Writing Prompt: Who, What, Where, When, and Why

When I’m putting together a writing prompt I think of the five Ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why.

Who

When you look at this beautiful, inspiring, photo created by JD Hancock ask yourself, who is the creature? I’ve named her Penny the Purple, but of course you can call her whatever you like. Is Penny sentient? Does she have thoughts and hopes and dreams and fears? Where does she come from? Who is Penny emotionally connected to? Who does she love? Who does she hate?

What

What is happening? Is Penny the Purple going into the refrigerator or is she leaving? What kind of fridge is it? Is it a normal fridge with milk and nutella inside or is it a time machine like Dr. Who’s TARDIS?

Where

“Where?” might seem like the least interesting question, but what if this scene were occurring back in the Cretaceous? Perhaps a time-travelling alien ripped a 1950s house out of its foundation and plopped it down in a field somewhere, sometime 100 million years ago and one of the creepy crawlies got in.

When

Is Penny the Purple crawling into the fridge to go to bed for the night, or is she emerging in the morning?

Why

This is the big question. Why is Penny creeping in/out of the fridge? This is about her goal, about what she wants. Is she hungry? Is she seeking a mate? Or perhaps she is an interdimensional hit person, slithering out from her interdimensional fridge?

Photo credit for "leftovers" goes to the incredibly awesome JD Hancock and his creative, beautiful photographs.

I'd love to see what you write! Please do leave a link in a comment. :-)

Writing Prompt: What if scientists could tell what a person looked like from a sample of their blood?

I read about advances in science and technology and think, ‘This would make an interesting prompt.’ For example ...

Although the technology doesn’t exist yet scientists agree that in a few years we’ll be able to tell what a person looks like from a sample of their DNA. [1]

The writing challenge: Write a piece of flash fiction—fewer than 500 words—that involves the use of this technology. Keep in mind that (IMHO) the essential characteristic of very short stories is that it hints at a complete story. For example:

“I just stood there, in the stifling and cramped semi-darkness, listening to the frenzied beating of my heart. Or perhaps it was the bear’s heart.” [2]
by Tatyana Talstaya, August 9, 2017

If you’re feeling brave, please leave either your story or a link to it in the comments. Good writing!

If you have ideas for writing prompts, please send them my way! Also, if you have any feedback about this prompt, please share. Thanks in advance! 😀

Notes:
1. Does Your Genome Predict Your Face? Not Quite Yet.
2. Flash Fiction: A summary of very short stories.

Photo by Sweet Ice Cream Photography on Unsplash

Flash Fiction Writing Prompt: What Scares You The Most? Describe Yourself Confronting It.

Happy Holidays! How was your Christmas? I hope it was filled with love, laughter and great food.

I'm feverishly working on my new book, on track for a soft launch by January 3. SO! Today I thought I would share a writing prompt, something to keep our collective muses happy as we head into the New Year.

The Challenge: In 250 words or less write about:

What scares you the most? Describe yourself confronting it.

 That's it! Please share your creative scribblings.

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Every post I pick a book or audiobook I love and recommend it. This serves two purposes. I want to share what I’ve loved with you, and, if you click the link and buy anything over at Amazon within the next 24 hours, Amazon puts a few cents in my tip jar at no cost to you. So, if you click the link, thank you! If not, that’s okay too. I’m thrilled and honored you’ve visited my blog and read my post.

Today I would like to recommend the book that inspired today's writing prompt, 642 Things to Write About: Young Writer's Edition, by 826 Valencia. This book is one of the few paper reference books on my shelf and I use it regularly. I love these prompts! They're fun; I think of them as candy for creatives.

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Writing Prompt: Her parents had always been odd, but ...

Hi! I thought we'd do something a bit different today, so here's a writing prompt.

It was inspired by a story I've been rushing to finish. Currently, I'm at the stage, my least favorite, where I have to write the description. Arg!

Anyway, here's the prompt:

Nicky's parents were always odd. Different. But she doesn't realize how different until her 21st birthday.

That's it! I'd love to read what you come up with. :-)

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If you love writing prompts as much as I do and want more, here a few books with write-worthy prompts:

642 Things to Write About
1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts
The Amazing Story Generator: Creates Thousands of Writing Prompts

Disclaimer: Yes, those are affiliate links, but I have each of those books. Affiliate links are a great way to contribute to a blogger's caffeine habit because, while the cost of the product doesn't change, the blogger gets a few pennies/crumbs from the sale.

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Writing Prompt: You Are Lost

Before I jog, I warm up by stretching. Before I begin my writing day, I often warm up by completing a writing prompt. For a year or so I posted a prompt a day on Google+. I loved reading the responses folks shared as much as I enjoyed crafting my own.

I decided to continue the practice by posting the occasional writing prompt, starting with this one:

You go for a hike and become irrevocably lost. It's twilight. The sounds of the forest turn from enchanting to ominous. A twig near you snaps, the sound echoing through the trees like a gunshot.

What do you do?

(My apologies. I said that today I would write about Stephen King's best advice for writers. At present I'm going through the slow torture of moving and life has become barely controlled chaos. I will write about Stephen King's advice on Monday.)

Want more writing prompts? Try these:

 642 Things to Write About, by San Francisco Writers' Grotto
1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts, by Ryan Andrew Kinder

Ready. Set. Write!

Today I decided to combine this lovely picture with the subject of my blog--writing!--and create a writing prompt. (See: Writing Prompts: Defeat Writer's Block And Generate Ideas)

A Writing Prompt: The Girl In A Mask

This young lady is gorgeous isn't she? I wonder what she's thinking, I wonder where she is and whether she wants to be there. What do you think?

Here are some more questions about the girl in the picture. Try to answer at least two:

- What does she most desire?
- What is her greatest secret?
- Does she love anyone? If so, who?
- Does anyone love her? If so, who?
- What does she like most about herself? What does she dislike most?
- Does she hate anyone? Why?
- Who or what does she fear?
- What makes her angry? Embarrassed?
- Is she jealous of anyone? Why?
- Does she like to laugh? Has she laughed recently?
- What is her favorite food? Favorite book?
- Why is she wearing a mask?
- What is her name?

If you'd like to share your answers, please do! :-)

I think she's at a party planning to do something scandalous as payback for a past slight. Which, naturally, won't go as she thinks and will, instead, bring about a disaster of epic proportions.

Other articles you might like:

- How Many Drafts Does It Take To Write A Novel?
- The Cost of Balance
- If Instagram Can Sell Your Photos Without Your Permission, What Is Next?

Photo credit: "try to look behind my mask; there are a woman" by MahPadilha under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0.

Writing Prompt: He turned and there it was, standing before him in all its glistening, chitinous, glory

Today I want to try something different for my first post so I fashioned this prompt from a writing fragment I found in my journal. I love the idea of a Hunter skulking through the jungle, pursued by something Other, something unnatural, something eminently dangerous.

Can you tell I'm a fan of Supernatural? :-)

Here's the prompt:

The forest was quiet. In the twilight greens bled to black and the scent of orchids invaded Adam's senses filling him with the memory of rotting flesh.

The Thing was close. Animals living outside civilization, animals like him, developed a sixth sense that told the mind to still, to focus, that allowed the body to prepare to face Death. The eggheads at The Firm hadn't discovered what tripped off a Hunter's radar, but Hunters could sense it, the presence of the Other, the foreign object in the body, the thing that didn't belong.

A rustle of leaves, like a whisper, to his left. He turned and there it was, standing before him in all its glistening, chitinous, glory. Adam ...

Please do share your writing genius in the comments if you are so moved.

Good writing!

Other articles you might like:
- NaNoWriMo: 5 Tips On How To Get Ready
- How To Write Every Day: Jerry Seinfeld And The Chain Method
- How To Design A Great Looking Book Cover

Writing Prompt: Desperate Phone Call

I thought I'd try something different and post a writing prompt.

It's the middle of the night and your phone rings. Grumpy, you answer it. The voice on the line is breathy as though whoever it is has been running. "You're in danger. Take it and leave town. Now."

You hear the gurgle of a semi-automatic machine gun and a muffled scream. It sounds as though the phone has clattered to the ground.  

Sleep forgotten you sit up in bed. "Hello? Hello!" No response.

After a moment you hear slow, deep, breathing. "We know who you are" This voice is menacing and gravelly. "We only want the package. Go to the police and you're dead."

What do you say? What do you do?

Good writing!

"Writing Prompt: Desperate Phone Call" copyright© 2012 by Karen Woodward.

The Writers' Dash: A Virtual Writers Group

I heard about this just today from Virtual Writers' World. I've never been, but it seems like a great idea!

The Writers’ Dash (#writersdash or #dailydash on Twitter) is a 15-minute free writing exercise held on Twitter, Facebook and Second Life® every weekday. At 5:30am & 5:30pm PDT we share the word prompt on our social media channels; the live event begins in Second Life® at 6am & 6pm PDT. Write whatever comes to you. Don’t fixate too heavily on what you are writing and disengage your inner editor – the key is for you to get the words on the page first; you can worry about editing later. If you are attending the live event in Second Life® there will be an opportunity for you to show your work to the other participants after the 15 minutes are up. If you are unable to attend the live event you can share your work on our blog. Just look out for the prompt post and leave your dash piece as a comment.

To read the entire article, click here: Writers’ Dash: Tuber

The writing prompt on June 28th was "tuber". Sounds fun. Quirky.

By the way, I'm out of the office today, but will be back tomorrow. I hope everyone has a terrific long weekend!