- There’s more than one flower under the sun.
- Little tears of hot wax dripped from the tilted candelabra.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: created, together, dropping, room, there.
- Write about a misidentification.
- Use the phrase “Now what?”
- He was programmed for affability.
- The blushing memory of first love.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Her eyes shone like spots of phosphorous in the gloom.
- He threw stones at giants.
- Your favorite toy when you were eight.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: usual, empty, opposite, love, eight
- Write about being late.
- Use the phrase, “that’s not a good sign.”
- Bathers standing in the surf, contemplating immersion.
- She had an allergy to things unpleasant.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- He’s so kind for such a powerful man.
- A pet you no longer have.
- The Pakistani girl in a purple sari.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: things, truth, tack, mirror, answer.
- Write about something that happened in another lifetime.
- Write about doing something over and over.
- The first movie you saw in a theater.
- All the interesting things you can do with rodents.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- She opposed government meddling in all matters of choice.
- The most boring, brain-numbing job on the planet.
- On the night of her senior prom.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: build, beach, feet, work, blinding
- Use the phrase “tie together.”
- Write about ignoring something, or being ignored.
- The moment was infinitely soothing and redemptive.
- Boredom afflicted him like a wasting disease.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Light spilled into the cloudless sky.
- She was his future; his freedom.
- He was a harbor of balance and tranquility.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: dancing, shadows, floorboards, glory, alone
- Write about crossing a threshold.
- Use the sentence, “It’s hard to predict when things will happen”
Category Archives: WP 2006
December 2006
November 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- That was tradition.
- It was a soft autumn evening.
- He was proud of his simplicity and honesty.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: followed, wherever, exposed, clench, retreat.
- Write about facing something you’re not (or a character is not) prepared for.
- Write about using an assumed name.
- There are only three things that matter in life.
- Why does your vote matter?
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The night, lit by lightning and ripped by thunder …
- The hush of the valley calmed me.
- She showed her scar like a badge.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: plain, volume, until, nervous, wanting.
- Write about being annoyed with something stupid.
- Write about falling short of a goal.
- He seemed organized.
- I remember our first night together.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Soon, something will happen here.
- No one can replace me.
- I’ll never trust a ceiling fan again.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: comfortable, looking, contours, thinks, wife.
- Use the phrase “Who’s there?”
- Write about regret or remorse.
- Passion ran white hot.
- I prefer English muffins.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The rain battered the leaves.
- I was always lucky, in my bad luck.
- There I was, on the threshold of another adventure.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: something, glittering, wound, glances, stop.
- Write about a collaboration or cooperative project.
- Use the phrase, “when in doubt.”
- That was the first time the unbelievable came true.
- It is safer to be on the good side of dangerous people.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A glittering array of china and crystal.
October 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: worried, normally, charging, right, better.
- Fill in the blanks: “… used to be ______, but now _____”.
- Repeat the same sentence verbatim at least three times.
- A fat cat walked beneath a crepe myrtle tree.
- Poverty is worldwide.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A man in black was playing a piano beneath a tree.
- What is an idea?
- He was a man who loved the world.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: suggestion, middle, little, there, staring.
- List at least three things one of your characters doesn’t want.
- Write about something (or someone) that is “the best.”
- The sun was out in full violence.
- It was her birth of understanding.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A young man was doing T’ai Chi beside the fountain.
- Pain coming and going like waves on the sea.
- The cat climbed up on a counter and sat beside a plate of fruit.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: routines, doesn’t, understand, floor, somebody.
- Mention by name at least two kinds of animals.
- Write on the theme of “everything comes to an end” (using the phrase is allowed, but not necessary).
- The woes of many people haunted him.
- The host was a narcissist.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- His steely anger was evident.
- They need to wash the windows here.
- I’ll do anything for excitement.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: invested, menial, responsible, jittery, probably.
- Write about something done in secret.
- Write about unfulfilled desire.
- Converation buzzed around her in a pleasant fog.
- Two half eaten crackers among the cluttered end table.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A broken bone.
- The lone set of swerving wheel ruts pressed into the snow.
- A pearl colored cowboy hat with a blue feather in the band.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: place, bleeding, around, lying, stayed.
- Write about a moment of silence.
- Write about needing something.
- She’d once been pretty.
- She smelled the frosty wet in the looming clouds.
September 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Snow fell in small, harsh flakes.
- Her eyes lit with ancient dread.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: cheat, buttonhole, flame, volatile, comfort.
- Write about fear.
- Write about having too much of something.
- They gathered in shocked sympathy.
- The wind folding the grass in waves.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Those things happen in the middle of the night.
- She twirled her pearl earring between thumb and finger.
- “Why the hell shouldn’t I run away with the circus?”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: novelty, aerie, across, vividness, era.
- Use the phrase, “that’s the way I like it.”
- Write about a ritual.
- She did not care for hats.
- Headlights speared into the gloom.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Dazed and screaming in the bright morning sunlight.
- He walked with a sense of purpose.
- How could she hope?
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: much, world, continued, would, trying.
- Use the phrase “I’ve become my mother”.
- Write about it being the season for something.
- Thick copper-colored hair waved across her shoulders.
- The darkness felt malignant.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A half candle, melted onto a chipped saucer.
- Have fun, enter the Three Cheers and a Tiger Contest.
- Have faith, you can finish that short story in time!
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: round, summers, little, impatiently, door.
- Write about getting from one place to another.
- Use the phrase “that was never intended” (or some variation thereof).
- The breeze rustled the sea oats on the dunes.
- She slid a red fingernail across the delicate white skin of her throat.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Bags of trash piled like hedges along the curbs.
- “Marriage is impossible.”
- This is what I do when I see beauty.
August 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- A parking lot spiked with weeds.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A gust of wind tumbling a piece of newspaper.
- A man singing as he slams the door.
- The stuttering cough of an old car.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: methods, meeting, comes, father, humongous.
- Use the phrase, “What happened in February.”
- Use the phrase, “never in a million years …”
- The shared memory of a snowy afternoon.
- At first it was a matter of necessity.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- He needed three days.
- An old man and a child cane-fishing in the shade.
- A strand of black hair curled on her cheek.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: secret, nothing, power, think, force.
- Write about falling short of a goal.
- Use the phrase “slightly too late.”
- His biceps bulged against the fabric with the tautness of musk melons.
- The sun came through the window like a shaft of fire.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The trees are quiet now.
- I had a dream last night.
- His faith abandoned him.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: something, pronounced, agency, product, little.
- Write about an awakening.
- Write about reaching a milestone.
- We chose to come.
- We did not speak the rest of the day.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Have you seen my umbrella?
- Her swollen sense of self-regard and need.
- I skated all afternoon.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: pulled, worry, brain, realize, machine.
- Write about an unpleasant surprise.
- Write about something that’s squeaky.
- Ash drizzled to the ground.
- Their love became impossible.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The sound of airplanes surprised her.
July 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- An island vacation.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: wall, lovely, closer, still, shrink.
- Write about adapting to something new.
- Complete the phrase, “there’s something to be said for …”
- A bearded man carrying a blue umbrella.
- End with: His eyes…
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The key broke in the lock.
- A grasshopper.
- A family argument.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: family, confront, travel, wading, thirty.
- Write about a missing piece of information.
- Use the names of at least four colors.
- A movie theater.
- Include “You can’t be her” in your story.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Climbing a tree.
- Happy Bastille Day. Write about revolution.
- Why do men wear ties and how do they choose them?
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: someone, outcasts, since, links, plates.
- Use the phrase “I really must insist.”
- Fill in the blanks: “if _____ said _______, then ______”
- A windmill.
- Research and describe the oldest building in your town.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- An empty basketball court begins your story.
- Include “I never date anyone who wears blue jeans.”
- An argument in a parking lot.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: shine, believe, three, heart, laughing.
- Write about something with a lock.
- Write about being under time pressure.
- 1926.
- A Beauty Pageant.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A spider web.
- Begin with: I blame myself.
- An abandoned house.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: suddenly, reasons, sending, properly, killing.
- Write about a lie or piece of deception.
- Use the phrase “I remember when we met.”
- A power point presentation.
June 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- A lonely giraffe.
- Create a childhood memory of an adult comic strip character.
- “The clocked stopped at 11:40.”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: scorch, commiserate, people, address, thought.
- Write about an oddly named place. For example, we passed a road to “Salient Point” last week.
- Write about an unexpected problem.
- Include ‘she fell’ and three candles in your story.
- A discussion between three people waiting for a bus.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write a review of the last television show you watched.
- Create a character sketch of a model in a magazine ad.
- A secret phone call went to the wrong person.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: behind, tight, parts, enigmatic, tended.
- Write about a character who’s hazy on the details.
- Use the phrase “five minutes later”.
- A biting insect, benign or evil?
- Create a scene involving a militant vegetarian.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write about a birthday party.
- Describe a well used fly swatter.
- Write a detailed description of the perfect bathroom.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: desire, given, anyone, react, action.
- Use the phrase “it’s too hot to do that.”
- Write about finding something that you weren’t looking for.
- A thunderstorm.
- Your story begins with someone solving a crossword puzzle.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A clay figurine with no facial features.
- Two sparrows fighting over a McDonald’s french fry.
- Play day! Draw your favorite character.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: every, first, floor, common, haircut.
- Write about something that’s only half done.
- Use the phrase, “It’s OK to be angry” (or a paraphrase).
- Write a letter to someone you miss.
- Are dentists necessary? Write a humorous essay.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Include “why are my keys” in your story.
- A cemetery at 2:00 p.m.
May 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Describe a dance.
- Use one of these pictures to spark a story or scene.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Start a story with “The plastic fork snapped…”
- Use the words advocate, scurrilous, and macaroni in one scene.
- Write about a broken branch.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: around, ardent, clock, agents, short.
- Describe something (or someone) using four or more adjectives or phrases.
- Describe emotions showing on someone’s face.
- End a story with “He shoved his pillow in the trashcan.”
- Write about a songbird.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write about the first thing you see when you step outside.
- Start with a sentence that uses the words dog, purple, and thoughtful.
- Start with an engraving on a tombstone.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: record, searching, anything, process, direction.
- Write about cooking.
- Write about a bit too much togetherness.
- Take a bus or train ride. Invent a history for a fellow passenger.
- Write about a bicycle with a flat tire.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write about a hallucination.
- A deck of cards scatters in a gust of wind.
- Start with someone spilling a drink.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: toward, stiff, label, face, dusk.
- Write about something that happens at the wrong time.
- Write a passage that includes at least three words that rhyme (or mostly rhyme).
- Use the words giant, lost, and caviar in a scene.
- Look at some clouds. Write about a shape you see in them.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Two best friends are playing a board game. One cheats.
- Start with “The coffee seemed very bitter today.”
- Describe a boy climbing a tree.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: failing, exist, finally, changed, mouth.
- Write about meeting or hearing from someone you (or a character) haven’t seen in a while.
- Write about the associations connected with a certain place.
- End with “It was raining, but he didn’t open his umbrella.”
- Write about a torn blanket.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
April 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Set a scene in a hospital.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: human, words, design, trailed, interrupted.
- Write about something hidden that’s revealed.
- Write about giving up on something because you are (or the character is) tired.
- “Isn’t anyone home?”
- Your character is committed.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Winter seems like it will never end.
- Use “April” and “lazily.”
- Set the scene at a dance.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: night, foolish, anything, step, during.
- Use the phrase “I used to think I was…”
- Take a word from the last sentence you wrote (not including “a” or “the”) and begin the next sentence with it.
- “It’s no big deal.”
- Your character’s family employs a housekeeper or maid.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- The train leaves the station.
- Use “exhibit” and “thumb.”
- Set the scene at a family gathering.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: blue, ready, inside, house, worlds.
- Write about seeing something in a new light (literal or figurative).
- Write about the right person, in the right place, at the right time.
- “That’s not a very big place.”
- Your character drops a tray of hors d’oeuvres.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Someone’s arm is in a cast.
- Use “hesitated” and “smell.”
- Set the scene in a junior high school classroom.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: trust, sincerity, water, night, station.
- Write about something that’s broken or breaking.
- Write about something that is always with you (or a character).
- “It’s really hot in here.”
- Your character gets a haircut.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Wet paint figures prominently.
- Use “window” and “darling.”
- Set the scene in a luxury car.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: honey, boiling, perfection, willing, secret.
- Write about anticipation.
- Compare two things that seem almost completely unlike each other, or contrast two things that seem very similar.
March 2006
Daily Writing Prompts
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write about strange weather.
- Describe a strawberry without using any color words.
- Write a scene in which a window breaks, from the point of view of the window.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: accounts, room, people, barely, their.
- Write about a (real or imagined) newspaper headline or excerpt from a news story.
- Use the phrase “that’s just not enough.”
- Write a diary entry for one of your characters.
- Two characters are having a serious conversation when one gets the hiccups.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A character hears a wild animal outside his or her tent.
- Start with “The phone rang at the worst time…”
- End a scene with a character making a peanut butter sandwich.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: life, house, spinning, slowed, tower.
- Use the phrase “read the book and you’ll understand.”
- Use the phrase (or sentence), “I am.”
- Set a story on a cold, windy beach.
- Write about a character who is obsessed with a superstition.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Open a dictionary and pick a word at random. Start your story with that word.
- Enter the Three Cheers Contest.
- Polish up your Three Cheers entry and submit it.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: beside, dead, secret, north, across.
- Write about nostalgia for something that’s not seen/done/made anymore.
- Quote something out of context.
- What happens on the spring equinox?
- Use the words carob, monkey, and butterknife in your story.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- Write about a first kiss.
- A cup of coffee falls to the floor.
- “I told her not to take the dog out…”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: pillar, instable, next, degree, properly.
- Write about making do when there’s a shortage of something.
- Fill in the blanks: “You need a ___________ to get _________.”
- End a story with “The toast was burnt.”
- Describe a perfume without describing its smell.
- Use an archived AB article to improve existing work or to try something new.
- A balloon floats by.
- Set a story at the zoo.