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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

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. 
Valkyrie

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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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Prompts

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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This is the end... The Story

Let me recap the prompt. We provided the ending of a story, and you had to work backward to its beginning using the comments. The result is a 3.5k words long story. Yep, you read right, 3.5k. You hit it out of the park, guys. Since this is a bit long to copy/paste into a blog entry, we’ve invited a new member to GA:  The Prompter.  We’re counting on future bouts of fantastic creativity, and this will also make it easier to find these wonderful prompt collaborations.    
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Let's Celebrate Spring

Yesterday was the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere, even though it feels more like winter here.  I'm looking forward to spring flowers and seeing the forsythia bloom, along with some warmer temps.  Let's celebrate waking from winter's slumber with some prompts!      PT Prompt #279 Describe your favorite spring flower in detail.   or Write a haiku about your favorite spring flower.    PT Prompt #280 Write from the POV of an animal w
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This is the end...

Valkyrie already told you that we’re trying a few new twists for the prompt blog. Last time, she wrote the beginning of a story and some of you continued it in the comment section. IMHO, the stories turned out quite well. This time, I’ll provide the ending, and you will write the matching story using the comments. 🤞       Together, they watched the train leaving the station. A single sunbeam broke through the heavy clouds and flashed over the last wagon before it v
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Letter Box

When did you last get an actual, handwritten snail-mail letter? If so, did you appreciate it, or was it an old-fashioned gesture you didn’t care for? As you have probably already guessed, this Friday’s prompts are all about letters.   PT #277   Someone finds a yellowed envelope in a box with used books at an antique shop. What is the letter about? PT #278   Write a letter ending with a poem, either written by you or a favorite poet. You may post a li
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Accidental Valentine - The Whole Story

A couple of weeks ago, Aditus and I decided to try something different with the Friday prompt blog, and asked you to finish a story we started.  We ended up with a sweet story for Valentine's Day, actually two stories, which I will copy/paste below.  I really enjoyed reading what everyone came up with!  Let us know in the comments how you liked this new feature. Thank you to all who participated!  Even if you already read the comments in the Valentine's Day blog, be sure to check out the entire
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Interview

Not necessarily with a vampire. I mean, if you want.... Whom would you ask if you could interview any person?   PT #273 Write an interview with a fictional person for a blog.   PT #274 Interview a real person. Tell us why you chose them and, if you want, who they are.   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 le
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Accidental Valentine

Aditus and I did some brainstorming, and we have come up with a new twist for the prompt blog.  We'll still be featuring our usual Prompt Team prompts, but on the second Friday of the month, we thought we'd try something different.  We will start the story, and then ask you to continue it in the comment section.  On the fourth Friday of the month, we will post the completed story in the blog.   Since today is Valentine's Day, we came up with a theme of love gone accidentally right.  
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Superbowl for Dummies

A few weeks ago, Val and I talked about football of all things. She rooted for the Bills, naturally, and I for the Chiefs. Do I hear an outcry? Yes, yes, I’m the first to admit I don’t have a clue. Around here, we play soccer, handball, basketball, and mini-golf. My family and friends like the smaller teams who don’t earn a ton of money and can’t buy anthing or anyone, but that’s another topic. To the prompts PT #269 A friend from another country visits you and wants t
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Interview with the Groundhog

Aditus and I have been doing some brainstorming and have come up with some exciting new twists for the prompt blog.  Stay tuned next month to see what devilry fun we have devised   Now back to your regular scheduled prompt blog....   February is almost here, and that means getting out of the January doldrums.  Punxsutawney Phil is getting ready for his big day, and fingers crossed he doesn't see his shadow, and we'll get an early spring.  I am totally ready for all the snow in my drive
Valkyrie

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