Search Results for: description

050 – Cycles in a Writing Life

This week I talk about the different cycles we go through in a creative life: fertile and fallow, frenzied and fatigued…and how you can make the most of them.   Also in this show: concrete steps for preparing for StoryADay May, including a description of Story Sparks and a reminder to make your own rules … Continue reading “050 – Cycles in a Writing Life”

Short Stories Online Extra

As part of my research for my Writer’s Digest article, Short Training For Your Long Game I came across many wonderful quotes from writers who love the short story form. Of course, not all the of the quotes could make it into the article, but I wanted to share them with you, in case you need a … Continue reading “Short Stories Online Extra”

[Reading Room] The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family by Usman T. Malik

I found this richly-detailed story in the Nebula Showcase 2016. This story is structured in sections, each one headed up by a scientific description of one of the states of matter (solid, liquid, gas, plasma). Each, loosely, represents a theme for the following segment. The story is deeply personal and universal (dealing with the challenges … Continue reading “[Reading Room] The Vaporization Enthalpy of a Peculiar Pakistani Family by Usman T. Malik”

Go At Your Own Pace

Day 28 Pacing As you look back at your stories this week did you notice anything in particular about pacing — How quickly the action flowed from one incident to the next? The prompt Write a story paying attention to the pacing Tips In a fast, plot driven story your pacing will be fast, too. … Continue reading “Go At Your Own Pace”

[Write On Wednesday] 100 Word Story With Grandparents

Today I’m challenging you to share your story on the new Anchor App (only available for iOS just now, sorry). The Prompt Write A 100 Word Story Containing A Reference To Grandparents Tips This can be a story about grandparents, or it can have the most tangential reference to grandparents (see my story on Anchor) … Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] 100 Word Story With Grandparents”

Sept 18 – Friday Favourites 3

Hi, all! It’s Monique again with another “Friday Favourite,” a prompt that is a generic premise for a story that is also the description of a classic (or favourite!) novel. The Prompt A stranger to a remote area encounters a family with a mysterious and troubling past. (Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte) Tips How does … Continue reading “Sept 18 – Friday Favourites 3”

Sept 15 – Tension Tuesday

A Blind Date For today’s prompt we’re looking at romance. In today’s world of Internet dating, there must be many more blind dates than ever before. But meeting someone you’ve never met in person before can still be very tense. Exchanging emails is not quite the same thing as talking face to face. The Prompt … Continue reading “Sept 15 – Tension Tuesday”

Sept 11 – Friday Favourites 2

Hi, all! It’s Monique again with another “Friday Favourite,” a prompt that is a generic premise for a story that is also the description of a classic (or favourite!) novel. The Prompt A person just starting out in their field takes a prestigious, entry-level position in a big city, but the result is not as … Continue reading “Sept 11 – Friday Favourites 2”

Sept 4 – Friday Favourites 1

Hi, all! I’m Monique and I’m going to be posting prompts each Friday this month. The theme is “Friday Favourites” and means that each prompt will be a generic premise for a story that is also the description of a classic (or favourite!) novel. The Prompt A person wakes up, not quite remembering what happened … Continue reading “Sept 4 – Friday Favourites 1”

[Write On Wednesday] Occasional Places

I just read this charming blog post from an online friend (and fellow knitter & writer). She talks about her recent trip to France and shares some of her husband’s fabulous photos. It got me thinking…. The Prompt Write a story set in a place you have visited Tips Ideally this should be a place … Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] Occasional Places”

May 3 – 640 Words

Day 3 – Limits: 640 Words This is the second of our recurring “limits” posts. As the month progresses you’ll come across all sorts of limits: time, word count, point of view, structure. If you get stuck, try rewriting an earlier story in a new way, using these ‘limits’ posts. The Prompt Write a story … Continue reading “May 3 – 640 Words”

Scaling Mount Motivation – The Kiva Way

Do you ever struggle with motivation? Lord knows, I do. [1. Let’s face facts: I’m the kind of person who needed to launch an annual month-long, world-wide challenge to get me back to writing short stories!] It’s October. The mornings are dark. The novelty of the kids being back at school has turned into the … Continue reading “Scaling Mount Motivation – The Kiva Way”

[Writing Prompt] An Ending And A Beginning

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 … Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] An Ending And A Beginning”

[Writing Prompt] Practice Your Descriptive 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. The Prompt Write A Story Rich In Description Tips The trick to good descriptive writing is to pick which details to highlight and which to exclude. You are like … Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Practice Your Descriptive Writing”

[Guest Prompt] Angela Ackerman – Shame

The Prompt Shame is a powerful emotion, and one of the most wounding experiences a character can face. Write a story where your character does something that they feel shame for (maybe a failure, making a mistake [through one’s own carelessness or by accident] that hurts someone else, or letting someone down, poor treatment of … Continue reading “[Guest Prompt] Angela Ackerman – Shame”

[Write On Wednesday] 100 Words For Thanksgiving

It’s almost Thanksgiving here in the US (for those non-US people: it’s a Big Deal with lots of travel and turkey and non-productivity). So, in an effort to keep you writing but not overwhelm you, this week I’m assigning a Drabble, a 100 word story. The Prompt Write A 100 Word Story Tips 100 word … Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] 100 Words For Thanksgiving”

[Reading Room] Cretan Love Song by Jim Shepard

This story is a lovely illustration of how to take one of those factual tidbits we often run across and turn them into a compelling and short story. It’s also written in the second person. The author starts by writing about the Santorini eruption that wiped out the Minoan civilization 1600 years ago. He starts … Continue reading “[Reading Room] Cretan Love Song by Jim Shepard”

[Writing Prompt] Changing POV

In this exercise we’re going to take what we’ve discovered while writing the other Point Of View prompts, and use it to rework a story. The Prompt Take a story you have previously written and rewrite it, in a different Point of View Tips If you have a story that never really worked properly, try … Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Changing POV”

[Reading Room] Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant

This is an extraordinary story, and the one that sky-rocketed Guy de Maupassant to literary stardom. I can see why. Unlike many stories written in the later 19th Century I found this one immensely accessible. The language was vivid yet not convoluted (perhaps because it has been tranlated from the original French?) and the characters … Continue reading “[Reading Room] Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant”

[Write on Wednesday] Fun With Vitriol

Ever hated a place? I mean really hated it? I’ve been reading a few books recently where a character pours his emotions about his life and everything in it, into his description of where he is. The authors used the character to write passionate, scathing, vitriolic critiques of the places. Reading them gave me a … Continue reading “[Write on Wednesday] Fun With Vitriol”

[Reading Room] “Ziggurat” by Stephen O’Connor

This week I’m listening to “Ziggurat” by Stephen O’Connor, which I found on the NPR Selected Shorts podcast. (It’s read by Tim Curry who does a fantastic job. It’s worth a listen. You can find it here.) It tells the story of what happens when the Minotaur encounters a new arrival in his Labyrinth, a … Continue reading “[Reading Room] “Ziggurat” by Stephen O’Connor”

[Writing Prompt] Descriptive Writing

These prompts are designed to help you go further with your daily story than a simple ‘idea’ might. If you’re having trouble coming up with that idea, check out the Story Sparks post. Today we’re going to focus on your descriptive writing. Every story has some sort of description in it[1. Unless you’re writing some … Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Descriptive Writing”

[Writing Prompt] Second Person

Continuing this week’s theme of POV prompts, here is today’s prompt: Write a Story In Second Person This is probably the least-used of all the points of view and with good reason. It’s not one we’re used to reading because it’s tricky and informal and potentially distracting. So what is ‘second person’? It’s when the … Continue reading “[Writing Prompt] Second Person”

[Reading Room] The Fog Horn by Ray Bradbury

I came a little late to the stories of Ray Bradbury and that’s probably a good thing. I was much too literal as a teenager and probably wouldn’t have known what to make of his fantastic, thought-provoking, stories with their lyrical language. When I did discover his writing, of course, I had my mind blown … Continue reading “[Reading Room] The Fog Horn by Ray Bradbury”

[Reading Room] “Goodbye and Good Luck” by Grace Paley

I’ll tell you this up-front: I’m an optimist, a romantic. I like my heroes larger than life and my endings to, well, end. I get impatient with stories that are just like life: a little change here and there, but then they just stop and life goes on. I can appreciate stories like that. I … Continue reading “[Reading Room] “Goodbye and Good Luck” by Grace Paley”

Climbing Mount Revision One Step At A Time

As we sit here, there are only seven days left in May. Seven more stories and then you’re free to take a break, keep writing, set your stories on fire or, preferably revise them into works of genius. To help you out with that latter option I’ve recruited Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA.com to give you … Continue reading “Climbing Mount Revision One Step At A Time”

[Prompt] May 14 – Fish Out Of Water

After last week’s character focus, this week’s prompts are going to focus on different plot archetypes. First up: the fish out of water story. This ties in nicely with the focus on character, since the fish out of water story lays a great emphasis on the characters – either the alien character, or the ones … Continue reading “[Prompt] May 14 – Fish Out Of Water”