I spent Saturday afternoon at a small town annual parade here in the eastern part of the US. There were marching bands, local civic organizations and even Mummers from Philadelphia.
Small towns breed all kinds of stories and traditions and secrets. They are ripe settings for stories, especially when you set your story in or around an annual event.
Photo by Olivia Hutcherson on Unsplash
Today is the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries.
This is close to my heart, not only because I love mysteries in general and Holmes in particular (and everything it has inspired), but also because, when I was at university, I used to go past Sir Arthur’s old house every day: he was a student at Edinburgh University and his lodgings are still in use by the university.
So, today’s post is:
It needn’t be a mystery or a Sherlock Holmes-like story, but perhaps you could have a faithful sidekick whose job is to stand around and say ‘what did you just do there?’ like Dr Watson. Or perhaps you’ll use the word ‘elementary’. Or write something with a brilliant, or manic, or extremely logical lead.
Go!
Um…yeah. Your prompt for today (for no particular reason) is
Go!
On May 20, 1932 at 7PM, Amelia Earheart set off from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, Canada, to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. The flight took 13 hrs and 30 minutes. Now there are somewhere around 300 transatlantic flights every day, carrying hundreds of passengers each. Five years after her historic flight, Earheart would disappear, along with her navigator, Fred Noonan, between Lae, New Guinea and Howland Island.
I think this suggests a prompt in lots of different genres: speculative fiction and historical; stories set on planes, stories set across continents and cultures; explorers; innovators; tragedy; scientific inquiry…so today’s prompt is:
Go!
Your prompt today is to write about something that is inexplicable to the people in your story. You may choose to offer, as a twist, a modern, scientific explanation, or you may leave it to the imagination of the reader.
Go!
Today’s prompt was inspired by a board game we were playing tonight (we’re big board gamers in our house). Strictly speaking the prompt should be “tennis court” but I’m allowing the simple “court”, since that has more meanings.
So here’s your prompt:
Go!
Today’s prompt is a guest prompt from Shane Arthur of the Creative Copy Challenge website.
Their regular challenge provides ten words that their readers weave into a story. Some are hilarious, some are moving, some are silly, but everyone has fun. Check out the site for examples.
Today Shane has provided this list of words and challenges you to create a story containing all ten. I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
1. Regular
2. Sun
3. Wild
4. Muck
5. Shoot
6. Frustration
7. Hand
8. Take
9. Push
10. Trip
Go!
Shane is a freelance editor/proofreader. He runs the writing prompts site Creative Copy Challenge in his three seconds of spare time.
This is personally & selfishly inspired today.
Today I’ve had a big, emotional family event that we’ve been building up to for weeks (and anticipating for what, months? Years?). I’ve been looking forward to it, I had a wonderful day, and now that everyone has just left I feel … as if someone has cut my strings. I’m sagging, I’m flagging. It’s not a bad feeling, but it was entirely unexpected.
The word that formed in my head wasn’t as complicated as “relief” or “pride” or “excitement” or “exhaustion”.
The word that formed in my head was:
So that’s your prompt: Over.
Over to you, now.
Go!
Well, the facts speak for themselves: making time for fitness is like an investment in ourselves that pays us back in increased concentration, productivity and creativity.
Today I’ve asked Lisa Johnson from LisaJohnsonFitness to give us some pointers about how to integrate exercise and creativity without derailing our writing schedules.
I particularly like her 10-minute burst idea – check it out below.
Also, Lisa has offered to answer any questions you might have about integrating fitness into your routine. (Normally she charges people handsomely for the privilege!) Just post your questions below.
Thanks Lisa!
Hunched over our laptops, tapping away on the keyboard, writers feel like we have to be writing to be productive.
But, to get those creative juices flowing, maybe what we really need is to push away from the desk, slap on those sneakers and head outside.
Taking a break to get your body moving will:
The 30 minutes that you spend in motion will be more than made up for through increased creativity and output. I promise. )
So pick an activity that you enjoy. It doesn’t have to be a prescribed fitness routine with weights, reps, and sets at the gym. It doesn’t have to be the “Om” of a yoga class, but it can be if that’s what you like to do. Some options to consider:
Also, if the idea of being away from your writing for an hour just seems completely unfathomable, you can always break workouts down into 10-minute bursts. I tell this to clients regularly. When you’re transitioning from one task to another, do a quick 10-minute burst of cardio. This can be as simple as running in place or skipping rope or throwing on some tunes and dancing around your living room. The brain break will give you a clean slate as you start your next task. It’s amazing how well this works.
If you’re looking for overall guidelines, you want to do a minimum of 150 minutes of cardio per week; anything above that is gravy. Your heart will thank you, your doctor will thank you, and your readers will thank you!
If you have any questions, just ask below, and I’ll answer them.
Cheers,
Lisa
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
Today’s prompt goes along with this post about fitness for writers:
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?
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
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.)
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:
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!
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.
(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)
Today I’m recycling an idea from last year’s StoryADay because it was so much fun:
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.
(As always, this prompt is optional.)
Today’s prompt comes from a line in an Edna St. Vincent Millay sonnet (from The Harp Weavers)
Use the line or a similar image somewhere in your story.
(As always, this prompt is optional.)
This prompt was inspired by Marta Pelrine-Bacon who posted the other day about writing a story about a character she didn’t like. It’s not something we all do often so today: write a story featuring an unsympathetic main character.
Some tips: give your unsympathetic main character something the reader can identify with or find attractive (think Hannibal Lecter who was fantastically clever and insightful; Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor…)
[Update: Dec 2021: coming back to this prompt, 10+ years later, I was pleased to see that I hadn’t actually stolen this method of adjusting your character’s attractiveness from the Writing Excuses podcast, which, three years later would do a great series of episodes on this kind of thing with a very elegant explanation.)
Today our prompt comes from the lovely people at Gamewright Games and from Rory O’Connor who invented Rory’s Story Cubes.
So here is your prompt:
Do with it what you will!
Go!
(Remember: the prompts are purely optional and only intended to help you if you’re stuck.)
It’s May 8 and we’re working through our second weekend already. I’m guessing the shine might have worn off this challenge a little by now and that you could be struggling.
(It’s not easy to come up with a fresh idea every day!)
So today, give yourself a break. Go back and find a story you’ve already written. Now, tell the story from a different character’s perspective.
Try to make the tone of the story totally different: the length of the sentences, the pacing, the rhythm, even the events, if the second person remembers them differently.
Go!
Did you know that May 7 is “Military Spouses’ Day”? Well it is, and we’re all to stop and appreciate what it takes to be a military spouse.
Hey, I know. While you’re thinking about it…why not write a story featuring, if not a military couple, certainly two people who face challenges including but not limited to: separation, relocation, trauma. Or write something with a tangential connection to something military.
There. Broad enough? 😉
Go!
Somewhere in your story, use the line,
(Thanks, Cid!)
Go!
It’s Cinquo De Mayo and everyone loves a party! Except when they don’t.
Parties are a great setting for stories because they bring together people who have no business being in the same room; they put stress on relationships; they often involve booze and a consequent loosening of inhibitions…in other words, all the elements you need for a climactic moment in someone’s life.
Go!
Sorry, but give the sheer weight of all the Star Wars Lego in my house these days, I couldn’t resist.
…and remember, that could just as easily happen between two office cubicles as in a galaxy far, far away.
You could also make a case that Star Wars is just a big family saga — or maybe a romance — so feel free to go with that too.
And if you do go with the Hero Looking For A Quest thing, remember how whiny and unheroic Luke was at the start of those movies? You might want to emulate that and give your hero some room to grow.
Write A Story About Good Vs. Evil
Go!
A lot of short short stories focus on character and twists and surprise, because it’s a great form for exactly those things.
But I don’t want your descriptive muscles to get all flabby.
Why not write a story with a strong sense of place? At some point in the story, imagine you are a tour guide, pointing out the landmarks and notable features of your setting to me, your eager audience.
Be a tour guide to your story’s setting, for the reader
Go!
This is a staple of Sci-Fi and speculative fiction: you’re watching people in Forties garb but discover you’re on a space station populated by aliens who only know humans through one random Bogart movie they’ve intercepted….
But it happens in real life too: a woman thinks she’s in a happy marriage only to come home to empty closets and a note on the kitchen table; you think you’re reading a standard love story only to discover a twist at the end…
Write a story with an element of altered reality.
Go!
Huge thanks to StoryADay-er @cidwrites for today’s prompt.
Cid has created an imaginary book cover at her own StoryADay site, and invites you to use it as a writing prompt.
If the graphic doesn’t work for you, you can still use the prompt by writing a story that contains the line “They said it couldn’t be done.”
Writing prompts are optional, but do leave Cid a comment if you use hers!
This week marks the 98th anniversary of the birth of blues great Muddy Waters.
This week write a story on the theme of one of his greatest hits:
Continue reading “[Write On Wednesday] I’m Ready!”
Today’s prompt comes from Rory’s Story Cubes. I rolled them for you, but you can use them in any order and in any way you like.
Write On!
I’m sitting here enjoying a raging thunderstorm. The sun is sinking pinkly under the edge of the storm and the ragged flashes and sheets of lightning are so much more thrilling than any season finale on TV. The thunder sounds like kettledrums.
And so, to the prompt:
It can be figurative or literal, but it must be stormy!
Go!
Write A Story That Features A Hobby/Activity You Have Tried
The only rule in today’s prompt is that the hobby may not be “writing”.
I have my own special reasons for this — namely: that, as an adult, I cringe every time I see a book where the main character is any type of writer. It seems to betray a lack of imagination. (Of course I’ll make an exception when re-reading books by LM Alcott or LM Montgomery or some other beloved writers whose initials are not “LM”, but for today the rule stands).
The hobby does not have to be anything you have done recently or frequently. It could be basket-weaving or finger-painting. But it should be something of which you have real-world experience and so can describe in minute detail if you need to.
Go!
Today, rewrite a story you have written before, but this time as a dramatic monologue.
Taking a look at the story from another angle is a challenge in itself. Then add the challenge of making the dialogue seem real and you can really have fun with this…
This is the thirdin a series of prompts that will encourage you to choose a story to write several different ways. You could choose a fairy story or a tale you’ve already told right here during Story A Day May. Each day I’ll give you a style to write in. You can reuse the same character, plot, timing, whatever works as you import your story into the new style. Feel free to ditch characters, change their names, switch out the endings, whatever makes sense.
Taking a look at the story from another angle is a challenge in itself. Then add the challenge of making the dialogue seem real and you can really have fun with this.
(NB, the character who is ‘monologuing’, to borrow a phrase, doesn’t have to be the original story’s hero. It could be someone who was walking by and saw the action; a minor character in the action; anyone really).
Go!
(PS Did I mention? Day TWENTY! And you’re still here? Awesome, dude!)
Write (or Rewrite) A Story In The Style Of Your Favorite Dead Writer
This is the second in a series of prompts that will encourage you to choose a story to write several different ways. You could choose a fairy story or a tale you’ve already told right here during Story A Day May. Each day I’ll give you a style to write in. You can reuse the same character, plot, timing, whatever works as you import your story into the new style. Feel free to ditch characters, change their names, switch out the endings, whatever makes sense.
I’m tempted to suggest Dickens, but maybe you’re more of an Austin or Bronte fan. Or maybe one of those Russians. Or further back? Chaucer, anyone? Shakespeare? Douglas Adams? (Nope, still too soon. Sob!)
Go!
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
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.
Starts July 28, 2023
![[Daily Prompt] May 23 – Before The Parade Passes By](https://storyaday.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/olivia-hutcherson-M6PkXg4q2uo-unsplash-1200x1704.jpg)
![[Daily Prompt] – May 11 – Little Red Riding Hood](https://storyaday.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Prompt_challenge2011tn.jpeg)
