Writing is playing with words and ideas. Writing is rewriting. Sometimes writing is . . . just writing. Today’s writing prompts are about looking at stories through a different lens or from another point of view. Rewrite a fairy tale. Change character details, change where story takes place, change the outcome. Reframe the bad guy into a good guy. Give the protagonist electrifying faults. Or rewrite a folk tale. Switch characters, revolve story around a different moral compass, set the scene in the future. Or reframe a family story. Write a familiar family story from a different point of view. Just Write! Photo by Christina Gleason
Tag: writing freely
Character Building and Setting Scene. Prompt #364
Set the Scene: Location, Timeframe, Characters Location: Pick one: cruise ship, theme park, bar, parlor, or a location of your choice Timeframe: Current, Past (what year?), Future (what year?) Develop Characters Character #1: Name: Nickname: Personality trait most proud of: How did character get this trait? What do people least like about character? What habit would character like to change? If someone looked in character’s bathroom garbage right now, what would they find: What scent does character like the most, and what does it remind him/her of? What scares the character? Character #2: Answer the same questions for Character #2. Writing Prompt: Use the following words in a conversation between these two characters. The last time – How dare you – Explode – Blame – Fire – Party – Light – Dark – Attitude – Box – Present – Water Photo by Christina Gleason
Set the scene. . . Prompt #363
Today’s prompt is a photo. Write whatever comes up for you.
Describe colorful character using similes and metaphors. Prompt #362
Write about a colorful character using similes and metaphors. Simile – a figure of speech in which two essentially unlike things are compared, often using like or as, as in “eyes like stars.” Metaphor – A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another; thus making an implicit comparison, as in the evening of life. Metaphors are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. Metaphors are a way to describe something. Authors use them to make their writing more interesting or entertaining. Unlike similes that use the words “as” or “like” to make a comparison, metaphors state that something is something else. Brian was a wall, bouncing every tennis ball back over the net. We would have had more pizza to eat if Tammy hadn’t been such…
I never planned to . . . Prompt #360
Today’s prompt: I never planned to . . .
National Day of . . . Prompt #361
Imagine a conversation between two people of different backgrounds talking about March 13, National Day of . . . Explain National Day [choose one from the list below] as if these two people were talking in person, over the phone, or via emails. They could be friends. Or perhaps they have never met in person. Look for the twist in red below. National Elephant Day – Thailand Coconut Torte Day – Australia National Good Samaritan Day – United States. A day for unselfish actions to help those in need and to celebrate kindness. National Earmuff Day – United States, in honor of the 1873 invention of earmuffs. At the age of fifteen, Chester Greenwood of Farmington, Maine was credited for inventing the winter wear out of necessity—his ears were cold. National K9 Veterans Day – United States A lot of things changed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941….
Childhood ritual when you were sick. Prompt #359
Write about a childhood ritual when you were sick. If there were no childhood rituals when sick, what would you have liked to happen? How would you have wanted to be treated when sick as a child? Or write about a time you were sick. Or write about any ritual from your childhood. You can write about what really happened, or make something up. You can answer from your fictional character’s point of view.
Your First Job . . . Prompt #358
Write about your first job, or a job you had as a teenager.
Write about the time of day you like best. Prompt #357
Your favorite time of day. Write about the time of day you like best.
Write A New Story . . . Prompt #356
Ready to explore? Today’s writing prompt invites you to look at your old stories in new ways. Perhaps you can rewrite your story. Excerpt from October 2016 Reader’s Digest, “Down Off The Cross,” by Debra Jarvis, a chaplain and cancer survivor. “Let’s say I meet you on a bus. We really hit it off, but I’ve got to exit soon, so you’re going to tell me three things about yourself that help me understand who you are, that get at your essence.” Note from Marlene: Prompt: List three things that define you. Back to the article: “Of those three things, is one of them surviving some kind of trauma, like being a cancer survivor, a war survivor, or an abuse survivor?” Note from Marlene: Or perhaps you are currently experiencing a difficulty or a trauma. Back to the article: “Many of us tend to identify ourselves by our wounds. Claim…