40 Writing Prompts

Happy New Year, everybody! Can you believe it’s 2016 already? This year, I’ve decided to collaborate more with my fellow writers. To kick off the New Year, I’ve asked three writers to help me come up with a list of writing prompts for this year. These are meant for inspiration rather than a challenge to write every single one. Please check out the writer websites too and show them your support! The prompts are organized in alphabetical order of last names not in order of importance.

Faith Boggus

abogguslife.com

• The smell of lavender overwhelms you as an orange fog moves across the lawn.
• “Hey. I just got your message”
  “What message?”
  “911. You know where to find me.”
  “I didn’t send that.”
• A child’s scribbled drawing(s) hold the answer to ending a very long war.
• “Why is there oatmeal on the ceiling?’
• A man comes out of an office building holding a dozen roses and a spear.
• The lights give a bright flash, and the room goes dark while you’re at a party in a strange building.
• One day you sit down to read your favourite book and see a pattern that you’ve missed before, discovering a secret message.
• “Have you ever done this before?”
  “Nope”
  “Is it safe?”
  “No clue.”
  “Let’s do it.”
• Your journal gets published without your being aware of it, and you learn that it has entries you haven’t written.
• “Don’t your eyes always do that?”
  “Twinkle? Shine? Gleam? Reveal my soul?”
  “Glow.”
• A young girl reaches into her bag and pulls out a blowtorch.
• You find a list of names with four already marked off in your child’s handwriting.
• “Socks are my favourite things.”
  “I thought rocket launchers were.”
  “Can’t a girl have options?”
• A red light flashes in the darkness of a room. A room you don’t remember entering.
• One afternoon, everyone who drinks coffee falls asleep and won’t wake up.

Sarah Fluegel

• It’s scarier inside this house than outside of it, and that’s saying something considering we’re in the middle of the apocalypse.
• I just love getting the family together for Christmas, the food, the presents, the giant robot fights…
• I can count the number of times I’ve let someone down on one hand, well from this week anyway.
• “Turn it back on!” “My database says that air is not mandatory to your species.” “I don’t care, you stupid robot, I said turn it back on!”
• Werewolves aren’t all that scary they’re just like big giant teddy bears, with sharp teeth, and claws and anger issues. So what I’m saying is that maybe if we just hug the werewolves they won’t hurt us!

Azelyn Klein

“That’s me by the way. Hello.” *waves*

• Describe the sound of an instrument without using any sound-related words.
• “News flash for you: blowing stuff up won’t solve the world’s problems”
  “It’s solved mine before.”
• That idea that’s been bugging you while you’re working on a big project. You know the one. Write a complete, 500-word story about it.
• “Are you ready for this?”
  “Ready for what?”
  “The end.”
• Write an intriguing story that ends mid-
• Pick your least favorite setting. It can be a room or building. Write a story set only in in that place. Eg. someone trapped in an elevator.
• Retell one of your least favorite stories in a way that appeals to you.
• She teetered on the edge between being a hopeless romantic and a mystic gypsy.
• A man travels back in time to fix his past mistakes. At least, that’s what he tells his teenage self.
• “And no more jumping off buildings.”
  “But I wasn’t—”
  “I don’t want any of your excuses, young lady.”
• People who travel back in time grow younger by one year for every hundred years they travel back and vice versa for the future. A thirty-year-old would become twenty when traveling to 1016.
• She was the kind of girl that nobody would give a scholarship to. A few parking tickets, maybe, but never a scholarship.
• After the war, there wasn’t a soul left who didn’t know a man who faked his own death.
• A man has something to declare after an international flight. But it’s not something security expects.
• Leap years are a conspiracy. Three years out of four, the population’s memory is wiped of Feb. 28. Until one man discovers what the world is trying to cover up.

Alex Micati

Éditos & poésies

• Describe a scene when a man walks into a bar. Will he meet a priest and a rabbi?
• Your character wakes up in a place where they had no idea they would end up, next to someone they have no recollection of having met. Describe what happens next.
• Describe a car crashing into a deer, from the deer’s point of view.
• Write a scene using gender-neutral pronouns.
• Write a series of wordplay (unlimited number).

I hope you’re feeling inspired for this new year! Feel free to use any of the prompts and comment below with prompts of your own or the opening of your story.

Gift Ideas for Writers

Welcome back to my last installment in The Proper Care and Feeding of a Writer. This week, I’ll be focusing on last minute things you can get for your writer friends if you still haven’t bought them anything. Because I’m a writer (and therefore part-crazy), half the items on this list are bound to be crazy, while the other half are serious. Have fun trying to decipher which is which.

A vacation to your writer’s favorite place ($700-your rent for the next 5 years)

Does your writer friend like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? How about a trip to New Zealand? What about The River of Time series? How about a trip to Italy? How inspirational would it be to visit a place that serves as the basis for a fictional story!

 

Journals ($7-10)

If you don’t know the person very well, this is your standard writer gift. Even if writers say they don’t need anymore (they already have 10), it’s okay to get them another. Who knows when they’ll need another?

A typewriter ($12-150)
Call me old-fashioned, but how many writers have not wondered what would happen if all technology suddenly crashed? Sure, there would still be books to write in, but there is a beauty in the sound of clicking keys.

A time machine (Does anybody actually know how much these cost? Amazon doesn’t carry them.)

I’m not talking about the book or any of the movies (though those are pretty good).  If you know somebody writing historical/futuristic fiction, a time machine would be the perfect gift for the ultimate research experience!

 

A book of their favorite genre or a writing book ($7-15)

Need I say more? Writers love books!

The writers favorite tea/coffee/chocolate ($1-$15)

Another form of inspiration to get the mind working properly: food and drink.

 

Tape ($1-5)

Scotch tape, duct tape, you name it! The possibilities are endless. You can make crafts or fix things. FYI, I do not condone purchasing duct tape for kidnapping.

 

Silly writer knickknacks ($2-15)

Anything from a pen to a poster that reads, “Writer at Work, Do not Disturb” to a mug/t-shirt that claims to represent the World’s Best Writer. These are especially good for writers with a good sense of humor or writers who like to collect weird stuff. References to Best Character or the Toughest Villain are a plus.



Can’t decide between a pet and plant? Get both!

Meet Mars, my first Venus fly trap.

A pet/houseplant ($5-1000)
Also known as writing buddies, pets and houseplants can serve as a wonderful means of distraction aside from people. If your writer friend spends too much time staring at a computer screen or with a pen in hand, a puppy, a cat, or even a prickly pear cactus can be enough reason for the writer to step away. Although these writing buddies don’t actually give critical feedback, they can pose for the camera when the writer should be writing.

An honest review on Goodreads, Amazon, etc. (Free!)

Considering how much time and effort writers put into their stories, any feedback would be welcome! Remember, keep it honest, keep it polite, and writers will love you!

A clean work environment (Free!)

If a writer is struggling with writer’s block, one of the first things he/she will do is look for some sort of distraction, like cleaning. Make sure this person works well with this. Some people work better with clutter than without.

 

A hug (Priceless)

Depending on the writer, with permission of course. Who doesn’t like hugs? I sure do!

Check out The Proper Care and Feeding of a Writer: Some of the Basics, 7 Things No Writer Wants to Hear, and The #1 Thing Writers Want from Readers.

 

Writers, what’s on your Christmas wish list? Readers, what have you bought for your writer friends? Have any of these ideas helped/scared you?

My next blog post won’t be up until January, so you won’t hear from me on Word Storm until next year. But don’t worry, I’m planning several exciting additions. Have a Merry Christmas, everybody!

Every Last Reindeer

(Caution: This post contains spoilers for Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and It’s a Wonderful Life. If you haven’t seen the latter, go watch it now! You won’t regret it.)

I’ve never cared for the story of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Sure, I felt pity for the poor creature who couldn’t help how unique he was, but I always hated the other reindeer. And please, don’t tell me this story is remotely realistic in the sense that it reflects life. All the reindeer loved Rudolf in the end? Every last one? None of them harbored any form of envy after the way they treated him throughout the story? 

Perhaps what irritates me most is how it took a giant act of revelation, of purpose that made the other reindeer recognize him. In other words, Rudolf was an outcast in his society until he proved himself to be useful. It took a dramatic, historic event, to wake up the reindeer, but it shouldn’t have happened that way. A similar situation can be seen in Happy Feet. Should characters ONLY be recognized for fantastic, world-saving deeds instead of their good, everyday qualities?

If this is the case, how should characters that are seemingly useless be handled? Say, for instance, there’s a boy who’s a little different and gets picked on for it. He barely manages to scrape by with passing grades in school. He doesn’t make it rich and can’t contribute something society would consider useful. But maybe he’s kind, and his friends recognize this.
 

The moment stories ONLY praise a character for what he/she does instead of who he/she is inside is the moment stories miss the point. After all, what do infants contribute to society other than joy and potential for the future? Likewise, characters who value usefulness over integrity are vulnerable to resentment.

I should know. In high school, I never fit in and was angry with some of my peers for excluding me because I was the “shy kid.” One day, we were talking about having a reunion in the future, and my thought was, “I can’t wait! I’ll be a published author by then, and then you guys can finally recognize me for who I am.”

Since then, I’ve only published a couple short stories, and I’ve learned not to place my value in my accomplishments. Because in the end, it’s not what I’ve written that my friends and my family will remember, but how I treated them.

Perhaps one quote that embodies my point is what Gandalf told Galadriel in The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug:

“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay—small acts of kindness and love.”

Bilbo Baggins may not have single-handedly liberated Middle Earth, but he cared for his friends. The same can be said of Sam, Merry, Pippin, and countless other characters. These characters aren’t just remembered for the contributions they made but how they cared. Besides, if Pippin was merely remembered for every mistake, nobody would like him.

Another good example of less-than-epic proportions but with spectacular plot is It’s a Wonderful Life. George Bailey had dreams. Dreams so big that he was bound to become a great success, right? But just because he didn’t go on to build skyscrapers like he planned or save hundreds of soldiers like his little brother Harry or become filthy rich like Sam Wainwright, he was still one of the most beloved characters because of the way he treated people.

So this Christmas, may we find contentment not just in the spectacular but in the ordinary. May we care like Bilbo Baggins and George Bailey. May we love like Jesus. And it’s just like Clarence said: “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

Merry Christmas, everybody!

Movie references: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Happy Feet, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, and It’s a Wonderful Life.

Short Story Review: "Skies of Dripping Gold" by Hannah Heath

Short Story: “Skies of Dripping Gold” by Hannah Heath
Genre: Christian, dystopian, young adult
Awards: None
My rating: 4/5 stars
One word description:  Genuine

I know it’s not a novel, but all the novels I have been reading lately are in the middle of a series. And as much as I enjoy series, and I hope you do too, I don’t usually post reviews for sequels on my blog. That being said, I’d started following Hannah Heath’s blog a couple months ago, and if you’re a writer, you should definitely check it out! Anyway, Heath did such a good job promoting “Skies of Dripping Gold” recently that I just had to read it.

 

I was really impressed. Heath presents a typical dystopian society with relevance to situations today. Instead of your typical, catastrophic “the world is ending!” dystopian, this story is up-close-and-personal with the lives of the characters, Gabriel, Lilly, and Cole.

Told from Gabriel’s perspective, the world seems hopeless. Or at least it would be without his older sister, Lilly. The way that Gabriel desperately cares for her reminds me a bit of C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce. And Gabriel’s emotions are so real that I could easily picture the story and feel his pain along with him.  

Without giving too much away, one of the main themes of the story is how a good God could exist in a world with so much pain. I appreciate how Heath handles such an issue without resorting to deus ex machina.

Another quality I really enjoyed was Heath’s writing style, which is typical of YA. Here’s one of my favorite lines:

“As far as Gabriel was concerned, there were only two all-important laws on earth: 

1. Don’t murder people.

2. Never swear in front of Lilly.”

I gave this story 4/5 stars for its well-told narrative but some vague descriptions. But because this is a short story, I recognize that there is only so much a writer can do with a limited amount of space. Because of the instances of profanity, I’d have to go with Heath’s own “rating” and recommend it to anybody older than 13. I look forward to reading more stories from Heath.

The Movie Was Better Than the Book

Many people may recall how I tend to rant about movies and the superiority of books. In fact, many of my friends claim I don’t even like movies. This is true to an extent. There are exceptions. Sometimes, the movie is better than the book.

Now before you condemn me for heresy, please allow me to propose a couple questions. Do quality movies exist?  And do poorly written books exist? If you answered yes to either of these questions, might it be possible that these two coincide?

In my experience, there are three general reasons why some movies may be better than their books, and they may overlap in some circumstances.

1) The movie was better researched than the book.

You don’t usually see these kinds of books, but they exist. In these cases, the book falls short of enriching details whereas the movie fills them in. And I’m not just talking about setting. A well-researched story should include culture, setting, time period, and character development just to name a few aspects. Sometimes movies include cultural aspects or languages that the books skims over.

A great example is Dances with Wolves. I enjoyed the movie for the development of the Sioux culture and language, not to mention the music, but when I read the book, I was disappointed. The Indian language was mentioned, but none of the words were included like in the film. Likewise, the characters had more depth in the movie than the book. Though this may seem unusual, this was the case.

2) Writing was not the author’s main talent.

As a reading challenge from a friend, I read Collision Course by William Shatner. Despite being a Star Trek fan, I had no idea who the author was until halfway through the book. (This is because I know more character names than those of actual people.) Ultimately, the name of the author had no impact on my low rating for the book.

Some people make good writers. Others don’t. And sometimes people who are better at something else, end up writing poor books. Just because a person can write a book, doesn’t mean he/she should. It takes more than a big name to make a book successful. Often times, writing is 99% dedication and 1% talent. Dedication gets the work done, but talent makes it effective. Some authors’ talents lie elsewhere instead of with writing.

3) The book was based off the movie.

Basically, I’m not a big fan of fan-fiction. I’m a firm believer in the original writers getting the credit for their fictional worlds because they came up with the ideas. The main reason that some fan-fiction falls short is because readers cannot draw from the same experiences that the writer has already drawn from.

This is not to say that fan-fiction is completely worthless. Writing fan-fiction may be a fun writing prompt activity. Some writes may even manage to capture a character’s essence and an author’s style. But this is rare. Besides, there are plenty of books I wish people would write a based on movies and shows, such as Ladyhawke or Leverage, but that’s another story.

So, though many readers may discount the value of film in appraise of the written word, there are some cases, rarities, that a movie might actually be better than the book. Ultimately, neither books nor movies can be a perfect form of culture, and audiences may prefer one over the other. But if readers are going to claim to be avid, it’s important for them to tell the difference between a good book and a poor one.

Are there any book-to-movie adaptations where you considered the movie to be better? Why/why not?

Literary references: Michael Blake’s Dances with Wolves, William Shatner’s Collision Course.

Movie references: Dances with Wolves, Ladyhawke, Leverage, and Star Trek.

The #1 Thing Writers Want from Readers

 

Have you ever wondered what a writer’s biggest dream is? Honestly, many writers would like to have their stories end up on the bestseller list, receive a reward, and have a movie adaptation made. While these may be wonderful goals, more often than not, they may not happen, and instead many writers end up with more rejection letters than bestsellers. But that doesn’t mean those stories are worthless.

This month I’ll be focusing on things that readers should say to writers. So on the one hand, writers have struggles within the publishing market, and on the other hand they might get “But it’s a good story!” or “I really enjoyed it!” from friends in family. While purely positive feedback can be nice, it isn’t always beneficial when it conflicts with rejection or criticism.

Here are just a few things readers should keep in mind when talking to writers:

Friends should encourage their writer friends, not flatter them.

This has two dimension to it.

1) While it’s good to encourage your writer friends to submit and resubmit, sometimes stories have mistakes. Though many friends are tempted to skim over this and assure the writer that their story is fantastic no matter what, please don’t do this. Consider sports for example. If an athlete makes a mistake, like tripping, and a coach notices, friends shouldn’t pass this off as the coach being unable to see how great the athlete is. If there’s anything more harmful to a writer than rejection letters it’s dishonesty. Leave it up to a writer’s parents to tell him/her that he/she is the best writer since Shakespeare. (Thanks for all your encouragement, Mom!)
 

2) A writer’s artistic style will not always match up with every audience. This may cause rejection letters or bad reviews. If your writer friend is discouraged, it’s okay to encourage them, but it’s not beneficial to slam whoever turned down/critiqued a story. Leave the harsh words to villains and people who write poor book reviews.

The #1 thing writers want from readers is honest feedback.

For published authors, this may include an honest book review. Even if you don’t give a book 5 stars, providing constructive criticism can mean the world to a writer. Besides, book reviews are a good means of publicity. For unpublished authors, you can still help your writers by being honest. Who knows, if you provide enough support and critical feedback, you might even get to be a beta reader and get a sneak peek at a book before publication.

Writers may be wondering why particular stories are rejected or why some stories do better than others, but they don’t usually get such feedback from publishers. So they have to rely on you, dear readers (yes, and editors too), to tell them not only which story is good but why you believe that. Writers should enjoy constructive criticism. And if they don’t, they haven’t received enough of it yet.

Have you missed the first part of “The Proper Care and Feeding of a Writer”? Check out Part 1: Some of the Basics and Part 2: 7 Things No Writer Wants to Hear. Be sure to let me know if you think I’ve missed anything, and come back Dec. 20 for the conclusion: Gift Ideas for Writers.

Readers, how comfortable are you with constructive criticism? When is the last time you wrote a book review for a book you enjoyed? Writers, what else do you wish you heard from your readers?

Scanning Draft 3

There’s a reason writers call plot bunnies, well, plot bunnies. Perhaps they should call them Tribbles. Once you have one, you suddenly have ten and they never go away. Especially when you’re trying to write an essay or trying to sleep. I recently found a black-and-white, dystopian plot bunny wandering about and decided to house it in my little bunny hatch. (Aka my folder of story ideas.) Can you guess what else I found there? A really old bunny that developed into a novel, which I know call Breaking a Thief. I looked back on the original idea and laughed. Wow, had my story taken completely different turns than I had originally planned!

Pfeffer: my writing/editing buddy this summer.
She's not cuddly unless she's hiding from the wind.
Photo credit: Lori Klein

What had started out as historical fiction changed to medieval fiction with my own countries and towns. Characters came and went and others developed. Major plot points changed. Earlier this year, I posted my experiences rewriting giant portions of my novel (You can read about it here: Wrestling with Draft 2.) But the work didn’t stop there. After I set the novel aside for another month so I could take part in Camp NaNoWriMo, I dove right back into editing.

After a whole month dedicated to Visionary, a story with no plot, I was excited to get back to some structure in Breaking a Thief. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the plot, all of which is vital to working on a story. If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t have stuck with it so long. In my third round of edits, I decided to try two new techniques to help me catch as many mistakes as I could.

First, I enlisted the help of several beta readers. (Thanks again, you lovely people!) I did this in cycles. After Draft 2, I got feedback from my first beta reader, then got feedback from another reader after Draft 3. Though these readers didn’t edit for me, they told me what they thought of the story and if there were any inconsistencies.

 

Perhaps the three most valuable things I learned from them was that some of my characters needed rounding out, whether or not a plot twist was obvious/plausible, and that my ending needed some serious work. And by serious work, I mean I rewrote it four different times. Though the extra comments meant a bunch of extra work, it was worth it to receive honest, critical feedback from my peers.

Then I read through the whole story again by reading each chapter twice in a row. In no way would I ever recommend this as a way to read a novel for fun, but two readings helped. First, I reacquainted myself with the chapter, getting to know what the story was trying to say. Then I would reread the chapter to analyze each sentence and see what the story was actually saying. Because of this long process, I would get through two or three chapters on a good day (that’s about 20-35 pages a day).

By the time I got to the midway point of my novel, I was sick of reading it. It was tedious, but I managed to look beyond the story and at the grammar and wording. Once I finished this process, I set the book aside and didn’t touch it for three weeks (During that time I worked on another project until my classes started. More on that story later! J)

Then I sent the story off to my editor. I recently got it back, and have been working on more edits throughout the week. Once I’m done editing, I’ll be off to sending out query letters to agents! Until that happens, I’ll keep writing, reading, editing. You name it. Talking about stories and ideas is fun too.
 

In fact, whenever I tell people I’ve written a novel, I get the age old question: “What’s it about?”

After my initial annoyance at this difficult question, I’ve learned to enjoy telling people about my story, which is easier now that I know the story inside-out. So now I say, “It’s about a thief.”

 

“Cool,” People typically say. “What does he do?”

 

I smile. “She seeks to become the greatest of all thieves by challenging a superior.”

 

Then I sit back and watch the shock on their faces as I defy stereotypes one character at a time. Silly readers. Whoever said all thieves had to be guys?

 

Writers, what does your editing process look like? Have you ever employed the help of beta readers?  Readers, what’s your favorite genre? I’m torn between several new ideas for my next story.