Posts tagged ‘inspiration’

September 3, 2010

Writing Prompt

Write a postcard story (up to 500 words) which has the following sentence in it somewhere:

They found that it was broken.

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August 31, 2010

Writing Prompt

Take a few moments today to step outside – even if it’s cold or rainy (it’s really warm in Montreal so this is pretty easy for me).  Notice what’s going on around you, the sounds, scents, sensations.  Scribble down the first words that come to mind but then push yourself a little harder – try and find new ways of describing what’s really around you.  Those first words that popped into your head are useful, but there are layers to be uncovered in this experience.  Dig deeply.

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August 22, 2010

Laurie Halse Anderson

The rather marvellous Laurie Halse Anderson has a terrific blog post up today.  Here’s a peek at her writing prompt – go to her blog to read the rest of her wise words:

Today’s prompt: Create the flap copy for your book. Doesn’t matter if you are writing fiction, non-fiction, or memoir. Write the two or three sentences that convey the essence of your story in a way that will convince someone to read the entire book.

This can be incredibly hard. In fact, I can’t do it in the earliest draft of my book. This is usually because I haven’t yet fully figured the internal journey of my main character. Take a half dozen of your favorite books off the shelf and read the flap copy to learn how the book was distilled into a few lines. Does that flap copy do a good job of it? Would you have written it differently?

(If you are totally stuck and can’t figure out how to write the flap copy for your story, rewrite the copy for a book that you love.)

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