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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

The Gift of Prompts

I got a gift this Christmas of writing dice, so decided to roll them and use the results here.  My friends know me so well!  😁 I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.      PT Prompt #318 Character traits:  stubborn, empathetic  Conflict:  man vs technology  Setting:  Foreign country Theme: Power POV:  first person Time:  Ancient history  Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help read
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Prompt Team Genre Event - *Now Live!*

Who's ready for some genre fun? For this year's Prompt Team Event, @Aditus and I challenged authors to step outside their comfort zone and write in a randomly-selected genre/subgenre.  @Myr and team have done a lot of work curating a list of genres/subgenres, so there was an extensive list to choose from! Eight authors took up the challenge and sent me stories to include in the event.  We have prompt stories ranging from Historical/Ancient Orient to Fantasy/Arcanepunk.  Without further ado, plea
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Everyday Mishaps

Yesterday, I went to work forgetting the thermos with my Advent Calendar tea; no biggie, but it was an uncomfortable bus ride. Nothing to do with my hands, cold, and I noticed lots of people wrapped up in scarves, hats, and whatnot, even though it wasn’t that cold, which resulted in sweating humans. Eew. Now, I want you to write about everyday mishaps. PT Prompt #316:   Alex forgot the salad they promised to bring to the potluck party at work. While it’s standing perfectly s
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I Can't Think of Anything Prompts

I've been wracking my brain, but sadly cannot come up with any kind of theme for the prompts this week.  So here are some random word lists.  Have fun and don't forget to enter the Prompt Team genre event!   PT Prompt #314: Use the following words in a story:  fan, box, cat, snow, closet   PT Prompt#315: Use the following words in a story: cheez balls, tree, raccoon, tuxedo, Empire State Building Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapt
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Another Road Taken

Do you sometimes wish you had another job, apartment, car, family, or lived in another country? The list is probably endless and different for everyone.     PT Prompt #312   Someone wakes up in the morning, and it seems the fairy godmother has granted them their greatest wish. What is it and what are the consequences? More importantly, are they happy? PT Prompt #313   Someone visits a magical movie theatre where they can watch how their life would be
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2025 Prompt Team Event

Calling all prompters!  It's time for the second annual Prompt Team Event!  Anyone who knows me and @Aditus will agree that we like to keep people guessing, so we're changing things up a bit this year.  Prompts are designed to help us grow as writers.  To push boundaries and explore ways of writing or genres we may not otherwise consider.  So this year, we are doing a genre/subgenre challenge!    To participate: PM either myself or Aditus.  We will assign you a random g
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Think Positive

It's super easy to get sucked into negativity, whether it's the news, social media, family, work, the weather...  I'm guilty of falling into this trap, but over the past few years I've been trying to learn how to find positives to counterbalance the negative.  Some days are definitely harder than others, that's for sure.  A dear friend of mine has been my inspiration in this journey.  They always know what to say to make me feel better, and their positive outlook on life is contagious.  We need
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Let’s get technical

We all read, and/or have written a story in first person, third person (limited, omniscient), but what about second person?   There are some great examples where writers have used this POV. I thought we would expand our horizon, get out of our comfort zone, stretch our wings, and try something new. PT #307:   Write a vignette, or something longer, where you address your reader. PT#308:   Write a short piece, poem, whatever you like, and address yours
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Prompt Rewind

Today's prompt blog is going to be a little bit different.  Five years ago, @wildone featured some guest prompts after our prompt guru Comicfan sadly passed away.  One of these prompts was recently resurrected, with several authors taking up the challenge.  This is one of my favorite technical prompts, as it gets authors to consider their words carefully and approach first person POV in a different way.  So please check out the prompt and responses and give it a go yourself.  Be sure to post you
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Spooky

It’s that time where we stumble over pumpkins everywhere: on the internet, in the grocery shop, and on our neighbor’s giant inflatable witch. Let’s start early with writing about creepy creatures this year.   PT Prompt #305:   Interview with a Vampire? Boring; read the book, wore the t-shirt, watched the movies plus sequels. Yawn. You’re working for a blog, and your boss has the brilliant idea to interview a ghost. She sends you to an allegedly haunted house where y
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Wasn't it just June?

It's starting to feel like Fall here, with a few hot days thrown in.  It's mainly been cool, and the trees have even started to turn.  I love it.  Fall is my favorite time of year, with the beautiful Northeast foliage and cool temps.  It's time to pumpkin spice all the things!     It's also back to school season, which means more traffic and lots of cranky people. Let's write about the beginning of Fall.  PT Prompt #303: You've decided to go back to college at age 40. 
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Sensory Overload

Good writing engages the senses, so let's explore some ways to do that.     PT Prompt #301: Choose a sense and then describe something related to that sense to someone lacking that sense.  For example, describe colors to a blind person or music to a Deaf person.     PT Prompt #302: Write from the POV of an individual experiencing sensory overload.  It could be too much noise, light, touch, etc.         Be sure to check out @BendtedWreath an
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The Prompts are back!

A few months ago, I encouraged authors to try writing a collaborative story. No one took the gauntlet. Now, I read about taking down the site by writing a collab story. Should we try this again? PT #299   Write a collab story. a) Discuss alternately about an anthology theme. b)Two or three people go to a party. Write the story from their perspectives. PT #300   As a nod to the upcoming anthology: The MCs lie on a blanket in the park, watching the sky.
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Animal Visitors

It's a belief across many cultures that birds are messengers from beyond, especially after a loved one has recently passed.  Many people also feel that animals come into our lives for a reason, often during trying times.  Let's explore both of these concepts. Feel free to use these prompts as a jumping off point for a story for our upcoming Creature Feature anthology.     PT Prompt #297 After a loved one passes away, an animal comes around in a way that makes you wonder if i
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Let's Celebrate July!

There are two different observances in July that I'd like to honor with prompts.  July 14th is International Non-Binary People's Day - halfway between International Women's Day and International Men's Day - and is aimed to bring awareness to issues faced by non-binary people.   July is also Disability Pride Month.  It commemorates the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and celebrates the accomplishments, experiences, and challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. 
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Celebration Time

Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north and Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans!     In the spirit of celebrating, let's explore various ways to do so.   PT Prompt #293: You're a competitor in a major competition in your sport and will clearly win.  Knowing this, you celebrate too early, which costs you the win.  What happened and what is the fallout?     PT Prompt #294: Use the following words in a story:  balloon, cake, capybara, firework
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Date Night

There are many different types of dates: a blind date, a first date, a second date, a coincidental date, a regular date, and a last date. Which will it be?   PT #291 It’s a balmy summer evening. Every table is occupied at the seaside restaurant. Dali sits alone at the table watching the sunset. Which kind of date is this?   PT #292 It seems circumstances have conspired to make someone late for their date: there are only red lights, construction sites, and
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Cue the Drama Llama

Life is full of drama, whether we want it or not.  It's been a drama-filled week for me, which why I may or may not have forgotten to write a prompt blog for today      Let's start some drama! PT Prompt #289 Work/life balance is incredibly important, but not always easy to achieve.  Your supervisor is relentlessly pushing you to work beyond a comfortable balance, despite you telling them no.  Stand up for yourself and your co-workers.     PT Prompt #290 S
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Pick a Flower

Or bake a cake? Write a poem? A letter? What if someone’s birthday was yesterday and you forgot it? Maybe you didn’t know, but you want to do something nice now that you do know. PT #287   Write a birthday poem.   PT #288 Someone forgot an important birthday and needs a last-minute gift. Write their story and use the following words: purple bow, umbrella, plushy, cheesecake, revolving door, red pen, German punk band, oh, and flowers...lots of flowers.  
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Let's Play a Game

I love games.  Board games, card games, word games... if it's game night, count me in!  When I was a kid, we always played games when I visited my grandparents.  Yahtzee was a favorite, along with Boggle.  Later, we discovered Pass the Pigs.  As a teenager, I played a lot of poker with my friends, usually with M&Ms as the currency.  The different colors had different values, as did plain and peanut.  The winner was usually the person who didn't eat all their 'money'.  In college, my room was
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Choices

We’re confronted with choices throughout our entire life. Some are important and others are mundane, at least at first. Which line should you choose at the supermarket checkout? Blue or pink shirt? Tie or no tie? Which character to kill in your own story or in a video game? Apply for this job or that? Food, friends, the list is indefinite. I want to explore how people make choices. PT #283   Someone applies for their dream job. What to wear? Are clothes even important?
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This is the End... Revisited! The Story

Two weeks ago, I asked prompt blog readers to create a story starting at the end and working to the beginning.  @Bill W got us off to an interesting start - uh, end? Followed by @ReaderPaul and myself.  I took some liberties with the order and added in the beginning of the story.  I hope you enjoy the result!  Thank you to Bill and ReaderPaul for the interesting premise, and without further adieu, here is the final result!    
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Tropical Tropes

Around here, we’re already feeling summer vibes. On the other side of the globe, winter is closing in. In my opinion, vacationing on a tropical island never sounds wrong wherever you live. Are you ready? PT #281 Use as many tropical tropes as possible to describe the stop of your cruise ship on a tropical island. PT #282   Combine common tropes such as the hero journey, love triangle, lost memory, anti-hero, or enemies to lovers with tropical tropes without (challenge!)
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This is the End... Revisited!

We're back after a brief hiatus while the Poetry Anthology and Comicality Tribute were featured.  If you haven't had a chance to check them out, please do so!        @Aditus and I absolutely love everyone's enthusiasm for the new twists on the prompt blog.  Since we had so much participation the last time, we're going to put some limits in place to make the resulting story more manageable for us.   The idea is to write a story backwards.  I will provide the ending,
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NaPoWriMo Prompts

April is National Poetry Writing Month, which is why we feature our annual Poetry Anthology in April.  Stay tuned next week for the first batch of poems from site poets.  In the meantime, let's explore poetry through prompts!    PT Prompt #281: Write a poem celebrating spring.  Haiku are, by tradition, about nature, but feel free to explore any form.     PT Prompt #282: Write a poem about an inanimate object and bring it to life.    Please include th
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