Hearts on Fire! A Tarot Writing Prompt

AMONG OTHER THINGS, the ouch-y Three of Swords can speak of betrayal and the heartbreak it engenders. It can also speak of emotional overreaction! Put those together, and you get the stuff of melodrama! Tarot writing prompt Now’s your chance to write a script for a soap opera. If you’re… Read more… →

3 Emergency Writing Prompts

SOME DAYS, IT FEELS LIKE AN EMERGENCY. We want to write, but don’t have anything to write about. Be prepared for such a dire situation. Paint these three mini-prompts fire-alarm red and stick them to your wall so you’ll have them on hand … in case of emergency. 1) I… Read more… →

Walk Like a Writer

ARGH!! I’M STUCK! I’ve written myself into a corner and can’t find my way out. While I stare at the screen, hoping the right words will magically appear, I feel an inner nudge. It’s my smarter self trying to get my attention. She’s thinks I should power down my computer,… Read more… →

The Waiting Game: A Tarot Writing Prompt

IN THIS IMAGE, a young man rests on his hoe and gazes at the not-quite-ripe coin fruit he’s been tending. Clearly, he can’t make it grow any quicker—but he doesn’t seem perturbed. In fact, his patience is a trait many urban-dwelling, multi-tasking, traffic-jamming folks might benefit from emulating! But that… Read more… →

Lucky Number 7: Seven Flash Fiction Contests for Fall!

FLASH FICTION IS FUN! Requiring the snap of poetry and the arc of narrative, it challenges us to home in on elements of voice and story that will benefit even longer-form writers’ work. To learn a bit more about flash fiction, check out my Writing Short post, where you’ll find… Read more… →

Making Stone Soup from Words and Breadcrumbs: A Writing Prompt

AS A CHILD READER, I hungered for the dishes fictional characters devoured. British kids in Noel Streatfeild’s SHOES books breakfasted on “fry ups” of sausage, eggs, sliced bread, and kippers, while Hansel and Gretel feasted famously on marzipan windows and cookie-dough sills. Back then, fairy godmothers impressed me less than… Read more… →

Self-Inspiration: An Archeological Dig Into Your Own Writing

NOTICING WHAT’S MISSING in a piece of writing is a bit of a parlor trick—but one that comes in very handy! This exercise will show you how to apply this trick to a piece of your own, whether you’re in the parlor or at your desk. DIG HERE Today, dig… Read more… →

Dueling Pens: Writing Together

MONA AND I WRITE TOGETHER EVERY FEW WEEKS. Well. “Together.” Since she lives in Colorado and I’m in Florida, we meet by phone, pulling prompts from our back pockets and slinging them down the phone line like challenges, then setting a timer, and writing as fast as we can. Generally,… Read more… →

7-Minute Autobiography: A Memoir-Writing Prompt

FOR YEARS, I BEGAN EACH NEW WORKSHOP with this exercise from WRITING ALONE AND WITH OTHERS. It’s a great way to get to know other people in a group—and also a great way to get to know yourself, so I’ve adapted it here for your personal-writing use. Memoir-writing prompt Set… Read more… →

Besting the Beast: A Tarot Writing Prompt

MAKE NO MISTAKE: SWEET AS THIS SCENE may appear, that lion has teeth. And claws. And a ravenous hunger! Oh, my! Most days, we could catch sight of him happily slurping the blood of his prey. But not today. Because, with kindness, skill, and patience, this character has tamed the… Read more… →

Writing Comes from Writing (Thanks, Bruce!)

POET AND CREATIVE WRITING PROFESSOR BRUCE AUFHAMMER introduced me to this basic operating principle: Writing comes from writing, not from inspiration. Now a teacher myself, I sometimes hear people say they aren’t writing because they’re uninspired. But inspiration is a fickle mistress! For just one month, rather than awaiting any… Read more… →

A Short (Enough) Story with a Literary Moral (and Horses)

ONCE, AT A HORSE SHOW, I watched a pair of judges assess the relative merits of a ring full of huge, glossy Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, and other warm-blood hunter-types in a conformation class. Unlike most skill-based horse-show events, conformation ribbons are awarded to those animals who best meet the standards… Read more… →

10 Great Tips for Capturing Literary Agent Interest!

YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS AWESOME! You’ve had it critiqued and beta-read—and you’ve revised, revised, revised! But if you’re not getting the interest from agents you feel your book deserves, check out the resources below. May you discover the golden key to your success amidst these pages and pixels! * * *… Read more… →

Look Again! A (Tarot-Inspired) Writing Prompt

I’VE LOOKED AT THIS CARD SO MANY TIMES. Is there anything I haven’t seen? There’s the lyre embroidered on the patriarch’s cloak; the heraldry on the archway; the shy little kid, who will barely remember her grandfather when she’s grown; the gray pups, grateful for their master’s notice; the graceful… Read more… →

What Feeds Your Fire?

DO YOU KNOW WHAT FEEDS YOUR CREATIVE FIRE? While it might be as plain (or as stunningly gorgeous) as the nose on your face, sometimes it takes a mirror for us to see exactly what helps us thrive as writers, as artists, as creative participants in our lives. MIRROR MIRROR: I’m… Read more… →

Walk a Mile in Your Antagonist’s Shoes: A Writing Prompt

UPSIDE DOWN, BOY YOU TURN ME . . . My puss Bert flips upside down to survey his kingdom. Sometimes, from his inverted perspective, he spots a faux mouse not visible from right-side up. But mostly, upside-down, Bert just watches—noticing what I, with feet firmly planted, can’t see. Role reversal… Read more… →

I’ve Got No Talent!

I MET PAULA JEFFERY SEVERAL YEARS AGO in an online art group. The other day, we had a chat about how investing time (consistently) and effort (persistently) in any art form will eventually bear fruit—and she pointed me to this post, which she wrote for her own blog, but is… Read more… →

It’s About Time

THE FIGURE IN RED is doling out alms, and he’s doing it judiciously, measuring out equal amounts to each of the recipients. He’s also holding enough aside for his own needs. His scales help him keep his giving in balance. As writers, we could do with a pair of scales.… Read more… →

A Tarot Writing Prompt Without the Prompt (Sorry!)

I’M WRITING A BOOK that includes tarot writing prompts (out next year—stay tuned!). In the process, I’ve roped twenty-one writer friends into guinea-pigging some of the prompts. Which led me to BFF Jill’s kitchen table last night, where we each took a running leap at the Ace of Pentacles. While… Read more… →

Summer Writing Contests and Other Calls for Submission (aka: In the Court of Editorial Opinion)

WE SAY JUSTICE IS BLIND, and we hope that’s true. We also hope justice is at play when we send our writing to an agent or contest or journal. But who the heck knows? The person who gets first crack at our query or short story may well be an… Read more… →