winston Churchill Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about a situation in which your continued efforts counted. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is encouraged by people s/he considered allies to give up.
read moreBig Questions – February 22
What topics are too personal for you to discuss with anyone else? 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...
read moreRomance – February 22
So obsessed with second bestNo rest you’ll ever find – Noël Coward in “Dance, Little Lady” from his play This Year of Grace, which premiered this date in 1928. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s obsession with being first causes more problems than the prize is worth.
read moreMystery – February 22
“If someone really interests you, you’ll learn about them yourself.”- Richard North Patterson, born this date in 1947. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist sets out to learn about someone who really interests him/her after their first encounter.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – February 22
“As long as you have friends who have your back, you’ll be able to clear a path to the future without giving up.” – Nekomaru Nidai, born this date in 1990. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s coach helps your protagonist break through to a new level of performance.
read moreSecondary – February 22
Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, born on this date in 1892, once asked a friend to send good advice in a letter. “I promise not to follow it,” she said. What advice would you give a friend, and do you think s/he would follow it?
read morePrimary – February 22
“It is better be alone than in bad company.” -George Washington, who was born on this date in 1732. Explain whether you agree or disagree with America’s first president.
read moreLiterary – February 21
“Getting rid of the pain without addressing the deeper cause would be like shutting off a fire alarm while the fire’s still going.” -David Foster Wallace, born this date in 1962. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which everyone incorrectly believes that shutting off your protagonist’s fire alarm has extinguished the fire.
read moreJournaling + Fiction – February 21
“There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.”Jane Austen Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about you felt abandoned by someone you believed really was a friend. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist fails a person who considered your protagonist a friend.
read moreBig Questions – February 21
How do you feel about a romantic partner being significantly less intellectually capable 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...
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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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