Your Prompts and Tips
Some free resources to help you write better and achieve the success you deserve
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Prompts:
1. What if you had an elaborate dream one night, only to awaken the next day and find it playing out in real life? Is it a good dream or a nightmare? From bouncing on clouds to fighting an enemy army, write a few pages about one character’s experience.
2. Write a few pages of a story set in an apple orchard. Maybe two characters are on a first date, or one finds a talking worm poking out of an apple.
3. Write a few pages set on a beach, where a character’s metal detector turns up a valuable but disturbing item.
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Tips:
1. Stories usually have one driving force behind them: plot or character. Of course, both of these elements are strong in good stories, but one usually has more influence. When you are reading, think about whether a narrative is carried by a compelling plot or a character that almost walks off the page.
2. Take a close look at the world of the story. Could the story be told somewhere else to the same effect? Does it drive the plot in any way? For example, Sue Monk Kidd's “The Secret Lives of Bees” would not be the same if it were set anywhere but in South Carolina in 1964. Any time you read, pay special attention to the storyworld in which it's set. Is that world integral to the plot? How so?
3. Beyond the title, the first line of a story is the author’s one and only chance to grab the reader’s attention and prompt them to keep reading. Make sure yours piques their interest enough. It can pose a question, bring up a conflict or provoke thought of some kind. If it doesn’t, is there another line, whether the second or the twentieth, that might make for a better hook?
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SCRATCHPAD:
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PRIVATE JOURNAL:
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TRACKING:
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TO DO LIST:
Add tasks to your sortable list, then revel in checking them off.
SCRATCHPAD:
Cache your gems as they fall in this always accessible place.
PRIVATE JOURNAL:
Reflect on your process — good, bad and ugly — in your dated diary.
TRACKING:
Measure your progress with key writing metrics, automatically,
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