Journaling + Fiction – March 4

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”Albert Einstein Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about your reflections on the first time you experienced something you considered miraculous at the time. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist denies a moment of serendipitous...

Journaling + Fiction – March 3

“The prudence of the best heads is often defeated by the tenderness of the best hearts.”Henry Fielding Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned the last time you let your heart rule your head. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist lets his/her emotions override common sense.

Journaling + Fiction – March 2

“It is not fair to ask of others what you are unwilling to do yourself.”Eleanor Roosevelt Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned when someone left you to do work that person should have done. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is abandoned to accomplish a menial and difficult task by the person responsible for doing it.

Journaling + Fiction – March 1

“He who has great power should use it lightly.”Lucius Annaeus Seneca Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned from an experience when a lighter touch would have been more successful than the heavier hand you applied. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist fails to achieve a major goal because of her/his...

Journaling + Fiction – February 28

I must be cruel only to be kind.Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.William Shakespeare Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time when a friend or family member told you something that seemed cruel in the moment but later turned out to be valuable. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s kindness turns out to be inadvertently cruel.

Journaling + Fiction – February 27

“We live on a planet that has a more or less infinite capacity to surprise. What reasoning person could possibly want it any other way?”Bill Bryson Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time you were delighted to be surprised. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is surprised to be surprised.

Journaling + Fiction – February 26

“Curiosity takes ignorance seriously, and is confident enough to admit when it does not know. It is aware of not knowing, and it sets out to do something about it.”Alain de Botton Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time you learned the hard way that you did not know as much as you thought you did. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s ignorance about a topic...

Journaling + Fiction – February 25

“Nothing in man is more serious than his sense of humor; it is the sign that he wants all the truth.”Mark Van Doren Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a subject that makes you laugh but most other people don’t find funny. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist uses humor in a failed attempt to hide the truth.