Tag Archives: writing prompts

February 20, 2014 · 5:28 am

Writing Club: Writing Group Etiquette

Greetings! The winter months drag on but there is a glimmer of hope as the days grow long. Spring, o spring will you please hurry??

images-45-minute prompt: SCHOOL

Five minutes, stream of consciousness, write whatever comes to mind on the topic… GO!

Your own schools, schools from fiction, schools from film. Hogwarts maybe? Terrible schools or brilliant schools. Terrible teachers or brilliant teachers. Sights, sounds and smells. And think about how different elementary schools are from high schools…

Continue reading →

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February 17, 2014 · 9:14 pm

Writing Prompt: a swellegant trio in a taxi

Hi there, just a quick Monday writing prompt.

What’s going on here? Who are these people? What are they up to?

(If you’re stuck, first think of the most likely scenario, then think up the least likely scenario.)

designforliving_NEW

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January 27, 2014 · 5:23 pm

Movie Stills for Dialogue Prompts

Here’s a good idea for a writing prompt – look up photos of scenes from old movies, and fill in the blanks. What’s happening here? What’s the backstory? What happens next?

Write some dialogue for this scene…

movie prompt_NEW

 

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January 22, 2014 · 8:44 pm

Writing Club: Three Act Structure

Today we’re going to look at the basic structure of stories, which should really help you organize the events of your plot. But first a warmup…

IMG_40315-minute prompt:  WINTER

What do you think of when you think ‘winter’? Think of as many words for different kinds of snow and ice as you can. (Skiers and snowboarders should be good at this.) Can you think of any specific smells, sounds or tastes you associate with winter? Continue reading →

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January 14, 2014 · 9:38 pm

Writing Club: Character Arc and Motivation

What, more character work? We’ve created our characters, now it’s time to figure out where they’re going.

But first…

Bannor_Toys_Wooden_Toy_Car_Set_original5-minute prompt:  CAR

(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)

Think of all the kinds of motor vehicles, makes and models of cars you know. There are an awful lot of specific terms for all the different parts of a car, and how each can break down as well! (My 20-year-old auto is always teaching me this lesson.)

How about all the sounds a car can make?

Cars can also be a tool to revealing character: what assumptions do you make about people based on what they drive? Continue reading →

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· 7:18 pm

Young Writers Contest

logo_template2Calling all writers! Here’s a new contest, this one from the Young Writers of Canada.

for writers aged 5 – 18

360 words maximum

open theme (but no fan fiction)

DEADLINE: March 14, 2014

cash prizes!

check out their website here

— Poster and entry form to print out —

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January 7, 2014 · 6:37 pm

Contest Update: Be in a Novel!

Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, thinks: "I wish I could be in Kim's next book!"

Calliope, the Muse of Epic Poetry, thinks: “I wish I could be in Kim’s next book!”

The Eldritch Contest for Writers and Artists has a great new first prize to get you motivated. How would you like to have a character in the Eldritch sequel named after you?

If your story or artwork is drawn as the winner from the entries I receive by March 15, 2014, I will write you into the second Eldritch novel!

Literary immortality awaits! Get to work on your short story and/or illustration and send it in.

Contest details:
– open to all school-age kids!
– deadline: March 15, 2014

1. Write a Short Story (any length) about a Senior Citizen with a surprising past or a secret identity
OR
2. Illustrate a scene from the novel Eldritch Manor by Kim Thompson
OR, if you like, DO BOTH and be entered twice!

For more information, and how to enter, click here.

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December 21, 2013 · 7:02 am

Writing Club: Writing Games for the Holidays

IMG_3984Snow day! Here on Salt Spring our first significant snowfall has occurred, on the first day of vacation! I decided to give the old car a break and not drive down the mountain into town for our last Writing Club meeting (awwww!). Here are the fun exercises we were going to do…

banana-peel5-minute prompt: FUNNY

(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)

What’s funny? What makes you laugh? Who makes you laugh?  How many different words for ‘laugh’ can you think of?


 Who Am I? Game

A little character-invention fun. For each of these faces answer the following: Continue reading →

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December 9, 2013 · 8:50 pm

Writing Club: Introducing Your Character

Today we’re going to work with characters a a little more, and talk about how to introduce and describe them.

But first let’s warm up…

6a00d83451be8f69e20168e6823b8e970c-320wi5-minute prompt:  FACE

(5-minute, stream-of-consciousness exercise, write whatever pops into your brain on the topic. Don’t bother with sentences, paragraphs, or punctuation. Just write.)

Sometimes we can go on and on with descriptions of someone’s clothes, hair and build, but neglect the most important feature of all, their face! Continue reading →

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December 5, 2013 · 9:26 pm

Weekly Eldritch: Solemn Child on Wall

DSC03823Thursday means time for the Weekly Eldritch, your weekly uneasily creepy thing. This comes from my photo archives… from a secret location in Toronto…

Imagine you are walking down a street somewhere, a street of abandoned industrial buildings, warehouses with broken windows, concrete rubble and scrappy weeds. There’s nobody around, but you feel like someone’s watching you…

DSC03833I love graffiti! Especially detailed, dead solemn children graffiti. With big eyes and weirdly jointed arms. In a party frock.

Writing Prompt: Tell me about this curious person. Name? Age? History?

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