So the above photo shows what the weather is like here right now. My poor daffodils are once again ice encrusted, but I am heartened by the fact that they have been through this before and still bloomed. Like life–never dull.
On the writing side, I hope that you are creating and getting words on the page, or if not, that you’re doing all the work that goes on in the brain long before the fingers hit the keyboard. Staring out windows, going for a walk, doing research–that’s writing, too.
After muddling around with one screenplay idea for a couple of months, I set it aside and followed the trail of another idea that I just couldn’t get out of my head. Unfortunately, this idea was what I call “keyboard reluctant” for a loooong time. I could quite happily sit down with pen and paper and scribble notes, figure out character backgrounds and motivations, and draft scenes, but the moment I sat down at the keyboard–nothing. Just couldn’t do it.
Then–
At 1:30 one sleepless morning, the final scene in the screenplay appeared in my head. I got up scribbled it down and finally got to sleep. Apparently, this is what my writing brain was waiting for because the next day the laptop beckoned, and I could finally start typing. Lesson learned. Nothing happens until I know the ending.
In hindsight, I realize that I did know the endings of the previous three screenplays that I wrote, so that explains a lot. I mean, I know I’m trying to write for Hallmark, so there’s obviously a kiss and a happy ending required, but this screenplay had a couple of serious sub-plots to tie up, and until I’d figured those out, I couldn’t get to that happy ending. I’m about 1/3 of the way through, so I have a long way to go, yet, but being back at the keyboard is a hopeful sign, and I’m going with it.
Not everyone needs to know the ending first–and I envy those who can just plunge it–but we all need to find what works for us and go with it. Whatever method guides you, I wish you every success!
I’ve added some links below, if you’re looking for inspiration.
It’s been a long time since I posted a blog. A long slog of 9 months in there, with contracts keeping me busy–and more than a little stressed–and just coping with a COVID-shadowed world. I know how lucky I am to be busy with work that I can do from home.
On the plus side, I finished three Hallmark-style screenplays and have finally broken through on the plot for the fourth–that has taken a looooong time. I’ve even started sending queries for the first two out to production companies. The third is still out for coverage and when I get those notes back, I’ll be in editing mode for a while. I always learn so much from my critique notes.
I hope that you’ve found ways to be creative over these last months. I knit, too, and make chemo caps and premie hats for the local hospital, and blankets for Project Linus. I’m actually working on something for myself right now that I’m really enjoying, but there is a chemo cap on the needles, too.
I’ve been collecting links to writing articles for years. Here are some of my favourites. I hope you find one or two of interest.
His idea is to map how productive you are throughout the day to identify your personal productivity hot spots and low points, so you can plan your tasks around those times.
How to Create an Easy Habit of Daily Writing Without Willpower
According to behavioral scientist, BJ Fogg, a “tiny habit” is a behavior that…
You do at least once a day.
It takes you less than 30 seconds to do.
It requires little effort.
Let’s take a look at what a tiny writing habit could be. Remember, your habit needs to be ridiculously small and easy to accomplish so that you only need a minimum of activation energy (the energy to start a habit). The smaller the habit, the less energy you need to establish it.
After reading KM Weiland’s post, 7 Writing Lessons Learned in 2020, (a great read) I was inspired to reflect on my writing life in 2020 and see what I had learned. Now this isn’t something I normally do. I may look back at the past year and think about what my family and I were up to, remember some fun times, but my writing life rarely comes under deep scrutiny. For so many reasons, last year was different, and I learned a some writing lessons that I want to pass along to you, believing I can’t be the only one who had a 2020 like mine.
The first thing I learned was patience, which is what you need when a story idea doesn’t enter your brain for months. At one point, I figured I’d never write fiction again; I’d never have another idea for a story ever. That was a very low point in a year that was pretty low already. I definitely counted my blessings of a safe and healthy family and an editing contract that kept me busy, but it was a year when a film of my creative life would make a better black and white movie than a colour one–until September. Yup, nearly 9 months of nothing and then an idea–and lesson number two.
Acceptance. My idea was for a screenplay for a Hallmark-style movie. Something I’ve never written before and knew nothing about (except from watching them), but there it was in my head anyway. So I went with it. I did tons of research, which I love doing. I invested in some software to help with the formatting and started writing. I have never had so much fun writing anything. If you’ve read my blogs over the years, you’ll know the term, joywriting. This was, indeed, joywriting–and learning. I’m now in the process of outlining my third script.
I learned trust, too–trust that if you keep sitting at your desk or wandering around with your journal long enough something will turn up. This was the toughest lesson. A lot of self-doubt and why-don’t-I-just-give-up filled that time before September, but in the back of my brain, thank goodness, was a persistent, tiny voice that said if I’ve done it once, I can do it again.
And last, I learned gratitude–again. Gratitude that I do what I do and that I can welcome this kind of joy in my life through work that reaches out to others. I am also grateful for the chance to be a writing coach for some special writers last year, and to have the thrill of watching one of them send her manuscript to her publisher in December after a year of hard work and challenges.
On the non-fictionwriting side, I ventured into creating products for my new Etsy store, which I’m filling with products for writers. My friend and I hosted two virtual writing workshops (one on how to write a book and the other on self-publishing), which was definitely a new experience–and a lot of fun. You can still buy the recordings of the workshops and get all the support material here. I also enjoyed editing a college writing textbook and have another similar contract to keep me busy for most of this year. All good.
Yes, we’re still in lockdown and communicating with friends and family via Skype, and there are days when I really miss things that we’d be doing in our normal lives. I’d love to take my 92-year-old mom out shopping or to a coffee shop, but that’s just not happening. Last year I ordered all the flowers for her garden online and did a drive-through pick up. She missed walking through the nursery and choosing what she wanted. We’ll be shopping online again this year, too, because it’s still not safe. My grocery store has been doing my shopping and putting it in the trunk of my car for months. (Actually, I may not rush to change that! 🙂 )
I hope that you’ve found ways to cope with all the craziness and that you’ve found your joywriting, too.
Whether you are participating in NaNoWriMo or not, there will be times when your current project loses its momentum and you need a new strategy to help you get your ideas moving and your words on the page. Below are some links to articles that will help you stay on track and achieve your goals.
For non-NaNo writers, my favourite strategy is to have more than one project on the go. When one gets stale or feels blocked, I switch to the other. While I’m working on the second project, the back of my brain will continue to worry away at the first one and the reason for the block is often revealed and solved.
When working on NaNo, you may find that you need to step back and revamp your outline. Once you got writing, your characters and plot may evolve beyond the planned events and backstory you started with. Sticking to you original concept can become hard and unsatisfying work. Consider taking an evening away from wordcount in order to take a good hard look at that outline and see where it should and could be going now that you are well into the story.
NaNo or not, make sure to drop by the NaNoWriMo site for encouraging and helpful writing tips and pep talks any time of the year. The resources for young writers and teens are perfect for helping writers of any age.
Also, here are a few articles I found that I think will help as you approach the challenging NaNo mid-point.
Okay, Hillary Retig’s article is nearly 10 years old, but check it out for “five strategies for making it past the dreaded ‘Week Two Doldrums’.” How to Get Past the NaNoWriMo Danger Point and Finish Your Novel is worth a read if you find your wordcount or will power diminishing.
Victoria Fry‘s article, How to Have a Proper NaNoWriMo Mentality, offers four great tips for keeping your brain from getting in the way of your creativity. “At the end of the day, what these mentality shifts come down to are this: NaNoWriMo is not just a numbers game. NaNoWriMo is whatever you craft it to be and, with a few clever tweaks, it might just turn out to be one of your favourite, most creatively inspired times of year.”
Check out Ingrid Sundberg’s article, NANOWRIMO: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU HIT THE WALL, where she offers her “secrets to keeping the NaNoWriMo word count fires a-burning. One of my favourites: “Write the candy bar scenes first!”
Wishing you a writerly November!
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I love October. It’s my birthday month, and my husband’s, and it’s Thanksgiving here, and our wedding anniversary, too. Aside from the opportunities to indulge in cakes and holiday pies, I also love the view from my window, where across the hydro corridor, I see a huge bank of shrubs in glorious colour right now—I love the deep, red sumac. In a little while, our columnar maples will be a brilliant yellow. They’re always slow to turn—like saving the best until last.
As we approach the six-month point in COVID life here, I hope you are finding ways to cope, safely connect with friends and family, and even be creative. I’m determined to take more walks now before the sidewalks become treacherous, and I’m more housebound than ever. I’m fortunate to have friends who keep in touch via Skype and email, and with whom I can talk about creative things, too. Writer friends are gold.
For writers, October also includes preparing for NaNoWriMo, where writers challenge themselves to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. If this is on your calendar this year, I found an awesome planning/outlining system at Plottr. I have used it myself and find it very intuitive. My learning curve was practically nil. Nope, I don’t get anything if you go to the page or buy the product. I think the price is very reasonable (just $25 with a 30-day, money-back guarantee), and planning just one screenplay made the investment more than worthwhile.
I hope some of the following writing prompts will inspire your writing this month.
Choose one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to create a story or poem.
Coffee, table, talk, angry, leave, rain
Coconut, village, zebra, dancer, fire, turquoise
Cardigan, library, handbag, paperweight, journal, cyclone, black
Desk, drawer, secret, paper, map, blue
Alley, dark, city, noise, friend, help, grey
Here are some opening sentences you could try.
Did he take his medication?
Yesterday, I would have said no.
Helen has it in for me.
Did you ever wonder why Henry always has so much money?
The geese were leaving the lake. I wished I could, too.
This is not the room I fell asleep in.
Everyone avoided the Marden house.
I happen to like black cats.
The sword fell to the ground.
Here are some titles that might suggest a story: Red Circle, Black Cat, Time Trickster, Movie Night, The Road Home, Tyree’s Winter, Borderlands, Decision, Race with Fortune, Unreal Estate, The Whole Truth, Lies My Dog/Cat Told Me.
Here are some dialogue excerpts that might inspire a scene or a story.
We have to stop. Why? What are you doing? Catching a Pokémon. Seriously? Now?
She just handed me a glass and walked away. Well, what did you expect? I thought she would at least say something. Be careful what you wish for.
But, that’s not what Henry told me. Has it occurred to you that he might lie? To you , maybe, but never to me.
Where have you been? Hiding. From whom? Not from whom—from what.
Halloween is just around the corner. What would your characters have dressed up as when they were kids? Do their choices give you a hint as to their hopes and dreams then? How do they compare to what they have become as adults?
This month, TV networks will be broadcasting a lot of scary movies leading up to Halloween. Do you have a favourite scary movie? Why do you like it so much? What scares you in real life? What scares your characters?
Wishing you a writerly October!
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Yesterday was a day of bays: Red Bay, Hope Bay, Pike Bay, Stoke’s Bay, and Colpoys Bay, plus Sauble Beach, Oliphant, Lion’s Head, and Wiarton. Too windy for golf or sailing or enjoying the beach, we opted for a day trip to explore some of the Bruce Peninsula, dodging clouds like those above and enjoying sunny blue skies as in the photo below.
I hope your last long weekend of the summer held some lovely moments for you, too. Those of you heading back to school or who have family members doing the same, my good wishes for a healthy and smooth beginning to the school year are with you. Teachers, if you ever need any ideas or material to support your creative writers, please drop me a line anytime. I’m very happy to help in any way I can. I know your side of the desk well.
For the writers, here are some new writing prompts for September. I hope they keep you amused, distracted and creative in the days ahead.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to create a story or poem.
umbrella, storm, shelter, run, stranger
car, highway, speed, escape, mountains
windows, outside, broken, old, black, reflection
table, meal, argument, whispers, over
door, open, unusual, echo, empty, note
Here are some opening lines that might suggest a story.
We did all we could.
Others have written about this, but I think it’s time you knew the truth.
When I watched his car top the crest of the hill, I knew that life would never be the same.
Yesterday was not a good day.
I never thought I’d say this, but trusting Henry was a good idea.
The crowd was getting restless. Where was he?
We didn’t know.
Dragons have bad days, too.
I thought that opting to live on Mars would mean leaving Earthly problems behind.
Dungeons are as bad as you think they are.
Here’s a list of titles borrowed from mystery writer, Agatha Christie. What stories can you imagine belong with these titles: The Big Four, Dumb Witness, Cards on the Table, Death in the Clouds, The Hollow, Evil Under the Sun, The Clocks, Third Girl, Elephants Can Remember, Curtain.
Here are some short dialogue excerpts that might inspire a scene or story.
I thought you were leaving. I changed my mind. I though we made it clear that you didn’t have a choice.
I’m selling the amulet. But it should never be sold. You haven’t heard the price I’ve been offered.
Shouldn’t we be heading north? Plans have changed. Why? To what? And by whom?
Did you hear that? No. It came from over there. It’s just your imagination.
Wishing you a writerly month ahead!
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August already? No wonder I’m seeing ads for back-to-school shopping. Here I was thinking that the advertisers were really jumping the gun. Hard to believe that, in spite of everything, this year seems to be moving along at top speed.
I’m still working on my new online course, Your Novel: From Idea to Outline. All of the modules are drafted. Now, I have the visuals/videos to work on, during which, I’m sure I’ll find content that I want to fine tune. I’m enjoying working on this project a lot. I’ve added another project into the mix just for fun–a romance idea that may turn out as a screenplay or a book. Early days. I’ve had a great time using Plottr to create my outline. Check it out if you’re a plotter and not a pantser. (No, I’m not an affiliate.) I also have two more short stories that I need to finish before I get a new book of short romance stories ready to publish.
I spent several months this year feeling like I would never write anything – again – ever. I was brain dead, lacking energy or drive–basically a lump of uncreative blah. Now, I seem to have finally climbed out of the pit. If it can happen for me, it can happen for you. In my case, writing for others has been the best stimulus. I tried keeping a journal–writing just for me–but it just didn’t happen. Once I decided that people could use a course about creating a novel outline, and the more I thought about what they might need to help them, the more I was inspired to write. As for the romance stories, who doesn’t need some kind of escape with a happy ending right now? If you’re climbing out of a slump, think about who needs to hear your story? Who will be happier, wiser, or inspired because of your words. Try thinking in those terms and see what happens. I wish you all good things.
If you need some inspiration, I hope one of the following writing prompts will help you tell your story.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to write a story or poem.
time, green, story, fight, escape, fear
blue, weather, danger, shelter, below, black
yellow, summer, grass, picnic, envy, quarrel, loss
Here are some opening sentences that you might use to start a story.
Where were you last night?
I found it on my way home. Can I keep it? Please?
This was one awkward time to find out that time travel really worked.
The sun glinted off his sword as he pulled it from its scabbard.
I have no choice. I’m leaving now.
It’s too much. We can’t keep going like this.
I was all ready to sit down and relax when the call came.
The boat sails at 3. Don’t be late.
I don’t understand why they keep dying.
Helen has changed so much.
Do you think that Henry’s behind all this?
Shadows. They shouldn’t be moving.
Here are some dialogue excerpts that might inspire a story or a scene.
What broke? That old vase. Well, why haven’t you picked up the pieces. There was something inside.
I don’t want to play. That’s because you always lose. No, it’s because you always cheat.
Have you seen Helen today? No. Why? We were supposed to meet at 10. She didn’t show, and she’s not answering her phone. That’s not good. Why? She was going to meet someone else at 9.
I’m not going in there. Why not? Spiders.
But I thought you were going to get engaged. Yes, about that.
What’s that music? What music? Can’t you hear it? No. Well, I do. And I’m going to find out where it’s coming from.
Henry likes you. Well, he should after all this time. I mean, he really likes you. Oh. That could complicate things.
Some questions for your story and characters.
How could you change the weather to add a problem to your story? What would a thunderstorm do to your story right now?
How does your character react to someone being rude?
Speeding tickets always happen at the wrong time. What happens if your character gets caught speeding?
What is your character’s most treasured item?
Whom would your character risk everything to protect?
Wishing you a writerly August
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July 1 marks my country’s birthday—and more important—my mom’s. I have teased her that she only immigrated to Canada from England in order to have a holiday on her birthday. My country is 153 years old. My mom is 92. For both, their story began long before their official birthdays, needing the right people to get together at the right time with the right intentions and a commitment to nurturing their “child” through the years ahead. I’m proud to be a Canadian and my mom’s daughter, and July 1st is as good a day as any to remember the gifts I have been given by both.
If you’ve been writing all along through the pandemic, that’s wonderful, and I’m thrilled that your creativity has weathered the storm. If you’re like me, and only just lately finding your way out of the creative doldrums, yay for you, too. I’m enjoying finally putting words on the page again. Small steps—but happy ones.
If you’re a plotter, rather than a pantser, and looking for some useful software to help you create your novel outline, check out this new software, Pottr. It’s working for me, and the price is very reasonable—and nope, I’m not an affiliate.
If you’re looking for some story ideas this month or a way to break out of your current creative fog, I hope the following writing prompts will give you the inspiration that you need.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to inspire a story or poem.
Harbour, boat, dark, quiet, secret, danger
Storm, safety, run, thunder, dog, wet
Sun, heat, beach, horses, surprise
Phone, text, lie, challenge, friend, angry
Trees, shade, rest, stranger, fear, change
Car, highway, divert, follow, blue, ditch, chase
Use one of these sentences to start a story or a scene.
I really wish he were here right now.
I was sorry that I’d said I was ready for a challenge.
I can’t find Helen!
You’ll have to take over now.
Screeching tires, shouting voices, fists pounding on the front door—not a typical Christmas Eve.
Just keep driving, she thought. Just keep driving.
Safe Harbour. Never was a small town more completely misnamed.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Don’t ask again. We’re all hungry.
The sun shone through the stained glass windows and dappled the stone floor with pools of coloured light.
Henry sighed, “Not again.”
Use one of these dialogue excerpts to spark your imagination.
Henry said he’d given it to you. Well, I don’t have it. Why would he lie? How well do you know Henry?
Stop that racket! I can’t, sir. Something’s broken. Then fix it. But ….
What’s the last thing you remember? A noise and a rush of wind. Anything else? A voice.
Helen volunteer to help. Nice of her. What’s the matter? She never volunteers unless there’s something in it for her.
Where did you get this? Henry found it. Is that what he told you?
See if one of these titles suggests a story: Amber Alert, Last Weekend, With Charlie, The Dog Who Loved Rhubarb, The Caves, Hiding in Plain Sight. Book of Lies, Lesson Learned, Boy/Girl and the Eagles, High Tower Castle, Always Tomorrow.
Other Writing Ideas
a) Three questions to ask your character:
What are you afraid of?
What do you want no one to ever know about you?
What or whom do you value more than your life?
b) If you could make a film of your story, what actors would play the roles of your major characters?
c) Compare your main characters to animals or insects. What would they be? Does that tell you more about their natures?
d) Can you make a change in the weather impact your story?
WISHING YOU A WRITERLY JULY!
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Writing Prompts for June 2020: Photo by Nina Gorbenko on Scopio
Well, it’s our 12th week of lockdown. How are you doing? I’m hoping that you and yours are keeping safe, that the strategies you’re using to stay sane and creative are working, and that you’re finding some signs of hope in a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams. I’m checking in with my social media feeds less often. It just hurts so much to read the news right now.
Last month, I got a creative boost, participating in a series of webinars hosted by Grace Lever at The Doer’s Way. It was the inspiration I needed. Right now, I’m working on developing a new course, Your Novel: From Idea to Draft. I really believe that doing your homework up front—learning about your characters, setting, conflicts, refining your story idea, and then creating an outline—is essential to first draft success.
Accepting the fact that characters will simply do unexpected things while you are writing your first draft, having an outline means that, when you finally have a few moments to write, you can get the writing done. No waiting for the muse to drop by, because … well … what if s/he doesn’t? That’s precious writing time lost.
The following is the outline I’m working on for my first draft of the course. If you see anything missing, please let me know. I’m also planning to include a personal review of each participant’s final outline and hope to offer several opportunities via Facebook for participants to ask questions live as they progress through the course.
Week 1: Introduction Why you’re here What you’ll learn. Why this will work. Turning your idea into an idea that will support a novel. Examples. Your turn.
Week 2: Characters The foundation of your story. Their strengths, weaknesses, goals and needs create opportunities for conflict. What you need to know. How to find out more. Who is telling your story? Point of view and who should tell your story.
Week 3: Setting World Building – why this is essential even if your book is set in your home town. Building your story world – where to find resources Your senses How to write description that doesn’t bore your reader.
Week 4: Conflict 5 sources of conflict—What are they? How can they work in your story? Goals and obstacles—chapter by chapter, scene by scene Beginning. Muddle. End
Week 5: Plots and Plans Two classic plotting strategies Genre specific patterns Templates to fill in or adapt Begin with “must” When do you know you are finished?
Week 6: The End–The Beginning You made it! Hurray! Tips for finding the time and the willpower to get that first draft written Book story outline consultation. Let the drafting begin!
I’d love your input. If there are things you think should be covered that are missing, just let me know. I’m hoping for an end-of-June release, if not sooner.
In the meantime, here are some writing prompts to keep you busy, creative and distracted in a world that you create with your amazing imagination.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to inspire a story or poem:
Coffee, table, crowd, danger, corner, door
Signal, red light, siren, warning, escape hatch
Beach, serene, rumble, sky, wind, boat, gulls
Forest, crack, whisper, branches, hoof beats, joy
Office, empty night, sounds, secret, hide
Here are some opening sentences to try:
“Put that knife away!”
Henry always gets his own way.
A loud noise woke us up, and we scrambled to peek out of the tent.
Being Helen’s friend could be a challenge.
The pool was so inviting.
How do you solve a mystery when you’re six feet away from your suspects?
Never meet the love of your life on April Fools Day.
Normally, my usual coffee shop is a great place for me to work in peace—but not today.
This was the best school trip ever until ….
Yesterday, Helen ran away from home.
Life is never like the movies, or should it be the opposite: Moves are never like real life.
But, he followed me home!
Perhaps one of these titles will inspire a story: Snow in May, Where’s a Superhero When You Need One? Dinner for thirty, Summer on the Road, Adult Recreation Center, Reservations Required, Death in Clover, Call of the Mild, Singing Off Key, Love and Puppies.
Use one of the small dialogue excerpts below to inspire a scene or two.
What are you doing? Texting Henry. He’s not supposed to know we’re here.
Why are we running? Be quiet. Just keep moving. What’s that smell? Dragon.
I have no idea, sir. What are you telling me? I’m saying that we can’t find any reason for the engines to fail.
We’re here. But it’s really dark. Of course, it’s dark. You don’t think a time machine should simply appear out of nowhere in broad daylight, do you?
I understand that you don’t like me. You’re right. I don’t. Then, you’re going to like this even less. Dislike what? I was just told that we have to work on this together.
No. I need to save my battery for later. I’m not sure there will be a later.
I wish you all a safe and creative June!
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We’re starting our 8th week of isolation, social distancing, whatever you want to call it, and there are moments when the day-to-day coping is a real challenge. Generally I muddle along just fine, but at other times I’m anxious about all the sanitizing and the people going for walks behind our house that don’t keep their distance. I’m, worrying about the COVID-19 statistics that, for me, aren’t improving fast enough, feeling for those I know with new grandchildren they can’t hug or with family that they can’t visit in hospital or mourn with the comforting hugs of friends and family. It doesn’t take a lot for my thoughts to head into a downward spiral.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more conscious than now of the need to give myself grace. I stop myself and ask, “What do you really need right now.?” And if the answer is “leave the to-do list and take thirty minutes with a book and a cup of tea,” well that’s what I do. I totally get “carrying on” and “pushing through.” I’ve been doing that on and off for years, as do most people during their life’s challenges. But this is different, and I’m far more deliberate about pulling back and adding much-needed self care to all the carrying and pushing. I hope that you’re finding positive, comforting ways to take breaks from it all, too and refilling the well with energy, gratitude and hope. I’m certainly grateful. So far, friends and family are healthy, and I count the blessings of having a home and a safe place to be.
Creatively, I’m been a non-starter for a few months now. I write well enough for work, but have been searching for a new creative project to take me through the summer. I have a big editing contract that will last until September–a 500-page college composition text book. Now I love this kind of work, but I also need something to distract my brain from the hyper-critical mode it’s going to be in for the next four months. And frankly, it’s creative, joy writing that makes me feel like a writer.
Last week a local author hosted an online writing retreat. Seven or eight of us gathered on Zoom at 10 a.m. to say hello and talk about how we were coping. We had two 90-minute writing sessions away from the screen (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon), lunch together on screen with some more chat, and an on-screen wrap-up at the end where some writers shared their work. It was a great day. For the week leading up to it, I kept telling myself that I was going to come out of the day with a story idea. Nothing big, just an idea. That’s as high as I was prepared to set the bar.
Come the day, my mind was still a compete blank, but in the first 90-minute writing session, I got that story idea and started outlining. I was overjoyed. Who knew that all that I-think-I-can would work? I was so relieved to find out that my creative, joy-writing brain still functioned. I admit, I’d nearly given up. If you’re feeling the same, I hope my story gives you some hope that the writing will come.
I hope that the writing prompts below will also help you find the inspiration you need for your joywriting or provide some short exercises to help you start refilling the creative well.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of the groups below to write a story or poem:
talk, restaurant, secret, surprise, fear, red
storm, cold, sudden, wind, hide, shelter, black
shadow, movement, street light, footsteps, bus, yellow
candle, desk, pen, blood, silence, silver, drop
clock, broken, call, late, run, important, brown
See if one of these opening sentences suggests a story or scene:
I think it’s time you told the truth.
When will she be back?
Opening night was not a success.
A cloudless night meant danger.
In our case, good fences did not make good neighbours.
My plans for a lazy morning disappeared when the fire alarm rang in my building.
I have never been so glad to see a sunrise.
The car screeched around the corner and aimed straight for Henry.
I couldn’t believe it when he turned up at the house after 3 years of nothing.
Maybe one of these dialogue excerpts will inspire a story or scene:
What’s with Helen?
Haven’t a clue.
Is it just me, or is she acting stranger than usual?
Where’ you get that?
Found it.
That’s the story you’re sticking with?
Where’s that music coming from?
Sound like on the other side of that wall.
That apartment is supposed to be empty.
Helen’s mad at me.
Why?
Who knows?
You do. Now tell me.
Did the light’s just flicker?
Yup.
Aren’t our doing to do something?
Yeah. Light a candle. Next time they’ll go out for good.
I saw this little fellow on a rainy walk last week. He was perched on the hydro pylon by a walkway behind an elementary school. What’s his story?
I wish you a healthy, safe, and writerly May!
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