Use these prompts any way you want. You don’t have to quote them verbatim. They don’t have to end up in the finished story. Or you could decide to start/end your story with these quotes exactly as they are.
The key is to allow them to spark your creativity; to help you get over the ‘blank page syndrome’; to get you started.
I’m only supplying you with five prompts. No lessons. No Tips. No 6th and 7th prompt for each week. You can write fewer or more stories, depending on the rules you have set for yourself. I recommend aiming for shorter stories, or an outline of a longer story, since time is limited.
(Me? I’m writing a 100 word story each week day.)
The Prompts for Week 1
- “When I was born…”
- The problem with going through life one day at a time, each in order…
- She could hear the seagulls crying. Or were they laughing?
- The sunsets were dazzling…
- It was the smell that caught my attention first.
When you’re finished each day, why not leave a comment here or post in the Victory Dance group in the online community.
And remember, any writing you do this month is a victory. Aim to write more than you would in a normal month, and you’ll be ahead of 99% of other writers.[*. Statistics are not real statistics…]
Hey Julie,
I am jumping in today, goal is stories under 500 words, and, to finish an outline this week for a horror short I want to write that has to be under 5K words, so practicing getting to the point in my stories will be a great challenge!
Hi Erika! I’m doing 100 word stories, which is NOT A LOT! I’m looking at your 500 words with envious eyes right now 🙂
Have done days 2 and 3. I am taking the characters in My WIP ( a middle grade dystopian fantasy) and letting them tell me about themselves by using the prompts. I had lots of random, out of order scenes written but I had not done much with character development. So far the prompts are letting me know a lot about my characters. And STADA is helping me jump back into a daily writing habit.
Thanks.
Excellent! I’m doing much the same, myself. I’ve written BOFORE working on the novel and AFTER working on the novel, on different days. Some days have been completely unrelated, but yes, it’s also forcing me to get to the fiction every day 😉
I am taking part in the Story a Day challenge for the first time ever! My aim is to use all five weekly prompts during the week days and to add new scenes during the weekends to whatever I’ve written during the week, should I have new ideas. Also, I don’t need to finish every story I begin; I’m just happy if I manage to draft some 20 short stories.
Welcome, Irene! I hope your challenge is going well. Having a bank of first drafts to come back to later, is a wonderful thing!!
The first story cranked out. Strictly a fast first draft using Prompt #2.
Burning Ring of Fire
http://wp.me/p1AR9N-39q
My first attempt at Story A Day. My artist friends do something similar in September called Thirty in Thirty in which they create a painting every day. I posted my Day 1 story on my blog. I am calling my project Thirty in Thirty. I am leaving myself the freedom to write anything: stories, essays, character sketches, blog posts, etc. My rule for myself is to write at least 500 words.
Sounds awesome!