writing prompts
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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! ***
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You can do it anywhere! Not many of us have the luxury of becoming a full-time writer as soon as we start out. Instead, it’s a case of snatching hours and minutes here and there in between the day job and all that life throws at us. The same can be said for where we…
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Here’s a new photo prompt for you this week. I hope it sets your mind thinking of stories, poems and limericks. Last week, Sharon Harvey provided the photo prompt. If you feel inspired and would like to send something in, it’s not too late. Here’s the prompt: ***
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Want to grab your reader’s attention right at the beginning of your story? Try shocking them: I knew she was dead even though the dull eyes stared back at me, mocking me, tempting me to raise the knife once more. This thrusts the reader right into the story and makes them want to read on.…
Esther Chilton 