Today’s prompt was inspired by my recent strong reaction against the short story Heat by Joyce Carol Oates.( I hated it.)
The story is set in a past that I presume is similar to the author’s own: a world where ice deliveries still happened and kids spent long summer days largely unsupervised in their dusty country town. Then one day, something happened that no-one in the town will ever forget.
Mine your childhood for an event that you’ll never forget. Create a story based around it.
Not that there was anything really wrong with it.
It painted vivid pictures of the setting that are seared into my brain.
It created realistic portraits of the twin girls around whom the story turns — fun, selfish, nice-nasty, typical preteen girls — and of the protagonist who is both a girl with the twins and an older woman looking back on things.
It wove the story really well through non-linear story-telling. It has suspense, and emotion and is terribly well written.
But.
It’s part of that school of literary stories from the second half of the twentieth century that are unrelentingly grim. Everyone’s a pervert or being hurt by someone or cheating on their spouse or living a life without hope. People are murdered, raped, declared bankrupt, abused, tortured, depressed… It’s fine, I suppose, and good that people can write about these things. I don’t want people to pretend these things don’t happen or isolate victims by not allowing them to share their experiences. But there seems to have been a sense that you couldn’t be a literary (for ‘literary’ read: good) writer unless your world was devoid of hope, humor or heroes.
And I hate that. It’s why I fly to cozy mysteries and space opera and anything where I can find a hero and a bit of relief. [updated: And I totally respect that you might find this kind of writing challenging, rewarding, comforting, or sublimely moving, and may hate my kind of humor-laced frippery-faves. I think I mostly get annoyed by the seeming ubiquity of grimness in “literary” fiction.]
So, I’m glad I read this story because I will come back to it to see just how Ms Oates created that indelible sense of place; and how she made her characters so realistic; and how she wove that story so well. But I’ll never like it. And I never want to write this kind of thing.
What about you? Do you rage against a particular style of writing? Harlequin Romances? Happy endings? What gets you so angry that you feel moved to write something just to prove that stories can be better than that? Let me know in the comments:
Welcome to the first meeting of our monthly Serious Writers Accountability Group (Acronym: SWAGr, because every insecure writer needs a little swagger, don’t you think?)
Writing is a lonely business and, as StoryADay May proves year after year, there’s nothing quite like peer pressure for helping you meet your goals.
Every month I encourage you to come here, leave a comment and tell us what your goals are for this month. Then, next month, check in, tell us how you did and what you’re going to do in the following four weeks. (It doesn’t have to be fiction. Feel free to use this group to push you in whatever creative direction you need.)
Examples of Goals
So, what will you do this month? Leave your comment below:
(Next check-in, Wednesday, July 9, 2014. Tell your friends. )
Today’s prompt is inspired by three things. The first was the release this week of a US prisoner of war. It made me think of the many hostage and prison stories I’ve read, where people have lived in tiny cells for years on end and how it changes them. The second is the story “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, in which a woman, trapped in her domestic life, fixates on the wallpaper of her room and always finds something new to see. The third is the essay “Fish” by Robin Sloan, which shares an observation exercise, in which students are asked to observe a dead fish long past the point when it would seem to be interesting.
If you can, read both those stories and then try this prompt.
Write about a person who is forced, by circumstance or outside agency, to observe a limited view for an unlimited time.
Go!
StoryFest is a celebration of StoryADay May and all our hard work.
Nominate your own story (or someone else’s) and it’ll be featured on the front page of StoryADay.org during my birthday weekend: June 14-15, 2014. (Here’s how it looked in 2010)
StoryFest is a chance for us to promote each other’s stories to the wider world by linking to them from Twitter, Facebook, blogs and anywhere else we can post. It takes place over one weekend only, in order to create some urgency, for people to come by and visit now, and not put it off.
Stories aren’t judged by anyone, just featured, so edit up your best story and submit it for some free link-love.
That’s great! If you read and loved a story by a fellow participant during this year’s challenge, find the link and use the second part of the nominations form to highlight it.
(If it was a story that was published behind a password wall — i.e. not public — you can still give the writer a shout-out, without providing a link to their story.)
Whether you’re posting in a blog, on Twitter, on Facebook or any of those other sharing sites out there, feel free to take any of these starter suggestions or make up your own. Customize them to link to your stories, other people’s stories or just the front of the storyaday.org site. Go wild!
#StoryFest: a celebration of the short story. This weekend, [DATES]. No admission fee: https://storyaday.org
[customize this next one for the genre and link to a specific story]
Need a little romance/mystery/time-travel/humor/suspense/sci-fi in your life? Try a short story today: [URL] #StoryFest
Short Stories: bit-sized brain food. Fine one that’s to your taste during #StoryFest: https://storyaday.org
Broaden your horizons with a day trip into someone-else’s world. Read a short story during #StoryFest: https://storyaday.org
Travel the world for free: Read a short story set in [insert location]: [link to specific story] #StoryFest
Ever wanted to time travel? Read a short story [link to a story set not in present day] #StoryFest
Don’t forget to nominate your story by Thursday, June 11, 2014
Coming to this site, June 14-15, 2014 (nominate your stories here!)
Today is the last day of StoryADay May 2014!!
Even if you haven’t written a single story yet this month why not write and finish a story today? Writing and finishing one story in a single day is quite an achievement. You’ll be proud, I promise.
To those who have been writing every day: wow! You are awesome and every other writer on the planet envies you. Well done!
Q: Can you improve as a writer by writing a lot? CLUE: There’s a reason this challenge is in a month named “May”…
Don’t forget to submit or nominate stories for StoryFest by June 10 (and yes, there will be more details, a link to a form and another reminder, in the next few days). Then start planning to tell the world to visit StoryADay.org on June 1-15 for StoryFest!
(Seriously. This is your party. I don’t have email addresses for all the people you’d like to invite. You’ll have to do it!)
I’ll still be writing away, bring you interviews with writers, the Tuesday Reading Room, the Write On Wednesday writing prompt and regular Kick-In-The-Pants articles on Thursdays, with the newsletter serving as a regular digest of articles.
Take a moment today (or maybe tomorrow) to recap. Write an End of StoryADay report for yourself detailing any or all of the following:
If you do write a recap and would like to share it, please post a link to it in the comments or simply send me a link in an email. I’d love to read about your experience.
Then get back to writing, polishing and submitting your short stories.
(Both of these sites have been started by former StoryADay writers since their first StADa experiences. I’m so proud!)
Every Wednesday throughout the year I post a Write On Wednesday prompt. (If you are subscribed to the Daily Prompt email list you’ll receive these Wednesday prompts in your inbox).
The ‘rules’ for the Write on Wednesday prompt are: write a rough and ready story to the prompt within 24 hours, post it IN THE COMMENTS and comment on someone else’s. You don’t have to write it on Wednesday, but you’ll probably get the most feedback if you do.
Don’t miss out. Subscribe now!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has talked about StoryADay, taken part, read stories, left comments, sent me an email, or written in secret. It is an absolute honor to have been your ringmaster again this year and I will be bereft … until we do it all again next time!!
It’s the end of the StoryADay May 2014 challenge.
But it is just the beginning of the rest of your writing life.
I hope the challenge this year has opened your eyes to how very, very creative you can be; to how well you can write; and how important it is to the world that you keep writing.
Stay tuned for more information on the upcoming Revisions course and do keep in touch!
An Ending And A Beginning
Tips
Without wishing to sound like a motivational poster, the end of one thing leads to the beginning of something else. Write your story today in that moment of transition.
Will your character struggle with the idea of the ending, or be wildly excited about the new beginning? Will your character’s expectations be upset? By what?
Every stage of life has transitions. Some are expected (leaving school, getting married, starting a new job) and others come completely out of the blue (a death, the end of a friendship, a job offer, a pregnancy, someone else leaving home). Think about how this affects your character’s reaction.
Go to town on this story. Use everything you have learned this month about: how you write best, when you write best, what length works for you, what tone/style works for you, what kinds of characters speak to you most, the kinds of dialogue or description that you enjoy, the use of suspense, beginnings, middles, ends, theme, character, conflict, action, the ways you’ve learned to get yourself into the writing zone… Everything you have worked on in your writing this month is a tool you can use in this story, today. Have fun. Let yourself go. Finish the story.
Get up tomorrow and keep writing.
GO!
AWOOOOOOOOOOHAAAAAA! We have reached the end of the month. Take a moment to let out a whoop of joy and accomplishment (if you finished even one story then you’re a winner in my book. But if you finished 31? I bow in awe!). Then leave a comment, write a blog, pop into the community. Share your joy. Share what you’ve learned. Share your frustrations. Make plans for the future. Tell us, tell us, tell us, and never stop writing!
Thank you for making this month and this challenge so utterly amazing. The world is a better place for having your stories in it!
There are 215 days left in 2014. What will you do with them?
As the StoryADay May challenge for 2014 winds down, it’s time to look back a bit, forward a bit, and plan how you’ll use the lessons learned in this month of extreme writing. Hop on over to the community hand have a chat about your plans.
But not until you’ve written today’s story.
Two Hundred And Fifteen
On May 29, 1913, Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rites of Spring premiered in Paris and sparked a riot!
(Wouldn’t you love to have a short-story-reading public that was so passionate about the art, they were willing to throw punches?!)
Write About A Gathering Of Experts That Degenerates Into A Rammy
And yes, I do mean the winter/Christmas/Thanksgiving/Hannukka/Samhain/Diwali/Hogmanay/New Year/Kwanzaa/Chinese New Year/Solstice/Saturnalia/Festivus November/December/January type of holiday.
If you ever think of submitting your stories to literary magazines, contests, anthologies, or other publications, you need to know two things:
Write your December stories now. Time’s running out.
Write A Story Tied To A Holiday That Takes Place In November/December/January/February
Need more tips? Here’s a podcast episode that talks you through it:
GO!
Which holiday did you choose? What did you do to get in the mood? Do you think you’ll revise and submit this story to a publication? Tell us in the comments or join the conversation in the comments
Happy Book Birthday to Debbie Ridpath Ohi, whose illustrations are featured in the new paperback editions of Judy Blume’s classic books (yes, Judy Blume!!). The new editions come out today! Today Debbie has supplied us with a visual prompt that made me laugh out loud. What can you do with this?
Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates books for young people. Based in Toronto, Debbie is represented by Ginger Knowlton of Curtis Brown Ltd. Her illustrations appear in I’M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2012) and was selected by The New York Times for its list of Notable Children’s Books.
Her upcoming books include NAKED! (by Michael Ian Black, illustrated by Debbie, coming out from S&S in Summer/2014) andWHERE ARE MY BOOKS?, which is written AND illustrated by Debbie (coming out from S&S in Spring/2015). She is currently working with Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, Harpercollins Children’s and Random House Children’s Books.
Today’s scenario starts with character and very little in the way of setting.
Alex is cold. She is climbing a snow-laden mountain. Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Locked Room Mystery”
Today’s writing prompt is a traditional ‘scenario’ prompt. I give you the scene and a character, you run wild with it.
Tonight is the kid’s talent show. Your character is determined to be there. Unfortunately your main character is no run-of-the-mill suburban parent. This time, thought, they’re not going to let that job get in the way. No matter what comes up they’re going to let someone else handle it. They can’t stand the thought of getting that look from the kid one more time…
OK, so for most of this month I’ve been encouraging you to write, write, and nothing but write. No thoughts of publication or audience to scare you into writers’ block. But you’ve been at this for 24 days now. I think you’ve probably proved a thing or two to yourself (like a, you’re stubborn; b, not everything you write is garbage and c, you can do this!). So today, just for a moment, let’s remember that part of writing is a desire to connect with other people. We can do that by having our work published in magazines that already have a reading-audience built in.
Find a contest or submission deadline on a theme you like, and write a story as if you were going to submit to that market
Go!
How did writing to spec or with a deadline, feel? Did you find a market that seemed particularly promising? Did you choose a contest with an upcoming deadline? Share them (if you dare) in the comments or the community.
Today we’re stealing from the Beach Boys. Use their title to write an original story
Write A Story Titled “Good Vibrations”
Go!
What did you do with this prompt? How are you holding yup 23 days into the challenge? What do you need to get you to Day 31? Comment or talk about it in the community.
Today we’re stealing from another master: William Shakespeare.
Write A Story That Incorporates This Quote (or its spirit)
“If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us shall we not revenge?
GO!
Which quote did you use? Did you use it verbatim or only in the spirit? How did this prompt help with your writing today? Comment below or join the conversation in the community.
This is an extremely silly way to start a story, but it always seems to work — maybe because it removes any pressure you may be putting on yourself to write something “good”. Today you write a story using these words from my Third Grader’s spelling list.
Use These Words In A Story: Lettuce, Happen, basket, Winter, Sister, Monster, Supper, Subject, Puppet
Go!
Did you remember to post your story in the comments or in the community? Did you have fun with this? Was your story, nevertheless, serious? What does that tell you about writing in general?
We’ve looked at the parts of the story. We’ve looked at point of view. We’ve learned the rules. Now I’m inviting you to throw it all out of the window.
Write A Non-Linear Story
Breaking with the narrative form again today, after flogging it’s poor dead horse corpse at the beginning of the week. Today we tackle a form for which I have an inexplicable and enduring love: letters!
Write An Epistolary Story (i.e. One Told As A Series of Letters/Documents)
GO!
What form did you choose? How did it work out for you? Leave a comment or join the conversation in the community.
I’ve been going on (and on) about the importance of not ‘head-hopping’ between characters in a different scene, to take things easy on the reader. Today I say: mix it up! Make the reader work for their entertainment!
Write A Story From Multiple Perspectives
Today we’re climbing outside our protagonist’s head and looking at the whole scene.
Write A Story From The Third Person, Omniscient, Perspective
Today, it’s back to the tried and true, a format you’re probably much more familiar with than yesterday’s Second Person. Yes, today we write in Third Person, Limited Omniscience, perspective.
All of which means, you get inside a character’s head and stay there.
Write A Story in The Third Person, Limited Perspective
by Ben Fountain) It’s pretty clear that “they were probably never serious anyway” is Billy’s thought, isn’t it? But the author never feels the need to tell us this. Try it out in your story today.Go!
Did you rewrite an earlier story in a new POV? Tell us about it in the comments.
Write about the best gift your character was given. Incorporate one of the seven deadly sins (wrath, gluttony, sloth, greed, pride, lust, envy) into the story.
Charlotte Rains Dixon is the author of Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior. She is a novelist, writing teacher, free-lance journalist, ghostwriter, and author. Continue reading “[Guest Prompt] Charlotte Rains Dixon”
In the Second Person, the story is told like this, “You are walking around in the depths of winter and you find yourself shivering”.
It’s not a format that we see much and as a result it can be tricky to pull off. But it’s worth a try if only to show up the advantages of the other points-of-view available to you. Or maybe you’ll be one of those people, like Jay McInerney, who turns it into a work that is acknowledged as a contemporary classic.
Write A Story in the Second Person Perspective Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Second Person, Awkward”
This week we’re going to be playing with point of view. It’s easy to get stuck writing from the same perspective in every story. To break you of that habit, we’re going to be trying the all this week! Feel free to write the same story over and over again, this week, playing with perspective.
Write A Story Told In The First Person
GO!
One of the things newer writers worry about most is originality: how can I have an original idea when all the stories have been told.
Today we’re going to do a little exercise to prove that originality is not about the characters, the even the events of the story. Originality comes from you, writing in your voice, as only you can.
Write A Cinderella Story. Share (At Least An Excerpt) In The Comments
What strikes me about this, is how often the words “fun”, “happy”, “yes!”, “accomplished” and “glad” come up in people’s comments about the StoryADay challenge.
It’s not to late to join in. Just pick up a pen, and off you go! You won’t regret it!
“I have a slew of new things to write that I wouldn’t have thought of if I hadn’t tried StoryADay, so this is pretty great.”
-k.c.
“I’m very much looking forward to spending May with you again! Should be great!”
-s.c.
“I’m so glad I found out about this. Thank you xxx”
-l*
“Great post, exactly what I needed…Thank you!”
-l.n.
“I have surprised myself wit the creativity I have produced.”
-m.r.
“I have been looking forward to May for months, now I know why! I love having a new writing experience every day,”
-c.l.
“Haven’t written fiction IN A LONG WHILE, and I’m glad I came up with something!”
-y*
“Today’s prompt really helped me get over a block for a scene I needed for a larger work I am writing.”
-c.jr.
“I like being forced to get something down…good daily discipline.”
c.g.
“mission accomplished!”
-k.d.
“I loved this – brought a delighted grin to an old lady’s face…thanks for a good start to a sunny morning.”
-a.r.
“the guest prompt was excellent.”
-m.s.
“…only 706 words, bt I like where that prompt took me.”
-e*
“Hooray! I’m having such fun with Drabbles.”
-c.k.
“It’s late in the day, but I got a story done so I’m happy. I feel a sense of accomplishment…”
c.g.
“yes yes yes. I did it. Woo-hoo!”
-k.m.
“…a good warm up for the other writing on the agenda today.”
-s*
“glad I tried it…”
-s.j.b.
“…not bad for a first draft, I think!”
-s.j.m.“I’m not really happy with [this] story…but it was fun to write.”
-c.s.
“Thank you for another good story idea,”
-s.c.
“Very rough, but…I feel good about writing it.”
-r.s.
“So much fun.”
-s.c.
“Missed a few days, but I’m back on track!”
-m.l.
“Loving StoryADay!”
-k.l.“Happy dance !!!!!!”
-b.o.
Special thanks to all the people who are writing, providing feedback, supporting each other and inspiring me to keep writing!
Yesterday’s prompt about dialogue, probably didn’t leave you much room for descriptive writing .Today, on the other hand, is you change to channel your inner Tolkein.
Write A Story Rich In Description
GO!
Are you a fan of descriptive writing or do you tend to skip over those parts when you’re reading? Did you find this an easy or hard exercise. Did you learn anything today? Leave a comment or join the discussion in the community.
Today we’re going to focus on dialogue.
Gripping, realistic dialogue can bring a story and its characters to life. Writing great dialogue, however, takes practice.
Write A Story Told Almost Completely In Dialogue
GO!
What form did you decide on? How did this go for you? Do you usually write a lot of dialogue or was this new for you? Leave a comment below or chat about it in the community.
How did you get on yesterday? Did you post in the comments or the community about your writing? Which proverb or ‘theme’ did you use?
Every story — even the most literary, introspective story — needs action.
Stuff must happen.
Action is the agent of change and your characters must change (even for a moment) or face an opportunity for change, for your story to interest people. “Stuff happening” is what gives you the opportunity to show that opportunity for change.
Write A Story Wrapped Around An Action Scene
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The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
The only qualification to be a ‘Superstar” is a desire to write and support your fellow writers.
A supportive group of committed writers, who meet virtually, support each other’s efforts, and inspire each other.
Registration for 2024 open now-June 8, 2024
A 6-part journey through the short story.
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