Brief definition: A hero or heroine goes on an adventure, is victorious, and is transformed. This can be fiction or memoir. Examples: Dorothy in Wizard of Oz Kerrin in Amoran, recently published by Debra Koehler If you were to write a story of your life, or a real person’s life, or your fictional character life as a hero’s or heroine’s journey, what would the lowlights be? The highlights? What obstacle did you or your character overcome? Write a scene where there is a conflict: Someone wants something. There is an obstacle. Does the character get what they want? Prompt: Write a scene involving a conflict or overcoming an obstacle.
Tag: Writing freely. Just write. Writing Prompts. The Write Spot Blog.
Walk In Your Character’s Shoes . . . Prompt #860
Writing Prompt: Use a situation from real life. Or: Make up something that could have happened with either a real person or a fictional character. Prepare to write: Get into the head of the character, real or fictional, that you want to write about. This could be a younger version of yourself. See that character. Notice their skin. Is it youthful? Smooth? Wrinkly? Sagging? Notice their hair: Color, style, neat, messy Look into their eyes, notice the main color, the subtle colors. Do their eyes look tired? Energetic? Hopeful? Hopeless? How do they sound? Clear voice? Raspy? Slow talker? Fast talker? What type of personality are they? Usually happy? Cheerful? Grumpy? Modest? Full of themselves? How does that person walk? How do they move? Become that person, that character. It could be a younger you. Walk around as if you are the person you are going to write about. Pantomime…
A December Memory . . . Prompt #859
Writing Prompt: Write a December memory. #justwrite #iamawriter #iamwriting
Hard to do . . . Prompt #857
Prompt 1 Make a list of things that are hard for you to do. Prompt 2 Write about one of those things that are hard, and yet you do it anyway.
Your Path to Success
Excerpt from an excellent post by Dan Blank: “As a writer, it can be difficult to find a clear path that leads you to your goals.” “One of my biggest concerns is that someone has a vision for what they want to write and create, and they justify giving it up. That it’s too hard to publish, so they don’t. That they receive too many rejections, so they give up. That they read marketing is impossible nowadays, so they stop trying.” You don’t have to struggle alone. Dan Blank has answers. “We struggle alone. We succeed together.” The Creative Shift by Dan Blank, November 7, 2025
As writers, we’re often . . .
“As writers, we’re often trained to seek momentum—significant events, turning moments, the big emotional payoff. Especially in memoir, there’s pressure to magnify the trauma or spin a grand arc of triumph. But when I sat down to write, what called to me weren’t the headlines. It was the folds in between.” — Mary Monoky, “What Stillness Taught Me About Story,” August 6, 2025, The Brevity Blog
Misconception . . . Prompt #856
Write about something someone thinks about you, but it’s not true. A misconception. Just Write!
Even Introverts Can Support Authors
Charlotte Wilkins We had an interesting discussion in my Jumpstart writing group the other day about being an introvert and how hard it is sometimes to be around people. Well! As writers and readers, it’s important to support authors. One possibly easy way is to attend author events. Charlotte Wilkins offers suggestions on how to be a successful participant at author events. “I attended the two book readings to support these authors, yet I’m the one who learned so much from them: relax and be yourself; having a sense of humor about yourself puts your audience at ease; read short snippets that makes the listener wonder what’s to come (Woodson says you must have intention in every line to pull the reader forward); be generous with your responses; hope for the best, prepare for the worst; and stick a couple of questions in your pocket just in case. It seems…
Mistranslation . . . Prompt #855
Playing With Abstract Poetry Abstract poetry is a form of poetry that prioritizes the auditory and emotional impact of words over their literal meaning or conventional grammatical structure. Prompt 1 – The Warmup Write for 2 minutes about something troubling or sad. Write for 2 minutes about something using the opposite emotion: joyful, hopeful. Write for 2 minutes on something from nature, something from the natural world. Keep that writing nearby for Prompt 2. Why write an abstract poem “Science has shown that when we engage in play, we increase brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, where creative thinking happens. “You are not striving for perfection. You’re striving for perfectly unpredictable.” — “Words Gone Wild,” by Dr. Finnian Burnett, Writers Digest, Nov/Dec 2025 Prompt 2 Write an abstract poem, using only the words you have written in Prompt 1. Write for 15-20 minutes. It doesn’t have to make sense. It shouldn’t…
Get Into The Habit
“Forget about inspiration and get into the habit of writing every day. Habit has written far more books than inspiration has. If you want the Muse to visit you, she needs to know where you are: so stay at your desk.” —Philip Pullman Quote in “Write it All Down” by Cathy Rentzenbrink. #justwrite #amwriting #iamawriter