October is my favourite month. I love the vibrant colours in the trees, the cold nights, the morning fog, the smell of wet leaves … you get the idea. November is mostly grey, black, and white, but October has nature’s prettiest palette.
For many of you, this is also the run-up month to NaNoWriMo when you do the planning, researching, and organizing before the clock hits 12:01 on the morning of November 1st. I’m considering taking on the challenge this year, but I’ll be doing a lot of serious thinking before I sign up–and I need a good story idea, too! Not bad things to be thinking about this month. If you’re looking for inspiration for NaNo, or just your everyday writing, I hope the following prompts will help.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to create a story or poem.
Stool, umbrella, morning, lake, green, breeze
Couple, hat, but, bag, lost, rain, red
Necklace, black, road sky, jewel, blue
Rock, stain, rattle, whisper, drag, black, old
Rush, anxious, seldom, clasp, limp, sigh, yellow
See if you can think of a story to go with one of these opening lines.
Helen searched the crowd for one face.
Henry really was a bookworm.
We smelled them before we saw them.
The man adjusted his backpack and slipped into the alley.
Stones dug into my thin shoes.
Birkenstock’s and a kilt. Henry certainly was original.
“Did I say that out loud?” Helen’s face turned red and she tried to laugh.
Henry crept back into the tent. No one had missed him.
I’m sure we turn left here.
When it comes to spotting liars, my dog is way better at it than I am.
Here are some titles that might inspire a story or poem.
The Blue Tent, XRT, White Rabbit, A Walk in the Shade, Wonder and the Yellow Balloon, Don’t Be Late, Keeping the Faith, Capricorn, Keeper Creek, The Cyclist, Black Shoes and White Socks, Anger Mismanagement, The Crown, Weybridge.
Here are some dialogue excerpts. Choose one group and see if you can create a scene around it.
I can’t believe that it’s September already. Summer flew by, and now, there are glimpses of colour in the trees that say fall is just around the corner. Yikes!
I’ve always loved fall. For years as a student and then later as a teacher, it was always the time for fresh starts and resolutions–like New Years without the snow. This fall is no different. I have plans for paying more attention to my fitness, doing some serious culling of years of accumulated paper and teacher resources, and basically, just getting my act together. I live in hope!
Whatever happens, writing will still be a priority. I hope that small steps will help me reach my goals, and I’m already wondering about tackling NaNoWriMo this year. Again, I live in hope. 🙂
If you are looking for a new creative project for the fall, maybe one of the following writing prompts will inspire you. Have fun!
a) See if one, some, or all of the words in one of the following groups suggests a story or poem.
b) Here are some opening lines that might lead you to a story.
Last year, we were happy.
Henry sighed. That was never a good sign.
I learned to climb the day my life depended on it.
I hadn’t smelled that particular cigar smell in years. He was back.
The cries of the gulls downed my scream.
The council assembled in silence.
A smooth black stone lay half-hidden in the sand. It wasn’t a stone.
The storm circled the tower.
It was too late when I remembered my grandfather’s words: red sky at dawning—sailor’s warning.
I dug my nails into my palms and kept my mouth shut
c) Here are some titles that might suggest a story or poem: End of the Line, The Oracle, Bram’s Ring, When Good Witches Go Bad, Bottom of the League, Turner’s First Game, The Wild Ones, The Cartographer, The Secret in Black Wood, Kayak Adventure.
d) See if you can write a scene around one of these short dialogue excerpts.
Bring him along.
But he’s just a kid.
Doesn’t mean he can’t be useful.
I’m done. I want to leave.
That’s too bad.
Why?
We still need more answers.
Is Henry okay?
Why?
He walked right past me this morning like I was invisible.
I don’t know about your summer, but mine is flying by. Lots of heat and thunderstorms lately, but it saves me watering my mom’s garden, so I’m not complaining.
I hope you have been enjoying your summer and finding some creative time, too. If you’re looking for something to fill your journal pages, I hope some of the prompts below will provide the necessary jump-start to a story or poem.
Use one, some, or all of the words in one of these groups to write a story or poem.
Sun, blue, smoke, distance, danger, escape
Race, down, fear, road, gravel, slip, red
Bridge, under, flow, rain, caught, grey, free
Ledge, climb, safe, rope, loose, night, silver
Here are some opening lines to get you started.
Once upon a midnight ….
Henry slammed his fist down on the table, “Enough!”
That was my second lie today.
If you wanted someone who was going to be on time, you shouldn’t have picked Henry.
Horizontal snow and another two miles to ride.
That road led straight to the castle.
Another nightmare.
We had no choice. We left Henry and moved on.
I was tired of feeling that everyone had a say in the matter but me.
I wish I were programmed to forget.
Roscoe came and sat silently at my feet. He could feel something was wrong, too.
Perhaps one of these titles will be inspiring.
Moonrise, Copper Storm, The Girl Who Didn’t Care, A Rose for Helen, Team Player, Lonely Heart, Run, The Attic, Wonder Full, Storm Chaser, Pirate Moon, The World Beneath the Stairs, Samantha and Sam.
Here are some dialogue excerpts. See if you can build a scene or a story around one of them.
Canada celebrates its 150th birthday today, and my American readers celebrate their country’s national holiday on July 4th. I hope that you all have wonderful holidays with family and friends.
If creativity is on your summer agenda, here are some writing prompts to help you find a story or two.
Choose one of these word groups and use one, some, or all of the words to create a story or poem.
Feather, dawn, call, open, blue, keep, end
River, cliff, safe, grass, cold, grey, running
Boat, pier, home, green, wonder, few, child
Try one of these opening sentences and see where it takes your imagination.
Henry was early. Henry was never early.
Helen carefully put the box on the table.
I was sure I felt a breeze, but the wind chimes were silent.
The child lay in the tall grass.
The shack didn’t look as welcoming in daylight.
The best present ever was my bike.
There were days when Helen frightened me.
No, Henry, that wasn’t funny.
The tree branch scrabbled against the window.
Last night the rains came.
Can you think of a story or poem to go with one of these titles?
East Texas Blues, Century, The Apple Tree, Forgive and Forget, Hope’s Island, The Garden, Mystery at MacDonald’s, Last Child Standing, The Waiter, Nemesis, Heist, One Bad Day, Life with the Smiths, The Final Strategy, Wind Across the Prairie, Storm.
Here are some dialogue excerpts. See if you can create a scene around one of them.
I always enjoy the approach to the holidays. Decorating the house, planning meals, and even all the long-overdue cleaning and organizing are done with a lighter heart. It’s a musical time for us, too. My choir has a concert, my son’s university ensemble has a concert, and we all attend the local symphony’s holiday concert, joining my brother-in-law’s family for dinner afterwards. I hope that you and yours enjoy times filled with peace, love, and happiness in the coming weeks and that these feelings follow you through 2017.
Though your writing time may be limited in December, I encourage you to take even 10 minutes out of your day to put a few words on the page. Typing at 25 words per minute would fill a double-spaced page. Think of how those pages could add up over the month, and how much further ahead you will be starting 2017.
If you need some writing inspiration or fresh ideas, here are your writing prompts for December. Remember that you can change names and gender to suit the story you want to write.
Opening Sentences – Start a story with one of the following sentences. You could use the sentence to end the story, too.
Wait! Don’t open that!
The fire was too small to warm the room.
Henry and I had an agreement—until yesterday.
The branches of the bare trees clattered overhead.
Making a wish as you blow out your birthday candles isn’t just for kids.
Helen should have known better.
Secrets should be kept secret.
I don’t have a cat anymore, so what was coughing and hacking in my kitchen?
Random Words – Choose a group of words from the following list, and using one, some, or all of the words in the group, write a story or poem.
Yesterday’s Man, The Gold Tower, Tree People, The Leaving, Ghosts at Summer Camp, Strangers at First, Ethan’s Mountain, The Blue Sword, The Kameron Curse, The Second Gift.
Dialogue – Use one of these dialogue excerpts and imagine the story around it.
Why do we have to travel at night?
It’s safer.
It’s also cold.
I haven’t seen you with Henry lately.
Oh, we’re old news.
But I thought you were getting married.
Tell that to Henry’s father.
Are you sure we can trust Helen?
I don’t see that we have a lot of options.
But, I told you—she’s lied before.
So have you.
I don’t like the sound of that.
Me neither, but it’s too soon to worry the others.
October is a busy month here: two birthdays, a wedding anniversary, the trailer closes, the boat comes out of the water for the winter, two freelance deadlines loom, and because we’re in Canada–Thanksgiving!
AND I’ve decided to run another daily writing challenge over on my Facebook page because, well, of course, I’m going to have lots of time to write every day. It’s the routine of the writing rather than the word count that I’m working on. Small daily writing goals are the key, and I mean small–maybe 100 words–so that, if I’m having a challenging day (which will be every Tuesday with 7 hours of classes followed by choir), I will still feel successful if I only write that 100 words. And steady daily success is the plan because I want to start building the habit of writing that will take me through November, too. Kristi Holl (author of Writer’s First Aid and More Writer’s First Aid) introduced me to the ideas of small goals and building mini-habits here.
On my Facebook page, I’ll be posting encouragement, links to interesting blogs, and I hope, some humour to keep myself and you writing every day. To participate, all you have to do is post the word “done” in the comments under the daily posts, and we’ll know you met your writing goal for the day.
I hope that the writing prompts below will help you find a story idea if you need one. Some of today’s writing prompts come from the collection I’m preparing for my next set of journals for genre writers.
Have fun!
Opening Sentences
Mira felt danger in her skin. I saw it in her eyes.
Sometimes Henry’s smiles were warm and kind. This wasn’t one of those times.
Helen strained to see the sails on the horizon more clearly. Friend or enemy?
I knew one thing about my new job. Henry was going to be a pain in the neck.
Predictable could get you killed.
For the third day in a row, Henry knew he’d been followed.
Red flashing lights were never a good sign.
Random Words
clouds, wind, cry, shiver, grey, hurry
campfire, fear, scream, hidden, red
leaves, gold, broken, pond, clear
stones, sun, blue, carry, escape
city, rain, climb, smell, green, alone
Titles
The Fallen, Unbroken, Trust Not, Generous to a Fault, Road Trip, Last Chance, Love Waits, The Enemy Within, Strange Music, Kept
Dialogue
You’re Henry, aren’t you?
So?
So, Max is looking for you.
I want to go home.
You know that’s not possible.
But–
No buts. This is where we’re safe, and this is where we’ll stay.
Why didn’t you tell me you were hiding here?
There wouldn’t be much point in hiding then would there.
Very funny. You know I can help.
It’s awfully steep. I’m not sure.
Can you see another option?
No.
I’m sure Henry has it.
You’re lying. It’s you.
If you’re still stuck for inspiration, check these out, too. Just click on the covers for more information.
I’m wishing lots of good luck and good writing to those who have signed up for NaNoWriMo this year. And for those of you who haven’t, I wish a creative month that brings you closer to achieving your goals.
Here are some writing prompts to help you find stories or add to the ones you already have underway.
1) Think of a story or poem that you could write using one, some or all of the following words.
2) Here are some titles that might help you think of a story or two: Last Day of Summer, Pumpkin Patch Mystery, Lights Out, Shattered, When One Door Closes, Never Forgotten, The Crystal Throne.
3) See if these opening lines can get your story started:
“Why do you think she lied?”
The only thing I could think of saying when I woke up was, “Where am I?”
That’s it. I am done with men. Forever!
Going home should be a good thing—but not always.
I swore that I’d never start a story with someone waking up in the morning. But when you wake up in a tent with a large dog and a (pick the kind of person you want) for roommates, neither of whom you’ve ever seen before, I think you can make an exception.
Henry closed the door softly.
Moaning winds, rain and thunder. Just what I needed for my first night in the house alone.
4) Here are some lines of dialogue for you. Who are the speakers, where are they, what are they doing, what are they going to do next?
Do you think we’ll get away with it?
We did last time.
Yes, but this time we won’t have Henry with us.
I’m sorry.
What for?
For telling Liz about what happened.
It’s okay. She had to know.
Everything’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.
That’s easy for you to say.
You’re hurt, but I’m not giving up.
We’ll never get away now.
5) A lot of special holidays and family events are ahead in the next two months. What are you looking forward to most? What are you dreading? What do your characters look forward to? What do they dread? Write the diary entry your character wrote as a child about a special family or holiday event.
Today is rainy, damp and dreary–and a perfect day for me to hunker down with the laptop and get some writing and editing done. Hope you are having a writerly day, and if you need some inspiration, here are your writing prompts for October.
1. Start a story with
• a character eating slowly
• a character cheering
• a character pushing something
2. Try one of these opening sentences:
• Yellow leaves crackled underfoot.
• Ben pulled the brim of his hat further down over his eyes.
• The cave was dark, but at least it was dry.
• The last thing Helen needed now was a crying little brother.
• “Storm’s coming.”
3. See if these snatches of dialogue spark a scene or story.
“We need to find shelter.”
“Yes, I’d figured that out.”
“I can’t take another step.”
“I know. I’m tired, too.”
“You don’t understand. I really can’t take another step.”
“Whose car is that?”
“Hal’s, I think. Why?”
“I’ve seen it before.”
“Oh. Where?”
“I’m not sure you want to know.”
4. Think of a story that might go with one of these story titles:
Rider Wrong, In the Mirror, Homecoming, Tow Away Zone, Drive By, The Last Train.
5. Use one, some or all of these words to inspire a story or poem:
My goal for my vacation was to create 50 new writing prompts. I managed 30, which means, from one perspective, that I had a very lazy and enjoyable vacation. And which, quite frankly, is really okay. Technically I have another two days, so I’ll be working, in between loads of laundry, to create the other 20 by Sunday night. In the meantime, I thought I’d share what I came up with here. I’ve added them under the Writing Prompts tab, too.
Do you reread books? I do. In fact that’s what I’ve been doing for the past two weeks. I’m a fan of the Dorothy L. Sayers’ Peter Wimsey novels, and discovered that they could be purchased very easily and inexpensively for my Kobo–a dangerous discovery for someone like me. Anyhow, I’ve been rereading all the ones featuring Harriet Vane, and I’ve really enjoyed them. Perfect vacation reading. Like visiting old friends. What kind of books do you reread?
Hope you have a great weekend, and if writing is on your agenda, maybe one of these prompts will help you with your story.
1. See if these pairs of images inspire a story or poem: Blue pens and ice cream, flashlights and doorknobs, tea cups and sunglasses.
2. What was your character’s favourite childhood movie? Which movie scared him/her? (For me, it was when Pinocchio got swallowed by the whale.) From your character’s point of view, write his/her memoires of seeing these films.
3. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem: door, bottle, corner, light, smile, star.
4. Try one of these first lines to start a story:
The ring hit the empty garbage can with a clunk.
Why are you leaving?
I heard the bang and ran.
5. Can you think of a story for one of these titles?
Wings and Lace, Emerald Crown, Longing, Full Stop, Star Struck, Run, Hitching a Ride.
6. Can you work these lines of dialogue into a scene or a story?
“You missed!”
“I know.”
“But you never miss.”
7. What’s your favourite song or soundtrack? Explain why this music is special to you and why someone should listen to it.
8. See if these pairs of images suggest a story or poem: yellow lilies and rain, smoke and a mirror, lightning and a wing.
9. Try one of these opening sentences to begin a story or scene:
Snow. Again.
I missed the sign that read: Caution Wet Floor.
Loose gravel crunched beneath my feet.
I thought she looked familiar.
10. They say that our sense of smell is the most evocative of our senses. When I smell lavender I recall memories of my grandmother. When I smell fried onions, I think of the Canadian National Exhibition, and am swamped with images from many childhood trips there. What smells can trigger your memories? Where do those memories lead when you start to write them down?
11. Consider starting your story with one of these actions:
Someone running away
Someone or something getting lost
Someone being frightened
Someone or something falling.
12. Are you afraid of heights, spiders or crowds of people? What is your character afraid of?
13. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem: cup, bloom, note, cave, sign, red.
14. What does your character think and feel when she/he looks in the mirror?
15. Can you work these lines of dialogue into a scene or a story?
“It’s too dark. I can’t see.”
“We have to keep going.”
“YOU have to keep going.”
16. What was your character’s favourite childhood toy? What do these toys tell you about your character? Did your character learn any special skill while playing with these toys that might help him or her in your story?
17. See if these pairs of images inspire a story or poem: spoons and blue jeans, running shoes and a rainbow, tea cups and sunglasses.
18. Try one of these opening sentences:
I thought flying would be harder.
Jill disappeared on Wednesday.
I was sure I heard the sound of wings.
19. Who is your favourite modern author? Go back and reread just the first pages of his or her novels. Look closely at the techniques used to get and keep the reader’s attention. Look at your own first pages and see if you can incorporate any of those techniques to make the beginning of your story more appealing to readers.
20. Consider starting your story with one of these actions:
Someone climbing
Someone lighting a fire
Someone throwing something.
21. What is the one thing that your character doesn’t want anyone to find out about him or her?
22. Can you work these lines of dialogue into a scene or a story?
“I was told to bring you here.”
“Who told you?”
“You’ll find out soon.”
23. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem: pitcher, nail, bag, yellow, edge, chain
24. Is your character a good sailor or does s/he get motion sickness? Can either of these characteristics be used in your story? An ocean voyage? A ride on a roller coaster?
25. Try one of these opening sentences:
Eldor was a different kind of capital city.
Chains rattled.
It was my turn to dig.
26. Who is your reader? Take some time and describe your reader. How old? What interests? Favourite TV shows? Where does he or she read? What makes your reader put a book down? What makes him or her smile or feel sad? What makes him or her laugh? Make your reader as real as possible, and think of this reader when you sit down to write.
27. Here are some lines of dialogue for your story.
“It’s cold.”
“Yes.”
“I’m freezing!”
“Keep moving.”
28. Try one of these opening lines:
The forest sighed.
There was only one way to find out if this would work.
They were wrong. Blood did not look like ketchup.
29. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem: fence, line, sharp, red, cord, leaf, window
30. What does your character do at the beach? Play a competitive game of beach volleyball? Laze in the sun? Read? Catch up on email? Swim? Avoid the crowds? What do his or her preferences tell you about your character that you might not have known before?
Well, my strategy for leaving the laptop shut in order to get some writing done paid off. I’m over 2500 words further into the book today than I was when I wrote my blog on Wednesday. On top of that my journal now has several brainstormed plot notes that will keep me writing for a while. Whew! Now 2500 words in 3 days might not seem like a lot to some, but it’s a lot for me–especially considering my previous pace of glacial.
I was in one of those places where I was beginning to wonder whether anything would get me back to feeling like a writer again. Then, this morning I woke up with a scene in my head that I quickly wrote down before I went for my morning walk. I haven’t had that happen for a long time. So, yay! Feeling writerly.
Onward into the weekend, and some more writing (and some golf, too). Hope your next few days are creative and relaxing and full of reasons for you to feel like a writer.
