5 Prompt Friday

Here are some more writing prompts from young writer, David C. of Downers Grove, IL:

1. How do the tissues feel when your snot covers them? (Write from the point of view, POV, of the tissues.)
2. Would you rather be able to only smile forever, or frown?  Why?
3. Write about the life of a bug: honey bee, ant, beetle, etc.
4. What would life upside down be like?
5. Write the best “LOL” tag ever – like this: LOLROFLATUONGWGMAY would mean: “laugh out loud rolling on floor laughing and throwing up on new girlfriend who gets mad at you”

Whew! Can you beat these outrageous writing prompts?  Share yours here!

Wacky Wednesday!

This week, I had help with my Wacky Wednesday prompts.

Ten-year-old, David C. from Downers Grove, IL  gave these suggestions:

1. Write about a character who is trying to complete his autograph book by getting signatures from a giant fake dinosaur, a clown driving a convertible filled with balloons and an Oscar Meyer Wiener Mobile.  Write his adventure!
2. You order a big item from one of those scam ads and instead of a cool prize, you receive a deranged chimpanzee who you now have to care for.
3. Something is moving under your pillow…turns out your pillow is alive!
4. Your fan gains the strength of a tornado!  What happens?
5. If your underwear could talk to you what would they say?

Thank you, David!

Calling for more writing ideas!  Think you have what it takes to get your name in lights? (well, at least up on this blog?) Then email your silly, serious or outrageous writing prompts to: mjcwriter”at”comcast”dot”net.  But, hurry!  Next Wednesday comes quickly…

Do you want to belong?

{photo courtesy of eosfoundation.org}

…to a “writing community?”

Do you wish you had someone to read your stories and write with? Get advice on how to submit an article or give you an honest opinion of your essay?

You need a Writer’s Group!  A group of like-minded writers who meet on a regular basis to share ideas, markets and feedback.

Wanna know how?  See my latest article, Find Your Tribe!, published in Writing Kid, then be sure to sign up for the free subscription to receive more helpful articles and contest announcements for young writers just like you!

Do you already belong to a writing community?  Share your story with us!

Give yourself credit!

“We’ve all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it’s more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors.”

Norman Vincent Peale,  1898-1993, Pastor and Author

So, what are some of your successes? Can you recall the feeling of accomplishment?  Do you remember how you achieved that goal, crossed that finish line or beat the deadline?  Channel that feeling, that focus and WRITE!

Poetry resources for Teens

Check out this link within poets.org,  created with teens in mind!

Offers:

•  ”Poetry 101″
• Writing help
• Discussion Forums
• Poems Teens like
• On-Line Resources

Even if you are not a poet, reading and writing some poetry expands the creative mind…

5 Prompt Friday

5 story starters to get your creative juices a-flowin’

1. You find a $100 bill in your coat pocket
2. Write about the word “grainy”
3. Your character has just learned a horrible secret about his/her teacher
4. Write about the film crew on a movie set
5. Write a parody (your own silly version of)  Jack and the Bean Stalk

Share your story starts here  – I DARE YOU!!!

Wacky Wednesday!

Weird, Wild and Wacky Writing ideas…

Use one of these silly pictures as a story starter:

{photo courtesy of weirdpicturearchive.com}

{photo courtesy of weirdfrankenstein.com}

What do you do when your story is “stuck” ?

{photo courtesy of sodahead.com}

A student asked: I have a great idea for a short story about two best friends and one moves away. Now, I’m stuck!

 

Well, every good story needs a problem, so cause some trouble for your characters! 

 

What kind of trouble, you ask?  That depends on your characters: get to know them, then flip their world upside down!

 

Try these tips:

• Ask what your characters want – do a mini character questionnaire (what are their fears?)
• What is the worst thing that can happen to Character #1? to Character #2?
• Keep asking “What if?”  Make 5 scenarios: What if x happened?  What if y happened? Pick the most intriguing and go with it till you get stuck again, then ask another 5 times “what if?”
• Just write what is in your head and heart, it can all be revised later!
• Sometimes, you need to put the story away for a day and then come back with “fresh eyes”

 

Happy writing!  And, if you have ideas to combat the “stuckness” of writing, please share with us.

Wacky Wednesday

(Courtesy of foleyfeatures )

Write a story about living inside of an apple:

What would your walls look like?

What would it smell like?

Would giant worms invade your “home?”

Would you be very tiny or just live in an enormous fruit?

Share  a part of your story here in the comments! ; )

5 Prompt Friday

“There are no new ideas. There are only new ways of making them felt. “
~ Audre Lorde

So, let’s “borrow” somebody else’s ideas and…

Let’s go to the Movies!  Select one of the movie scenes below and rewrite the story with a new feeling.

1. Another World: From Zathura: your character opens his front door and outside is…
2. Switch Hitter: From The Sandlot: instead of a baseball field the neighborhood kids are fighting for, it’s a …
3. Orphaned: From Hotel for Dogs: what if the characters were trying to save wild horses instead of stray dogs?
4. Merged Sports: From the idea behind Happy Gilmore, what if the main character was a racehorse jockey turned rodeo clown?
5. Scream Scene: From Monster House: Some other inanimate object or location is haunted with a dead person’s unrested soul…

Can you think of any other movie plots that would make a great story idea if twisted up a bit?

Discuss…