When I was six years old . . .
Finish the sentence: When I was six years old . . .
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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 or a week, ‘says Richard Freeborn of Oceans of the Mind. ‘Come back to it and read it aloud to yourself. I am still surprised at all the inconsistencies and bad transitions I catch when I do that.’
‘Once your story has aged a bit, seek someone else’s opinion. Find an educated reader who can provide valuable feedback . . .’ suggests Twilight Times’ Lida Quillen. ‘Find readers who can mention segments that were unbelievable, let you know where the story left them cold, and sections where they were pulled into the story.’
Finally, make sure you don’t make the ultimate fatal mistake, cited by Tony Venables of Ad Hoc, thinking that people should read what you write simply because you write it. Writers need to understand that they have to earn their audience, to make their audience feel it’s worthwhile to read their work. This does not mean pandering to populist ideas or sugar-coating what you have to say—it means choosing not to be boring.”
Want to know what the “Top Five Fiction Mistakes” are, according to this article? Paraphrased from the article:
- Bad beginnings. A story needs a beginning that grabs the reader. Be sure that your story begins where it should . . . not too much backstory, but enough so readers know who characters are.
- Wordiness. Avoid too many adjectives and adverbs. Don’t use big words when simple ones would do just as well.
- Poor plots. Focus on characters with interesting goals and motivations.
- Undeveloped characters. Create believable characters that readers care about. Avoid characters who do not grow, avoid stereotypes.
- No point. Be certain what your story is about. Be sure you have answered the “why” of the story.
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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?
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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 . . .
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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 troops invade Kuwait, leading to Persian Gulf War
9/11/2001 Two hijacked jetliners ram two towers of World Trade Center
April 2009 Swine flu
June 2009 Michael Jackson dies at age 50
Writing Prompt: Take one item from your list and write in detail what happened to you that year. If you have time, take another year and write what happened to you that year.
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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.
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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].
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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?
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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 in Minnesota where she had died. Completely unprepared, I found myself faced with finalizing my mother’s existence on this earth.
Grand Marais, a small fishing village located on Lake Superior, is where I was born. It is where my Mom grew up, met my dad, and was married. My roots are firmly planted there so when I arrived it was to the open arms of my aunts and uncles. Soon after, family members from other distances began to arrive. I was cocooned in love and support.All of the pieces in Connections end with a prompt that readers can use to inspire writing. The prompt for “Dime Sightings” was “Sometimes Magic Happens.”
My mom and me at her 75th birthday party.