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Featuring everything new and experienced authors need to develop creative and technical skills. Check out writing development articles, our Word of the Day, writing prompts, anthology opportunities and more!

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Prompts

Childhood Prompts

Things that happen in childhood can affect us throughout life, whether minor or profound, positive or negative.  Sometimes these things can cause issues later in life, especially if they've been repressed.  Or maybe they manifest as quirky habits.  In my family, we don't say "cheeeeessseeee" when we have our pictures taken; we say "fuzzy pickle".  Don't ask me how or why that started, but it's something we still do.  I'm almost obsessive about being on time.  My grandma insisted on being twenty
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Imagine if

Randy loves movies, either fantasy or science fiction, where the most inexplicable things happen.  What kind of strange things?  A monster bursting from a person's belly, a series of rooms that change the situation of various characters, or even a door that opens into another world.  In these stories, such things are not weird.  They are the stuff of imagination so, let's imagine if...   #235 - Your narrator is driving in a 2012 minivan when a time-travelling wizard appears in the seat
Prompts

Oh Sh** Prompts

We've all had moments where all we can do is say "oh, sh**" and then either brace for the inevitable or stare in disbelief as the inevitable cockily saunters past.  For example, I was driving home from work one day and was sitting in my car at a red light.  There was one car ahead of me.  The light turned green, and the car ahead of me proceeded through the intersection.  For some reason, I didn't go right away.  I hesitated and allowed a good couple of car lengths between us before proceeding. 
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Building a mystery!

If you know me at all, you know I love a good mystery story.  Dame Agatha Christie, Jonathan Kellerman, Joseph Hansen, Martha Grimes, Earl Derr Biggers, Dashiell Hammett, Robert Parker, Minette Walters, Joe Lansdale, Wilkie Collins, and many many more all come to mind.  There is something intriguing about a whodunit or even a whydonit.  They are also such fantastic period pieces, where you journey to another place and live in a different time.  You can read about Dave Brandstetter in the 19
Prompts

A Hard Habit to Break

We are creatures of habit, and sometimes those habits can be a bit strange, especially to other people.  My best friend in high school preferred to walk on the right side of people.  If I forgot and walked on her right side, she would make me switch over to her left side.  It became a bit of a  joke between us, and it became a habit for me to walk on the left side of people, even if she wasn't around.  Over thirty years later, I still walk on the left side of people and feel uncomfortable if I w
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Conflicted or Confident

With effective writing, our characters should always try to show, and not tell, the reader how they are feeling.  Verbal expressions are the simplest and most direct way, like stuttering or announcing things.  But, there are certain actions and reactions in the body, which are even more efficient at conveying a character's feelings.  I've decided to give you a couple of opposite feelings to work with.   Here are physical clues for you to use portraying your character's state of being.  Feel
Prompts

A Matter of Perspective

Sometimes it feels like we’re losing the ability to empathize with each other.  Road rage, entitlement, me, me, me.  Recently, I was heading into a store and someone locked their car with that annoying car beep right as I was passing it.  I am extremely sensitive to noise, so it caused me to involuntarily flinch.  The person noticed, so their reaction was to beep the lock again.  I ended up going into the store right before them, and held the door for them.  Their look of surprise was worth push
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In Flagrante Delicato

Getting "caught in the act" is the most common translation of this Latin phrase.  It involves a person being very naughty and someone 'walking in on them.'  I'm proposing these prompts because sometimes our characters can get just too nice.  Our protagonist can be too "pro" and our antagonist too "mean".  Sometimes having our main character suffer a character flaw, or two, can lend more authenticity to a story.  Let's stretch our wings and try something a bit nasty.   #223 - You are in
Prompts

Freaky Friday

Sometimes life can get a little freaky.  So let's get our freak on and explain the unexplainable.     PT Prompt #221 You're running late to work and don't have time to stop for your customary cup of coffee.  Instead, you end up taking a completely different route to work and end up experiencing what can only be described as a 'glitch in the Matrix'.  What happened?   PT Prompt #222 You keep having moments of deja vu, to the point where it's starting to freak both y
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Emotional Rescue

Ahhhh!  The plot is thickening.  The characters have developed perfectly.  You have balanced your pace so there is riveting action, informative scene setting, and a richness to your tableau.  Everything seems to be going so well, and yet, your beta reader drops a bomb on you.  "It's just falling flat."   What are you supposed to do?  Where do you turn?  How can you enrich and round out your characters?  How about a little emotional rescue?  Let's try filling in the back story of y
Prompts

Vacation Time!

I just spent two wonderful weeks in the south of England, seeing everything from the Cerne Giant (Google it if you're not familiar...  )  to Stonehenge at sunset.  I could write an entire story about all the sights and experiences from the trip, but at the moment, will have to settle with two prompts based of actual things I experienced during my adventures.  PT Prompt #217 After travelling for over 24 hours with pretty much no sleep and lots of Dramamine (motion sickness med that make
Prompts

Points of View - The Ultimate Personification of an Object

Points of view are so important in stories.  As writers, we have to pretend to be someone else, feel what they feel, and ache with their longings.  As an exercise, let's pretend to be something not alive.  You can fill the object with whatever you feel or think.  The object will become a character, a witness, and your sounding board.     #215 - You are a porch swing.  You must describe the events that unfold around you, but only during times of great emotion.  That's when you awaken.  
Prompts

Let's Write Some Poetry!

Since National Poetry Writing Month is fast approaching, along with the Poetry Anthology, I thought it would be the perfect time to feature some poetry prompts!    PT Prompt #213 - Poetry Write a poem about a feeling without explicitly naming what that feeling is.    PT Prompt #214 - Poetry  Use spring as your springboard to start a poem.  Embrace the fickleness of the season!    Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or
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Tired Prompts

Around here it looks a lot like spring which means I feel either super energized---or I’m tired. Luckily some GA members sent me prompt ideas so I can find a comfy spot to take a nap in the sun. Thank you @Thirdly and @Lee Wilson. PT #211 You’re a closeted gay man at a company gathering, for example, a conference of some kind. The company brought in a unique kind of entertainment and you’re attracted to one of the entertainers. With their costumes, you can’t tell if they’re male or fem
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Wisenheimer - How sarcasm can drive a character sketch

Comedy in a story can elevate an interesting tale into one you can't put down.  There are several types of humor, but perhaps one of my favorites is the sarcastic retort.  Nothing can fuel a character like some witty, and biting, humor.  Let's try some examples with a, well, not first line, but first exchange with two main characters.   Have fun with it.     #209 - "This is the last time I'm going to trust you with being the lookout."              "What's my next job? Poison
Prompts

Everybody's Irish on St. Paddy's Day!

We're just a couple of weeks away from drinking green beer and eating corned beef and cabbage, so let's celebrate all things St. Patrick's Day!    PT Prompt #207 HR calls you into their office based on a report of an unfortunate pinching incident on St. Patrick's Day.  Who made the report, why, and is it true?     PT Prompt #208 After a night of drinking too much green beer and Guinness, you wake up in a strange bed that's much too small for you.  Next to you,
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Item Prompts

Last week, I looked in the basement for a pot for my new palm tree. You wouldn't believe how much crap I found there. Time for the next yard sale, but I digress.   PT#205 Tell the story of the forgotten rocking chair pushed into the corner of a basement and covered in dusty cobwebs.   PT#206 Three friends clear out the basement of an old house. One opens a rotting kitchen cabinet and finds a moldy box with a set of gleaming, pristine chef knives.  When he picks up t
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Prompts

Fantasy Island

Ahhh!  The lovely idea of an island filled with magic, mystery, and love.  In the depths of winter, let's take a journey to a place with tropical drinks, grass huts, and warm breezes.   #203 - Use the following words in a story.  Daiquiri, husk, oar, coati, sanguine, furtive, umbrella, and turkey. #204 - You get up early in the morning.  The sun is just starting to ease upwards with brilliant rays bathing the palm trees and bougainvillea's growing against the seawall.  As you make your
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Home Prompts

These prompt ideas were inspired by a discussion on the site. Would people read stories that take place in a foreign country? How difficult is it to write these kinds of stories and still find readers on an international site like GA? Does an American want to read a story about characters falling in love in Denmark? On the other hand, what do we have to do to write a story taking place away from home, like space or for example, China, India, Africa, or wherever your muse takes you? Let’s t
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Let's Talk About the Weather!

What does conversation inevitably drift towards when all other topics are exhausted?  Whether you like it or not, it's usually the weather     PT Prompt #199: You're a weatherman who got the forecast completely wrong before a catastrophic storm hit.  What were the consequences?   PT Prompt #200: Because the weatherman was so colossally wrong, you were taken completely by surprise by this storm.  What kind of storm was it?   Where did you weather it?  What happened
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Time to Travel!

Winter decided it wanted to dump our annual snowfall on us all at once this week, so it's a perfect time to think about being somewhere where the air doesn't hurt your face.     PT Prompt #197 You decide to plan your next vacation by closing your eyes, spinning a globe, and going wherever your finger lands.  Where do you end up going on vacation?    PT Prompt #198 Plan a vacation that's the polar opposite of your dream trip.  Don't like cruises?  Go on a cruis
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Plain Prompts

Here is your weekly nudge or inspirational kick.    PT #195 Write a short story or vignette where a paper napkin takes on large emotional importance. PT #196 Invent a character who has a ‘Murphy’s Law' week. Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. I
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Bits and Pieces

"Bits and pieces put together, to present a semblance of a whole" - Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN I've always been intrigued by the ideas suggested in this quotation.  It suggests, quite correctly, that art and artifice are simply representations, and parts of a story.  Narratives necessarily pick and choose the elements they want to reveal in order to make a coherent story.  The artist decides what things are presented to a consumer of their art and what things to leave out.  For
Prompts

It's Resolution Time!

New Year's Resolutions - love them or hate them?  Some people thrive on resolutions and use them to make changes in their lives, at least for January   Others scoff at the idea and remain their fabulous selves without some arbitrary date telling them it's time to effect positive change.  Since New Year's is right around the corner, let's explore some resolutions!    PT Prompt #191: You've always been steadfastly against making any resolutions come January first and have trea
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Guest Prompt By Thirdly

This Friday I present a guest prompt by @Thirdly I know, I know lazy. Prompt #189 Holiday Hazard: The protagonist drank too much spiked eggnog while staying with his family over the holidays. His younger cousins somehow manage to convince him to go with them to a Winter-themed amusement park even though he has a hangover. There at the amusement park, he finds someone he manages to get along with more than anyone else he'd ever come across. They end up holding hands even while riding ro
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