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…
Tag: Just write. Writing freely. The Write Spot Blog
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].
What challenges do you want to overcome? Prompt #463
Some of the writing prompts on The Write Spot Blog are just for fun, like these: What Makes You Smile? Prompt #438 Paint A Word Picture. Prompt #450 Imagination Receiving a Greeting Card. Prompt #455 Others, like today’s, are contemplative. Today’s Writing Prompt: What challenge do you want to overcome?
Who do you miss? Prompt #462
I’ve been thinking about my mom, who passed away in July 2017. Every so often, like today, I want to phone her. I just want to talk with her. Prompt: Who do you miss? That’s my mom on the cover of The Write Spot: Connections. She was a dancer in her teens, performing at convalescent hospitals in the 1940’s. Connections is a collection of writing from mothers and their adult children. Some are funny, some poignant, some surprising. All are entertaining. Here’s an excerpt: Dime Sightings by Pamela Swanson Although my mother, Ione, could not afford them, she loved diamonds. Eventually she did save up enough money to buy herself a diamond ring. She was so proud of that ring. One year, early in November, Ione died without warning at the age of 54. Suddenly I was traveling the 2,100 miles from California where I lived to the small town…
Perfection vs Good Enough
Guest Blogger, David Moldawer, is the author of The Maven Game. He writes weekly essays for writers. Perfection vs Good Enough Take the old quote: Perfect is the enemy of good. Voltaire might have been the one to say it in this form, but the idea of “good enough beats unattainable ideal” has been around much longer. In fact, it warrants its own Wikipedia entry, if you’re curious to trace its history. However it’s expressed, it’s good advice for a writer. But is it perfect? (See what I did there?) I’ve often said, “remember, perfect is the enemy of good,” to people stuck in the trap of perfectionism, but over time I’ve come to question the effectiveness of simply saying the words. If you’re working on a solo project with no genuine deadline, more can be done to improve it. And even more. There is always a better solution to…