Welcome to StoryADay September 2012!! You’ve signed up. I’m so proud of you!
Well, while you are welcome to write whatever the heck you want today, here’s a prompt to help you out in the unlikely event that you can’t even come up with one idea 😉
The Prompt
Write a story set on a Saturday morning in the era during which you were a kid. It doesn’t have to be you (or a kid) in the story, but make your story capture the feel, the colors, the sounds of the time.
Don’t forget to make it a story though: something has to happen, someone has to change; we must see a beginning, a middle and an end.
Go!
And when you have written your story log in and post your success in The Victory Dance group or simply comment on this post and let the congrats come flying in.
Hollywood is all about the ‘reboot’ these days: taking familiar characters from fairy tales and comics and even TV series, and telling their stories again, in a new way.
It seemed only appropriate to ask you to write a story that features Mnemosyne, Greek titan, mother of the nine muses, and the figure responsible for the telling of all the tales (and committing them to memory) before writing was invented.
“Of the female Titanes they say that Mnemosyne discovered the uses of the power of reason, and that she gave a designation to every object about us by means of the names which we use to express whatever we would and to hold conversation one with another; though there are those who attribute these discoveries to Hermes. And to this goddess is also attributed the power to call things to memory and to remembrance (mneme) which men possess, and it is this power which gave her the name she received.”
-Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 5. 67. 3 (trans. Oldfather) (Greek historian C1st B.C.) source
The story also goes that Mnemosyne was the daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Sky). It also says that Zeus spent nine consecutive nights with her and nine months later the nine muses were born. Later still, she watched over a pool in the underworld that was named for her. When people arrived in the underworld they would first drink from the waters of the Lethe (Forgetfulness) to forget all that had come before and then drink from the waters of Mnemosyne (Memory) so that he could remember what was to come.
The Prompt
Write a story in which one of your character shares some traits or life experiences with Mnemosyne.
Tips
Perhaps she IS Mnemosyne in a modern, futuristic or fantasy setting
Perhaps she only has one of Mnemosyne’s gifts: maybe she works for companies as a ‘namer’ of new products. What power does that give her? What does it cost her?
Perhaps she has a fast and furious romance with epic consequences.
Perhaps your Mnemosyne works as an counsellor for new immigrants to Mars, or elderly people, newly-arrived at a nursing home.
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story: Mnemosyne, Remembered  #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-Dc
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about the mother of the muses #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-Dc
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-Dc
See my story – and write your own, today: Mnemosyne Remembered #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-Dc
Apart from being quite beautiful, the picture is a study in subtlety. According to the accompanying text, the artist is supposed to have surrounded his model (his wife) with subtle signs of his affection for her.
The Prompt
Write a story in which the objects surrounding your characters reflect how they feel about each other.
Tips
Your characters don’t have to love each other. They might be enemies with jagged, broken window in the background of your scene.
Don’t overload your story with details like this, but pay attention to the surroundings and include one or two clues.
Or, alternatively, you can go crazy with this. Be silly. It’s just an exercise!
The Rules:
1. You should use the prompt in your story (however obliquely you use the ‘want’, it should be there in the character and all their reactions).
2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.
3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.
4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story: Subtle Signs #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about subtle signs in the background #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW
See my story – and write your own, today: Subtle Signs #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-CW
I used to get hung up on The Big Idea: having something to say; writing a story that was somehow meaningful.
It wasn’t until I tried to write a story a day for the first time, back in 2010, that I realized: the idea doesn’t come first.
The idea (the theme) often doesn’t come until the end of the story when you suddenly realize what it is your characters have been yapping on about for the past few pages.
The character — what the character wants, what the character doesn’t have, and why — are where the story happens.
The Prompt
"Danglies" by Keera Russell
Today, come up with a character (could be based on someone you know).
Think of one thing the character really wants and doesn’t have. (It doesn’t have to be a life-changing thing. It could be a pair of diamond earrings.)
Make this ‘want’ the central motif of the story. Â I think you can learn a lot about a person by how they deal with what they don’t have.
Tell the story of a moment, a day, an incident in the life of this character.
The Rules:
1. You should use the prompt in your story (however obliquely you use the ‘want’, it should be there in the character and all their reactions).
2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.
3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.
4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story: What A Girl Wants  #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-zy
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is all about what your character wants #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-zy
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-zy
See my story – and write your own, today: What Your Character Wants #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-zy
This week’s prompt revolves around taking a very short span of time (impossibly short) and stretching it out over the length of a complete short story.
Quick question before I get onto the prompt. We’re having a discussion on the Advance List about the possibility of doing a bonus StoryADay in September. I’d love it if you could share your level of interest in this poll
[poll id=”2″]
Thanks! Now, on with the prompt!
This week I read a great new novel called Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain. One of the many remarkable things about this novel is that almost all the events in the novel happen on one afternoon.
I heard the author talking about this. It was a deliberate decision on his part, a challenge to himself to see if he could (with very few exceptions) avoid flashbacks or set-pieces that happened out of the timeline of the book’s one day. He also didn’t want a mystery or huge amount of suspense to pull readers onward. I was so intrigued that I had to get hold of a copy and see how he pulled it off.
Writers are inspired by many things, not least of all: other writers and artists.
This week I saw a blurb for a new book called “How Georgia Became O’Keefe“. [1. Isn’t that a great title?]
And it immediately suggested this week’s prompt:
Becoming “X”
(where “X” stands for an artist or author)
The Prompt
Write a story featuring an author you admire (or hate) and how they became an artist, or how a moment in their life sparked their definitive work (this can be completely made up. No need to do any research. Just use your imagination.
Other options:
Create a fictional encounter between the author and your main character
Write a fictionalized “autobiography” or diary entry by the author,
Go the “Possession” route and have your characters researching the artistic development of a writer and having their own adventure along the way.
The Rules:
1. You should use the prompt in your story (however tenuous the connection).
2. You must write the story in one 24 hr period – the faster the better.
3. Post the story in the comments — if you’re brave enough.
4. Find something nice to say about someone else’s story and leave a comment. Everybody needs a little support!
Optional Extras:
Share this challenge on Twitter or Facebook
Some tweets/updates you might use:
Don’t miss my short story: Portrait of the Artist  #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-yu
This week’s #WriteOnWed short story prompt is a chance to ‘meet’ your fave author #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-yu
Come and write with us! #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-yu
See my story – and write your own, today: Portrait of the Artist  #WriteOnWed #storyaday http://wp.me/p1PnSG-yu
Find out more about the StoryADay
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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.
![[Write On Wednesday] – What A Girl Wants](https://storyaday.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Screen-Shot-2012-07-25-at-3.49.28-PM.png)
by Ben Fountain. One of the many remarkable things about this novel is that almost all the events in the novel happen on one afternoon.