Your Prompts and Tips
Some free resources to help you write better and achieve the success you deserve
This is a selection we've harvested from our archives, RELOAD THE PAGE for more!
Prompts:
1. Write a few pages that take place on one of the other planets in our solar system or create a planet all your own. Does it rain diamonds as it does on Jupiter and Saturn? How have the characters had to adapt to survive the unique circumstances of that world?
2. What if the first day of fall marked a day when something other than leaves fell, all around the world? Whether people, coffee cups or clouds, write a few pages about a global falling of some kind.
3. Write a few pages about a character who is visiting the zoo when animals escape from one of the exhibits. Is it something harmless like flamingos or terrifying like grizzly bears?
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Tips:
1. Do you ever reread a story? The first time around, don’t worry about analyzing every detail—just read for fun! Your goal is to get a more general, natural sense of the narrative! The second time around, you’ll have a working understanding of the story that makes it easier (and more rewarding) to dive deeper into the nuts and bolts of the story.
2. Read with a pencil (literal or digital) in hand. From highlighting and underlining words and passages to scribbling notes in your journal, close reading does just that: it brings you closer to the story. Remember that reading is an active process.
3. 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?
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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,
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,
ADD DO
Show Dones
Metric:
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Words
Minutes
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