Month: June 2015

Writing Prompts for July 2015

A Cool and Foggy June 21st
A Cool and Foggy June 21st

The summer solstice passed through here with cool winds and clouds and the furnace on. Hope your longest day offered more hints of summer than mine. And now that 2015 is half over, it’s a good time for me (and you) to stake stock of what’s been done and what is next on the writing agenda.

I’ve had a very good first half of the year, and currently have four draft books to edit and another book draft that is almost complete. I also published three other books two weeks ago. I’ve continued to learn about the self-publishing business, though I am currently resigned to the fact that I am a complete marketing failure. I live in hope that I will be able to change that when I am at the end of my current non-fiction, book-writing marathon and take the time (finally) to concentrate on book sales rather than book writing.

I want to tackle NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November and write fiction for a while, too. I’m hosting a series of NaNo workshops for local teen writers and am planning to join the fun and write along with them. Have you or your students attempted NaNoWriMo? Adult participants write 50,000 words in 30 days; younger writers can choose their own word count. The young writers’ program has amazing resources for writers of all ages.

One of the keys to success is to have a story thought out before going into the month of intense writing, though, I’m sure, lots of people just dive in. If you’re looking for a story idea to get you planning for NaNo, maybe one of July’s writing prompts will help. Have fun!

1. Here are some opening sentences for you to try:

  • Bill looked up at the flag to check the wind.
  • Helena reined her horse back to a walk. She needed time to think.
  • “When was the last time you saw him?”
  • He reached for the knife.
  • If school sucked, then Mr. Wentwhistle’s English class was the largest Dyson in the building.
  • I always liked the number 24.
  • The old man leaned forward over the table.

2. Use one, some, or all of these words to spark a story or poem.

  • Wheel, border, dark, wire, box, narrow
  • Cover, arm, strand, leaf, tall, blue

3. See if you can come up with a story for one of these titles: Lone Pine, Rooftop Romance, Thieves Game, A Quiet Place, The Dragon’s Tower, The Stars Await, Big City Blahs, Red Sky at Night.

4. Here are some dialogue excerpts. Can you imagine the scenes that each is part of?

  • I wish you didn’t have to leave.
  • I must obey the master.
  • Who are you waiting for?
  • Who says I’m waiting …. Okay, I’m waiting.
  • Did you see that car?
  • The grey one?
  • Yes. Did you see who was driving?
  • No, it was going too fast.
  • I’m not surprised. It just tried to run me down.
  • Pass me that will you?
  • What are you doing?
  • I’ll let you know when I’m done.

5. How does your character react to frustration? (I’m writing this during my second consecutive hour of online assistance in an effort to get Photoshop to download and work on my computer. I admire the perseverance of the client services person, but I sooooo have other things I’d rather be doing right now! I finally got out my NEO and finished writing this blog post.) What does your character do when he or she has to wait for much longer than he or she thinks is appropriate, or when something small becomes a road block to a larger project that your character considers urgent? (p.s. I can now use Photoshop–Yay!)

6. What do sunsets make your character think about?

7. What makes your character laugh out loud?

The Writing Habit

Work-In-Progress Cover
Work-In-Progress Cover

“Habits are first cobwebs, then cables.” – Spanish proverb

For as long as I can remember I thought it took 21 days to make a habit. I was wrong! Research now says that it takes an average of 66 days to create a habit. Here’s the link to James Clear’s summary of a recent study in the art of habit building. Clear states: “if you want to set your expectations appropriately, the truth is that it will probably take you anywhere from two months to eight months to build a new behavior into your life — not 21 days. Interestingly, the researchers also found that “missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process.” In other words, it doesn’t matter if you mess up every now and then. Building better habits is not an all-or-nothing process.”

I must admit that I found that last bit inspiring. Knowing that the whole process will likely take a lot longer than I expected and that total perfection isn’t compulsory actually gives me more hope.  I do, however, recognize that 66 days is a long haul, and it’s a long  haul when you’re on your own.

To help writers develop that daily writing habit, I’m working on a supplement to my new book, Writing Prompts and More. When it is published (with luck by the end of the month, but likely mid-July) I’ll also be offering for sale a self-directed habit builder with 66 days of 10-minute, daily, writing prompts. Stephen Guise, author of Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results is convinced that mini-habits are the way to build lifetime habits–and I agree with him. That’s why my habit builder is designed to encourage writers to get a little writing done every day. Often, as Guise describes, once you’ve checked your mini-habit task off the list for the day you’ll  find that you will extend the task with more energy and motivation than you had at the beginning. That’s great news for writers.

For writers that need a bit more encouragement, I’m also working on a product that will include the 66 days of prompts, but also the opportunity to hear from me every 8 days. Every eighth day, the writing prompt will encourage you to reflect on your process, your writing, your current project. You will send that reflection to me, and I will reply commenting and encouraging you to stick with it. These are personal emails, not generic auto-responds. I know how challenging this can be, and I want to be your best cheerleader. A third level of the product will include 3 critiques of your writing (500 words max) to help you get past a trouble spot, clarify questions, and help you with character, plot, dialogue, description, etc. If you want to learn more about these packages and get links to other helpful writing tips, please sign up for my mailing list in the box on the right.

Soon, I’ll be making a couple of changes to the website to be more inclusive of writers of all ages and adding a Wright With You tab that will hold information on my habit building programs. I’m very excited about this and must thank my friend, Karalee, for inspiring me to develop this material.

Looking further down the road, I was very happy to be asked to host a NaNoWriMo series of 6 workshops for young writers at my local library. I’ve decided to sign up for NaNo, too, this  year and write along with my young writers. I’m really looking forward to the first workshop at the end of October! If you’re a young writer or know one, check out the young writers’ program and NaNoWriMo. The website has links to great writing resources and how-tos.

Hope the rest of you Friday goes well and that you have a writerly weekend ahead!

 

Writing Prompts for June 2015

I’m Canadian, so I’m going to start with the weather. Yesterday and today I woke to the sound of my furnace running. It’s June. Enough said.

On a cheerier note, I’ve been writing up a storm during the month of May and hope to finally be getting the fruits of my labours online soon. Here’s what I’ve been up to–

My first project has been a series of short business communication guides based on years of teaching business communications and also years of using these skills for employers and as a freelancer. I’m really excited about this series. Here’s a look at the titles and covers so far in my Better Business Communications series.

PicMonkey Collage new

A fourth book is still in progress and it focuses on the grammar and writing skills that everyone needs to be a successful business communicator.

The books in the series are short and to the point with practical tips and how-tos.

The second project I’ve been working on is a sequel to 201 Writing Prompts called Writing Prompts and More–Ways to Spark Your Creativity & End Writer’s Block. It contains another 100 writing prompts and also chapters with lots of other tips on ways to find the story you want to write or to find your way out of a place where your story is stuck.

Here’s the Table of Contents:

Introduction

20 Writing Prompts to Get the Ball Rolling

  • Five Opening Sentences
  • Five Groups of Random Words
  • Five Titles
  • Five Dialogue Excerpts

Sleep is a Writer’s Best Friend

  • Sleep
  • Dreams

Inspiration in Post Cards

20 More Writing Prompts

  • Five Dialogue Excerpts
  • Five Titles
  • Write A Paragraph That Includes
  • Five Opening Sentences

A Little Self-Reflection

  • What are you already interested in?
  • What have you already done?
  • Where have you been?
  • What can you do?
  • What Don’t You Know?

The News

20 More Writing Prompts

  • Five Opening Sentences
  • Five Groups of Random Words
  • Five Questions for You and Your Characters
  • Write a Paragraph That Includes

Get out the Pencils, Crayons and Markers

  • Drawing and Coloring Pictures
  • Maps
  • Change Your Writing Tools

Get Moving

  • Walking and Mundane Activities
  • Go to the Library

Final 40 Prompts

  • Nine Opening Lines
  • Six Questions for You and Your Character
  • Five Titles
  • Write a Paragraph that Includes 53
  • Five Groups of Random Words
  • Dialogue Excerpts

Last Words

  • Any Time of the Year Resolutions

So that’s what I’ve been up to. If you want to know more about these titles and when they will be released, please sign up for my mailing list in the sidebar. I will be offering one or two of them for free at launch, so join the list and make sure you don’t miss a free book or two.

And now–finally–the writing prompts for June. Enjoy!

1. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem:
• Smile, block, brown, music, real
• Peel, wood, lace, light, blue

2. See if you can come up with a story using one of these opening sentences:
• “Have you seen this?”
• Rain turned the narrow path into a steam of mud and dead leaves.
• The man’s face glared down from the picture frame on the wall.
• We smelled the smoke before we saw the flames.
• Going on this vacation had been a mistake.
• I was sure that I someone move past the window.

3. What story can you imagine with one of these titles: Fiddlehead, The Secret Cave, Call Me Never, Life Changer, Witness, Death at Sharpe’s Cove, The Turn Around.

4. Write a piece that has
• A hope and a prayer
• A door and a scream
• A smile and a trap
• A hand and a glove
• A tree and a tear

5. In what point of view have you written your story? Take a couple of paragraphs and use a voice different to the one you originally chose. Was it easy or difficult to find the words for the rewrite? Did you learn something about the characters or events in the scene that you didn’t know before? Are you in the right POV for your story?

6. What kinds of souvenirs do you bring home from your vacations or trips away from home: Programs? Ticket stubs? Collectible spoons? Maps? Brochures? Books? Where do you keep your souvenirs? How often do you look at them after you return? Is it important to have these keepsakes from your trips? Answer these questions for your characters, too.

Hope your June gets off to a writerly start!

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