Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: No Description

I often create characters by picturing what they look like first. For example, I think of their hair, the color and length of it, or I think of how tall they might be. If I am worried the characters looks too much like me, I always make them short, because one of my most noticeable…
Issue Twelve Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Someone That You Used To Know

Sometimes it is hard to create characters from scratch, sometimes you just need a starting point. That is why a lot of authors include fictionalized versions of their family members in novels. However sometimes it hard to write honestly and with perspective about someone you know. This exercise is an easy way to create a…
Issue Ten Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Avoidance

A lot of writers come back to the same themes again and again, from father issues to aliens, most writers seem to have their private preoccupation. The problem with this is that you want to have work that sounds different, that explores new themes and interesting topics. For a long time every piece of writing…
Issue Nine Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Tell it Slant

“Tell all the Truth but tell it slant–” is a famous quote by Emily Dickinson. It is a principle many writers have adopted both in fiction and non fiction. In this exercise the point is to tell a story you know well. It does not have to be your story though, it can be the…
Issue Eight Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Erasure

This writing prompt is a little different. Instead of requiring you to write words with a pen, this writing exercise is all about crossing things out with a sharpie. This week the writing exercise is to create an erasure. An erasure is a poem that starts out with a piece of existing text, but instead…
Issue Seven Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Fable

A fable is a fictional story that features animals, plants, mythical creatures, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to an interpretation of a moral lesson or point. Fables are all around us. They were told to us as kids and we repeat them as adults. Fables have…
Issue Six Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Other Words

Pick a book from your shelf that you haven’t read recently. This book should be one that you enjoy. It can be a book of poetry, or prose, even a play or non fiction. It should not be a dictionary or an encyclopedia. Start a 10 minute timer, and then open to a random page….
Issue Five Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: The 3 Minute Warm Up

This is a writing technique that is very popular for screen writers. However it seems to work well for writers of fiction and poetry. I always enjoy doing this writing exercise even if I am not stuck. When I am in the middle of writing something else, doing this exercise before going further helps my…
Issue Four Issue One Hundred Fifty Six Writing Prompt

Writing Exercise: Favorite Words

When you are stuck, and you don’t know what to write or how to start a piece, this prompt helps free your imagination. It is a very simple prompt but a little bit time consuming. This prompt works best on paper, but in a pinch you can do it on your laptop. Start writing down…
Issue Three Writing Prompt

Writing Prompt: Eavesdropping

One of the best ways to learn how to write natural, compelling dialogue, is to listen to people. Not necessarily people you know, because  you’re likely to get caught up in the conversation yourself and that makes it less about observing and more about discussion. Instead, to really get a good feeling for how different…
Issue Two Writing Prompt

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