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 about a child who discovers some kind of small, mythical creature in the tall grass of their backyard.
3. Write a few pages about a character who decides to start a garden in their backyard and uncovers an ancient artifact in the dirt that certainly doesn’t belong there. How did it get there? What will they do with it?
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Tips:
1. 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?
2. Reading a story requires patience and paying attention to detail. With so many available distractions, we can sometimes miss important aspects of a story we’re reading, especially if we’re multitasking or face interruptions. A quiet, distraction-free environment is ideal, but no matter where you’re reading, try to focus on the story alone. There is no shame in re-reading either!
3. Whenever there are fantastical elements, such as magic, present in the story, it is useful to consider their purpose. Why did the author choose those specific elements of magic? Ask yourself what they bring to the story and imagine how the story would differ without them. If it wouldn’t change significantly, then they are not essential to the story.
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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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