tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post5000921900328242019..comments2024-03-27T10:02:56.747-04:00Comments on Fiction University: Writing Prompts and Getting Unstuck Janice Hardyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-81250767344638950562012-10-12T06:39:10.249-04:002012-10-12T06:39:10.249-04:00This blog never fails to deliver, one great idea a...This blog never fails to deliver, one great idea after another.<br />My personal favorite prompt is to eavesdrop on conversations on the train or in a cafe. Ok, its creepy, butI don't eavesdrop for long, maybe enough to hear a tantalizing morsel, out of context. If I continue to listen, it runs the risk of becoming mundane ( ie, sounding like a murder plot when they're actually talking about killing bugs). I don't do it often, and haven't been thumped yet.Jo-Ann Shttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18027989147411624378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-64952244328058768922012-10-11T21:00:18.444-04:002012-10-11T21:00:18.444-04:00I write mostly observational humor, so if I'm ...I write mostly observational humor, so if I'm stuck, I just pull out one of the many little notebooks I keep around the house or in my bag and read through notes I've scribbled until I find something that strikes me.<br /><br />Even if the result doesn't work in my current WIP, I save the snippet for a future ms or a blog post. Much of what I write stems from the "I remember" concept!Cindy Dwyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13143279929486216901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-79790575664301651172012-10-11T18:59:19.726-04:002012-10-11T18:59:19.726-04:00I love the concept of "I remember", beca...I love the concept of "I remember", because once you get started it really does pull you back in to the story of your own life complete with details - I can't wait to try.<br /><br />I've just been introduced to the alternate reality approach which is quite fun - when you're stuck just list as many different outcomes as you can and pick the one that works best.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15380202410896276712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-71893146718121968272012-10-11T16:01:50.389-04:002012-10-11T16:01:50.389-04:00I don't do prompts very often but I love the &...I don't do prompts very often but I love the "I Remember" one. I can see how that'd be especially helpful when writing YA since it helps you remember when you were that age. <br /><br />When I was in my MFA program, our teacher gave us a writing prompt where we had to take a little tsotchke from a pile and writer a story that included the object. Ghenet Myrthilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12621168379560585094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-55474200885913128852012-10-11T15:07:20.339-04:002012-10-11T15:07:20.339-04:00I've never tried writing prompts (though now t...I've never tried writing prompts (though now that I think about it, it seems obvious). I usually turn to music to get me out of a funk.Steph Sessahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17418055704131162412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-38842722935505803652012-10-11T10:24:17.179-04:002012-10-11T10:24:17.179-04:00I'm so excited to read your book, Tamara - con...I'm so excited to read your book, Tamara - congrats! Thanks Caryn for the very generous giveaway!<br /><br />And thanks for reminding me about writing prompts: it's been too long. In the past, I've mostly used prompts to get the creative juices flowing. Genius to use them to get unstuck on your WIP! <br /><br />I like many of the writing exercises in Josip Novakovich's "Writing Fiction Step by Step." I believe it was there I got an exercise that's really stuck with me because the resulting story surprised me so much. Something like: Write about an every-day occurrence from four people's point of view. Who knew a simple family Sunday breakfast contained so much suppressed emotion! :)Angelica Hagmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13713734477178069615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-65296814431066059142012-10-11T09:04:36.063-04:002012-10-11T09:04:36.063-04:00Great post! One of my favorite prompts comes from ...Great post! One of my favorite prompts comes from a writing workshop I attended. The instructor called it "line stealing" where you blindly pick a line at random from a book, newspaper or magazine and begin writing based off that line. Works great with poetry.marti parhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16619874032864736750noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-76696614300856911272012-10-11T08:14:09.575-04:002012-10-11T08:14:09.575-04:00C0, contest ends Sunday. Thanks for reminding me I...C0, contest ends Sunday. Thanks for reminding me I forgot to mention that!Janice Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02356672149097741248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-86689512715341132592012-10-11T07:44:18.539-04:002012-10-11T07:44:18.539-04:00These are perfect. Great timing. I keep coming up ...These are perfect. Great timing. I keep coming up with other things I 'need' to get done before I can write. Maybe this afternoon I'll write about that unusual family that lived across the street in middle and high school. Thanks!Heather RQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08283245168541151026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-1638158757376718152012-10-11T05:30:44.503-04:002012-10-11T05:30:44.503-04:00Great post. I love using prompts to spark my imagi...Great post. I love using prompts to spark my imagination even if I don't get to writing they get me thinking.<br /><br />I wrote down the following not long ago:<br /><br />Unlike other firedrakes, the dragon in this story liked to recite poetry and was a connoisseur of fine wines.<br /><br />I think it was a sentence showing the word 'connoiisseur' in context, or maybe it was 'firedrake'... Anyway I loved the image it conjured up!Livasahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15376155672272373743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-39650492918341063042012-10-11T04:29:16.614-04:002012-10-11T04:29:16.614-04:00This is a great topic!
What works for me when I&...This is a great topic! <br /><br />What works for me when I'm stuck is creating playlists for each character. Music says so much about a person. Some of my characters may have questionable taste in music, but it helps me understand them as people. Also, when a song comes on the radio I can think OMG X would totally listen to this! And then my friends ask why I'm grinning like a fool.<br /><br />I have to say I'm loving the song lyric prompt. I'm absolutely going to give that a try next time I'm in need. <br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15902028625421542754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-38297718146536670902012-10-11T01:19:45.866-04:002012-10-11T01:19:45.866-04:00I don't have a favorite prompt, but I had an i...I don't have a favorite prompt, but I had an immediate idea when I read the one you suggested about a family on the same street. I tell you, that one's GOLD for me=)Katie Dunnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915462239326916701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-61687159134225777092012-10-10T21:03:24.606-04:002012-10-10T21:03:24.606-04:00This is awesome advice! I've been stuck for a ...This is awesome advice! I've been stuck for a while, trying to work out the plot for my wip. I'll have to try this. Thanks for sharing! :)Abby Annishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05543937393055900844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-48875979071607407222012-10-10T20:27:28.179-04:002012-10-10T20:27:28.179-04:00Teeth! That's awesome! Thanks for the great ti...Teeth! That's awesome! Thanks for the great tips. I'll give them a try.Julie Musilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02150454913885915017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-20140418703925937572012-10-10T20:12:15.619-04:002012-10-10T20:12:15.619-04:00Like Natalie, I don't use writing prompts. Gla...Like Natalie, I don't use writing prompts. Glad to see I'm not alone in the crowd on that! I reread what I was working on when I left my ms, and jump in! SOmetimes I record a dream first. Does that count?Carol Baldwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10444182118975929045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-76512362077688346602012-10-10T19:13:32.932-04:002012-10-10T19:13:32.932-04:00Great prompt ideas to try.
I like travelling- any ...Great prompt ideas to try.<br />I like travelling- any mode, train, bus, plane, all get ideas going. Also looking at sculpture and visiting galleries and museums.Tania Liemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16573376135367090019noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-56624604491062742602012-10-10T17:52:39.645-04:002012-10-10T17:52:39.645-04:00I've used writing prompts at various workshops...I've used writing prompts at various workshops and am always surprised by what they inspire. I also find listening to music while writing helps generate certain moods.Christina Mercerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09938707461943582486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-51601492799145286542012-10-10T17:47:24.397-04:002012-10-10T17:47:24.397-04:00Usually I just close the document that's troub...Usually I just close the document that's troubling and go write whatever I want, though, once upon a time my English teacher gave our class a piece of paper each and made us write down whatever was going on in our minds. It was easy in one sense because the mind is never silent so there was always something to write yet hard in another because you can think a lot faster than you can write!<br />But I find that if I just type away for a straight two minutes - effectively complaining about what's wrong and why I FEEL I'm stuck, not only do I get into the flow of writing but often I find the answer to my problem.Sharenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12269653927583158232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-57304666838749947992012-10-10T17:21:30.333-04:002012-10-10T17:21:30.333-04:00I do song prompts a lot, although using the first ...I do song prompts a lot, although using the first line of one is probably more concrete.<br /><br />I have a question: How long will this contest last? I want it to be available when my weekly round-up goes up on Friday.chihuahuazerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15677672177353350936noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-9028172590708864302012-10-10T15:46:38.336-04:002012-10-10T15:46:38.336-04:00I like using all my senses to describe being in a ...I like using all my senses to describe being in a certain room.jpetroroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07652079710462059513noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-20613684353978707382012-10-10T15:31:51.923-04:002012-10-10T15:31:51.923-04:00Love the premise of your novel...now added to my k...Love the premise of your novel...now added to my kindle wish list :) I've not used writing prompts before, but I am currently stuck in my novel writing so will definitely try out some of your suggestions. Something I do sometimes is write a poem and then use the poem as inspiration for a scene, be it literal or in atmosphere, and also sometimes break up the poem to use bits of it in the prose.Yetihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02456826101172567919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-82863227072507187032012-10-10T15:31:13.114-04:002012-10-10T15:31:13.114-04:00Like a previous poster, I also like to go to "...Like a previous poster, I also like to go to "the worst that could happen" kind of prompt, since conflict is so important. I start with "I'd really hate it if..." finishing the phrase from my characters point of view. That gets me going in the direction of what could happen in a scene that might be surprising instead of what would be expected. Enjoyed the post- looking forward to the book! Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07221209272618905129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-64038144874932142862012-10-10T15:15:07.598-04:002012-10-10T15:15:07.598-04:00Here's a prompt or at least an exercise I like...Here's a prompt or at least an exercise I like to do. What will your character be like as an adult? (Or what was he like as a child if he is already an adult). <br /><br />rena traxelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09984425188567295761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-19301685690554147902012-10-10T15:03:56.355-04:002012-10-10T15:03:56.355-04:00I often watch documentaries from NetFlix or other ...I often watch documentaries from NetFlix or other service to generate ideas. Following a real documentary in a situation that is near what you're working on can also give insights into how your characters might react.http://jaynemoraski.tumblr.com/https://www.blogger.com/profile/12342600594961493552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901370917824739259.post-66795658567884045892012-10-10T14:50:21.902-04:002012-10-10T14:50:21.902-04:00I always have the best intentions to use writing b...I always have the best intentions to use writing books (Elizabeth Berg has some good ones in her book on writing) and then I never do it; I always try to force myself through the tough parts in writing. But you are so right, writing should be FUN and instead of forcing my unhappy way through difficult parts of writing, I should liven it up with fun prompts like these examples. <br /><br />Here's a prompt from Berg's book: pretend you are the opposite sex for a while. <br /><br />Margo Berendsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03476308235642890474noreply@blogger.com