Just a simple image for today’s prompt. I love the mottled effect of the water damage and mould. Are you writing a dystopian novel like me, where this is a common sight? Or did your protagonist stumble out of their ordinary lives and end up in an abandoned building in the woods?
Have fun!
How are you doing today?
Spelling Bee prompt:
Either use these words in your writing, or just use them to inspire you!
You got this.
This morning I realised I don’t know who my character is. She’s just an ordinary girl–a paper cutout of a human.
When writing characters, it’s important that they feel real. What are their flaws? What’s special about them? What do they hate about themselves? What do they want more than anything else in their world?
Let’s do this.
Something different today: a dialogue prompt.
Hope you’re having a good day 2. If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late–you can do this! You can sign up for NaNoWriMo here.
I have decided to commit to doing daily prompts this November, in an attempt to both inspire myself and my fellow NaNoers to cross the finish line.
NaNo is a big commitment. It’s by no means impossible–it is in fact quite doable–but it’s no small feat. We should be proud of every day, every word we add. If any of you decide to jump in but find yourself falling behind after a week, that’s okay!
Every word is an achievement, because every second you spend thinking about your characters and their world will make you a better writer. It’s special as well, because it brings so many people together–the only competition is with yourself, unlike so much of the writing world out there. So I’m here to cheer you on, whether this is your first rodeo or your thirty-seventh.
So let’s kick day one’s butt.
The prompt:
Day 1.
I won’t be sharing my writing for these prompts. However, I might throw in an excerpt from my brand new manuscript here and there, depending on how I feel.
Also, if you have any recommendations for prompts this November, let me know in the comments! I want to get a good variety of different prompt types, to add to the fun.
Happy NaNoWriMo, everyone.
Today I made pumpkin pie. It was a journey. First, I accidentally broke open the bag while I was thawing the frozen pumpkin puree. Then I didn’t have any ground cloves. And then I burnt it.
It was still an incredibly tasty pie.
Life can be messy, but remember that no matter how burnt your pumpkin pie is, you still made one. And that’s something.
I hope you enjoyed your weekly lame motivational message. Let’s write!
Name of the game: Snap Shot
Continue readingIs this a last minute writing prompt? Yes. But what’s wrong with last minute? As a society, we place so much value in productivity. Any activity that doesn’t contribute to productivity is thought of as time wasting.
These ideas are so pervasive I’m sure we’ve all felt guilt over spending an hour watching youtube, sleeping in late one morning, or checking Twitter. The idea seems to be that these activities are all fine, but only as long as you’re productive enough.
Continue reading
Cherish D. Smith is a talented poet and budding historical YA novelist. Her beautiful and diverse characters will have you rooting and blushing for them in equal measures. You can find her on Twitter @icherishwriting.
What characters and themes do you like to write about and what inspires them?
I tend to write the quiet characters. I love a quiet character with giant dreams that almost make you go, “This? You want to do what? I mean I guess. If you like it, I love it.” And I am a bit of a romantic, so I love a good “love trumps all.” Is it vain to say that I’m inspired by myself? I have a somewhat quiet personality and ambitious dreams and I am quite easy to make blush. Lol.
I wasn’t planning to do a writing prompt for another few weeks, but I’ve found it very difficult to work over the last few days. If you’re coming from the future or another dimension and need an update: covid cases in the UK just jumped back to May’s numbers (bad), I’m pretty sure politics just had diarrhoea (very bad), and I had an argument with a friend about human rights (very very… sad). I’m sure we’ve all been there; it’s really hard when you take a state of mind for granted and someone you care about doesn’t share it. It feels a little bit like I’m at the eye of a hurricane, stuck inside at my laptop only able to stare helplessly at the chaos around me.
Continue reading
Joy L. Smith is an up and coming YA novelist. She writes characters as diverse as they are powerful and inspiring–Joy is one incredible human bean. You can find her on twitter @JoyJoyWrites.
What characters and themes do you like to write about and what inspires them?
I think the main thing about the characters I write is that they’re Black girls. They’re city girls like me. They have that one thing that really keeps them going. I love to write about family and friendship and love because it’s important to me that Black girls know that there isn’t one clear story to tell about those three things. It’s all a bit complicated. And I love simple things but also complicated things too. For me I like to give my characters a skill that I was obsessed with as a kid or still wish I had. So you’ll see my characters love their theater references, ballet, acting and BMX biking among other things that make me happy, but inspire them.
Sonora Hills 