Romance – July 2

“Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?” – Amelia Earhart, who on this date in 1937 was reported lost over the Pacific Ocean with her navigator, Frederick Noonan. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist is surprised to learn everyone assumes s/he is engaged in a sexual relationship with a person your...

Mystery – July 2

On this date in 1994, a Colombian soccer player who’d inadvertently caused his team to lose to the USA in World Cup competition by scoring a goal for the USA, was shot to death. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist discovers an unexpectedly irrelevant motive for a murder.

SciFi/Fantasy – July 2

“Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.”- Amelia Earhart, who with her navigator disappeared somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on this date in 1937. Writing prompt: Write a scene from your protagonist’s earlier life when your protagonist chose torment instead of courage.

Literary – July 1

“Vanity is the quicksand of reason.” -George Sand, a pseudonym for Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, born this date in 1804. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s reason fails because of his/her vanity.

Journaling + Fiction – July 1

“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...

Big Questions – July 1

What’s your origin story? 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...

Romance – July 1

“I loved her like a rabbit loves a rattlesnake.” -James M. Cain, born this date in 1892. Writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must confront that fact that s/he is romantically involved with a monster.

Mystery – July 1

“What you will be privileged to witness will not be an interrogation, but an act of salesmanship — as silver-tongued and thieving as ever moved used cars, Florida swampland, or Bibles. But what I am selling is a long prison term, to a client who has no genuine use for the product.” -Det. Frank Pembleton, embodied for six years on Homicide: Life on the Streets (predecessor to The Wire), played by...