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Mystery – June 16
“Our enemy is by tradition our savior, in preventing us from superficiality.” -Joyce Carol Oates, born on this date in 1938. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must intervene between two enemies who really don’t want to stop their dispute.
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – June 16
“Show me what a people admire, and I will tell you everything about them that matters.”- Jack McDevitt, in whose 2202, Earth receives a message from Inokademeri on this date. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist receives a shocking surprise when s/he first encounters a culture significantly behind her/his own in development.
read moreEverything you write makes you a better writer.
I had the pleasure of meeting Jane Friedman at a Writer’s Digest program; she’s since left that august publication and joined Virginia Quarterly Review. Lucky for all of us, she still offers terrific advice to writers on her web site. I found this post particularly useful as we head into National Novel Writing Month: 3 Steps for Using Prompts to Write Better & Get Published By Gabriela Pereira Because this is such a great article, I’m not going to extract from it — you should just head on over there...
read moreLiterary – June 15
A dandy Boston Brahmin, Francis Parkman, arrived at Fort Laramie — in what is now Wyoming — on this date in 1846 and spent the next six months unlearning everything he’d formerly believed about the Sioux. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is shocked to unlearn something about which s/he is absolutely confident.
read moreBig Questions – June 15
What would you collect if you could? 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 moreJournaling + Fiction – June 15
“[T]he success of democracy depends, in the end, on the reliability of the judgments we citizens make, and hence upon our capacity and determination to weigh arguments and evidence rationally.”Irving Copi Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a situation in which you had to rely on the judgment of someone whose rationality you doubted. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s survival depends on collaboration with an irrational partner.
read moreRomance – June 15
Born on this date in 1921, Erroll Garner’s classic Misty became Johnny Mathis’ signature hit with lyrics by Johnny Burke. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes that someone who makes your protag feel misty will never reciprocate your protag’s...
read moreMystery – June 15
Erroll Garner, born this date in 1921, composed Misty, which later became the plot point of Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist finally confronts a mentally ill person who’s been harassing your...
read moreSciFi/Fantasy – June 15
“Forbid us something, and that thing we desire.”- Geoffrey Chaucer Edvard Grieg, born on this date in 1843, composed “In the Hall of the Mountain King” for a fantasy sequence in Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist enters a forbidden place for the first...
read moreSecondary – June 15
Describe the most important and interesting place that you intend to travel in your life, and why you want to go there. Prompt Inspiration’s summer break begins tomorrow.New prompts will resume August 15th.
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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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