Plot twist story prompts aren’t meant for the beginning or the end of stories. Rather, they’re for forcing big and small turns in the anticipated trajectory of a story. This is to make it more interesting for the readers and writers alike. Each week, I’ll provide a new prompt to help twist your story. Find […]
“I cannot blink it.” If you don’t know what that means, I don’t blame you. I don’t rightly know what it means, either. “Blink” has meant about what it means today—a quick fluttering of the eyelids—since at least the 1330s. Blinking is something that eyes do, not something that takes a direct object. If we […]
This past September, I was asked to give a series of lectures on writing at the South Dakota Festival of Books, an incredible event that took place this year in the iconic Western town of Deadwood, South Dakota. I love these gatherings because I get to shake hands with so many writers whom I admire, […]
Every writer embarks on a unique journey, and for many, the path to a perfect ending can be a winding, sometimes frustrating, odyssey. If you find yourself grappling with the challenge of concluding your first book, you’re not alone. The struggle to get the ending just right is a common hurdle in the writing process, […]
Here we are at the final prompt. But remember: This challenge is only half over once the first drafts are done; so look for the next steps post tomorrow on how to put together and submit your chapbooks. Also, be sure to show up on Wednesdays for our Wednesday Poetry Prompts (starting back up on […]
The first step in writing an amnesia romance is to forget everything you know about amnesia romance. Now that that joke is out of the way, let me clarify that this is in fact the opposite of what to do. The amnesia trope has a long history in fiction, and only by understanding how the […]
I had a professor for a writing class in college who used to always tell us to “write what you know.” But then he would amend that by saying no one wanted to read about writers, so, we should write about what we know outside of our writing lives. (Writing Real Relationships.) It took me […]
By: Linda Barrett I. “Dudley’s Stella. I know what you’re talking about,” The e-mail read. Mirabella Reid gazed at it, sitting back in her office chair. Only eight words. Her boss walked past her with a sidelong glance. “Are you still mourning the loss of your Great Uncle Dudley? The guy who wrote those Stella […]
By: K.E. Semmel Twenty years ago, during my aborted attempt to get an MFA in creative writing, I submitted a story for a workshop. It was about a middle-aged man who witnesses the neighbor’s teenage babysitter having sex with her boyfriend—an experience that makes the protagonist consider his own mortality. The story takes place a few days after […]
By Michael Lee Johnson Ghost I Am Here is a private hut staring at me, twigs & branches over the top— naked & alone. I respond to an old 60s doo-wopsong: In the Still of the Night Fred Parris and The Satins. Storms are written in narratives, old ears closed to a full hearing. I’m […]
Emily March is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author of over 40 novels, including the critically acclaimed Eternity Springs series. Publishers Weekly calls March a “master of delightful banter,” and her heartwarming, emotionally charged stories have been named to Best of the Year lists by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and […]
Tomorrow is the final prompt and poem, but you have to get through today first. Soooo… For today’s prompt, take the phrase “(blank) Free,” replace the blank with a new word or phrase, make the new phrase the title of your poem, and then, write your poem. Possible titles might include: “Home Free,” “Fat Free,” […]
