Tag Archives: Writing

10 Writing Prompts for October 18

Word Art (7)

  1. “Sure—what the heck—I’ll marry you.”

  2. “You’re not a lawyer, are you?”

  3. “Connect the dots, Einstein.”

  4. “Do you really think she’s guilty?”

  5. “It’s time to take the leap.”

  6. “This dog…is he planning to stay on my lap all night?”

  7. “Why do people always ask me that?”
    “Look at yourself. Can you blame them?”

  8. “Your apartment…could it be in a seedier part of town?”

  9. “Hey, enough with the theatrics. Either make your phone call or haul your butt into the cell.”

  10. “You’re kidding! I get a corporate credit card?”
    “Yes, it’s yours. But don’t go nuts.”
    I didn’t hear a word he said.

***

How to use writing prompts, from WikiHow…

Musings of a writer during board game development…

board game
Just think of how many plot twists some of your favorite board games provide.

I attended my first board game creation class last night.

It offers a different way of looking at making something from scratch.

And I realized there is considerable crossover between this process and fiction writing.

I also thought of ways to incorporate game creation into my middle grade novel. I think I’ll have the teacher ask kids to write a story and, as they’re writing it, thinking of ways to turn it into a board game. The teacher will hope that it will amp up her writers’  visualization skills and add interesting plot twists and memorable characters with engaging personalities.

I then decided I should try this same approach for my own fiction projects.

This wouldn’t always apply, of course, but for some stories, I might ask myself the following questions:

  1. How would my current story play out in game format?

  2. Are my characters doing enough to earn a role in this game? [i.e. or are they so boring that I wouldn’t want to include them?]

  3. Would my game/story not only provide characters with clear goals, but enough obstacles to make people want to keep playing/reading?

Okay, thanks for reading. I’m always interested to hear if some of these ideas resonate with you.

Ready! Pen in hand? Go!

10 Writing Prompts for October 4

Word Art

  1. “Trust me. This will help you grow and become a better person.”

  2. We hated to admit it. She was right and we were, well, deep in left field…

  3. And with those words, he had entered the hallowed halls of dinkdom…

  4. I just wanted a nice party for Jamie, and then this…

  5. The coach smirked, then looked on admiringly.  “He’s small, but he’s slow.”

  6. This was more than a school prank.

  7. “Come on now, Love Buckets, hand it over.”

  8. “Are you doing all this just to hurt me?”

  9. Let’s just say his romantic plan completely unraveled.

  10. “There is no world where I can sit by and watch this happen to my kids.”

***

How to use writing prompts, from WikiHow…

11 Writing Prompts for Sept. 30…and how to use them.

Warmups Cloud

  1. “Leave? To go where?”

  2. “Are you serious? You talked yesterday about staying here for good. And now this?”

  3. “I feel so stupid. I should have known this would happen.”

  4. “Why are we in the same spot we were in ten years ago?”

  5. “Let’s just agree. This guy is far from a perfect ten.”

  6. “You’re definitely a royal something.”

  7. “You and I both know you’re the reason we imploded.”

  8. “No, I am not a stalker. And yes, we do keep running into each other.”

  9. “Out with it! What’s your question?”

  10. It was time to put an end to this little rebellion.

  11. That dog’s eyes said one thing: “I am going to love you into oblivion.”

***

How to use writing prompts, from WikiHow…

INSPIRED BY TODAY’S JUMBLE®

jumbled letters gratisography-419-thumbnail

What took me so long?

A blog named Word Inventions and I never got around to making up my own words?

Well, the time has come…

Thank you to David L. Hoyt and Jeff Knurek, creators of JUMBLE®–‘That scrambled word game’…

CLYDOC

Marcie turned from the cloudy weather outside and shook her head at the new workmate, deep into his daily chants. What a complete and utter yuclod.

NEIGSN

“Ensign! You’re not facing your men until you get that festering sennig removed from your chin!”

REBGLI

The Senator glared at his staff. “Time to change the narrative. Send for Bob. He’s the best bilger our super pac can buy.”

***Image courtesy of gratisography.com

10 Writing Prompts for September 24

Word Art (7)

  1. “Give it up. It’s old technology.”
    Just I wanted to hear. I’d show these dorks…
  2. “She tops out at one hundred words a minute.”
  3. “Granted, it’s not the easiest car to extricate yourself from.”
  4. “How about a coffee?”
    He reached into his briefcase. “Only if it comes with a little extra something.”
  5. “I will if you want me to.”
  6. “Your whole world is a sitcom!”
  7. There was something special about their devil-may-care approach…
  8. “Let’s just say it’s not exactly Shakespeare.”
    “Well, duuuhhh.”
  9. “Yeah, that kind of thing can happen with fourth-graders.”
  10. This was our kind of traffic jam. We all jumped out and…

***

#7

10 Writing Prompts for September 20

imagine word cloud

From writing prompt #7 below…

“Here are three things you should know about me.”

I turned away and winced. Am I going to want to hear this?

“One, my right leg is longer than my left one.”

“Fascinating,” I said. Please let that be the worst of it.

“Two, my favorite food is chili, no beans.”

“You are truly special,” I said. I liked the ‘no beans’ part. And what’s number three?”

“I…” He paused for dramatic effect. “…am certain dinosaurs still roam the earth.”

God, if only we’d stopped at the chili.

  1. “Sorry, I can’t help you.” “But you’re our last chance!”

  2. That face on the TV screen…so familiar.

  3. “Don’t you think you’re being a little paranoid?”

  4. “But did you have to post it on social media?”

  5. He brushed the dust off his suit. “That was easier than I thought.”

  6. “I feel like we’re home,” I said as I stretched out on the couch. “Oh, let’s not get too comfortable,” said Mom.

  7. “Here are three things you should know about me,” he said, pouring a cup of coffee. “First…”

  8. It was essential…we had to have those photos…

  9. “You’re certainly all smiles today.” “Yep,” she said. “I finally told off that old battle-axe.”

  10. There, for all the world to see, in large block letters was his profession of love…

  11. “And you needed the skull because?”

***

#7

Sharing a writer’s guest post…

scribbling-152216_1280

I really liked this post from Cynthia Morris [Rally Your Courage to Write Your Book] on productiveflourishing.com.

Points that resonated:

  • “…we often find a bigger reason for why we’re not writing: lack of confidence.”
  • “I always encourage my clients to write a permission slip.” [=a ‘Yes, you can do this!”]
  • “There are plenty of books in the world. But not your book.“

Added value to this post: It really does apply to any ambition to create.

 

Words of inspiration from Jill Badonsky

I have two of Jill Badonsky’s books: The Awe-manac and The Muse Is In

Until tonight, I had not opened this newsletter forwarded to me by my wife the same month I left my job almost two years ago. Just one of those emails that slipped by…
I hope the quote nudges you forward in your creative pursuits…

jill badonsky quote with background

If you believe it’s time to give that creative calling inside of you a shot, honor it in some really small way today.

Start by asking “What do I love about my creative passion?” and “What one really small thing I can do to get started?”

Just asking these questions, even without having an answer, will begin to shift your energy toward the thoughts and actions that make it easier to get to your passion.

Once you light that fire, you will shine so brightly, there’s a chance one or two souls will stop their bickering and be inspired to do the same–you will be a catalyst of creative passion. — Jill Badonsky