Prompts
Is There Anyone You Hate?
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — Week one - write a scene that brings to fictional life someone you hate. Make the reader hate her. It might be someone who annoys you-- someone whose manner you can't stand, whose voice grates on you. Or it might be someone who has offended you or done you some harm, or someone to whom you have done some harm - there are many reasons to hate people. If you have the courage, take on someone who is evil on the grand scale. It can be someone you know, someone you know about, or best of all, invent a real nasty. The Objective: Story and only story is the peaceable kingdom where you and I and the next fellow can lie down on the same page with one another, not by wiping our differences out, but by creating our differences on the page. Only on the page of a story can I look out of your and my and the other fellow's eyes all at the same time.
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
Not Funny At The Time
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — Write about something that happened to you that didn't seem at all funny at the time, for example, being stuck in a traffic jam and having a bee fly in through the car window or the time your tenant set your stove on fire and the firemen wrenched it from the wall and tossed it into the backyard. Bring the incident under the humor spotlight and transform it so as to emphasize things that will make your reader smile or laugh.Pacing is important, as are crucial details, and your own confidence that the story does not need analysis or authorial nudging. The last thing you want to do is tell the reader that you're about to lay a funny story on him. Limit: 550 words. The Objective - Because humor resides largely in what attitude you assume toward your material, you must be able to discover and exploit those elements that highlight the comic, the exaggerated, and the unlikely. Keep in mind that you could just as easily take the bee story and make it tragic (bee bites driver, driver crashes into another car, killing infant in back seat).
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
I light a candle to St. Lucia (or Lucy), the Christian martyr from Syracuse, Sicily.. Top Story - December 2025.
St. Lucia (or Lucy) was a Christian martyr from Syracuse, Sicily, who died in 304 CE during the Diocletian persecution. Her name means “light”, and she became associated with vision, clarity, and illumination.
By Novel Allen3 months ago in Writers
Georgia And The Black Sea
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter - What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise - Choose a country where you have always longed to go but haven't yet been and set a story there. Read old and new Fodor's guides as well as other recent travel guides and National Geographic; buy a map; study the country's politics, religion, government, and social issues; read cookbooks - always, always looking for the persuasive detail, something you would almost have to be there to know. The Objective - To write with authority and conviction about a place you have never been to.
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
My Pet Hilda
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter - What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise - Write a composition on the subject "My Pet." The only requirement is that this must be a pet you have never owned. It can be anything from a kitten to a dinosaur, from a fly to a dragon. Describe what your pet looks like, how you acquired it, what it eats and where it sleeps, what tricks it can do and how it gets on with your family, friends, neighbors,or the people at the work. The Objective - To expand your conception of characters and relationships.
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
Reframing English Words. Top Story - December 2025.
Reframing is a popular psychological tool. It helps people see a situation, thought, or problem in a new way. The goal is to shift your thinking. Instead of focusing on the negative, try to see it in a more positive or realistic way.
By Calvin London3 months ago in Writers
Fear, Anger, Pleasure
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — Write three short paragraphs, the first "fear," the second "anger," and the last "pleasure" without using these words. Try to render these emotions by describing, physical sensations or emotions. Try to make your language precise and fresh. The Objective - To learn to render emotional states without a falling back on tired and imprecise language.
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
Fiction Prompt About A Sex Scene. Content Warning.
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What if? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers prompts — The Exercise — With this caution and exhortation in mind, write a sex scene for a story in which you know your fictional characters well. The Objective - To gain access to this rich material indirectly so that this universal experience can feel singular, as though coming to be for the first time in history.
By Denise E Lindquist3 months ago in Writers
The Cons of Being a Writer
I am a writer, not a professional writer yet just freelance writing everywhere including Vocal Media, a playwright, and a screenwriter. If you ask me being a writer may be easy however it can be a challenge just like any other job or career whether you are just writing or degree seeking writer. There are key points that you need to know if you are going to be a writer you might want to think about if you are planning to be one. You may not like it however it is the harsh truth on being a writer.
By Gladys W. Muturi3 months ago in Writers
the girl unseen by her beauty
looking at herself all she sees is flaws, not noticing her doll eyes, her cupid shaped lips, her nose that perfectly alines with her face. all she could notice was how much she ate that previous day and how people would feel about her the next.
By Gianna Cetrone3 months ago in Writers
