Any member may post a writing prompt or challenge (no more than one per week, please).

Writing Prompts may take many forms. For example:

• Write a paragraph about your childhood
• Write a haiku about today's weather
• Tell a story about a photograph (you must have taken the photo yourself or have the photographer's permission to post a photo prompt)
• Write a story that must include specific items or phrases

Prompts do not require that whatever is written be submitted and published here, although they certainly may be if the author wishes. The idea is simply to provide a creative spark. No badge is offered for following a writing prompt.

Challenges should have a set of guidelines, including a tag or title requirement that will enable us to keep track of participating submissions. Pieces written in response to a challenge must be submitted for publication. Participants will receive a Challenge Champ badge that displays the number of challenges completed.

If a writing prompt or challenge is found to be inappropriate, it may be revised or removed.

Please contact me with questions or comments.

https://www.storiesspace.com/magnificent1rascal

Thanks, Anna – this is a great challenge! Those who complete it will receive a Challenge Champ badge.

How I Do It: Anne Rice on Writing Technique

1. Rely heavily on concrete nouns and action verbs. Nothing conveys immediacy and excitement like the concrete noun and the action verb.

2. Rely heavily on short sentences and even fragments. Long complex sentences, especially when filled with abstract nouns slow the reader and even confuse him or her. Break up these sentences. Or balance them with short ones.

3. Don’t hesitate to write one sentence paragraphs and short paragraphs in general. Never, never bury a key revelation or surprise or important physical gesture by a character at the end of an existing paragraph. Move this to a new paragraph.

4. Go easy on conjunctions such as “but,” “and,” “yet,” and “however.” The prose may feel fluid to you when you use these; but if you go back and simply remove them the prose may be even more fluid.

5. Repeat a character’s name often in dialogue and in straight narrative. Don’t slip into “he” or “she” for long stretches because if you do many fast readers will find themselves having to go back to determine who is speaking or feeling or viewing the action. Punch the proper names.

6. Be generous and loving with adjectives and adverbs. These words give specificity to the narrative; they make it vibrant.

7. When you repeat yourself in a novel, acknowledge it, as in “Again, he found himself thinking, as he had so often before . . .”

8. If the plot takes a highly improbable turn, acknowledge that through having the characters acknowledge it.

9. In writing intense action scenes, avoid slipping into “ing” words. It may feel “immediate” to use these words, say in a sword fight, a physical brawl, or an intense confrontation, but if you stick with simple past tense, you will actually heighten the action.

10. Remember that in writing a novel, you are crafting something that must be fully understood and experienced in one reading, yet stand up to innumerable readings in the future.

11. Never underestimate the power of the two line break. You may not want a new chapter but you want to cut away from the scene. Make the two line break.

12. Never get trapped into thinking that if you have a character open a door, he necessarily has to close it later on. You are creating a visual impression of a scene, and you don’t need to spotlight every gesture. And you can cut away from a scene in progress.

13. Paragraphs again: they are the way you engineer the page for the reader. That’s why I say never hesitate to make one line paragraphs and short paragraphs. You’re punching action or an emotional moment when you set it off in a paragraph. And you want to make things easy for the reader. Long paragraphs always impose something of a burden. The eye longs for a break.

14. Multiple point of view can be very energizing for a reader. The switch in point of view can be exciting. And multiple point of view gives you a chance to reveal the world in a way that single point of view cannot. Favorite multiple point of view novels for me are War and Peace and The Godfather.

15. A single point of view throughout is the best opportunity a writer has to get a reader to fall in love with a hero or heroine. The limitations are obvious; you can’t go to “another part of the forest” to find out what’s happening. But you have immense power in single point of view to get into the thoughts and feelings of your champion.

16. First Person single point of view can take the reader not only into deep love but deep antipathy. Great Expectations, David Copperfield and Lolita are shining examples.

17. If you find yourself becoming bored, then do what you must do to make the novel exciting again for you. Never keep building a scene because you feel you must. Think of some other way to solve the problem that is goading you to write what you don’t enjoy.

18. When you feel yourself getting tired, stop and read something that is energizing. The opening pages of Stephen King’s Firestarter always refresh me and send me back to the keyboard. So does reading any part of Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song. So does reading The Godfather. So does reading a Hemingway short story.

19. Keep going. Remember that you must finish the novel for it to have a chance in this world. You absolutely must complete it. And of course, as soon as I do I think of new things. I go back, refining, adding a little. And when I stop feeling the urge to do that, well, I know it’s really finished.

20. If these “rules” or suggestions don’t work for you, by all means disregard them completely! You’re the boss when it comes to your writing.

https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2017/10/09/anne-rice-writing-technique/

Terri ble-at tach

UNDERSTAND

Under, stand, sand, and, strand, stranded, nude, rant, rants, rate, rates, rated, rat, rats, dune, dunes, rest, star, stare, stared, dare, dares, dared, dude, dudes, redundant

COMMISSION

Best advice on the list:
7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.

Worst advice on the list (unless you’ve perfected time travel):
1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

Zadie Smith’s Rules for Writers

1. When still a child, make sure you read a lot of books. Spend more time doing this than anything else.

2. When an adult, try to read your own work as a stranger would read it, or even better, as an enemy would.

3. Don’t romanticise your “vocation”. You can either write good sentences or you can’t. There is no “writer’s lifestyle”. All that matters is what you leave on the page.

4. Avoid your weaknesses. But do this without telling yourself that the things you can’t do aren’t worth doing. Don’t mask self-doubt with contempt.

5. Leave a decent space of time between writing something and editing it.

6. Avoid cliques, gangs, groups. The presence of a crowd won’t make your writing any better than it is.

7. Work on a computer that is disconnected from the ­internet.

8. Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.

9. Don’t confuse honours with achievement.

10. Tell the truth through whichever veil comes to hand – but tell it. Resign yourself to the lifelong sadness that comes from never ­being satisfied.


https://www.aerogrammestudio.com/2013/06/10/zadie-smiths-rules-for-writers/

Welcome to Stories Space, Rose!

<img src="/images/emoticons/welcomes.gif" alt="welcomes">

7 letters... The King of hide & seek...

I'm penciling in BIGFOOT

Next clue: 5 letters - Eve's fruit

Bumping this thread since many of us have recently experienced another "time warp" or will go through one soon.

Have you found them? Don’t worry, most people can’t on the first try.  They’re there, all right, but only reveal themselves to those who are ready to believe, to accept, to embrace.  Close your eyes and open your mind. Clear away the prejudices, fears and preconceptions. Suspend your skepticism. Relax and let all your senses — even those you don’t fully perceive or comprehend, and may...

Added 02 Mar 2019 | Category Flash Fiction | Votes 12 | Avg Score 5 | Views 370 | 11 Comments

Sipping dirty martinis Watching girls in bikinis And strumming on my Les Paul Albert King ambles through Riffs ‘I’ll Play the Blues for You’ Man, I really got it all CHORUS It’s a dream vacation No place I’d rather be Yeah, a dream vacation Not sure where I’m at But it suits me Checking out pics From my Exakta 66 Can’t believe what I see Don’t remember all those Sometimes, that’s how it goes...

Added 07 Oct 2018 | Category Songs | Votes 12 | Avg Score 5 | Views 424 | 10 Comments

  MARTIN HANDED A MUG of fresh coffee to Jane and slid into the seat opposite her at the breakfast table, pausing a moment before he spoke. “Jane, I need to ask you something.” Caught off guard by the statement, she slopped a little of the steaming liquid. “You always do that when I’m holding a drink,” she chided gently, dabbing the spill with a napkin. Her lighthearted tone belied...

Added 13 Sep 2018 | Category General | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 286 | 6 Comments

  THE CALENDAR TAUNTED JANE, its little yellow-highlighted square outlined in a bold red stroke mocking her lack of progress. ‘You’re going to miss the deadline, you know. I’m just six weeks away now,’ it scoffed. ‘Whatever made you apply for that fellowship anyhow, and what could the panel have been thinking when they gave it to you? You’re no writer; you’ve proven that over the past...

Added 12 Sep 2018 | Category General | Votes 12 | Avg Score 5 | Views 388 | 7 Comments

Note: This compilation occurred to me more than a year ago. In fact, the reason I logged on to Facebook on March 14, 2017, was to reach out to Alan and propose that we combine our efforts, merging his Colorado Calling and my Jersey Rejoicing into one poem. Instead, I learned that morning of Alan's passing a few days earlier. It threw me for a loop, and the idea got pushed to the back of...

Added 17 Mar 2018 | Category Poetry | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 498 | 6 Comments

  1. NaIgnoNaNoWriMo: Just ignore all the NaNoWriMo hoopla and hype. Pretend you didn’t read this or anything else about the writing frenzy that occurs every November. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s almost impossible to ignore NaNoWriMo anymore. But you can say you did. I promise not to tell anyone otherwise. 2. NaNanoWriMo: In the short time remaining, craft some kick-ass nano fiction....

Added 30 Nov 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 3 | Avg Score 5 | Views 652 | 2 Comments

You always did like surprise endings, A twist no one could see coming, And that last one of yours was a doozy. Days later, we're still reeling, Not from the shock, which dissipates, But from a grief that lingers. You probably never knew The regard people held you in, For it seemed to sneak up As we chatted and laughed About topics big and small. Our esteem grew Alongside your virtual...

Added 17 Mar 2017 | Category Poetry | Votes 20 | Avg Score 5 | Views 862 | 10 Comments

The president is doing great Only a fool would think Otherwise Most everyone believes We should trust him There is no cause for concern But some are saying The country is in danger People are scared Nothing could be further from the truth Everything is going to be fine Now read from the bottom up… * * * © 2017 by M.P. Witwer • All rights reserved    ...

Added 15 Feb 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 14 | Avg Score 5 | Views 747 | 15 Comments

There was a crooked man Who ran a crooked race [1] And with his crooked words, Put opponents in their place He chopped them down, one by one ’Til a single foe remained On merit, she’d win handily, So he painted her with disdain [2] This shameless huckster’s style Is totally ‘in your face’ At any time in memory, It would have brought him great disgrace But that isn’t how it happened, Not...

Added 16 Jan 2017 | Category Musings | Votes 9 | Avg Score 5 | Views 813 | 8 Comments

1. NaNO!WriMo: Do not write anything — not a single word — for 30 days. The challenge is tougher than it might seem. 2. NaDoWriMo: Chronicle every episode of The Simpsons in which Homer exclaims, "D'oh!" This, of course, requires watching every episode of The Simpsons. Not a bad way to spend the month. 3. NaSloWriMo: Writing shouldn't be a race. Take it slowly, savoring the...

Added 05 Nov 2016 | Category Humor | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 693 | 8 Comments

When a noted writer hits the wall with her current project, she heads to the beach to concentrate on her work, but instead finds a charming distraction. This award-winning short story (approximately 4,500 words) has been called “magnificently well-crafted,” “clever,”...

A timely tale of just 2,300 words, “Lost and Found” is the second story in the Short Tales series, an affectionate look at a few of the pitfalls and mishaps faced by a couple navigating a new romance. Jane and Martin both have past histories: love, loss and unforeseen changes, but...