Prompts

You know how I wrote about "Expanding your territory" last week, by branching out and writing in areas that you aren't familiar with?

What if you could do that and not have to write a book, or even an essay for that matter? What about a plain and simple writing prompt that forces you to write -- and only write-- twenty five words?

Writer's Digest has these incredibly cool exercises that do this. Writing prompts are one of them, and this one -- the super short one-- is not only fun, but hard. Twenty five words? That's like only being able to take a sip of coffee out of a twelve-cup pot. Hard to do, and not as easy as you'd think.

Here's the contest: Take a look at this picture, and write the opening sentence to a story. Easy, right? Actually, no it isn't. Everyone has a million ideas, and yet, when it comes to writing, seems like those million ideas boil down to just a handful ... a handful of openers that everyone has heard of.

Don't be like that. Don't be normal.

Do what I talked about in my "Openers" post and open things with a bang -- dead in the middle of action.

Not "it was a dark and stormy night and everyone has heard this opening" opener, but something wickedly different like, "Bobby loved to watch houses burn down, especially when he started those fires from his lantern" type of opener.

Again, this is a great exercise. It's a way to find new avenues to prevent writer's block, to write about things you'd never write about, and even to get published. Kind of the goal of writer.

Click here to enter this contest.

Exercise hurts because it forces you to go against the normal. But exercise, when done daily, gets easier with time and it makes you stronger. You do want to be a strong writer, yes?

Go to http://www.writersdigest.com/ for tons of other cool writing exercises, contests, articles, interviews and reviews. This site should be bookmarked for as long as you're a writer. Essential site.


Besides, any site with the word "writers" in it HAS to be decent ...