Search Results for: 109

Challenging situation. . . Prompt #118

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Sometimes you don’t know how you will act when faced with a difficult or a life threatening situation . . . until you are in the throes of it.  Write about a time you were in a challenging situation.  Use sensory detail. OR:  Write about one of your fears. . . from a fictional character’s point of view. . . write about “the worst thing that can happen” . . . then, have your hero or heroine conquer the problem. Ready? Set? Okay. . . think about one of your fears that just won’t go away. Bring your character to life with those fearful thoughts and emotions. Now write. Just write! This is similar to Prompt #47. . . only this time, have your character kick butt.     

Never Change by Elizabeth Berg

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Never Change by Elizabeth Berg, Reviewed by Marlene Cullen The magic of Elizabeth Berg’s writing is that she makes readers feel comfortable with her characters right away. In the first paragraph, she sets the tone, the scene, and introduces the main character, Myra, a person I like immediately. Berg’s writing style is friendly, warm and simple, yet oh-so-eloquent in conveying minute details, giving the reader a detailed vision of the scene. Her characters are so believable that while I’m reading her books (and for a little while after), I think they are living in the next town. . . when I’m sleeping, they’re sleeping. During the day, they go about their errands and work, just as I do. I might even walk by them while they’re eating a meal in a cafe. I might brush against them in a coffee shop. I admire Berg’s ability to create characters so different…

New Uses for Old Things — Real Simple Contest

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Real Simple magazine “New Uses For Old Things Contest” deadline: November 14, 2014 Wineglass, dustpan, wooden spoon, smartphone case, belt, soda-can tab, balance/fitness ball, melon baller, coffee cup sleeve, DVD case, cutting board, rolling pin, magnets, shoelaces, garment bag, shot glass, coffee K-Cup, contact-lens case.  Winners will be published in a future issue and receive a $100 gift card. Email your ideas for “New Uses For Old Things” to: newusescontest@realsimple.com Include the name of the item and how you repurposed it. Photos welcome. Click here for details.   And if you win, be sure to let us know!    

Which is more valuable, inspiration or discipline? Prompt #66

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Today’s prompt is inspired from Susan Bono’s July 15, 2005 Searchlights and Signal Flares, from Tiny Lights online, A Journal of Personal Narrative — an oldie and goodie I have saved all these years! To read what writers  Rebecca Lawton, Charlene Bunas, Jodi Hottel, Betty Winslow, Susan Winters and Susan Bono, have to say on this prompt, click here. Prompt: Which is more valuable, inspiration or discipline?

Guest blogger Nina Amir brainstorms how to go from idea to book.

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The following is from Nina Amir’s Blog, Write Nonfiction Now. Nina posts writing prompts on Fridays.  I really enjoyed Nina’s Prompt #10 and thought you might like it, too.  These ideas can also work for fiction writing. Create Book Ideas to Support Your Goals: Nonfiction Writing Prompt #10 by Nina Amir. Nina writes: If you want to write and publish books, the first step involves developing ideas. You may be a nonfiction writer with just one book idea or with many. However, if you have nonfiction writing goals, your book ideas should support your goals. I have many book ideas. Despite the fact that some of them really excite me, I have put quite a few on hold. I have them queued up in a logical order, one following the other so they help move me toward my goals. Sometimes those goals could be simple, such as get a traditional…