If you could choose the best year of your life, what would it be and why?
Tag: Just write. Writing freely. The Write Spot Blog
Boost Dialogue with Beats . . . Prompt #532
Too much dialogue can be boring to read. Interspersing action with dialogue makes a story interesting. In real life, we don’t talk without movement, neither should characters on a page. Plus, action gives clues to the character’s personality, habits, status and more. For example: “I dunno,” Remy said. Well, kind of boring. But what if detail were added: “I dunno,” Remy said, polishing the top of his boot along the back of his jeans. Readers can “see” this action and learn more about Remy’s character. Beats “Dialogue benefits from variety. A good way to maintain reader’s interest is to insert a variety of beats into dialogue. Beats are descriptions of physical action that fall between lines of speech.” —“Amp Up Dialogue With Emotional Beats,” by Todd A. Stone, Nov/Dec 2010 Writers Digest Facial Expressions Facial expressions signal emotions. “When a character raises an eyebrow or furrows his brow, this action,…
When I was six years old . . . Prompt #527
When I was six years old . . . Finish the sentence: When I was six years old . . .
Writing Advice
I’m going through old writing magazines and finding gems, like this one, “Top Five Fiction Mistakes.” — by Moira Allen, The Writer, September 2002. “Ask most fiction editors how to avoid rejection, and you’ll hear the same thing: Read the guidelines. Review the publication. Don’t send a science fiction story to a literary magazine. Don’t send a 10,000-word manuscript to a magazine that never publishes anything longer than 5,000 words. Spell-check. Proofread. Check your grammar.” “The one piece of advice nearly every editor had to offer was: Read, read, read. Read widely. Read the authors who have won awards in your genre to find out what has already been done, so that you don’t end up offering old, trite plots without even realizing it. Then, ‘Write!’ says Max Keele of Fiction Inferno. And keep writing. And write some more. When you’re finished, ‘’Let the story sit for a few days…
Talisman. Prompt #520
Do you have a talisman or a good luck charm? If yes, write about that. If no, what would you chose for a good luck charm?
Today I . . . Prompt #513
Today I . . . Write from your point of view or from a fictional character’s pov. Don’t have a fictional character? Today might be a good time to create one. Use these words in your writing: Illusion, jar, hope, shatter, widget, super, awkward Hope = hoping, hopeful Jar = jars, jarring Writing Prompt: Today I . . .
Significant Events . . . Prompt #505
Make a List. Start with the year you were born and make a list of significant events that happened in your life, both personally and historically. If you are having trouble thinking of major events, here are a few: 1950-1975 Vietnam Conflict 1958 Explorer I, first American satellite is launched January 1959 Alaska becomes the 49th state August 1959 Hawaii becomes the 50th state January 1961 John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president August 1963 Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream” Speech Nov. 1963 President Kennedy is assassinated 1964 Beatles appear on the Ed Sullivan Show April 1968 Martin Luther King is assassinated June 1963 Sen. Robert Kennedy is assassinated July 1969 Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin walk on the moon 1973 Roe v. Wade, legalizes abortion 1973 Watergate cover-up. July 1974 Nixon resigns 1986 Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff 1990 Iraqi…
Today I wish . . . Prompt #497
What do you wish for?If you could have a wish come true today, what would it be?
Your message. . . Prompt #481
If you could give the world one message, what would it be? Inspired from Rachel Macy Stafford’s guest blog post.
The Movies. . . Prompt #473
Today’s writing prompts are inspired from movies. ~ Thelma and Louise, National Lampoon’s Vacation, Little Miss Sunshine. Write about a road trip. ~ Dirty Dancing, Saturday Night Fever, Footloose. Write about how you learned to dance. ~ The Sting, two con men outcon a con. Write about a time you were tricked, or you tricked someone. ~Forrest Gump. Life is like a box of . . . [fill in the blank and continue writing].