Monday, 1 December 2014

Updated Prompts

December 1

 I originally had prompts Here: from an older Post. It's getting kind of hard to find that, and my mind is needing prompts for this month. So I'm refreshing it, and deleting the ones I've done so I can start again in December.

I found this: http://selfpublishingteam.com/105-author-blog-prompts/

It actually has prompts for blogs. A lot of them. I won't be using any of the self publishing ones because I'm not yet going that route.




Reading and Writing Blog Prompts

  1. Share a profile of one of your readers. Who are they? How did they find your work? Here It Is!!
  2. Give an example of a paragraph of your work before and after editing.
  3. Interview a fellow author.
  4. Choose a character of yours to represent each of the four seasons.
  5. Add on to or update an old post with new info.
  6. Which author’s career are you most jealous of? Why?
  7. From where have your recently drawn writing inspiration?
  8. What book are you reading? How did you choose it?
  9. Profile one of your characters.
  10. Create a list of favourite posts from your blog (old posts tend to drown in the abyss).
  11. Have a weekend writing retreat and detail the experience.
  12. What character would you most like to be stuck in an elevator with?
  13. Create a dinner menu, drawing inspiration from your work.
  14. Do a “running diary” of a writing process (outlining, designing, marketing, etc).

Creative Writing Prompts

  1. “Her coffee cup slipped right out of her hand and smashed into a thousand pieces on the kitchen floor…” Finally Did One!!!
  2. “A knock on the door in the middle of the night never means good news…”
  3. Rewrite a book scene from a different character’s perspective.
  4. “They sat shoulder to shoulder on the beach, willing the sunset to last just one second longer…”
  5. “She dragged the box out of the attic, put the record on and felt everything from crashing forward from her memory…”
  6. “He was sprinting at full speed, briefcase banging against his thigh as he ran, but the bus pulled away, leaving him alone in the rain…”
  7. “She never let herself believe in anything so foolish, but this time, something about it—she just couldn’t quite shake the thought that it just might be real….”
  8. Write a post from a character’s perspective.
  9. “He saw her just as she stepped from the train platform into the car and without a second thought, he abandoned his plans and followed her steps…”
  10. “They sat across the table from each other, waiting for the world to come crashing down on both of them…”
  11. Rewrite a movie scene from a novel perspective.
  12. “She wasn’t sure what might have happened that night if the sprinklers hadn’t come on at the last second—but a part of her wanted to know how it might have turned out…”
  13. “His friends told him he was crazy, as did his family and even his girlfriend, but that was only because they didn’t know the whole story…”
  14. Rewrite a scene from your book as a different genre.

Marketing/Social Media/Reviews/Blogs/Design Prompts

  1. Check out the keywords visitors are using to find your site — you might find a post idea!
  2. If you had 5 minutes with Mark Zuckerburg what would you tell him to improve on Facebook?
  3. Share 3 blogs you love to read.
  4. Post a picture of a book cover you liked and talk about what you love about it.
  5. Share 10 people on Twitter you’d recommend following and why.
  6. What do you hate the most about doing your own marketing?
  7. Link to a blog or news article you recently read and share your take on the topic.
  8. Give your blog a mission statement.
  9. Post a book sales report for the past month.
  10. Share 3 marketing ideas that worked for you and 2 that didn’t.
  11. Offer companion book club materials for free download.
  12. Give ideas for a book party centred around your book! Share activities, recipes, discussion questions, etc.
  13. Release a special eBook edition of your book or offer a special limited-time discount.
  14. Respond to another blogger’s post, offering additional info or a counterpoint.
  15. Respond to criticisms you’ve received of your genre or your work, in particular.
  16. Create a soundtrack for your book. Be sure to share links to purchase the songs!
  17. Gather links to favourite posts you’ve read this past week.
  18. Write a “What’s New” post to share upcoming projects. What are you working on?
  19. Interview a reader. What did they like about your book? Would they share it with others?
  20. Encourage reader participation by hosting a read-along of your work. Each week, post a new assignment and discussion questions.
  21. Feature your favourite reviews of your work. "
  22. Your day in detail (I've already done this with the other prompts, but I'm sure my daily routine will change by the time I do it again.)
  23. Siblings
  24. 5 things from your bucket list
  25. Your favourite thing to do right now.
  26. The weather
  27. Something unusual
  28. Someone you miss
  29. Someone you've always wanted to meet
  30. Relationship to food
  31. Something that excites you and fills you with joy
  32. Something that you regret not doing in the last year.
  33. 5 things you're passionate about.
  34. Goals for next month
  35. What made your day special?
  36. Something you could never get tired of doing.
  37. How you envision your life to be.
  38. What do you want?
  39. Family
  40. Daily Routine

Update: More Creative Prompts: From: http://thewritepractice.com/prompts-break/

1.He cut the car’s engine with a bloody, trembling hand and stopped his breath to listen for pursuers, but his pounding heart left him deaf to anything else that could be lurking in the night.
2.She smelled roses as soon as she walked into the candle lit room and saw him lying on the bed naked except for a single rose he wore on his genitals.
3.“Not all men are dogs,” he grinned, “but in my case, woof.”
4. They were too late.
5.She held the aluminum bat like a torch with her head held high as she made her way toward the office parking lot. She could feel her coworkers’ eyes staring down at her from their 9-to-5 prison cells. She smiled to more than just herself, but to the realization that she was no longer like them. She had broken free and now she was going to break something else. She just hoped it was the only thing that made her ex-boss happy and that it was parked in its usual spot.

UPDATE AGAIN (August 13)
These came from: http://www.carrieelle.com/2013/01/writing-prompts.html
2. If you had to eat the same meal over and over again for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
3. What is the oldest piece of clothing in your closet that you still wear?
4. What material object do you cherish the most?
5. Tell about a lesson you learned in middle school.
6. Describe the most vivid dream you can remember.
7. Create a character ten years older than you of the opposite sex and write about their day in first person.
8. Describe an object in the room without mentioning it by name.
9. Make up a recipe.
10. Pick a controversial issue you are passionate about – and then argue the opposite stance (ooooh…I dare you).
11. Write a letter to your sixteen-year-old self.
12. Write a letter to your ten-years-older-than-you-currently-are self.
13. Start with the day of the week it currently is…and then let your stream of consciousness take it from there.
14. What is your favorite book, and why does it speak to you?
15. If you could have any skill in the world (that you currently don’t have), what would it be?
16. What was your favorite thing to imagine when you were a child?
17. Write a letter to the President.  Without mentioning politics.
18. Describe your perfect day.
19. Write a letter apologizing to someone you owe an apology to (if you don’t owe anyone an apology – make it up).
20. Why do you like to write?
21. What inspires you?
22. When do you feel your happiest and most complete?  How does it feel when you are experiencing this?
23. Describe your favorite sound.
24. What kind of work do you like best?
25. Write about the first thing that happened yesterday morning."


"1. Give a tour of the home you grew up in.
2. Tell about a time you were wrong.
3. Pick an object next to you, and write down what it is  - let your stream of consciousness tell the rest of the story (if I were to use this prompt right now, my story would start with, “The blue pen…”)
4. Pick your favorite name and write a character sketch for a person with that name.
5. Write a letter to your unborn child. It’s okay if you don’t have children, don’t want children, or are done having children – that might make it more interesting. Here it is
7. Describe your car using your senses – how does it smell, how does the steering wheel feel, how does the radio sound?
8. Tell the story of how you met your best friend. Here it is
9. If you had to be an animal for a day, what would it be? Tell about your day.
10. Write the first chapter to a novel you have no intention of ever finishing.
11. Write the last chapter to a novel you have no intention of ever starting.
12. Pretend you’re underwater, and write about how it feels.
13. What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?
14. Tell someone from the early 1900′s about the Internet. Or TV. Or better yet, YOUR CELL PHONE.
15. Who makes you feel the happiest? Tell that person “thank you” in a letter. Here
16. What do you want to accomplish before you die?
17. Why do you love your favorite movie?
18. How does music sound to you?
19. Write about something you’re afraid of – explain why you’re afraid.
20. Explain how to do something in five steps (it can be anything – how to do laundry, how to file your taxes, how to write a book – the more random and difficult to explain, the better).
21. Tell a story using a TV commercial to inspire your setting and characters (example: a pretty lady getting out of a car, an overly-perky mom vacuuming her spotless floor).
22. Describe what it’s like to eat your favorite food – the texture, the taste, the feelings associated with it.
23. Write about your day…only, change your race and/or gender.
24. If you were a color, what color would you be?
25. Write about a pet that used to be in your life."

And as always:
©ErinLeahMcCrea All photos I share on my blogs are my own, please Ask Me For Permission Before Using Them.

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