“The universe had an odd sense of fairness; it took away things one did not want to give up, and then gave things one did not ask for.”Laila Lalami Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you plan to do with something you received but did not ask for. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is compelled to trade something s/he loves for something s/he...
“Every joke is a tiny revolution.”George Orwell Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about an amusing observation that effectively summarizes your perspective on life. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist gets in trouble for making a joke.
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out.”Abraham Lincoln Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the greatest kindness you could extend someone in your life right now. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which a service your protagonist is counting on washes out.
“Freedom and life are earned by those alone who conquer them each day anew.”Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you’ll conquer tomorrow. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist decides not to get out of bed.
“What we see depends mainly on what we look for.”Sir John Lubbock Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned from failing to see something important because you were looking for something else. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is looking for something that everyone else clearly sees.
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched—they must be felt with the heart.”Helen Keller Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a person, experience, or object you love more with your heart than with your physical senses. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist feels emotionally a contradiction with what s/he feels...
“We improve ourselves by victories over ourselves. There must be contest, and we must win.”Edward Gibbon Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about why a particular victory you’ve tried to win over yourself has to this point eluded you. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist loses a battle for self-control because her/his antagonist possesses greater...
“We cannot escape history.”Abraham Lincoln Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a location or issue in your community that troubles many people but continues to exist because of historical inertia. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which a person or event your protagonist left behind long ago re-emerges at exactly the wrong time.