December 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on December 31, 2014 by TC Editors

Use these 5 words: brutal, sprints, truth, love letter, winning.
“I wish I looked as good.”
“You caught me.”
Hurry up and wait
Give your story a strong female protagonist.
Make up a celebration, with traditions not quite met.
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1. Use the following five words: secret, stamp, clock, moves, neglected.
2. Write about not noticing that something has changed.
3. Answer “no” to an either/or question.
“It’s a little like an airplane.”
“Sometimes I just need a break from…”
Change is hard; folding money is soft.
Use these 5 words: nascent, workout, pocket, impress, kayak.
“Something’s coming…”
A lack of empathy.
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1. Use the following five words: secret, stamp, clock, moves, neglected.
2. Write about talking to yourself, aloud.
3. Fill in the blank: “_______, you know; everyone does.”
Write about being overwhelmed.
Character apologizes for missing something important.
Write about what happens when no one asks difficult questions.
Big stompy boots.
Use these 5 words: geeky, activists, fear, official, volunteers.
The sound of distinctive footfalls
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1. Use the following words: stranger, implies, lines, accept, distance.
2. Use the phrase “I’m watching that.”
3. Write about an illness or injury.
Use the word ‘bifurcation.’
Use these 5 words: gratitude, birthday, thoughtful, acrobatics, halfway.
A busy travel day
Shine bright like a…
Write about dangerously hot weather.
Snowfall warning.
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1. Use the following five words: memory, midnight, geranium, rest, drum.
2. Write about staring into a candle flame.
3. Fill in the blank: “I think we’ve been taken over by _______.”
A character with no remorse whatsoever.
Preparing for a dreaded party
“I only care about dessert.”

November 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on November 30, 2014 by TC Editors

The aftermath of an inappropriate Halloween costume.
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1. Use the following words: reasons, escape, detached, quality, tick
2. Use the phrase, “New habits are fragile.”
3. Fill in the blank: “I don’t know how to _______ anymore.”
A broken elevator.
Hoping nothing will go wrong
Your MC is quarantined.
St. Nicholas’ Day
Use these 5 words: royals, salute, terrorist, collision, ruling.
Violate a grammatical rule for good cause.
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1. Use the following five words: slights, white, shame, silence, saying.
2. Write about doing something in a very awkward position.
3. Write about sitting calmly, visualizing coming action.
The land is silent, waiting for the storm.
A secret relationship.
Write about a prosthesis or medical device.
Write about your MC’s favorite drink.
“Who ordered that?”
One of your characters auditions for a reality competition show.
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1. Use the following words: benefits, worst, blue, middle, single.
2. “Just because it’s impossible doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.”
3. Use the phrase, “for _______-related reasons.”
Use these 5 words: improv, undersea, album, clinching, snowfall.
“Why not the best?”
A gourmet chef who secretly prefers junk food.
Checking numbers
Heavy rain at night.
Answer ‘no’ to an either/or question.
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1. Use the following words: name, result, demanded, hollow, season.
2. Fill in the blank: “it would have been very different if _____”
3. Write about running out of time.
Working at midnight
Use these 5 words: peace, games, reports, policy, tour.
Should hurry home, but…
A mystery date.
“I can listen for eight minutes.”
A meme based on a photo of your MC.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.

October 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on October 31, 2014 by TC Editors

A character who is so cynical s/he thinks everyone else is insincere.
“You’re all soggy.”
Start with a line from a song.
Your character responds to harsh criticism.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: rocks, missing, reason, little, constructed.
2. Aethucyn: Write about branches scratching against the window.
3. Bob: Have a character say, “That’s why I did it.”
4. Sue: Use the Phrase “Those are the Cliff Notes”
5. broker: Using a nearly obsolete device.
6. Kellska: Fill in the blanks: “There’s no such thing as ______, only ______.”
7. Shiro: “This situation clearly calls for a ferret”.
8. catwithpen: Covert communications.
9. bo: Kill your protagonist; if your protagonist is already (un)dead, obliterate them.
Setting the clock forward instead of back.
Use these 5 words: organic, underestimated, premiering, dynamic, shortage.
A gender-ambiguous name.
Use this line: “You’re not helping!”
“Ten. Ten. Ten. Ten.”
Start with a car alarm going off.
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1. Use the following five words: which, librarian, doves, understand, white.
2. Some (dis)assembly required.
3. “I thought you might like to have these.”
Use these 5 words: roaming, treacherously, tear, forecast, meddling.
Chickening out saves the day.
A character who’s deeply invested in a certain fandom.
“How can I do that?”
Start with characters decoding a message.
“Are you my mother?”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: universe, middle, nails, fault, trace.
2. “Tell me again: what were you doing?”
3. Use the phrase, “it’s a thing now.”
Finishing late at night.
Use these 5 words: force, historical, prolonging, seasonal, killer.
Answer yes to an either/or question.
Start with a character making a life-changing decision.
“What makes you ask that question?”
Use this line: “You have no chill.”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: mother, dissolve, all, shakes, martyrs.
2. Write about a miniature version of something familiar.
3. “Why should you be special?”
Use these 5 words: airport, volcano, protests, astronomer, manuscript.
No time to procrastinate; just do it.
Two wildly different interpretations of the same set of facts.
Dreading a holiday.
A subtweet war between two characters.

September 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on September 30, 2014 by TC Editors

“Tell me how you really feel.”
Six words your MC wasn’t expecting.
Character is talking to him/herself
“It’s not game. It’s a personal vendetta.”
Give a nonsense answer to a simple question
Write about something you can’t bring yourself to stop doing.
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1. Use the following words: reason, light, figures, second, distant.
2. Use the phrase, “After further review”
3. Write about getting something right through repetition.
Your beloved hero and hated villain are madly in love.
A meeting with your muse
“Fantastic shot.”
A painful anniversary
Write about something or someone you miss.
“You’re not wearing that.”
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A friend doesn’t do what’s expected.
Your MC must choose whether to put strategy or conscience first.
Write about a morning without coffee.
“OMG, I hate him.”
Write about selling something expensive.
Write about something you can’t wait to happen.
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1. Use the following five words: torture, grin, barking, chickens, twisted.
2. Write about a stone in a snowball.
3. Fill in the blank: “How many times do I have to ______?”
Your MC gets punched in the face.
Bad news at the doctor’s office.
“Please, I’m begging you…”
“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Write about your latest obsession / guilty pleasure.
A cultural misunderstanding
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: muffled, language, blond, remorseful, basement.
2. Fill in the blank: “Why is the ______ gone?”
3. Use the phrase, “Let me go.”
And now, for something completely different.
Use these words: smoking, zombie, burned, sacrifice, farmed.

August 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on August 31, 2014 by TC Editors

Remote won’t work and there’s a cat in my lap.
Have a character act unpredictably.
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1. Use the following five words: beach, light, dress, nothing, beating.
2. Use the phrase, “I have too many already.”
3. Write about breaking a habit.
A maniacal laugh.
Unexpected side-effect of an injury
No one gets your MC’s sarcasm.
“I actually did think about that.”
Deliberately breaking the rules.
A travel SNAFU leads to a chance encounter
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1. Use the following five words: eaten, looking, seducer, broken, message.
2. Use the phrase, “Please go away for a while.”
3. Write about something imperfectly cromulent.
Cleaning up a mess
A character is wrong, but very, very certain they’re right.
“Remind me of your name again?”
Use an old family photo as a prompt. #tbt #throwbackthursday
Ides of Aug: Write about an unusual calendar
A character’s cooking gives others food poisoning.
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Jealousy leads to chaos.
Making up nicknames for other people
Everyone in your story thinks your protagonist is actually the villain.
A child greeting an adult.
“Have you no compassion?!”
Your ideal writers’ getaway
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1. Use the following five words: skeleton, mother, curve, press, thought.
2. Write about a changing of the guard.
3. “We’re not going to make it, are we?”
Coming home to an unpleasant surprise.
A character is proud of being frugal.
“What’s that in teaspoons?”
“_____ is such a troll.”
In my day we didn’t start school until…
Can your MC trust their best friend?
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: broken, seducer, shakes, famine, wrong.
2. “How much does the free stuff cost?”
3. Write about a day when everything just works.

July 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on July 31, 2014 by TC Editors

A midweek holiday.
Clumsy foreshadowing (see link)
One character gives another the silent treatment.
“You can’t do that with one of those.”
Visit an indie bookstore. Buy a book!
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
A punishable offense.
Write dialog between a character and a machine.
Write with abandon. Be willing to sound foolish.
“Anything not worth doing is not worth doing well.”
Visit your local public library. Claim a seat and write for one hour.
Write about winter (summer) on a hot (cold) day
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1. Use the following words: work, allowed, divided, lock, island.
2. Write about small crawly critters.
3. Write about trying to do something without using your hands.
Dumping a chore on another team/family member.
A very expensive forgery.
“What year is it, again?”
Your antagonist sells something important belonging to your protagonist.
Write about a sad anniversary.
Take a photo walk. Use the photos you take to create a storyboard.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: morning, where, sand, polished, message.
2. Fill in the blanks: “________ is like the anti-________.”
3. Write about overabundance.
Write and illustrate a short story or poem.
Write from a POV very different from your own.
Your MC is annoyed by a friend who’s always whining on social media.
What’s to say on a Thursday?
Plan (and execute!) your own writer’s retreat.
The postman stops delivering mail.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: plum, surface, upon, windy, press.
2. Write about eyes in the dark.
3. Include a tidbit of local history.
“It’s always 3AM next Thursday there.”
A list of items placed in a time capsule.
“Fill in all the blanks, with something.”
A cookie dough mishap.

June 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on June 30, 2014 by TC Editors

Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: sense, panic, control, double, step
2. Write about using the wrong tool for the job.
3. Fill in the blank: “20 pounds of _____ in a 5-pound bag.”
Rewrite a story with the other choice.
Write about a bribe.
Write about a nonsense question.
(Don’t) poke the bear.
Trying to do something when you’re sleepy.
Square or hippie?
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1. Use the following five words: like, every, believe, earth’s, saying.
2. Write about something that happened 20 years ago.
3. Write about something the wrong color for the surroundings.
Your MC decides to cycle to work. On the way…
“I remember when it happened to me.”
Beware the _____ myth.
“Can you have that in an hour?”
“Don’t click that. It’s linkbait.”
Sitting in your seat, waiting for the trip to start.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
Write about a Big Round Number birthday
Join (or start) a book club.
Coin a new word and use it in a story.
Make a bucket list for your MC.
Alarms and bells going off
“There’s something you should know about me. I’m a sociopath.”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: Sunday, probe, earth’s, dress, harbor.
2. Write about a tricky or expensive repair.
3. Write a character’s note-to-self.
Write a poem containing two truths and a lie.
“I thought it would be exciting.”
Snow in June.
Violating standards for no good reason
“Everything is happening all at once…”
“You had ONE JOB..”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: gathering, musical, connected, dozens, obvious.
2. Use the phrase, “I can’t promise anything until the last moment.”
3. Include a movie tagline or catchphrase.
Half the time; less than half the job done.

May 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on May 31, 2014 by TC Editors

Read something amazing? Tell the writer how much you liked it.
An unconventional garment
Write about the discovery of a new species of animal.
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1. Use the following words: sudden, calculating, discovery, date, acrobatics.
2. Your characters consult a map.
3. Something is stolen or goes missing.
Describe an object without using visual description.
Write about road rage
Write an old-school letter, on paper. Mail it!
Cat swishing tail while looking at birds
Create your own quiz: write the questions + answer choices.
Write about skipping an important step
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Figuring out how old something is.
Write about staying up all night to meet a deadline.
“How could you possibly know all that?”
Take a photo of the shelf where your books would be in a bookstore/library.
A character tries to hide how sad he/she is.
Write a story orally (record yourself), then transcribe + edit it.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: began, observe, poems, traffic, moaning.
2. bob: Have a character say, “It is thanks to [fill in the blank] that I am more or less sane.”
3. ana: Use the phrase “I don’t know what I want.”
4. Sue: Write about a smear of butter.
5. bo: Title: “If I were you, I’d love me.”
6. Kellska: Write about going back to a place you’ve been before.
Rewrite a favorite story changing the gender of all the characters.
Answer a rhetorical question.
Sit somewhere you can people-watch + make notes on potential characters.
“We need you now.”
I discovered my dad’s secret _______.
Describe a lazy day at home.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: young, midnight, knees, polished, treacherous.
2. Describe the feeling of hands in the soil.
3. Use the phrase, “Once a season, whether we need it or not.”
What do May flowers bring?
Start a list of weird ways to kill off your characters.
Your character thinks up a new password.
An unexpected package arrives. What’s in it?
“How long since we changed the oil?”
Use these 5 words: convicted, tornadoes, binge, scandal, code.

April 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on April 30, 2014 by TC Editors

Write about falling for an April Fools’ Day joke.
Name a character with a gender-neutral word.
Start with: “It’s been flagged.”
Write about completely missing the point.
Use these words: pianist, competition, speech, inspire, introverted.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: whisper, geranium, street, hands, wheelbarrow.
2. Write about one of the four cardinal directions.
3. Write about the smell of fresh bread.
Write about unironically loving something that’s uncool.
Write about a pet in a character’s lap, interfering.
Start with: “Let me take a selfie.”
What? It’s not due til next week!
A character swears their honesty on the life of a non-existent relative.
“It’s different for ________.”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: record, inadvertently, engineered, shots, implying
2. Write about a continuing annoyance.
3. Write about something that’s buried.
Write about an avoidable tragedy.
Death match: toasted vs. grilled cheese. Write about the pros+cons of each.
It’s dark. Describe the sounds.
Start with: “Psst. Can you keep a secret?”
Write about a character who hates holidays.
Use these words: pantser, blank page, erotic romance, mistaken, catlady.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: walls, woman, eating, scribbling, sweep.
2. Someone makes a change and doesn’t tell anyone about it.
3. Somebody thought it was a good idea.
A character who believes in a pseudoscience.
Write about an ill-advised lover.
Start with: “Do aliens like cheese?”
“This bottle tastes different.”
Write about a place that used to be called by a different name.
“Sorry I’m late. I hate being late.”
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: credit, approaching, carry, nothing, slightest.
2. Use the phrase, “What am I looking at?”
3. The gun in the first prompt goes off in the third. (Or, no one noticed the gun the first time.)
Something blooms at the wrong time of year.
Use these words: coven, Stonehenge, election, dawdle, alphabetical.
Write about unfamiliar mushrooms.

March 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

Posted on March 31, 2014 by TC Editors

March comes in like a lion.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: decision, season, worst, unlike, another.
2. Write about preparations for a storm that didn’t come.
3. A character has a conversation with him/herself.
You disconnected just before I said ____
Use these words: detour, lists, memoirist, routine, suffer.
There’s no time to procrastinate.
Eavesdrop on people on transit; write down dialogue to use later.
Change something important about a character & rewrite the scene.
A dinner party where every guest has a special request.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: battered, through, sputter, silent, eaten.
2. Fill in the blank: “I remember when you used to _____.”
3. Write about trying to impress a mentor.
Begin with: “We are excited to announce…”
“It’s too late to change it. We’ll find out…”
Use these animals: lizard, turtle, fish, cockroach, bird.
“Where did the computer put that?”
Write about a meteor shower.
Write about lost medical paperwork.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: involved, subsequent, overall, world, point.
2. Write about something growing from a seed.
3. Write about something that’s too small or too large for its purpose.
“Wow! The gadget is doing something!”
Write about a memorable food from your childhood.
Lonely in no-man’s land.
Begin with: “We are building…”
Invent a perfectly cromulent new word.
Write about a spring snowstorm.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following five words: gloves, eaten, built, stained, agony.
2. Write about something that’s a clone, copy, or imitation.
3. Fill in the blank: “We’re off to see the _____.”
A recipe plays an important role in your story.
Write about a guess that turns out to be wrong.
Use these words: apprenticeship, journey, talismans, sanctuary, cage.
“It’s not doing what you said it would.”
Begin with: “I have my doubts about…”
Use the disembodied voice of a GPS as a character.
Missed chat? Get today’s prompts at Twitter.
1. Use the following words: millions, apart, departures, promising, close.
2. Compare two incomparable things.
3. Something moves to the top of the list.
March goes out like a lamb.

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Category Archives: WP 2014

December 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

November 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

October 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

September 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

August 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

July 2014
Daily Writing Prompts

June 2014
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May 2014
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April 2014
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March 2014
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