writing prompts
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It’s five-word challenge time again! For this week’s challenge, can you tell a story in five words, using the word Scandal in it somewhere? Last week, your story needed to contain the word Aliens. You sent in some great stories. Here they are: Trent’s World: It wasn’t me! Really! Aliens… Sanandi-jacq: Aliens permeate fabric of…
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The TV – a source of inspiration for writing? In many houses, the TV is the focal point of the room and we spend a lot of our relaxation time watching it. Visit your local newsagents and you’ll see a lot of shelf space taken up with TV magazines. Most of these have letters pages…
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Holiday Writing Surely holidays aren’t for writing? Holidays are for relaxing and doing nothing. For some they are but for others, they’re a time to see sights and enjoy new experiences. This is excellent fodder for stories and articles, as well as fillers and letters. You could just take some notes and photos so you…
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Researching your market – analyse the publication as a whole You might buy a magazine to analyse because you have an idea for an article but don’t just analyse the articles. It’s a good idea to study the whole of the magazine. This will give you an idea of the readership of the publication and…
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Involve Your Reader Not sure how to open your short story? Try addressing your reader directly. It instantly makes them feel part of your story. Here’s an example: Just one more, that’s all I was going to take. You know that, don’t you? You understand. Well, they didn’t. And they wouldn’t listen. Looked at me…
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Writing Anniversary/Seasonal Pieces Every day marks the anniversary of when someone famous died or when a unique invention first came to light. General interest magazines often feature this sort of article. Additionally, depending on who the person is or what invention your article relates to, you may find a multitude of magazines interested in an…
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Using The Five Senses In Your Story Sight and sound are often used to bring a scene to life and for impacting upon the tone of a story. But the senses of smell, touch and taste can also affect a story’s mood. A rundown cafe might smell like a mixture of sweaty training shoes and…
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Write About…Your Own Experiences Open up any of the women’s weeklies and you’ll see pages and pages of true-life stories. These range from stories about ‘my operation’, to overcoming an illness/divorce/death in the family, to doing something special, to an amusing pet story. If you did something a little different for your 40th/50th/60th/70th birthday, you…
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Well, Christmas is over (I hope you all had a good one) and so the countdown to the New Year is on. So my challenge for this week is: New Year Resolutions Limericks, poems, short stories… I’d like to see anything and everything! ***
Esther Chilton 