Prompt Page
A collection of the prompts for each month.
February 2012
The following are adapted from The Daily Writer by Fred White.
1. The Foodie - write a scene involving two or more people talking over a meal. The scene can be serious or funny an the topic of conversation is up to you. Work in detailed descriptions of the food, the way it has been prepared, and the atmosphere of the get-together.
2. Modernize a Myth - Choose an ancient myth and rewrite it to fit in the context of today’s world. For example, Sisyphus’s punishment was to roll a huge boulder up a hill and then watch it roll back down. He had to repeat this for eternity. How would you transform that futile task to modern times?
3. The Person I’d Like to Meet - Write a letter to a famous or fictional person you admire (dead or alive). Focus on a topic you think he/she would be interested in talking about.
4. Start a Fight - Begin a story with two people in a hotel room having an argument. Who are these people? Why are they together? What are they arguing about? What’s at stake?
5. Dissolve Writer’s Block - If you find yourself stuck, write out a question such as “What is keeping me from writing more on this project?” and then answer your question with possible reasons. When you finish that list, write out another question such as, “What other parts of this project (new character, scene, subplot) can I work on instead?”
6. Concept Art Writing Prompt: Battle on the Zombie Playground from io9.
March 2012
The following are adapted from The Daily Writer by Fred White.
1. Strange Magic - Write a story about a wizard or witch who suffers from memory loss. What events lead up to the memory loss and how does the person cope with it? Does your character discover his/her magic power (and then, how)?
2. News Anger - Find a news show with political views that are opposite of your own (so that you’re likely to get angry at some of the commentary). Have pen and paper on hand to take notes, and write as soon as you feel the urge to do so. Jot down your disagreements. After the broadcast is over, set aside your notes for a half hour. Then come back to them and draft a rebuttal to the newscast.
3. Set the Scene - Practice your skills at describing interior places. Choose one or more of the following: your bedroom, your kindergarten classroom, your grandparents’ attic or basement, your favorite cafe or local shop.
4. Crystal Ball - Begin a story with a character who sees a glimpse of the future. What does the character do with this information? Does he/she try to change what is supposed to happen? What are the stakes?
5. Mood Ring - Write a story (any kind of story) in which the mood keeps shifting. Warm to eerie, cheerful to tense to somber, to ecstatic. Use whatever moods you want, and move among them.
6. The Root of the Problem - If you’re stuck with writer’s block, try writing a scene where you play two characters: the writer and the therapist. Let the therapist ask questions about your writing and why you might be struggling. Some examples:
“Why do you want to write this piece?”
“How are you approaching the subject? Is that the best way?”
“Are you uncertain about a character/subplot,/conflict?”
Then let the writer answer the questions (yes, in writing). Be frank, open, and conversational.
April 2012
A selection of exercises from Gotham Writers’ Workshop: Writing Fiction.
1. Drawing ideas from life: Write down 10 things that might possibly serve as story ideas, drawing from things that have happened to you over the past week - people, emotions, thoughts, situations. Then review your list and pick the idea that looks most promising for a story. The right idea will probably give you a buzz when you see it.
2. Crafting a dimensional villain: Recall the wort person you’ve ever met. A psychotic boss, a back-stabbing friend, a playground bully. Next, assign a redeeming quality to this character - kindness, courtesy, sympathy, a fondness for animals. Then write a passage that shows this person in action. The result? A fully dimensional villain.
3. Non-visual descriptions: Pick a character and imagine that he or she has gone spelunking with a group of friends. Unfortunately, your character has become separated from the group and now he or she is groping through a pitch-dark passage (without a flashlight), searching for either a way out or the missing companions. Write a passage bringing this scene to life through sensory description. Since vision is limited, you’ll have to rely on hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
4. Strong nouns and verbs: Pick a person you know. Fictionalize the name, which will also give you license to alter other characteristics, if you so desire. Now describe this person as vividly as you can. Here’s the catch: you cannot use a single adjective or adverb. This will force you to use strong nouns and verbs.
5. Defamiliarized setting: Think up a character who is very much the opposite of yourself. Choose some of the following differences: sex, age, occupation, temperament… Now write a passage where this character must live for a while in an environment very similar to your own. Let the setting cause as much conflict as possible for your character.
May 2012
June 2012
July 2012
August 2012
September 2012
November 2012
December 2012
