mbarker: (Fireworks Delight)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original posting 2022/3/10
What the heck, we haven't done these in a while. The idea is simple. I'll toss out a single line prompt, and... you get to write about it. Some folks will take it as the first line, and continue from there. Others may prefer to embed the prompt in a context, perhaps writing a scene around it. And, naturally, some will simply work the essence of the prompt into their piece, preferring to hint obliquely or even quite blatantly at the idea of the prompt. Basically, feel free to use (or abuse) the prompt any way that suits you, but do try to do a little brainstorming or a little writing with it. So, with that lengthy discussion out of the way, let's see what we might start with today? Oh, how about a classic sort of start?

Once upon a time, there was a gingerbread house in the forest.

There you go! Now, add some characters (yes, you may add children, a witch, elves, or whatever you like), and tell us what happens in that gingerbread house...

Write?
mbarker: (MantisYes)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original posting 2022/1/23
On tv, they had a funny contest. Basically, they provided the tv talents with some pictures, and asked them to make drawings, paintings, art based on the pictures. Then they asked their resident artist to grade the results, and provide his own version…

So, I was thinking. If you wander over to google images (https://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en ) and put a word, phrase, or whatever in, you’ll get a bunch of pictures. So, pick a word, phrase, or something from a poem or story, and see what google images turns up! Pick one of those that appeals to you.

Then, add characters, setting, action… whatever it needs, and make a story. Help us to see that picture, to step into the world you have found, and watch the play!

Okay? And of course, feel free to share the results here.
Write! 
mbarker: (BrainUnderRepair)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original posting 2021/11/4
Caught this in my morning scramble through Google news... recommended for me?

https://www.lifesavvy.com/22054/five-creative-writing-exercises-to-jump-start-nanowrimo/amp/

Oh, now google news is offering me aids for Nanowrimo? Let’s see…

Morning pages? Right, the Artist’s Way recommended starting your day with three pages of thoughts. Anything and everything that comes bubbling up. Of course, many of us know that approach as free-writing. It’s a good warmup, and a way to keep going when you need it… hum, they snuck one in there, about writing about an object. Just look around, pick something, and go! Google images can help, if you need more pictures…

Memory and dream journaling? Sure, dig back into the past, and tell us about a time when you… what are the stories that you share when talking to friends? What do you remember? What did you feel? Or maybe you want to do dreams? 

Writing prompts? I happen to participate in a weekly round of prompts, but a search on the Internet for writing prompts will keep you busy for many, many words. Looks as if there is one aimed at Nanowrimo, too.

Fan fiction! Pick a story, and retell it. Or maybe pick a bit character from your favorite story and tell their story?
Interesting. The headline says 5 creative writing exercises, but they only seem to have four groups? Maybe the last one is DIY? Do It Yourself… what kind of push will keep you churning out the words, pushing along, aiming at that golden Nanowrimo feeling of accomplishment? Go ahead, make your day, write a bit!  
mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original Posting 2021/11/02
Whoops. It's November second here, and that means NaNoWriMo is off and limping! National Novel Writing Month! Get those keyboards smoking!

Let's see. There's a note from one published author asking what your starting line is, and musing on the importance of a good starting line. Of course, I kind of think that we could come back and fix that in revision, but... if you like, give this search a chance.

https://www.google.com/search?q=opening+line+generator

Or just go over to one of the many first line lists. Take a look at those, and see if something catches your eye. Then make a note, and start writing! Get yourself a character, or maybe a setting, or scene, or plot, and let the words flow!

That's probably one of the keys to success at nanowrimo is just going with the flow, again and again, all month. Oh, sure, feel free to try to lay out some kind of overall plot, and keep track of your characters, scenes, settings, and all that, but... let the words flow.

Actually, you might want to consider that M.I.C.E. stuff that they talked about recently on Writing Excuses (https://writingexcuses.com/ ). Think about the milieu (aka setting), inquiry (aka question and answer), character (aka who am I?), or event (aka change from the status quo), and see whether that prompts something you want to write about.

Oh, yeah. Drop by https://nanowrimo.org/ and join up or sign in. Then follow the yellow brick... well, prompts, anyway. What's your story about? And all that!
Keep those words coming! 
mbarker: (MantisYes)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original Posting 2021/10/15
I was poking around in some old files and found this list. I think it must be a list of possible actions or events for stories, and I think I added the ones after the dashes as possible alternatives? Anyway, I thought some of you might find it useful for brainstorming. When you want to think about what might happen next in your story… Run down the list and see what catches your eye, what kind of problem could your character be involved with?

Supplicate, ask for help – offer help, deliverance, rescue
victim of misfortune – receiving good fortune
disaster
abduction – eloping, running away, vacation
obtaining – giving away
hatred – love
rivalry – boosting
adultery – reinforcing marriage
madness – sanity
murder – saving lives, giving life
self-sacrifice – self-fulfillment, expression
dark secret – hidden abilities
love blocked – love aided
ambition – promoting others
revenge – good payback, forgiveness
pursuit – helping to freedom
revolt – support
daring expedition
mystery
fatal curiosity – curiosity repaid
mistaken jealousy
faulty judgment – mistaken forgiveness
remorse
recovery/loss

Something there for almost anybody!
mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original Posting 2021/10/9
(For those who don't recognize it, that's one of the taglines from Pinky and the Brain. To which the Brain would typically answer, "The same thing we do every night, Pinky! Take over the world!")

If you want to listen to the theme song, try this... https://youtu.be/GBkT19uH2RQ 

So, let's see. It's slipping into fall. October! Whoops! Do we want to do a Halloween story contest? Anybody? Yipes, that's only 3 weeks away!

I have to admit, I've been enjoying the weekly writing prompt exchange over at Odd Prompts https://moreoddsthanends.home.blog/ where each week, we all submit various odd bits and pieces (writing prompts!) which are then randomly assigned to us to play with over the next week. Most of us do sketches, although we have had a few outbreaks of poetry or other responses. We could do something similar here on the list? I can make up a "submit your prompt" sheet pretty easily, then randomize and so forth. Or maybe we should just post a few of your favorite prompts, and anyone who wants to can take a swing at it?

Of course, I have a pile of writing books that I could start meandering through. I'm not sure if people really like that kind of rehearsal of approaches and suggestions, but I know I kind of like trying to figure out what these folks are doing.

Hum. Thanksgiving, Christmas... anyone have any particular ideas about how to turn those into writing provocations? A theme for the holidays?

Oh! Short notice, but over here https://www.cedarwrites.com/sanderley-studios/ there's a call for an anthology about PTSD and trauma. "Write us a story about love, and honor, and the barrier of trauma that holds so many of our service men and women from fully coming home for the holidays." Take a look!
Let's take over the world tonight! 
mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting 10/3/2019

This is really aimed at artists drawing in ink, but... over on their site (https://inktober.com/), they have a list of the daily one word prompts. Seems almost as if you could take one or more of the words for this week, and write a story? I mean, look at the first seven...  1.  Ring  2.  Mindless  3.  Bait  4.  Freeze  5.  Build  6.  Husky  7.  EnchantedGo ahead, let each of those words trickle through the little grey cells, and see what else pops up. Do they crisscross and connect? Who is that peeking around the corner? What, there's a problem hiding in there?Consider writing a scene that shows us what that word conjures up for you? Go ahead, make us feel that mindless horror, or the squeaking of the beat, or maybe the fear and trembling as someone yells, "FREEZE!"?Feel free to use the words to prompt some stories! Here, I'll give you the whole list.  1.  Ring  2.  Mindless  3.  Bait  4.  Freeze  5.  Build  6.  Husky  7.  Enchanted  8.  Frail  9.  Swing  10. Pattern  11. Snow  12. Dragon  13. Ash  14. Overgrown  15. Legend  16. Wild  17. Ornament  18. Misfit  19. Sling  20. Tread  21. Treasure  22. Ghost  23. Ancient  24. Dizzy  25. Tasty  26. Dark  27. Coat  28. Ride  29. Injured  30. Catch  31. RipeThere you go. A prompt a day, or mix and match? Go for it!
mbarker: (Default)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original Posting: 5/20/2019
I was watching a quiz show recently, and they showed a whole sequence of manga pictures and asked the panel what the sound was to go with each one of them! They had a lot of fun trying to guess the appropriate sound effects, which in manga style are written across the picture. Kind of like the old Batman TV show, BIFF! BAM! and so forth? Anyway, I grabbed some of the situations and thought you might like to use them as one line writing prompts.So, pick a number from 1 to 6. You may roll a die (that's the singular of dice you know) if you want to do that. Then look at which one you picked, and... WRITE!1. As she stood with the valentine's day card in her hands, with him standing around the corner, her heart jumped, "Dokidoki."2. As the arrow whistled into the apple on his head, the son couldn't help but give a small shout.3. As the ghost climbed out of the well beside them, his girlfriend grabbed him with a screech.4. As his hand went through the paper on the bamboo screen covering the window, he heard the ripping, shook his head, and groaned. The hotel was going to charge him extra for that!5. As the egg cooked in the frying pan, everyone heard the sizzle and licked their lips.6. As the lightning forked down from the sky around them, their ears were battered by the crack as it sank into the tree beside them.There you go. Just a little hint of a scene. Who are the people, what's going on? What happened leading up to this, and what happens next? Go ahead, tell us all about it.tink 
mbarker: (Fireworks Delight)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting April 9, 2019

Deadline April 14! Just in time for taxes! Or maybe showers? Anyway...A private eye, struggling with the death of a close friend, learns something important. They face the moral issue that their 12-year-old son asks them to buy a copy of Playboy magazine. Do they buy it or not? The AI robot in their luggage might be helpful. At the same time, the private eye is trying to find and clean out a safe area. How can they remove the evil players, encourage the good players, and decide whether to let the locals run everything or keep control themselves?Which way did they go? Let's follow them! What, a clue? Or two? Yes, it's...
mbarker: (BrainUnderRepair)
[personal profile] mbarker
Original posting March  27, 2019

Knowing that you might be interested in some kind of writing prompt (did you know we are doing short stories or other fragments? 6x6, but you're welcome to jump in and join in the fun now, if you like! Come on, write a little!)Anyway, I was riding in the train today, looking around, and saw... a poster advertising a number of musicals, apparently. I guess live musicals are coming back? I thought you might be able to do something with this. Just three of the musicals...The Bodyguard, On the Town, and Man of La Mancha!Go ahead, let those simmer a little in your brain. A bodyguard... out on the town... and of course, Don Quixote and all the fun bits and pieces of the Man of La Mancha. Mix and match, see what sparks in your brain. Add a few characters, a bit of scenery, some events...AND WRITE!
mbarker: (Burp)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting: March 19, 2019

Here we go. Pick a number from... oh, let's say five to fifteen. Okay? Any number you like from five to fifteen.Next, pop over to https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/ and you will find a lengthy list of writing prompts. BUT don't get distracted. Instead, Just skip the Wildcard or other stuff at the top, and start counting Writing Prompt entries. One, two... when you get to your choice, stop! Read that writing prompt.Now. Whether you like it or not, go ahead and write something about it. GO FOR IT!There you go. Write, write, write!
mbarker: (BrainUnderRepair)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original posting: March 9, 2019

(Man, short stories, flash fiction, what? Do that in a week? I need to do something else... well, here you go, try sowing seeds!)This is kind of half technique, half exercise. It's based on some ruminations by Misha Burnett (see https://mishaburnett.wordpress.com/2019/02/22/accidental-discoveries/ for more details)Basically the idea is to spend a while, say a week or a month, developing seeds. A snippet, a scene, a sketch, a bit of dialogue, a little description, an event... Just enough to capture an idea, a spark for later. One a day, although I suppose you can do more than one, if you want. Then set it aside to sprout and grow.Later, next month or so, you can come back and see what you planted. And go ahead and turn it into a full story. Add those characters, fill in the background, whatever it needs.So. Take a break from weekly stories or longer term novels. Spend a while gathering seeds. Then see what kind of a harvest you gather later.(So I could do 6 seeds instead? Sure, why not? Go for it! Just write!)Remember, tomorrow is the deadline for our first 6x6 submissions. Note that tomorrow may depend on just where you live, I’m probably ahead of the calendar for most of you...
mbarker: (Me typing?)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original Posting Jan. 16, 2019

Short and sweet...

The new neighbor stomped through the fall leaves and up to our door. When we opened it, he grimaced and said, "I'm sorry, my dragon ate a sparkly vampire and now he's sneezing glitter everywhere. Is there a local vet I can call?" Then he stood there, looking woebegone.

There you go. That's the situation. Go ahead, figure out what happened beforehand, and just who this neighbor is, and his dragon, and... oh, yeah, who are we? What happens next?

Have fun!


mbarker: (MantisYes)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original posting March 30, 2018

For those who may have joined us lately (yes, there is at least one new member), let me explain what’s going on. It’s kind of an exercise, but mostly, it’s a fun chance for us all to stretch our writing muscles by... writing a story every week for six weeks. No particular length, no particular topics, just write a story and post it here (SUB: title and some folks have suggested word count). Now, I did suggest we might try using the fantasy topics this go around, but no one is going to complain if you don’t. The fantasy topics? Dragons, fairies, knights, royalty, unicorns, and wolves, from TVtropes.

This exercise came from an article that I summarized some years ago that suggested that it was a good exercise for writers, largely because it builds the habit of regular writing. Indeed, most of the “make a habit” guides suggest doing something for 30 days to get it set in your routine as a habit, and here we are, doing 6 weeks!

We’ve had round one (last Saturday, March 24, was the first week target), and we are about to hit the second one (tomorrow, March 31). Of course, we wouldn’t object if someone wanted to join in at some point along the way. Or you could always comment on the submissions! CRIT: is the right tag, but we all love hearing comments.

Anyway, that’s why I keep posting prompts and tech and stuff babbling about 6x6. It’s not a lumber size or something, just an easy way to remember 6 weeks, 6 stories.

And, write!
mbarker: (ISeeYou2)
[personal profile] mbarker
 Original posting March 28. 2018

Aha! Someone was talking about folk tales on Facebook, and someone else suggested looking at the Aarne-Thompson-Uther classifications. So... with a little help from google, I found this!

http://www.mftd.org/index.php?action=atu

Cool! Talk about a pile of potential sources of ideas!

Animal tales of various sorts, tales of magic, religious tales, realistic tales, tales of the stupid ogre (giant, devil), anecdotes and jokes, and various formula tales.

There you go! In case you didn’t have any ideas, yet another thought-provoker! Do set a timer, so that you don’t vanish into that listing and the stories given there. It’s almost as dangerous as TVtropes!

Just remember, a character, a problem or situation, opposition, and... what does the character want, how do they try to get it, and what happens then? Write, right, write!
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting Sept. 3, 2016

This was one of those off-the-wall comments that TV people love, that didn't get explained. See, they asked one of the young talents if they had anything unusual happen recently, and he said,

"I opened the mailbox in my apartment building, and sand poured out of it."

Everyone on the show laughed, and they hurried on to the next part. But you get to take that scene, or even just that line, and build at least a scene around it. Imagine. Your character opens the mailbox in their apartment building, and sand pours out of it. What is going on? Are the other mailboxes also full of sand? Where did it come from? What does it mean? And, of course, how does the character react to the delivery of sand?

Write!
tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting Aug. 30, 2016

Over here,

http://rockrivertimes.com/2016/08/29/outrageous-inexplicable-situation-prompts-wnij-fiction-contest/

They are talking about a flash fiction contest. 500 word stories. And the prompt? Well, your first sentence should contain an outrageous, inexplicable situation. Then deal realistically with that for the rest of your 500 words. You don't need to explain the situation, and probably can't, but make the story good!

There's a short video, and more about the contest (WNIJ, in DeKalb?)

But for the fun of it, even if you don't want to enter their contest, go ahead and spin a story. 500 words, with an incredible beginning.

After all, once you eliminate the ordinary and the improbable, whatever is left, no matter how unlikely, is impossible? Isn't that what Mycroft Holmes told his brother?

Write!
tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting Feb. 9, 2016

Okay. Try this.

Go to this link

http://nickandzuzu.com/?random

See what you get. Consider that humor.

Now, can you write a scene about it? Maybe a character stumbles over that insight? What is the basic conflict here? What can you turn it into?

Write!
tink
[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original posting 3 October 2007

Slithering along in Plot and Structure (17)

So here we are again, with James Scott Bell and a fine book Plot & Structure. We're looking at scenes in Chapter 7, and have already talked about action and reaction, setup and deepening. Now we're about to charge on into Bell's advice for making sure that your scenes always give readers the best they can. What you need are hipboots!

Well, not exactly. Bell suggests that your scenes need to be hip -- hook, intensity, and prompt (HIP).

Hook? Yup, just like we used at the start of the story, you need to make sure that each scene grabs the reader's attention and pulls them into the narrative. It may seem logical to start with a lengthy description of the location and characters, but that's not really a good way to start. Instead, think about dialogue, teasers, action, or even careful mood setting description. Don't always use the same thing. Try different approaches, vary the methods, and keep the reader interested in what is going to happen next. Whether you call it hooks or bait, make sure that the beginning of your scene catches the reader's attention.

Once you've got them paying attention, that's where intensity comes in. Whether it's physical tension or danger or emotional turmoil, keep the tension climbing. The key to this of course is conflict. Characters with opposing agendas, environmental dangers, make sure that your scenes have intensity.

The last ingredient for scenes that sizzle is prompts. This is the ending of the scene, where you need to provide the reader with a hint of what's coming so they keep reading. Make them turn the page and stay up an extra hour reading your book. Don't let your scenes trail off, give them a twist that makes the reader keep going. It's a hint of impending disaster, a flood of emotional release, or a haunting image. A mysterious line of dialogue, a secret revealed, a decision or a vow, an announcement of something unexpected or disasters, new information that reverses and surprises us with a new understanding of the story, or even a question that's just left hanging. Any one of these can provide readers with a reason to keep reading, and that's the prompt. And if you're having trouble because the scene just wants to trail off, try cutting a paragraph or two. Maybe the scene ended before you stopped writing.

Okay. Bell is going to talk about The Intensity Scale next, but I think we'll devote a full posting to that, especially since he uses diagrams that I'm going to have to figure out how to describe in words. Not to worry, for now, practice taking a scene that seems a bit slow or flabby and making it HIP - tighten up the hook, wind up the intensity, and make sure that the ending has a prompt to keep the reader going.

And keep writing!

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