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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

Let's Get to Work!

I think most working people are well-acquainted with the "meeting that should have been an email".  I had to attend a two-hour training today that was more interesting than others I've attended, but was still time I could have used to catch up on my endless backlog of paperwork.  So this week's prompts have a "working" theme.  Now get to work and start writing!    PT Prompt #151 You are in the "meeting to end all meetings".  It's lasting for hours, and it's information that
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Origin Stories - The Possibilities are Endless

Character development is not an easy, or formulaic, task.  Many of us read and write stories that are character-driven.  We fall in love with a character we create, or read, and follow their life and events as they unfold.  This means a writer can create the character's habits, quirks, strengths, weaknesses, and reactions through the use of narrative.  However, there are times when a writer needs a back story for a character, a motivation, a sort of history that helped form the character's perso
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Take a Hike!

That’s what I’m going to do soon-ish. What about you? Do you like to become one with nature, bug repellent at the ready? Or are you more the beach-dwelling, sightseeing type?   #149 Your MC is ready to leave for their annual time-out. There is this spot by the lake perfect to put up a tent. No electronics, just favorite junk food indulgence, nature, and Henri. Who’s Henri? #150 Your MC is on the phone packing for a weekend trip, trying to tell a friend what they’re do
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Do You Want to Know a Secret?

Psst… I have a secret…. Few things grab our attention more than knowing a good (or not so good) secret. Secrets add suspense and tension to stories, and are great ways to sprinkle in conflict.  I know something you don’t know…  How many of you heard this from your siblings as kid?     Secrets can be benign or life-shattering.  They are mysterious, dramatic, and powerful. Secrets shape our lives and can be a great tool for character development.  Revealing a secret
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Fan-tastic

I’m melting. What do you do when it’s hot? Hug the AC? Work surrounded by fans? Jump into the lake/sea/pool? Well, there are treats: less clothes, skimpy shorts, no shirts - did I say less clothes? Okay, to the prompts. #143 Daydreaming, your MC follows a hot person through the grocery shop until they reach the produce section. They grab the same...melon. What happens, dinner or nothing? Something in-between? # 144 Describe your favorite place in summer. Make us feel it.
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Prompts

One Line Wonders

Here's part two of my language learning app prompts.  I wasn't going to do more of these, but after reading @wildone's take on PT Prompt #134, I had to after seeing another lesson mention underwear.   PT Prompt #141 - First line "No, you aren't allowed to put on my underwear." PT Prompt #142 - First line  "Your dad always steals my sausages."    Check out Wildone's response to PT Prompt #134 here.  Maybe we can encourage him to write a sequel!       
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Scary Tales and Creepy Stories

At the heart of every scary story is a nugget of truth.  We use fiction and storytelling to process emotions including fear, terror, and that lingering emotion called anxiety.  As writers, we need to use life experiences to flesh out our creations.  Fright isn't just about dark nights and ghosts.  It's about what's unknown and about what we know only too well.  Let's practice that channeling of our most negative emotions.   #139 - You are a camp counselor.  Make up a story that will scare t
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Going for a Joyride

What did you think when you read the headline? Did you remember the song from the nineties? Or the film from 2022? Or even a cool trip and you can’t wait to tell us all about it? Insert *eyebrow waggle* here. Anyway, here are this week’s prompts:   PT #137 Your protagonist spots an irresistible offer to rent their dream vehicle for a weekend and invites a special person for a joyride. Even though I want to know everything, what kind of vehicle, who has been invited, where they go t
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Talk to the animals...

Recently our cat Boo had an infection.  It was difficult, both emotionally and mentally, dealing with his illness and his suffering.  He is part of our familiy, there when we get home, when we wake up, and go to bed.  He's Randy's most constant companion as he works at home.  But animals can't tell us what's wrong.  They communicate pain, discomfort, and other physical experiences the best they can, but how much do we really know?   That made me select the following two prompts.   #135
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Whose Line is it Anyway?

I just hit a 1000 day learning streak on the language app I'm using to learn German (it will be 1006 today), and came across a couple of sentences I thought were perfect for first line prompts.     PT Prompt #133 - First line "What are you cooking, and why does it stink?"   PT Prompt #134 - First line "Why is your underwear in the swimming pool?"   Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would
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Curses and Bears

I’d like to thank Libby Drew; she inspired me to create PT#131 when she cursed my fellow prompter Cole Matthews. PT #131 Invent a colorful curse or charm, depending on your current mood, and maybe tell us something about it, such as why or who. PT #132 Your MC goes camping with someone who never did this before. Write a story or vignette and use the word bear five times without talking about the actual animal.   Please include the prompt number either in your story/
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Pumping Iron, Running a Marathon, and Prompts

Prompts are about creativity, trying new things, and exploring your talents.  They are meant to stimulate storytelling, make you stretch and hone your craft, and practice things you aren't comfortable doing.  For example, I don't like writing dialogue.  I always feel like it's somehow stilted or unnatural.  My tendency then would be to avoid dialogue using it sparingly if at all.  However, using your words is like exercising a muscle.  It will only get better with use.  So here are a couple
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Dessert Prompts - Part 2

We had a request for more dessert prompts, so here is part two of deliciousness or disaster! PT Prompt #127 A line cook at a Michelin starred restaurant is cooking the pastry chef’s signature dessert and accidentally spills something into it.  The dessert was meant for a table celebrating their anniversary; however, it is sent instead to an undercover food critic notorious for destroying restaurants’ reputations.  What was spilt, and what is the outcome?   PT Prompt #12
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Dessert Prompts

Upon request of a certain hungry someone I offer: PT# 125 A couple has dinner at a fancy restaurant and is about to enjoy their famous lava cake on ice. They slowly slide their spoons into the molten chocolate and find—something that doesn’t belong. What is it? How do they react? Will they get their money back? PT #126 Create a dessert that will satisfy even the hungriest GA member using the following words: sparklers, cream, chocolate-covered ants, strawberries, blue cheese, walnu
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Desert Prompts Part Two

We had a great week of exploring the Mesa area together and writing in the late afternoons.  One of the ideas I hadwas an abandoned space.  It was a vacation spa with mineral waters and even a museum of taxidermy.  This was a space I stumbled upon and wanted to capture its essence both for imagination and historical purposes.  Valkyrie enjoyed the idea as much as I did as you will read.   We also pulled out some of our prompt books and randomly selected an idea or two.  One of them was abou
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Desert Prompts

I've just returned from spending a little over a week in the sunny southwestern US visiting my good friend and fellow prompt team member @Cole Matthews and his husband.  We had a great time going for walks in the desert, shopping at antique malls (the inspiration for Prompt #121), going to a concert, and of course, writing prompt responses!  Every time we get together, we always spend part of that time choosing prompts and then writing about them.  I've selected my favorite two out of the six we
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Genres and Tags Prompts

I browsed the various genres and tags the other day and thought how about we go on a writing adventure, step out of our comfort zone, and try new things? PT #119 Your protagonist orders their favorite hot beverage at the coffee shop, stirs it with a strangely formed spoon, and suddenly the place is devoid of any customers. The door opens, and in comes a person wearing black clothes and a Venetian mask. Write the first lines of their conversation, or more? PT #120 Write a letter either as
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February Travels - The People We Encounter

Vacations are always a special treat.  You get time away from your humdrum life, time to recreate yourself and time to expand your horizons.  What a better vacation than to visit a friend in a new place to reconnect and explore.  Let's write some character sketches about the people we see and why.  I'm choosing some challenging scenarios to get writing something uncomfortable.  Good luck!   117 - You are at a resort on a tropical island when suddenly you hear your name.  Looking up, yo
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Beam Me some Prompts

In honor of the latest Readers’ Choice Awards category, I thought it would be nice to feature some prompts based on one of the most difficult genres to write.  Who’s brave enough to tackle some sci-fi?   PT Prompt #116 An archeologist on an expedition to study ancient ruins in the deep rainforest takes a wrong turn and discovers irrefutable proof of alien presence on Earth.  What did they find and what are the implications of the findings?   PT Prompt #117 A m
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Fanfiction Prompts

Think of a favorite book, game, show, or movie. Did you ever want to change something? Be a part of it? PT# 113 Choose a short scene and jump right in, be it as a new/random side character or even one of the MCs. PT # 114 You love a book/game/movie, but you always thought one of the characters chose the wrong love interest. Write a short scene where you hint at a different choice.  
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Let's Go Exploring

Let's do a bit of a flip-flop with today's prompts and push ourselves out of our comfort zones.  In honor of our upcoming Poetry Anthology, I thought it would be fun to feature a couple of prompts that can be used for either poetry or stories.  If you are a poet, then try writing a paragraph, short story, or vignette.  If you are a non-poet, then give writing a short poem or two a try.  The anthology theme is Exploration, so let's explore writing styles that may not be in our wheelhouse.  You ne
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Artful Prompts

Writing is an art that sometimes is inspired by other forms of art, including music, architecture, painting, or sculpture. Pt: 107: Someone drew a stairway with chalk on a street. Your MC sets foot on it and pretends to walk downward; suddenly he enters a basement. Describe what he finds.   Pt 108:   What happened?  
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Fire and Ice - January Prompts

Whether it's a warm, crackling fire while a blizzard blows snow against windows, or the cold clink of ice in a drink on a sunny, hot, sandy beach, the opposite sensations of fire and ice, hot and cold, are paired like no others.  The toasty heat of a radiator or the supple coziness under a comforter are more delicious with the bite of cold and vice versa.  So, for the prompts this week, we are going to explore opposites that complement each other.     #105 - Two college freshman are as
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Let's Get Technical

I love the challenge of technical writing prompts.  So here are two that hopefully you will like as well.  PT Prompt #103 Choose a setting and an emotion.  Write about the setting in a way that evokes the emotion without explicitly naming it.    PT Prompt #104 Two characters are having a conflict with each other but refuse to acknowledge or talk about it.  They are playing a game (can be any kind of game), and their true feelings keep sneaking out.  Write the scene.  
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Good-bye and Welcome Prompts December 30, 2022

PT#101 You moved a bookcase to make room for the New Year's Eve party and an old atlas falls down. Inside you find a yellowed New Year's resolutions list. Try to answer the wh-questions who, when, and what and create a story. PT#102 You get an email from yourself on New Year’s Eve warning you about a mistake you’ve made in the past year. What did you write to yourself? Happy New Year! Your Prompt Team  
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