opening sentences

October 2014 Writing Prompts

20131013_135739Welcome to October! We’ve just finished nearly two weeks of perfect summer weather, but yesterday the rains came and today we’re facing cold winds and cloudy skies–and the furnace is on! I’m usually right on time with my writing prompts, but I’ve been laid low by the back-to-school cold/cough/flu, and lost track of time catching up, and frankly, sleeping whenever I could. Hope you and yours are having a healthy fall.

Here are the new prompts for October.

1. Use one, some, or all of these words in a story or poem.

  • Clouds, rope, splash, branch, jar, grey
  • Car, pen, lighthouse, trail, fence, never

2. Try one of these opening sentences to start your story.

  • Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning.
  • Where are the pumpkins?
  • The dark figure lurched through the door.
  • This was one of those mornings when I should have stayed in bed.
  • The wind dragged the dead branches against the window.
  • My bike jerked wildly toward the curb. Flat tire.
  • Unlike my sister, I think that two kittens are two too many.

3. See if one of these titles inspire a story: Bubble Trouble, The Old Cottage Mystery, Ghosts at Lunchtime, Storm Warning, Frozen Dreams, Running, Hiding Mandy, Crushed, Clean Sweep

4. Write a scene to go with these lines of dialogue.

  • Henry is going to be there.
  • What difference does that make?
  • Henry always wants to be the boss.
  • Then we need to make sure he doesn’t get what he wants.

 

  • I can’t go.
  • But you promised!
  • I have to babysit.
  • Then I’ll just go on my own.
  • You can’t. It’s too dangerous.

 

  • Did you hear that noise?
  • Yeah. So what?
  • I’ve heard it before. We’d better hide. Now.

 

  • Where did Mike get all that money?
  • That’s none of our business.
  • It is my business. My sister’s wallet went missing yesterday.

 

5. What do you like best about autumn? Hallowe’en? Colourful trees? Back to school? Football season starting? Baseball season ending? In Canada, Thanksgiving? Write about the things that you like about this season. Does the character in your story like autumn? What does he or she like the most? Write about the things that you and your character dislike, too.

A September New Year’s Day

School Supplies 3Big changes today. My son moved into residence at a local university, and even though he’s not far away, his absence will change our lives significantly. A cheerful, talkative, smart young man and talented musician, he’s leaving us with looking for ways to keep the house from feeling so quiet and so empty. It’s time for him to move on to the next part of his life, and for us to sort things out here, too. Interesting times are ahead for all of us, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’re heading to school this September, as teacher or student, I wish you every success as you take more steps to grow and learn and decide what kind of person you want to be and what kind of future you want for yourself and those around you.

For my Facebook friends today, September 1st seemed more like New Year’s Day–full of plans for new projects, new directions and resolutions to make much-wanted changes. If one of your resolutions is to write more, here are some writing prompts for September.

1. Use one, some or all of these words in a story or poem:

a) Bus, trap, rain, pen, dread, grey, coin

b) Rail, gold, title, wind, surprise, empty, fall

 

2. See if one of these opening lines inspires a story:

  • Are you sure you’re okay on your own?
  • I don’t know what comes after this.
  • Does that car look familiar?
  • When the last time you saw Rick?
  • I thought he was going to win.
  • I’ve lost it. Again.

 

3. Here are some lines of dialogue that you can use to write a scene or include in a story.

  • Move over.
  • Why?
  • I can’t see.

 

  •  Have you heard from Henry lately?
  • No. He’s been awfully quiet.
  • That’s not like Henry is it?
  • No.

 

  • Are you ready to try again?
  • I wasn’t ready to try the first time.

4. Maybe one of these titles will give you a story idea:

Bricks and Sticks, Meeting at Sunrise, The Blue Throne, Mystery on the Red Planet, The Hunter, Open Book, Game Day.

 

5. Leo Tolstoy wrote: “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” Think about what it would be like to live in a family different from yours. If you have lots of siblings, imagine going through a day as an only child. If you have sisters, imagine your life with brothers of vice versa. You get the idea. What kind of families have you created for the characters in your story? Make a list of the details that you thought of while imagining a different family and see if you can use them to help build the families of your characters.

Writing Prompts for June 2014

IMG_4436Wow, it’s been a busy two weeks. I had a wonderful time preparing for and presenting a workshop on journaling and creative writing at the College Association for Language and Literacy conference at Humber College this past Thursday. I found the research for the workshop very informative, and learned a lot more about the benefits of keeping a journal. I have no excuse now to not include journaling as part of my writing process, though I am going to be easy on myself if I don’t write in it every day.

I managed to complete the first edits of the writing fiction book for pre-teens and the fantasy novel for middle readers, too. I have LOTS to do yet, but I’m feeling good about what’s been done so far.

Here are some writing prompts to keep you creating in June.

1. Use one, some or all of these words in a poem or story:

  • jewel, creature, sky, hope, river, crackle
  • statue, storm, wall, hole, keep, shudder
  • tower, hum, grass, footprints, cache, throw

2. Here are some opening sentences for you to try:

  • “Sit here!”
  • Some trees were just meant for climbing.
  • The hallway echoed with our footsteps.
  • The planks were worn and cracked.
  • There was a reason why no one ever told me to trust my instincts.
  • I thought I’d faced my worst day ever, but I was wrong.

3. See if any of these titles inspire a story or poem:  Wind Haven, Shelter, The Open Door, Marnie’s Magic, Tempest House, Dragon Boy, Danger Pay, Restless Winter

4. What scene can you imagine happening around these dialogue excerpts?

  • Can we stop here?
  • No, we need to keep going
  • Why?
  • It’s dangerous.
  • I don’t see anything.
  • It’s in the air.

 

  • Shouldn’t we report this?
  • I don’t think so.
  • But …. Oh, I see what you mean.

 

  • That’s the last time I’ll tell you.
  • Yeah. Right.
  • No. Honestly. It is the last time

5. When you were a child, did you make wishes on stars, or birthday candles, or Thanksgiving turkey wish bones? Do you remember what you wished for? Were any of your wishes granted? What do you wish for today? Answer these questions for yourself and then answer them for your character. Consider turning one of today’s wishes into a goal and make a list of what steps you need to follow to have that wish come true. Start working on the first item on that list soon.

6. Here’s a list of some fun events that are celebrated during June. Can you think of a story that you could write around one of them? National Donut Day, Richard Scarry’s birthday, Ballpoint Pen Day, Fly a Kite Day, National Fudge Day, Garfield’s Birthday, Soap Opera Day, Johannes Gutenberg’s Birthday, Chocolate Pudding Day, Meteor Day, Superman’s Birthday. Actually Meteor Day and Superman’s Birthday are on the same day, June 30th. No surprise, I guess. 🙂

Hope you have a creative week ahead!

I’m currently editing, Writing Fiction: A Hands-On Guide for Pre-Teens. If you would like to know when the book comes out, please fill out the following form. I promise that you will not be bombarded with spam emails, just the odd thing that I come across that you might find useful, a couple of sample chapters as I work through the project, and my newest writing prompts.

 

Writing Prompts for February

A Snowy DriveThe Christmas poinsettia is thinning out, the fireplace mantle is empty of snowmen, musical snow globes, and the seasonal moose, the last of the holiday chocolate has been consumed, and I’m on week 4 at Weight Watchers. It must be February.

Today horizontal snow is flying by my window and the temperature feels like -17 degrees Celsius with the wind chill. Two weeks ago it was +12 and my daffodils were poking through the red stones on my flowerbed. This is winter in southern Ontario.

Tomorrow, our provincial prognosticator of the duration of winter, Wiarton Willie, groundhog extraordinaire, will be jarred from a nice sleep and asked to step outside his warm home and look for his shadow. If he sees his shadow, there will be an early spring, if not, expect six more weeks of winter. Either way, we’re pretty much programmed here to deal with winter as long as it sticks around.

To keep the creative fires burning, whether you have snow or not, here are some writing prompts for February.

1. Write a piece using one, some or all of the following words: snow, windows, night, candle, branches, waiting.

2. Try one of these opening lines:

  • Jim glared out the window as fat flakes of snow filled in the sidewalk he’d just shoveled. “Mary!” he called. “What did you say the temperature was in Las Vegas today?”
  • My boss was right. Sunday was the perfect day for a murder.
  • It was too damn quiet.
  • Outside the diner, a black pickup rolled to a stop.
  • Helen never looked good in red.

3. See if these lines of dialogue inspire a scene:

What’s that?
I don’t hear anything.
Shhh. Listen.
Oh. That’s not good.

How’d it go?
The captain was less than impressed.
But did he believe you?
Yes. We’re leaving in an hour.

What’s so interesting? You’ve been staring out that window for the past hour.
Bill’s late.
Wouldn’t he call if he were going to be late?
Yes, if he could.

Did you get what you wanted?
Yes.
Then let’s get out of here.

4. Maybe one of these titles will work for you: Wet Roads and Stars, Miranda’s Memory, Black on Black, Gateway, Red Light, Washed in Dreams, Sundown and Sam, Wild Winds, Empty Pages

Have a fantastic February!

March Writing Prompts

Whether March comes in like a lion or a lamb, it’s usually a blustery, unpredictable month. One day teases us with promises of spring in warm breezes and bird calls, and the next (in my part of the world) covers everything with snow and freezing rain. Amid March’s see-saw weather, one constant is the need to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and do some joywriting. Here are some prompts to keep the words flowing this month.

1. March 21st marks the vernal equinox when day and night hours are perfectly balanced. Do you strive for balance in your life? How do you achieve it? How do you cope when the dark overwhelms the light in your life? How would your character answer these questions?

2. Consider words/ideas associated with the words ‘lion’ and ‘lamb’ and see what stories are hiding in them: Lamb Chop, soft, woolly, Mary and the lamb, lamb to the slaughter, MGM’s lion, roaring, fierce, Androcles and the Lion, Africa, Serengeti, pride, hunter, Lion King.

3. Use one, some, or all of these words to spark a story or poem: march, crock, blue, bloom, roof, stone

4. March has two astrological signs: Pisces the fish and Aries the ram. What characteristics are suggested by those two animals? Do they apply to anyone you know? Think about what animals your characters could be. When Laurence Olivier created his role of Richard III, he saw him as a spider.

5. Some opening sentences to play with.

a) Marnie sat in front of her computer, staring at a screen full of photos. “Delete,” she whispered and the screen went blank.

b) The room looked so dull now all the cards were put away.

c) A year had passed and it still hurt to walk in the house and not hear his/her voice.

d) Pat walked ino the library and flicked the light switch. A flash, a hollow pop, and darkness.

Have fun!

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