Literary – April 28

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” -Harper Lee, born this date in 1926. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist goes along with the majority even though his/her conscience demands otherwise.

Literary – April 27

“The winds and the waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators.” -Edward Gibbon, born this date in 1737. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist explains a personal failing in terms that deflect responsibility.

Literary – April 26

“There are no wrong books. What’s wrong is the fear of them.” -Bernard Malamud, born this date in 1914. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes that a close friend’s home has no books in it.

Literary – April 25

“Is a gesture of charity genuine or is it a kind of deep moral tax write-off?” -Padgett Powell, born this date in 1952. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s act of genuine charity is rejected because the beneficiary suspects your protag’s motives.

Literary – April 24

“The poem is a little myth of man’s capacity of making life meaningful.” -Robert Penn Warren, the only person to win Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and poetry, born this date in 1905. Writing prompt: From your protagonist’s point of view, write a poem about what makes your protag’s life most meaningful.

Literary – April 23

“He that loves to be flattered is worthy o’ the flatterer.” Today is the accepted birthday of William Shakespeare in 1564. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which flattery persuades your protagonist to make a decision that s/he would not have otherwise made, and for good reason.

Literary – April 22

“The breaking of a wave cannot explain the whole sea.” -Vladimir Nabokov, born this date in 1899. Writing prompt: Describe your protagonist’s thought process during a time when s/he fallaciously reasoned from a small detail to a great – and mistaken – understanding.

Literary – April 21

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.” -Naturalist, author, and Sierra Club co-founder John Muir, born this date in 1838. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s encounter with nature delivers an unexpected and unpleasant surprise.