http://storyaday.org Writing A Story A Day in May Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:05:15 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1

http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-digital-story-cubes/ http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-digital-story-cubes/#comments Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:01:33 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1443 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } OK, so I’ve used my real-life Story Cubes to generate a prompt once before, but now the cute game has an even cuter app, and who am I to resist? So, behold: this week’s story prompt comes from the Rory’s Story Cubes app.   I’ll leave it up to you whether you use ALL the [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-digital-story-cubes/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/wow-everyday/ http://storyaday.org/wow-everyday/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:41:07 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1421 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } Sometimes it’s fun to write about big, grand, dramatic themes: war, a break-up, a life-changing event. But sometimes the most effective stories come from a meticulously detailed moment in everyday life: someone opens a letter, someone puts down a phone, someone opens a door. Of course, what matters in stories like these is character: how [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/wow-everyday/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-six-sentences/ http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-six-sentences/#comments Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:28:23 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1416 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } This week’s prompt comes with a built-in market to submit your work to after you’re finished: Six Sentences. I subscribe to their daily stories by email and I often find it inspiring to wake up to a micro-story written by someone else. Surely, my brain says to me, you could manage a story in six [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-six-sentences/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/wow-starting-over/ http://storyaday.org/wow-starting-over/#comments Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:45:39 +0000 julied http://storyaday.org/?p=1401 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } The Prompt It’s January: the time of resolutions and fresh starts. Write a story in which your character is starting over, has a fresh start, or resolves to do something differently from now on.   Tips Your ‘character’ doesn’t have to be a human. It could be a fresh start for an old building; a [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/wow-starting-over/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-a-letter-to-a-friend/ http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-a-letter-to-a-friend/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:31:18 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1396 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } Sometimes, while writing, I get hung up on my style. (Am I using too many adverbs? Am I describing the setting vividly enough? Even if it doesn’t mattter?) This is an absolute killer for a first-draft of anything.  It’s fine to worry about these things in the editing process. The important  thing for a first [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-a-letter-to-a-friend/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-what-makes-you-mad/ http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-what-makes-you-mad/#comments Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:00:51 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1394 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } When you see/read/hear something that makes you crazy, what do you do? Rant to a friend? Blog about it? Post a sarcastic comment on Facebook? Photo by Psycholabs Why not turn it into the premise for a story? There’s nothing better for a story than a bit of passion, so take your pet peeves and [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/write-on-wednesday-what-makes-you-mad/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/wow-photo-prompt/ http://storyaday.org/wow-photo-prompt/#comments Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:11:17 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1381 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } Sometimes it’s easy to come up with a subject, a character, a problem or an issue on which to hang your short story. Some days it’s not. But that doesn’t mean you can’t write. I just means getting started might be harder. If you’re finding it hard to start writing today, hop on over to [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/wow-photo-prompt/feed/ 3 http://storyaday.org/what-we-talk-about/ http://storyaday.org/what-we-talk-about/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:33:41 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1377 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } (I love wordle.net)]]> http://storyaday.org/what-we-talk-about/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/publication-ready/ http://storyaday.org/publication-ready/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 18:08:15 +0000 JulieD http://storyaday.org/?p=1370 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } I’m excited to announce our very first free, live teleseminar coming up this Friday. StoryADay May is all about a creative splurge: massive amounts of writing, experimentation and fun. With any luck we all came out with a handful of stories that surprised us: they were really quite good and maybe there were some that [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/publication-ready/feed/ 0 http://storyaday.org/grammar-resources-for-writers/ http://storyaday.org/grammar-resources-for-writers/#comments Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:00:04 +0000 julied http://storyaday.org/?p=1343 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { width: 50%; padding-top: 1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float: left; margin: 4px 4px 4px 4px; } #bottomcontainerBox.manual { display: inline-block; padding-top: 1px; vertical-align: middle; width: auto; } Later this week I’m running a teleseminar on Editing and Revising for Short Story Writers (You can find out more by signing up here) This seminar won’t be a grammar lesson because I’ve noticed that most of the writers around here are, well, pretty good writers. But, in case you need a little help, or [...]]]> http://storyaday.org/grammar-resources-for-writers/feed/ 0