Tag: writing prompts

Writing Opportunity

Here is something from the Wichita Public Library that might interest you as either a writer or reader. Submit your short stories. https://www.wichitalibrary.org/
https://wichita-public-library.short-edition.com/
 
The following was in the library’s newsletter and has more details, forwarded to me by another member.
Let your short story be seen by readers all over Wichita. You can now submit your short stories for placement in the Library’s three short story dispensers in Wichita! Click here to create an account on the online portal. Read below for story prompt ideas and for complete terms and conditions.
 
Writing PromptsWichita has no shortage of ghost stories. Choose a local legend and tell us what really happened. How did the projectionist who haunts the Orpheum die? Why does the woman with the blue handkerchief refuse to leave the Eaton Hotel? What ghosts haunt your Wichita dreams?

You are walking your dog on a windy day when an unusual tree branch blown to the sidewalk catches your eye. On closer inspection, it’s not a tree branch at all. It’s…a dinosaur bone?

Write an “epistolary novel,” a story told entirely through a letter written to one of the characters.

Write about an event that doesn’t go as planned. Examples of events that might go awry include: New Year’s Eve, the first day of school, or the year 2020.

The bronze statues by Georgia Gerber that line Douglas Avenue in downtown Wichita see a lot of action on any given day. Pick one of them and tell us who they are and how they got there. What does the Barefoot Businessman think about what he’s reading in The Wichita Eagle? What do the mother and little boy see in a window of the Kress building? Is the busker having any luck today?

Write a story that takes place the same year you started kindergarten. What political events and cultural trends happened that year? How was technology different? How will these factors shape the narrative and setting for your characters?

A “macguffin” is defined as an object or device in a work of fiction that furthers the plot. Using the “macguffin” of a sealed shut, featureless cardboard box, tell a story about the box, who is responsible for it and what might be inside it.

Imagine a world where humans hibernated during the winter. Write a mystery story that takes place in this hypothetical universe.

Write a story that takes place in a singular setting; that setting is the last building you went to that wasn’t work, school or home.For horror writers, think of the last time something scared you but it turned out to be completely harmless. Write a story where that harmless thing is the story’s antagonist.Douglas and Oliver, Murdock and Washington – Select a Wichita intersection and develop a story around two characters that take their names from the streets in that intersection.In the tradition of Franz Kafka, write a story where the protagonist goes to sleep a human only to wake up as an animal of your choosing.On January 1, 2021, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald entered the public domain, which means that the novel is no longer protected under copyright. Incorporate elements from The Great Gatsby into your story in the same way other public domain characters (like Sherlock Holmes and Dracula) have appeared in contemporary fiction.

 
Terms & ConditionsSubmission Requirements
The author should submit an original story/poem in English. For stories in English, the maximum length is 8,000 characters (including spaces). The work must be fictional, or deal with historical or biographical topics in a literary manner. Journalistic works, nonfiction articles or essays, etc., will not be accepted. Stories can be of any genre, e.g.: drama, romance, science fiction, etc. Pornographic or erotic texts are not permitted.
 
Author Information
Authors shall submit their work using a Short Edition account they will need to create. The author should clearly indicate how they would like to be credited for their work. This name will appear next to the title of the story.
 
Rights, Guarantees and Responsibilities
The author declares that he/she is the sole author of any text he/she submits, and that this same text is an original creation. The author declares that he/she controls the copyright of the submitted text, meaning that he/she has never transferred these rights to a third person/entity.
 
Copying and Distribution
The author grants a non-exclusive right to the project organizer to reproduce, correct and publish his/her stories via Short Story Dispensers belonging to the Wichita Public Library. The copyright of the work shall remain with the author. The author agrees and acknowledges that in this specific case, publication and distribution of their work shall not result in the payment of royalties from
Short Edition.
 
Selection and Publication
The coordinators of the Wichita Public Library project have sole discretion in selecting works for distribution via the Short Story Dispenser. They may also reject or remove works from the dispenser without giving any prior notice or justification to the author. The author can also ask for his/her work to be removed by notifying the project coordinators in writing.
 
Contact
If you have any requests, please email shortstories@wichitalibrary.org.

June 20th Writing Prompts & Meeting

We will be meeting this month, June 20th, (1:30-4:00) outside the Rockwell Library. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and join us in the shade under some trees. We will have extra chairs available. Also, bring a drink to stay hydrated. If you feel the need, wear a mask, too.

The program will be on Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. This is something all writers deal with and need refreshers about from time to time. Be ready to add your thoughts to the discussion.

If you want to try doing a writing exercise and sharing it, here are some possible prompts:

WORDS: Cinderella – grapes – spa – squirrel – green

PROMPTS:

(1) Take any poem or short story you enjoy. Rewrite it in your own words.

(2) Write a poem or short piece about numbers that have a special meaning to you.

(3) You’re walking in the park and suddenly find a dragon. He isn’t scary, just looks lost and sad.

July 20th Writing Prompts

Please write a one to two-page story using one of the writing prompts, or use one of your own.

Writing Prompts:

  • Be a building or house you know well. Talk about your life and memories.
  • What, if anything, would you be willing to fight or even die for? Explain your answer.
  • Write about a time you out-smarted someone.
  • The kids were raised on the mantra “Family is everything.” What happens when they find out their parents aren’t who they pretended to be? Will the family fall apart?

If you want to try using one or all of the words in a sentence, paragraph, short piece, these are the words for July: sword – butterfly – water – justice – school

We hope to see everyone at the July 20th meeting, same place, same time. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July.

June 15th Writing Prompts

It’s time again for writing challenges. Even if you don’t bring yours to share with the group, try one of them just for yourself.

If you want to try using one or all of the words in a sentence, paragraph, short piece, these are the words for June: cheese – slippers – club – stool – garlic

Here are the writing prompt ideas:

  • If you could go back in time anywhere, where and when would you go and why?
  • What commercial on TV do you dislike beyond all others? (No political ads) What about it is particularly annoying to you?
  • What is your hobby? Why do you enjoy it?
  • Describe a bully you have run into during your life.

May 18th Writing Prompts

It’s time again for writing challenges. Even if you don’t bring yours to share with the group, try one of them just for yourself.

If you want to try using one or all of the words in a sentence, paragraph, short piece, these are the words for May: tree – necklace – gossip – rope – car

Here are the writing prompt ideas:

  • Finish this thought: If I were invisible, I would…
  • In an ironic twist, a dog really ate your homework. When you try to explain this to your teacher she says, “Come on, you can do better than that excuse.” Instead of arguing, you take that as a challenge and come up with an elaborate story as to what happened to your homework. Let…
  • You came into work one morning and the dry erase board on your desk has a note on it that you didn’t write. You assume it’s a coworker friend, so, just to amuse yourself, you respond to the note on the board with your own note. The next morning you come in and there’s…
  • To celebrate Mother’s Day, you’ve invited the entire family over to celebrate. But instead of bringing your mom to the celebration your father brings someone else and tells you that this woman is actually your mother. How do you react? Is it someone you know? Write the scene.
  • You receive a mysterious call from a friend who asks you to meet him or her at a secret location. When you arrive, that friend reveals that he or she is by night a superhero. What’s more, the friend needs your help in solving the latest case. The only problem is you can’t help. When…

March 16th Writing Prompts

We will again have multiple writing challenges for you to choose from. Please give them a try, even if you decide not to read yours to the other members at the meeting.

You can choose to use any or all of the five unrelated words and make them into a sentence, a paragraph, a poem, a memoir, or a piece of short fiction. The words do not have to be used in these forms. For example, instead of just “school” it can be “schoolyard” or “schoolhouse,” etc.

WORDS: school – table – crow – spider – forgiveness

PROMPTS:

Finish this thought: If I could change one thing about myself…

Finish this sentence: I have never done anything unpredictable, but that changed today when I woke up, packed a bag, went to the airport, and randomly bought a ticket to________.

You’re sitting in your office when the fire alarm goes off. As you start to exit the building with other coworkers in an orderly fashion, as you’ve been trained, you hear screaming coming from the corner office. Instinctively, you rush to that office to see smoke and fire all around the door. What do….

You and a friend have decided to try and follow a rainbow to see if the end holds a pot of gold. But when you finally reach the end, you find something much more valuable than a pot of gold–and it changes your life. Write this scene.

Write a story about a millennial teenager who, through a high school experiment gone wrong, time travels back to his/her same high school in the 80s, and has to spend a day in that era before finding a way to time-travel back.

February 16th Writing Prompts

We are going to try something a little different for writing challenges this month. These are things I do in the writing classes I teach. Do whatever interests you.

WORDS: angel – queen – mouse – gun – thrill (Use at least three of the unrelated words in a sentence, a paragraph, a poem, a short story. The words can be used in different forms, such as gun – gunshot, gunner, guns.)

PROMPTS: For an additional challenge, incorporate any or all of the Words in your prompt exercise.

  1. She/he studied her/his face in the mirror.
  2. Finish the thought: If I were invisible, I would…
  3. Write about a train journey.

July meeting wrap-up…and new fun things

Words from Louise…

We had an excellent meeting in July. Members read their dialogue and then it was open for general discussion. I have to say I was impressed that everyone at the meeting participated. We all know how to the write good dialogue.

Dialogue is a vast subject that cannot be completed at one meeting. With that said, we will continue a discussion, when possible, about our characters dialogue at each meeting. So bring your questions and writing to share. 

Writing Prompts

Everyone agreed that it would be interesting to get writing prompts well before the next meeting, so those members who can’t write on the fly or don’t like to could participate using writing prompts. Anyone who wants to can bring their written prompts to share at the meeting. For now, I looked on the Internet and found an interesting group called The Writing Prompt Boot Camp.

I have listed three prompts, and you get to pick the one you want to use. Or come up with your own. Have fun with them.

  1. Harry Potterc comes to your house.

What if Harry Potter came to your house for dinner? Write this scene as if you were a teenager, he’s new to your school, and you’re introducing him to your parents. Also after dinner, he makes a request of you. What is it?

  1. Job Swap

Take a character from one of your stories and place them in your current job. How does the office respond? Do they do a good job filling your place, or are they all play and no work?

  1. Hiring a New Villain

Your old villain quit over creative differences, so you put yourself in charge of hiring a new villain for your novel. What questions do you ask? What does the new villain’s resume say? Write this scene as if it were a job interview.

Depending on how many members want to read their writing prompt, you might be limited to the amount you can read.

Critique of our work – Another great idea!

Bring a piece of your writing that you want to be critiqued in an envelope. I will have some envelops for member use. You need to place your name, genre, and word count on the envelope. If you want the reader to email you their response before the next meeting, write your email address on the envelope too.

If any of the above doesn’t make sense, please come to the next meeting- August 19th.  We are looking for ways to make our meetings more enjoyable as well as be  a learning process for everyone.  See you soon.  Louise