- A group of co-workers out for happy hour.
- Use pepperoni, light bulb and snowflake in a poem or short story.
- A SWAT Team member afraid of heights.
- A wedding on an urban trolley.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: driving, bridge, count, possible, project
- Write about something that’s broken that can be made to work if it’s used just right.
- Write about remembering something that you haven’t (or your character hasn’t) experienced.
- Visit an airport and write about one passenger.
- Your m/c hates a particular holiday song; what and why?
- When she noticed the flat tire she cried for 20 minutes, then changed it.
- Soft candlelight, the scent of cinnamon and heavy metal blaring.
- He made promises, but rarely kept them.
- “I prefer to think of it as the challenge of the unknown.”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: slide, atone, self-made, sound, wouldn’t.
- Use the phrase “She gave me asphalt.”
- Write about staring into an open fire.
- The vases were on the mantle, she wondered which one held her father’s ashes.
- What does golden thunder mean?
- Use an oven, a trumpet and a train in a poem or short story.
- A desire was growing in him to be elsewhere.
- Her smile fascinated me, it seemed evil.
- He no longer preached the Gospel, but demonstrated God’s love.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: guide, rarely, expression, flight, doubt
- Write about asking for a do-over.
- Write about the rise or decline of something.
- She had the annoying habit of cracking her knuckles.
- Go to a park today. Enjoy the natural world.
- He hasn’t worked in two years.
- The wind sang of silent grief.
- Write about the world of a letter carrier.
- Imagine the people you interact with as animals; take notes.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: electronic, crush, dismal, clock, away
- Fill in the blank, “I’ve been ______ my entire life.”
- Write about a net, a web, or lattice.
- A tumbling afternoon of mist and fog.
- Dancers in gossamer garments.
- There aren’t enough stars to reflect my gratitude.
- A cat chasing a leaf on a windy day.
- Happy New Year eve! Resolve to have fun with writing in 2011.
Category Archives: WP 2010
December 2010
November 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- “Sometimes my life seems to be a never-ending succession of unhappy women.”
- Use in a story/poem: scarlet, voice, mark.
- Get unstuck: end the scene you’re in and move the action somewhere new.
- Scene starter: A nearly empty can of aerosol hairspray on a windowsill.
- Base a story around a cliche, then prove it wrong.
- Your MC is wearing a color another character loathes.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: grabbed, maple, ravine, little, wonder.
- Write about a gift.
- Write about an empty house.
- “My fear isn’t that I’m inadequate but that I’m immeasurably powerful.”
- Use in a story or poem: eat, blossom, absinthe.
- Get unstuck: introduce a minor character’s chaotic sister.
- Scene starter: The MC gets a paper cut while looking at a forbidden book.
- Write a bit of backstory for your narrator/MC set five years ago.
- There’s a naked man on the train reading a newspaper & listening to his iPod.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: music, sweet, top-heavy, outside, glitch
- Write about unexpected spiciness, literal or figurative.
- Fill in the blanks: “Just because ______, doesn’t mean ________”
- “Charlie Brown’s a loser. Wasn’t even the star of his own Halloween special.”
- Use in a story/poem: poetry, anthem, crumble.
- Get unstuck: go back to your MC’s last choice and make the choice worse.
- Scene starter: A character removing dead flowers from a grave.
- Write a character’s explanation of “why it itches.”
- Finding a tube of toothpaste sends a character into a fit of laughter.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: children, difference, night, stood, independent
- Fill in the blanks: “________ is/are for ___________”
- Write about a harmless lie (or is it?)
- “Sometimes only one person is missing and the whole world seems depopulated.
- Use in a story/poem: map, cinnamon, violet.
- Get unstuck: kill off your MC’s love interest.
- Scene starter: Your character has an uncomfortable obligation to his/her mom.
- Change a character’s ethnic background & see how/if it affects the story.
- Write using the themes of either belonging or loneliness.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: creaky, knees, above, survival, tingle.
- Write about being locked in.
- Write about a chance alignment.
- “A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”
- Use in a story/poem: chastise, speak, supplicate.
October 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- “May we talk sometime?”
- Three friends shopping at a farmers market.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: Remained, newly, adding, ravine, mashing.
- Write something using any of the words or phrases in the comic http://xkcd.com/798/
- Fill in the blanks: “We have enough ______ (commodity) to last until _______ (event)”
- A vocal, hungry cat.
- The carpet leading to the motel room was soiled and torn.
- He stopped returning her calls.
- She smiled with pride at the compliment.
- “Marriage is over rated.”
- A family of ducks floating down the river.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use symphonic lightning and golden thunder to describe a storm.
- A fragrant oil inhaled.
- She sate on the patio watching moonlight and shadow dance.
- How does your m/c channel the energy of stress?
- “In two years I’ll be a weatherman on tv.”
- He wore a green wool-rich shirt.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: ground, black, almost, writhing, mother.
- Write about being immersed, submerged, buried, underwater or underground.
- Write about trying not to mention something that’s obvious.
- Write a poem about Halloween.
- Use these words in a story: moonlight, education, travel, loss.
- The darkness cast a cool calm.
- Write a limerick about your best friend.
- “I had to take advantage of the weather and go for a bike ride.”
- A professional dog walker.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: flashing, chill, channels, tree, patch
- Write about physical pain.
- Write about two things competing for attention.
- The soundless screams of a nightmare.
- She felt as parentless as a worm.
- There was no need to mourn, it was a blessing.
- A relationship slowing disintegrating.
- She flirted to no avail.
- Study how other cultures celebrate October 31st.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: already, light, deeper, decided, nearby.
- Write about something stolen.
- Write about living with a secret or an unpopular idea.
September 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- She was fourteen weeks pregnant at her bachelorette party
- Someone greets your character with “Welcome to Tingle Tuesday!”
- Try It Friday: steampunk romance
- It should have been black but looked indigo in the moonlight.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: context, invited, slower, bridge, apart
- Write about the rules of the game.
- Write about a black hole, smoking gun, or any of the cliches in this post.
- Spend five min today building a character around a specific trait/mannerism
- Submit something for publication today. Don’t think; just do!
- “I’m not saying it shouldn’t be purple but it shouldn’t be purple.”
- Use in a story/poem: red, knitted, aggravate
- Try It Friday: gothic myth
- Open a story with a character eating the last food you ate.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: donned, against, illusion, slide, utterly.
- Incorporate the name of a song (with or without reference to the song itself). Bonus points for multiple songs by the same artist.
- Write about grace under fire.
- Record yourself reading one of your stories/poems, published or not.
- Remove a game from your computer. Use game time to write instead.
- “You could glue macaroni on it and dip it in glitter and say it’s art.”
- Use in a story/poem: breathe, candle, bottle
- Try It Friday: science fiction mystery
- A shopping bag contains a cantaloupe, Kleenex and a two-liter of Dr. Pepper
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: hunger, arms, pathway, smiled, quota.
- Write about giving up or letting go of something you’ve always done, because it’s too much to carry on doing it.
- Use the phrase “was it cherry, or was it grape?”
- Shuffle up some music and get inspired by a lyric or beat
- Ask someone new for feedback on your writing and use it to revise.
- Write about an image you like at the “hot” section of JPG Magazine
- Use in a story/poem: week, cilantro, heat
- Try It Friday: bizarro fairy tale
- Set a scene in a bar. One character receives the wrong drink.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: floating, dancing, boundary, storm, alive
- Write about (literal or figurative) blindness.
- Fill in the blank: “Everyone is ________ now.”
- Something left behind… on purpose
- Read an online journal. Inspired? Bookmark and start writing instead!
- Write about what’s in the light as well as the shadow.
- Use in a story/poem: inspire, share, knot
August 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: trousers, across, tumbling, before, lying.
- Write about containers.
- Write about something that seemed too good to be true, and was.
- A cat drifting off into a ball of sleep.
- “I have learned that most men who have Zipppo lighters have been around.”
- She summoned a silent prayer.
- He was not handsome in the conventional sense.
- “Do you taste as good as you look?”
- The smell of cut grass drifted throught the window.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: quirky, outside, bouncing, minds, watch
- Fill in the blank: “Hell hath no fury like _______”
- Write about answering a question with another question (or the same question).
- Write about your version of what Pandora’s Box contained.
- It was sad to see his Yamaha motorcycle encased in cobwebs.
- An orange cat, an empty Miller Lite can and a broom.
- Fast cars and slow sex. She was thrilling.
- Write a review of your favorite restaurant. Send it to a local free press.
- Her art projects never turned out well, but she had fun.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: every, long, puff, landing, disappeared.
- 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}?”
- Write about someone admitting to a lie.
- The juniper berries we so thick and lush, I wanted gin.
- Harbor lights as day fades into night.
- A paint peeled Adirondack chair under a cedar tree.
- Sometimes, when he dances I’m reminded of a whooping crane.
- The tool shed looked abandoned and abused.
- Which would you prefer, plain or variegated philodendron?
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: voice, fluttering, question, coldest, appealing
- Write about the similarities between two or more things.
- Fill in the blank: “_____ never existed.”
- Your m/c makes art from old 33rpm records.
- “I am easily confused, explain that to me again.”
- She wanted to talk with someone. Anyone.
- Sparrows battling over a spilled french fry bag.
- Take the challenge. Shop locally for a week and write about it.
- Write a thank-you note to a store where you felt welcomed.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: bored, useless, together, little, stars.
- Write about receiving a short message.
- Write about something that seems a bit too familiar.
- Why are squirrels so unsure when crossing the road?
- The windows were draped with antique hand crocheted table cloths.
July 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- He barely got it out once with a straight face
- A zebra purse and pink rhinestone shoes
- “That’s a big step,” he said. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: peace, locked, floor, detail, demanding
- Use the phrase “I never figured you for a…”
- Write about something taking longer than expected.
- Write about someone moving toward independence
- All of the bandages in her medicine cabinet featured cartoon characters.
- A morning of raspberry tea and cinnamon toast
- Set a story/poem at a used bookstore with a ginger cat on the counter
- I told myself he’d find someone else but I didn’t think it would be…
- “You’ve done it again. And again. And again.”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: skinned, branches, syrupy, feeling, clear.
- Write about dropping something, or falling.
- Write about a chance comment, taken the wrong way, which turns out to be more interesting that way.
- “I could solve all of this with one phone call.”
- Set your story at a community pool with two women talking as they sunbathe
- Use red, white and/or blue as a theme or symbol in a story or poem
- “What’s that look for? We’re only going into the kitchen.”
- “Do you want it trimmed in maribou or faux fur?”
- A yellow bathrobe hangs on a burnished nickel hook
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: himself, memorial, dance, times, however.
- Write about a day that’s perfect in every way. Except…
- Use the phrase “let them eat cake”.
- “Before you get angry, let me explain the dent and the white feathers.”
- Family game night takes a macabre turn during Clue
- Use a brown rabbit and a patch of sunflowers in your story or poem
- Begin your scene at 7:22 a.m. in room 722 of a swank hotel
- “Lawrence of Arabia is playing at the Plex. You want to go?”
- At the picnic, Grandma Betty asks, “Has John got laid yet?”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: saying, bottom, expectations, effect, heart
- Write about an accident waiting to happen.
- Write about travel.
- A Christmas ornament found behind the sofa
- A piece of red paper taped to a door reads…
- Batman slippers and a concert t-shirt
- At the first day of the convention, a stripper in a bear costume
- A 40th birthday cake with black and blue candles
- Harry Potter’s birthday! Write a story or poem set in a castle
June 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- Wind blown dust shimmered in the morning light
- A tangle of phlox, day lilies and bleeding heart.
- A mistaken assumption
- She looked liked the mother of a Barbie Doll
- His eyes were a translucent gray.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: burned, ghost, empty, ring, hours. Bonus word: spoon
- Use the phrase “fingers of imagination”
- Write about probability, or possibility.
- The Bible was the cornerstone of her world.
- Perhaps a piece of toast?
- Three things made him happy…
- She hit him with a cast iron skillet.
- I believe in giraffes.
- The spark of energy between two lovers.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: great, weight, carved, seeming, trees. (Bonus word: caulk).
- Write about a copy or an imitation.
- Use the phrase “with a single stroke.”
- A small herd of buffalo grazed in the meadow.
- The deafening sound of a helicopter.
- The first stray greeks of dawn.
- The first gray streaks of dawn.
- Clouds billowed like mutant cauliflower.
- What he thought were mountains, were pieces of paper.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: swallowed, following, taken, whispering, pocket
- Write about waiting.
- Ascribe motives to an inanimate object.
- He emanated sadness and anger.
- Pat had been a rebel.
- “I try to stay invisible.”
- Their gardener was a master at topiary.
- A woman in a bright orange silk dress.
- Coffee ground scattered across the front porch.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: released, device, humanity, wanted, cherries. (Bonus word: squid).
- Fill in the blanks: “why ____ can’t ______”
- Use the phrase “they (or we) had known each other for years.”
- A cello, 3-D glasses and a bottle of Pinot Grigio.
- Your m/c goes to the cemetery every Tuesday.
- His walk reminded me of a gazelle.
May 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- I woke up wearing hospital bracelet with the info from my fake ID
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: doubts, themselves, room, lover, purple. (Bonus word: Krawalltouristen, “riot tourists”.)
- Write something based on one of the photographs here: http://number27.org/today.php?d=20100501 or one of the phrases describing them.
- Write about something sticky.
- She’s sitting on the sofa buck naked and eating a cupcake for dinner
- First I need to check and see if I have a warrant out in Alabama
- Anything’s socially acceptable if you do it with enough confidence
- She’s a freak. I’ve got the scars to prove it.
- I hit rock bottom, God threw me a shovel. I continued to dig.
- “Recommended dose” hasn’t been in my vocabulary for quite some time.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: advantage, seemed, bedtime, audience, forget.
- Use the phrase “But in the Empire…”.
- Write about cheese.
- My mom only writes when she wants money so I’ve stopped opening her emails.
- When I meet people on vacation, I invent a new identity.
- I keep my exes in my life to retain part of who I was with each of them.
- I’ve done a lot wrong but am haunted by the “right” thing I failed to do.
- I compared my groceries to those in every cart I passed.
- You were right. I do love her more.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: least, spread, confusing, always, left.
- Write about doing the impossible.
- Write about changing your mind based on the numbers.
- I found out my grandmother died via a text message from my cousin.
- Afraid I plan to leave her, my wife superglued my wedding ring to my finger.
- My physics teacher accidentally lit me on fire.
- When she shook her her freshly-laundered sheets, a mouse fell out.
- He proposed in a McDonald’s.
- My father tells me I’m named for the dog he accidentally shot 30 years ago.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: blink, gates, shoulder, silver, space
- Write about an unfamiliar ache.
- Write about something electric.
- She keeps a toothbrush, a vibrator, and pepper spray in her purse
- “Sorry but there’s no more room on my space safari.”
- The hunt for organic waffles began at 6 a.m.
- Over morning coffee, I thought about why I went to college.
- Hey, can you grab me a tofu dog? I’m kind of busy live-blogging this picnic
- “Don’t worry. She knows I’m rich.”
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: there, jaded, between, cherry, swayed. (Bonus word: mole, either the sauce or the rodent).
- Write about a painting, sketch, photograph, or other kind of picture.
- Write about something that goes bump in the dark.
- My brother told me he would financially support me, as long as…
April 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- His smile made my heart ache.
- She loved whipped cream in her coffee.
- Umbrellas are for weaklings.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: denim, temples, bottle, steel, parted
- Write about a disembodied claw.
- Write about being impatient.
- Egg Salad Week: describe an egg to an alien life form.
- Bangles and Beads: she was obsessed with making jewelery.
- The baseball game was rained out.
- She never wore underwear.
- Your m/c takes a cross county train trip.
- A chance meeting in a parking garage.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: hands, turned, common, bunch, search.
- Write about nesting behavior.
- Write about putting something on hold when it’s nearly ready.
- Look up at the sky; describe what you see.
- Three children on a river bank flying kites.
- She lost her passport in Montreal.
- Describe the imaginary friend of your antagonist.
- She clearly was uncomfortable walking in high heels.
- Ford Mustang Birthday (1964): write about a wild ride in that car.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- Use the following words: dawn mutilated splendid razed monolithic. Bonus word: ouzerie(s)
- Write about losing something. preferably intangible
- Include the diary of a teenage girl, lycanthropes, and/or iPod-people
- Garlic Day: write an ode to garlic.
- Write about a perfect galaxy
- Two children at play in kindergarten
- Earth Day; Write a letter to the editor, or plant something.
- Her erect posture made my back ache.
- Write a note of memory to a friend or family member.
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises.
- sabeth: Use the following words: light, screeched, skin, table, longer.
- toxicfur: Write about real or metaphorical wolves at the gate.
- ana: Write about frustration.
- aethucyn: write about an international organization.
- bo: topic, incorporate as you will: “Oh my God, It’s Alternate Prehistory Fanfiction!”
- Sue: Write about doing something in a bathtub besides taking a bath/shower.
- sabeth: Write about hunger (or thirst).
- xore: Write about something perpetually beyond your grasp, no matter how close it seems.
- The only snack food she ate was pretzel sticks.
- The old Coca-Cola wall clock was incongruous with his modern art. Or was it?
- He loved to sing along with John Legend while cooking.
- Men attacking a parking lot with jack hammers.
- Her voice reminded me of butterflies.
March 2010
Daily Writing Prompts
- “I love it but does it come in pink?”
- Found: an index card listing three ways to fend off zombies
- Get inspired by visiting a museum in person or online
- Conversation at a cafe table on the sidewalk in a college town
- Resolve to make a consistent writing appointment every Friday and keep it
- Genre challenge: try horror, gothic or romance
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: elder, requirement, overhead, another, laid.
- Write about a question that’s answered silently.
- Use the phrase, “I’ll be there.”
- “We’re behind schedule. What do you intend to do about that?”
- An antique ring around a tree root
- Try fanfic: read part of your favorite book then take it in a new direction
- Research markets and contests at Duotrope
- Use a fairy tale as a template or inspiration for a modern story/poem
- Genre challenge: try cyberpunk, steampunk or other sci fi
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: beauty, waning, declined, short, troubled (bonus word: internal)
- Use the phrase “No. Well, yes.”
- How did you (or your character) spend the lost hour?
- “I smelled it on the elevator so please don’t elaborate.”
- A bag of teeth and a box of glitter
- Get inspired. Search Etsy.com for “green” & write about an object you find
- Prefer music or silence while writing? Try the opposite today.
- Among the ruins, he finds a box of wind.
- Genre challenge: try crime, mystery or thriller
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: express, curtain, living, afternoon, forgot
- Write about a missed message.
- Write about having too many things in a pile.
- “The red bandana doesn’t surprise me but why is he wearing your panties?”
- A red stapler, a box of tissues and a zebra tail
- Get inspired: Write in public, incorporating the unexpected around you
- Set your story in the year you turned thirteen
- He thought he’d killed it… until that twitch of the tail.
- Genre challenge: try dark fantasy or magical realism
- Do the Sunday Brunch prompts and post your exercises
- Use the following words: unlike, girl, seemed, whatever, bedside.
- Write about something that won’t stay where it belongs.
- Describe something abstract in concrete terms (for example, the shape of a stomach ache).
- “You’re interrupting my rejuvenating process. Someone had better be dying.”
- A dilapidated snowman melting in a spring thaw
- Inspiration: Write a story based on whatever’s on channel 4 right now.