[Daily Prompt] May 15 – The T-Shirt

Daily Prompt Logo

Today’s prompt goes along with this post about fitness for writers:


Lisa's t-shirt from today!

What T shirt would your protagonist wear to workout?  Would it be from an old road race, a college T to remind him or his bachelor days, or a beer shirt picked up at a bar, maybe it’s a pricey designer tshirt that screams money and well-heeled  … how did they come by the shirt?

Write A Story That Includes A T-Shirt!

Thanks to Lisa Johnson for the prompt!

Lisa Johnson has been a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor since 1997. She owns Modern Pilates in Brookline, MA and has been a fitness blogger for three years at Lisa Johnson Fitness.com. She also blogs for FitStudio.com (a Sears company.)

http://lisajohnsonfitness.com
http://modernpilatesboston.com

[Daily Prompt] May 14 – Outrageous Granny

Daily Prompt Logo

Today’s story should feature a character who is modeled on the outrageous relative who you loved as a child, because they said the things your parents wouldn’t say, made the jokes that made the other grown-ups blush, and was too old or bold to care about The Rules…

Your character needn’t be a relative, but they should be some authority figure who acts in an unexpected way.

(In loving memory of Alexandrina Doig, the original SuperNan.)

[Daily Prompt] May 13 – Use Your Mouth

Words do more than carry meaning; words have a physical aspect too.

Even for readers who no longer have to move their lips while they read, certain words carry with them the relish of being said aloud:

  • Squirm
  • Upchuck
  • Sludge
  • Blunder
  • Squelch
  • Lumpy
  • Frisson
  • Blubber
  • Rumble
  • Ooze
  • Flow

These words are wonderful for showing, not telling: unusual combinations of consonants, words borrowed from other languages, words that make you pout or go ‘ew’ as you say them.

The prompt: write a story that uses descriptive words that make your mouth move.

(This prompt inspired by this excellent talk by Michel A. Arnzen at the Odyssey Workshop.)

Go!

[Daily Prompt] May 12 – Reunion

Today, my parents braved airport security, 3000 miles and a five-hour time difference to come and see me. All the frantic running around is over, all the last-minute things are done, and now we are sitting — tired and smiling — in the same room at last.

Write a story that includes the idea of reunion

(P.S. I can imagine reunions that do not end as happily. You?)

Remember, prompts are optional (but it’s fun to read everyone’s different takes on each prompt)

[Daily Prompt] – May 11 – Little Red Riding Hood

Urban Red Riding Hood
Picture by An Untrained Eye. Used with permission

Today I’m recycling an idea from last year’s StoryADay because it was so much fun:

Re-Write The Story Of Little Red Riding Hood

If you don’t want to do Red, you can do a different fairytale. It doesn’t have to be a straight re-telling either, just use it for inspiration if that’s what works for you.

Here’s a whole article about this tactic and how writing the same story over and over could be just what you need.

(As always, this prompt is optional.)

[Daily Prompt] May 9 – Moonlight

Moonlight On The Bay
Moonlight On The Bay by Dan Dickinson

Today’s prompt comes from a line in an Edna St. Vincent Millay sonnet (from The Harp Weavers)

“…a broken dart / of moonlight…splintered on the sea;”

Use the line or a similar image somewhere in your story.

(As always, this prompt is optional.)