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. Inspired by the proverb “Fortune favors the brave,” write a few pages about a character who faces an emergency at the grocery store and has to be braver than they've ever been in their life.
2. Write a few pages about a family vacation to the lake where people start to really get on each other's nerves.
3. Write a few pages about a character who is the size of the BFG (Roald Dahl’s Big Friendly Giant).
For more prompts, please Sign in or SET UP A GUEST ACCOUNT if necessary.
Tips:
1. 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?
2. Don’t just say you like or dislike an aspect of a story. Dig deeper to support your view and get at the heart of your reaction. Did you find a particular metaphor effective? Or did a passage confuse you? In a workshop setting, it benefits the writer if you’re as specific as possible.
3. 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.
For more tips, please Sign in or SET UP A GUEST ACCOUNT if necessary.
CLICK A TAB TO USE WILL.POWER
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:
ADD
Words
Minutes
Click anywhere to close