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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 Bad Man - Fleshing Out a Villain

I've always approached prompts as more than just stimuli for new stories.  I've seen them as practice, play, more like working out the kinks without worrying about perfection.  Prompts can help us build setting, time, place, mood, and characters.  But, prompts can also help us fine-tune and flesh out things as well.  Sometimes we build a character and they are too perfect, or too evil.  As a result, the reader begins to lose that all important "suspension of disbelief" so inherent in good s
Cole Matthews

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Why not?

Do you know those situations where you ask yourself, “What would happen if...?” Or, “Should I do it?”  This Friday’s prompts are about doing something crazy, spontaneous, and daring. PT #167 Write about a person who sees a phone number scratched in the wood of a bench in the park. Spontaneously they dial it. What does your character feel when the phone rings?   PT #168 First line: Boom! Did I do this? Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapte
Aditus

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Last Minute Prompts

I am the Queen of Procrastination.  I tend to work best under pressure; sometimes I need a deadline in order to get anything accomplished.  Sometimes I leave things to the last minute because I have no choice.  I have so much on my plate, I need to prioritize what needs to be done first.  Kind of like a triage of my schedule.  I do this at work all the time, since I am the only person currently in my department (not from lack of trying to get more help, but that's a completely different topic).
Valkyrie

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Prompts

Going to the Fair!

We love fairs.  State fairs, county fairs, Renaissance Fairs, little neighborhood fetes, and any other get-togethers that feature foods on a stick, or a turkey bone, deep-fried, that make you a little queasy when you sit on swirling, spinning, acrobatic carnival rides and offer something fleeting and fun.  Fairs offer face painting, the biggest pig, high stepping marching bands, and blinding lights mixed with colors and music that overwhelm.  All these are things that provide a backdrop for an s
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Prompts

A Typical Monday

What’s a typical Monday for you? For example, heart attacks occur most often on Mondays. PT #161, Write about being late for work on a Monday. Describe what else happens. The bus is late, you forgot important papers at home, or the elevator doesn’t work and your office is on the fifth floor. Play around with minor catastrophes. PT #162 Write about a normal, mundane Monday with a twist. Maybe let your protagonist meet a special person.   Please include the prom
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Once in a Blue Moon

This month a rare astronomical occurrence is taking place... a blue moon!  Not only is it a blue moon, but also a supermoon.  So what is a blue moon?  While it is possible for the moon to appear blue under certain conditions, a blue moon is actually an extra full moon that occurs within a season.  Generally two full moons in one month.  A supermoon happens when the moon is close to earth and appears larger than normal.  Now that we're all educated on lunar occurrences, let's go howl at the moon
Valkyrie

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Prompts

A Picnic of Prompts

The lazy days of summer are nearing their end.  With it go the sunny mornings at the beach,  a hamper filled with cold, refreshing food and drink.  Slipping away are the baskets with containers of fried chicken, potato salad, and a bottle of chilled sauvignon blanc.  Before you know it, the hot dogs and ice cream from the back of a food truck are driving down the dusty road away from you.   In the meantime, let's practice writing about some food and crafting scenes around the sight, smell,
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Argumentative Arguments

Argumentative Arguments The word argument has many different meanings: debate, dispute, statement, reasoning, or you can even view it from a mathematical point of view. Feel free to pick an interpretation of your liking and twist it into a prompt answer. PT #155 Write an argument that starts in bed. PT#156 Write a heated argument with an internet troll where you have to stay polite on the surface.   Please include the prompt number either in your story/ch
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Prompts

The Plot Genie! - Pulp Fiction Prompts #153 and #154

I've been enjoying some especially bad pulp fiction books, gay features with racy, but certainly not graphic, stories like: 'To Want a Boy', 'Summer in Sodom', and 'Queer Pen.'  These are the pulp fiction books ordinary gay men would buy for stories about other gay men.  Most had a kind of morality tale embedded within the story where despite the main character's best efforts, he couldn't resist his urges.  Or, conversely, blameless, innocent men were lured to their destruction by vice and weakn
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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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Prompts

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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Prompts

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!       
Valkyrie

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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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Prompts

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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Prompts

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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Prompts

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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