Category Archives: WP 2010

Archive of Daily Writing Prompts
from TC’s Calendar

December 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on December 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. A group of co-workers out for happy hour.
2. Use pepperoni, light bulb and snowflake in a poem or short story.
3. A SWAT Team member afraid of heights.
4. A wedding on an urban trolley.
5. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
   1. Use the following words: driving, bridge, count, possible, project
   2. Write about something that’s broken that can be made to work if it’s used just right.
   3. Write about remembering something that you haven’t (or your character hasn’t) experienced.
6. Visit an airport and write about one passenger.
7. Your m/c hates a particular holiday song; what and why?
8. When she noticed the flat tire she cried for 20 minutes, then changed it.
9. Soft candlelight, the scent of cinnamon and heavy metal blaring.
10. He made promises, but rarely kept them.
11. “I prefer to think of it as the challenge of the unknown.”
12. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: slide, atone, self-made, sound, wouldn’t.
    2. Use the phrase “She gave me asphalt.”
    3. Write about staring into an open fire.
13. The vases were on the mantle, she wondered which one held her father’s ashes.
14. What does golden thunder mean?
15. Use an oven, a trumpet and a train in a poem or short story.
16. A desire was growing in him to be elsewhere.
17. Her smile fascinated me, it seemed evil.
18. He no longer preached the Gospel, but demonstrated God’s love.
19. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: guide, rarely, expression, flight, doubt
    2. Write about asking for a do-over.
    3. Write about the rise or decline of something.
20. She had the annoying habit of cracking her knuckles.
21. Go to a park today. Enjoy the natural world.
22. He hasn’t worked in two years.
23. The wind sang of silent grief.
24. Write about the world of a letter carrier.
25. Imagine the people you interact with as animals; take notes.
26. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: electronic, crush, dismal, clock, away
    2. Fill in the blank, “I’ve been ______ my entire life.”
    3. Write about a net, a web, or lattice.
27. A tumbling afternoon of mist and fog.
28. Dancers in gossamer garments.
29. There aren’t enough stars to reflect my gratitude.
30. A cat chasing a leaf on a windy day.
31. Happy New Year eve! Resolve to have fun with writing in 2011.

November 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on November 30, 2010 by TC Editors

1. “Sometimes my life seems to be a never-ending succession of unhappy women.”
2. Use in a story/poem: scarlet, voice, mark.
3. Get unstuck: end the scene you’re in and move the action somewhere new.
4. Scene starter: A nearly empty can of aerosol hairspray on a windowsill.
5. Base a story around a cliche, then prove it wrong.
6. Your MC is wearing a color another character loathes.
7. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: grabbed, maple, ravine, little, wonder.
   2. Write about a gift.
   3. Write about an empty house.
8. “My fear isn’t that I’m inadequate but that I’m immeasurably powerful.”
9. Use in a story or poem: eat, blossom, absinthe.
10. Get unstuck: introduce a minor character’s chaotic sister.
11. Scene starter: The MC gets a paper cut while looking at a forbidden book.
12. Write a bit of backstory for your narrator/MC set five years ago.
13. There’s a naked man on the train reading a newspaper & listening to his iPod.
14. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: music, sweet, top-heavy, outside, glitch
    2. Write about unexpected spiciness, literal or figurative.
    3. Fill in the blanks: “Just because ______, doesn’t mean ________”
15. “Charlie Brown’s a loser. Wasn’t even the star of his own Halloween special.”
16. Use in a story/poem: poetry, anthem, crumble.
17. Get unstuck: go back to your MC’s last choice and make the choice worse.
18. Scene starter: A character removing dead flowers from a grave.
19. Write a character’s explanation of “why it itches.”
20. Finding a tube of toothpaste sends a character into a fit of laughter.
21. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: children, difference, night, stood, independent
    2. Fill in the blanks: “________ is/are for ___________”
    3. Write about a harmless lie (or is it?)
22. “Sometimes only one person is missing and the whole world seems depopulated.
23. Use in a story/poem: map, cinnamon, violet.
24. Get unstuck: kill off your MC’s love interest.
25. Scene starter: Your character has an uncomfortable obligation to his/her mom.
26. Change a character’s ethnic background & see how/if it affects the story.
27. Write using the themes of either belonging or loneliness.
28. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: creaky, knees, above, survival, tingle.
    2. Write about being locked in.
    3. Write about a chance alignment.
29. “A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
30. Use in a story/poem: chastise, speak, supplicate.

October 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on October 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. “May we talk sometime?”
2. Three friends shopping at a farmers market.
3. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: Remained, newly, adding, ravine, mashing.
   2. Write something using any of the words or phrases in the comic http://xkcd.com/798/
   3. Fill in the blanks: “We have enough ______ (commodity) to last until _______ (event)”
4. A vocal, hungry cat.
5. The carpet leading to the motel room was soiled and torn.
6. He stopped returning her calls.
7. She smiled with pride at the compliment.
8. “Marriage is over rated.”
9. A family of ducks floating down the river.
10. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: reaches, screaming, extremely, bizarre, house. (Bonus words)
    2. Write about a lazy day off.
    3. Write about something changing color.
11. Use symphonic lightning and golden thunder to describe a storm.
12. A fragrant oil inhaled.
13. She sate on the patio watching moonlight and shadow dance.
14. How does your m/c channel the energy of stress?
15. “In two years I’ll be a weatherman on tv.”
16. He wore a green wool-rich shirt.
17. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: ground, black, almost, writhing, mother.
    2. Write about being immersed, submerged, buried, underwater or underground.
    3. Write about trying not to mention something that’s obvious.
18. Write a poem about Halloween.
19. Use these words in a story: moonlight, education, travel, loss.
20. The darkness cast a cool calm.
21. Write a limerick about your best friend.
22. “I had to take advantage of the weather and go for a bike ride.”
23. A professional dog walker.
24. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: flashing, chill, channels, tree, patch
    2. Write about physical pain.
    3. Write about two things competing for attention.
25. The soundless screams of a nightmare.
26. She felt as parentless as a worm.
27. There was no need to mourn, it was a blessing.
28. A relationship slowing disintegrating.
29. She flirted to no avail.
30. Study how other cultures celebrate October 31st.
31. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: already, light, deeper, decided, nearby.
    2. Write about something stolen.
    3. Write about living with a secret or an unpopular idea.

September 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on September 30, 2010 by TC Editors

1. She was fourteen weeks pregnant at her bachelorette party
2. Someone greets your character with “Welcome to Tingle Tuesday!”
3. Try It Friday: steampunk romance
4. It should have been black but looked indigo in the moonlight.
5. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: context, invited, slower, bridge, apart
   2. Write about the rules of the game.
   3. Write about a black hole, smoking gun, or any of the cliches in this post.
6. Spend five min today building a character around a specific trait/mannerism
7. Submit something for publication today. Don’t think; just do!
8. “I’m not saying it shouldn’t be purple but it shouldn’t be purple.”
9. Use in a story/poem: red, knitted, aggravate
10. Try It Friday: gothic myth
11. Open a story with a character eating the last food you ate.
12. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: donned, against, illusion, slide, utterly.
    2. Incorporate the name of a song (with or without reference to the song itself). Bonus points for multiple songs by the same artist.
    3. Write about grace under fire.
13. Record yourself reading one of your stories/poems, published or not.
14. Remove a game from your computer. Use game time to write instead.
15. “You could glue macaroni on it and dip it in glitter and say it’s art.”
16. Use in a story/poem: breathe, candle, bottle
17. Try It Friday: science fiction mystery
18. A shopping bag contains a cantaloupe, Kleenex and a two-liter of Dr. Pepper
19. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: hunger, arms, pathway, smiled, quota.
    2. Write about giving up or letting go of something you’ve always done, because it’s too much to carry on doing it.
    3. Use the phrase “was it cherry, or was it grape?”
20. Shuffle up some music and get inspired by a lyric or beat
21. Ask someone new for feedback on your writing and use it to revise.
22. Write about an image you like at the “hot” section of JPG Magazine
23. Use in a story/poem: week, cilantro, heat
24. Try It Friday: bizarro fairy tale
25. Set a scene in a bar. One character receives the wrong drink.
26. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: floating, dancing, boundary, storm, alive
    2. Write about (literal or figurative) blindness.
    3. Fill in the blank: “Everyone is ________ now.”
27. Something left behind… on purpose
28. Read an online journal. Inspired? Bookmark and start writing instead!
29. Write about what’s in the light as well as the shadow.
30. Use in a story/poem: inspire, share, knot

August 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on August 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: trousers, across, tumbling, before, lying.
   2. Write about containers.
   3. Write about something that seemed too good to be true, and was.
2. A cat drifting off into a ball of sleep.
3. “I have learned that most men who have Zipppo lighters have been around.”
4. She summoned a silent prayer.
5. He was not handsome in the conventional sense.
6. “Do you taste as good as you look?”
7. The smell of cut grass drifted throught the window.
8. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: quirky, outside, bouncing, minds, watch
   2. Fill in the blank: “Hell hath no fury like _______”
   3. Write about answering a question with another question (or the same question).
9. Write about your version of what Pandora’s Box contained.
10. It was sad to see his Yamaha motorcycle encased in cobwebs.
11. An orange cat, an empty Miller Lite can and a broom.
12. Fast cars and slow sex. She was thrilling.
13. Write a review of your favorite restaurant. Send it to a local free press.
14. Her art projects never turned out well, but she had fun.
15. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: every, long, puff, landing, disappeared.
    2. Overheard in a pet shop check-out line: “Do you want the bowl? Or just the fish?” Fill in the blanks: “Do you want the ${container}? Or just the ${item}?”
    3. Write about someone admitting to a lie.
16. The juniper berries we so thick and lush, I wanted gin.
17. Harbor lights as day fades into night.
18. A paint peeled Adirondack chair under a cedar tree.
19. Sometimes, when he dances I’m reminded of a whooping crane.
20. The tool shed looked abandoned and abused.
21. Which would you prefer, plain or variegated philodendron?
22. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: voice, fluttering, question, coldest, appealing
    2. Write about the similarities between two or more things.
    3. Fill in the blank: “_____ never existed.”
23. Your m/c makes art from old 33rpm records.
24. “I am easily confused, explain that to me again.”
25. She wanted to talk with someone. Anyone.
26. Sparrows battling over a spilled french fry bag.
27. Take the challenge. Shop locally for a week and write about it.
28. Write a thank-you note to a store where you felt welcomed.
29. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: bored, useless, together, little, stars.
    2. Write about receiving a short message.
    3. Write about something that seems a bit too familiar.
30. Why are squirrels so unsure when crossing the road?
31. The windows were draped with antique hand crocheted table cloths.

July 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on July 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. He barely got it out once with a straight face
2. A zebra purse and pink rhinestone shoes
3. “That’s a big step,” he said. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
4. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: peace, locked, floor, detail, demanding
   2. Use the phrase “I never figured you for a…”
   3. Write about something taking longer than expected.
5. Write about someone moving toward independence
6. All of the bandages in her medicine cabinet featured cartoon characters.
7. A morning of raspberry tea and cinnamon toast
8. Set a story/poem at a used bookstore with a ginger cat on the counter
9. I told myself he’d find someone else but I didn’t think it would be…
10. “You’ve done it again. And again. And again.”
11. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: skinned, branches, syrupy, feeling, clear.
    2. Write about dropping something, or falling.
    3. Write about a chance comment, taken the wrong way, which turns out to be more interesting that way.
12. “I could solve all of this with one phone call.”
13. Set your story at a community pool with two women talking as they sunbathe
14. Use red, white and/or blue as a theme or symbol in a story or poem
15. “What’s that look for? We’re only going into the kitchen.”
16. “Do you want it trimmed in maribou or faux fur?”
17. A yellow bathrobe hangs on a burnished nickel hook
18. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: himself, memorial, dance, times, however.
    2. Write about a day that’s perfect in every way. Except…
    3. Use the phrase “let them eat cake”.
19. “Before you get angry, let me explain the dent and the white feathers.”
20. Family game night takes a macabre turn during Clue
21. Use a brown rabbit and a patch of sunflowers in your story or poem
22. Begin your scene at 7:22 a.m. in room 722 of a swank hotel
23. “Lawrence of Arabia is playing at the Plex. You want to go?”
24. At the picnic, Grandma Betty asks, “Has John got laid yet?”
25. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: saying, bottom, expectations, effect, heart
    2. Write about an accident waiting to happen.
    3. Write about travel.
26. A Christmas ornament found behind the sofa
27. A piece of red paper taped to a door reads…
28. Batman slippers and a concert t-shirt
29. At the first day of the convention, a stripper in a bear costume
30. A 40th birthday cake with black and blue candles
31. Harry Potter’s birthday! Write a story or poem set in a castle

June 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on June 30, 2010 by TC Editors

1. Wind blown dust shimmered in the morning light
2. A tangle of phlox, day lilies and bleeding heart.
3. A mistaken assumption
4. She looked liked the mother of a Barbie Doll
5. His eyes were a translucent gray.
6. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: burned, ghost, empty, ring, hours. Bonus word: spoon
   2. Use the phrase “fingers of imagination”
   3. Write about probability, or possibility.
7. The Bible was the cornerstone of her world.
8. Perhaps a piece of toast?
9. Three things made him happy…
10. She hit him with a cast iron skillet.
11. I believe in giraffes.
12. The spark of energy between two lovers.
13. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: great, weight, carved, seeming, trees. (Bonus word: caulk).
    2. Write about a copy or an imitation.
    3. Use the phrase “with a single stroke.”
14. A small herd of buffalo grazed in the meadow.
15. The deafening sound of a helicopter.
16. The first stray greeks of dawn.
17. The first gray streaks of dawn.
18. Clouds billowed like mutant cauliflower.
19. What he thought were mountains, were pieces of paper.
20. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: swallowed, following, taken, whispering, pocket
    2. Write about waiting.
    3. Ascribe motives to an inanimate object.
21. He emanated sadness and anger.
22. Pat had been a rebel.
23. “I try to stay invisible.”
24. Their gardener was a master at topiary.
25. A woman in a bright orange silk dress.
26. Coffee ground scattered across the front porch.
27. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: released, device, humanity, wanted, cherries. (Bonus word: squid).
    2. Fill in the blanks: “why ____ can’t ______”
    3. Use the phrase “they (or we) had known each other for years.”
28. A cello, 3-D glasses and a bottle of Pinot Grigio.
29. Your m/c goes to the cemetery every Tuesday.
30. His walk reminded me of a gazelle.

May 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on May 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. I woke up wearing hospital bracelet with the info from my fake ID
2. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: doubts, themselves, room, lover, purple. (Bonus word: Krawalltouristen, “riot tourists”.)
   2. Write something based on one of the photographs here: http://number27.org/today.php?d=20100501 or one of the phrases describing them.
   3. Write about something sticky.
3. She’s sitting on the sofa buck naked and eating a cupcake for dinner
4. First I need to check and see if I have a warrant out in Alabama
5. Anything’s socially acceptable if you do it with enough confidence
6. She’s a freak. I’ve got the scars to prove it.
7. I hit rock bottom, God threw me a shovel. I continued to dig.
8. “Recommended dose” hasn’t been in my vocabulary for quite some time.
9. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: advantage, seemed, bedtime, audience, forget.
   2. Use the phrase “But in the Empire…”.
   3. Write about cheese.
10. My mom only writes when she wants money so I’ve stopped opening her emails.
11. When I meet people on vacation, I invent a new identity.
12. I keep my exes in my life to retain part of who I was with each of them.
13. I’ve done a lot wrong but am haunted by the “right” thing I failed to do.
14. I compared my groceries to those in every cart I passed.
15. You were right. I do love her more.
16. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: least, spread, confusing, always, left.
    2. Write about doing the impossible.
    3. Write about changing your mind based on the numbers.
17. I found out my grandmother died via a text message from my cousin.
18. Afraid I plan to leave her, my wife superglued my wedding ring to my finger.
19. My physics teacher accidentally lit me on fire.
20. When she shook her her freshly-laundered sheets, a mouse fell out.
21. He proposed in a McDonald’s.
22. My father tells me I’m named for the dog he accidentally shot 30 years ago.
23. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: blink, gates, shoulder, silver, space
    2. Write about an unfamiliar ache.
    3. Write about something electric.
24. She keeps a toothbrush, a vibrator, and pepper spray in her purse
25. “Sorry but there’s no more room on my space safari.”
26. The hunt for organic waffles began at 6 a.m.
27. Over morning coffee, I thought about why I went to college.
28. Hey, can you grab me a tofu dog? I’m kind of busy live-blogging this picnic
29. “Don’t worry. She knows I’m rich.”
30. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: there, jaded, between, cherry, swayed. (Bonus word: mole, either the sauce or the rodent).
    2. Write about a painting, sketch, photograph, or other kind of picture.
    3. Write about something that goes bump in the dark.
31. My brother told me he would financially support me, as long as…

April 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on April 30, 2010 by TC Editors

1. His smile made my heart ache.
2. She loved whipped cream in her coffee.
3. Umbrellas are for weaklings.
4. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
   1. Use the following words: denim, temples, bottle, steel, parted
   2. Write about a disembodied claw.
   3. Write about being impatient.
5. Egg Salad Week: describe an egg to an alien life form.
6. Bangles and Beads: she was obsessed with making jewelery.
7. The baseball game was rained out.
8. She never wore underwear.
9. Your m/c takes a cross county train trip.
10. A chance meeting in a parking garage.
11. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: hands, turned, common, bunch, search.
    2. Write about nesting behavior.
    3. Write about putting something on hold when it’s nearly ready.
12. Look up at the sky; describe what you see.
13. Three children on a river bank flying kites.
14. She lost her passport in Montreal.
15. Describe the imaginary friend of your antagonist.
16. She clearly was uncomfortable walking in high heels.
17. Ford Mustang Birthday (1964): write about a wild ride in that car.
18. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. Use the following words: dawn mutilated splendid razed monolithic. Bonus word: ouzerie(s)
    2. Write about losing something. preferably intangible
    3. Include the diary of a teenage girl, lycanthropes, and/or iPod-people
19. Garlic Day: write an ode to garlic.
20. Write about a perfect galaxy
21. Two children at play in kindergarten
22. Earth Day; Write a letter to the editor, or plant something.
23. Her erect posture made my back ache.
24. Write a note of memory to a friend or family member.
25. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
    1. sabeth: Use the following words: light, screeched, skin, table, longer.
    2. toxicfur: Write about real or metaphorical wolves at the gate.
    3. ana: Write about frustration.
    4. aethucyn: write about an international organization.
    5. bo: topic, incorporate as you will: “Oh my God, It’s Alternate Prehistory Fanfiction!”
    6. Sue: Write about doing something in a bathtub besides taking a bath/shower.
    7. sabeth: Write about hunger (or thirst).
    8. xore: Write about something perpetually beyond your grasp, no matter how close it seems.
26. The only snack food she ate was pretzel sticks.
27. The old Coca-Cola wall clock was incongruous with his modern art. Or was it?
28. He loved to sing along with John Legend while cooking.
29. Men attacking a parking lot with jack hammers.
30. Her voice reminded me of butterflies.

March 2010
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on March 31, 2010 by TC Editors

1. “I love it but does it come in pink?”
2. Found: an index card listing three ways to fend off zombies
3. Get inspired by visiting a museum in person or online
4. Conversation at a cafe table on the sidewalk in a college town
5. Resolve to make a consistent writing appointment every Friday and keep it
6. Genre challenge: try horror, gothic or romance
7. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
   1. Use the following words: elder, requirement, overhead, another, laid.
   2. Write about a question that’s answered silently.
   3. Use the phrase, “I’ll be there.”
8. “We’re behind schedule. What do you intend to do about that?”
9. An antique ring around a tree root
10. Try fanfic: read part of your favorite book then take it in a new direction
11. Research markets and contests at Duotrope
12. Use a fairy tale as a template or inspiration for a modern story/poem
13. Genre challenge: try cyberpunk, steampunk or other sci fi
14. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: beauty, waning, declined, short, troubled (bonus word: internal)
    2. Use the phrase “No. Well, yes.”
    3. How did you (or your character) spend the lost hour?
15. “I smelled it on the elevator so please don’t elaborate.”
16. A bag of teeth and a box of glitter
17. Get inspired. Search Etsy.com for “green” & write about an object you find
18. Prefer music or silence while writing? Try the opposite today.
19. Among the ruins, he finds a box of wind.
20. Genre challenge: try crime, mystery or thriller
21. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: express, curtain, living, afternoon, forgot
    2. Write about a missed message.
    3. Write about having too many things in a pile.
22. “The red bandana doesn’t surprise me but why is he wearing your panties?”
23. A red stapler, a box of tissues and a zebra tail
24. Get inspired: Write in public, incorporating the unexpected around you
25. Set your story in the year you turned thirteen
26. He thought he’d killed it… until that twitch of the tail.
27. Genre challenge: try dark fantasy or magical realism
28. Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
    1. Use the following words: unlike, girl, seemed, whatever, bedside.
    2. Write about something that won’t stay where it belongs.
    3. Describe something abstract in concrete terms (for example, the shape of a stomach ache).
29. “You’re interrupting my rejuvenating process. Someone had better be dying.”
30. A dilapidated snowman melting in a spring thaw
31. Inspiration: Write a story based on whatever’s on channel 4 right now.