It is exciting to find out that more of our members are doing some of
the writing prompts. If you haven’t done so yet, try to this month. You
can also do any writing prompt from another month or from somewhere
else.
You can write the challenge as long as you want, even if it leads to a short story or a longer work. But when we share them at the meeting, we need to remember there are more people with something to share. Because time is limited, we need to keep a reading to approximately 500 words or a couple of pages.
April Prompts
- Write
a scene that includes time travel.
- Use
this phrase: When you realize you have
to parallel park….
- Write
a short story about a wedding cake.
- Your
main character is a female swashbuckler. What’s she up to this week?
- Write
a scene using these three elements – Genre: Young Adult; Person:
A bored inventor; Problem: It’s been raining for a month with no signs
of stopping.
Words:
Injury – stranger – protest – summon – verdant
Exercise:
Guy with a Gun (from James Scott Bell)
“This was a Raymond Chandler idea. If you’re
writing along and the going gets dull, he said, just bring in a guy with a gun.
Justify it later.
It’s a great trick. (Yes, it’s OK to call
these things “tricks of the trade.” If you’re angling for a position on the
Yale faculty, you can call them “advanced literary operandi.”) It brings
instant conflict and juices up your story.
Of course, it doesn’t have to be a literal
gun. It can be almost anything:
•
An unexpected guest
• Someone from the past
• An upsetting
phone call
• An accident
• A cop
• A nun
• A con artist
• A news item
• A death
• A sudden shock
(“You’re fired!” or “Will you marry me?”)
Try it by writing a scene with an unexpected event.
