Writing Prompt #440: Ears.

Ears.

Writing Prompt #439: Goading Atlas

Someone really, really tired is given a task to accomplish.

When a man is exhausted, when he's hungry, when he needs comfort and rest and sustenance, and instead he's given indifference and orders and delays and not the food or rest he'd expected at all, that's when you see the strength of his soul. That's when you find what kind of mettle he is.

God bless heroes.

Writing Prompt #438: Permission

Someone gives someone permission to do something small and mundane.

Ask a question? Stir their tea? Change to a different chair?

Is this a power move, or an increase in intimacy, or someone being clueless?

Why does the recipient feel like they need permission? Or do they care about the permission given at all?

Writing Prompt #437: Required Reeling

Someone is ordered to daydream about something.

Writing Prompt #436: Childifying

Yesterday, a little boy saw me troubled and asked me what was wrong. He was small, and sincere, and not old enough to have learned to be awkward when people are sad. So I told him.

"All the grown-ups in my life are giving me advice, and I want them to be wrong, because their advice sounds like it'll hurt. But grown-ups are so smart, and they're usually right, you know?"

My problem, broken down to seven-year-old level, seemed a whole lot easier to deal with.

Make your character explain their problems to a child.

Maybe, like me, they'll get some adorable advice to fix everything.

Writing Prompt #435: Moniker

Someone receives a nickname from a stranger.

Writing Prompt #434: Lovecraftian Moment

Someone is using a force or a power that they do not fully understand.

Writing Prompt #433: Genre Switch

My little sister challenged me in this today. Pick a big story that you really like, and COMPLETELY change the genre.

What's The Hobbit without the fantasy element? What's Alien as a middle school drama?

Have fun.

Writing Prompt #432: Surprise! You won.

Someone receives a trophy unexpectedly.

Employee of the month? Teacher of the year? You won the baseball thing because the other team got chicken pox?

What do you do with it?

Have fun.

Writing Prompt # 431: "I am Going to Change."

Someone in a relationship is going to undergo an experience that is going to change them.  Now, before this happens, the people talk about the change.

What kinds of things do we know will change us? Military service? Brain surgery? Marriage?

What kinds of relationships do people have where a dramatic change will effect all parties? Familial relationships? Friendships? Romance?

I know what I do in these conversations. I search for what won't change. I reach for solid points to anchor myself to. Sometimes I imagine the worst and try to think how I'll survive. But mostly, I hope, and I pray, and I trust.

Writing Prompt #430: Repentance and Removal

Me: "Dude, you messed up one time."
Friend: "Yeah, but it was wrong. Wasn't it?"

Me: "...yes."

Friend: "It was wrong. And I hurt you."

Me: "...yeah."

I didn't know what to say.

It made me really think about why I'd forgiven my friend. In his mind, he had this badge of failure because of his wrong. In my mind, I'd dismissed the mistake as non-relevant, and he was just as shiny and clean as if nothing had been done. Was I discounting evil? Was he ignoring repentance?

With the bloody sacrifice of Jesus, with the promise of making my friend something new, can we acknowledge what was wrong and still see the past as dead to him?
I'm giving you a challenge:

1) A character in your story has done something that is really, actually bad. Like, evil-bad. They knew it was wrong, they did it, and people got hurt.

2) Without pretending that the bad thing is okay, someone forgives the character.

3) Why?

Writing Prompt #429: Vulnerability

Your character has a place where he or she is safe to be vulnerable. How are they different here from their usual persona?

Hint: This could be a location, a person, or an activity.

Writing Prompt #428: Drop it like it's Hot

Someone must change a plan because of the weather.

Writing Prompt #427: Back for More

Someone takes a beating and comes back again.

(No, this blog is not every day right now. No, it might not be every day for sometime. Why not let it be a beautiful surprise?)

Writing Prompt #426: Strange Intimacy

People make a really big deal about the first kiss, as they should. But there are other firsts in relationships, and in friendships, that really matter and we don't talk about.

The first time one of you farts in front of the other.

The first time a friend sees you without makeup.

The first time you're really tired and you're not yourself.

The first time the friend sees you cry.

The first time you disagree.

Every little situation has a question: Do you still like me? Are we still friends? And every time there's an affirmation, there's an intimacy.

Write about a weird first.

Writing Prompt #425: Okay, Not Okay

Something is fine when one person says it and not fine when someone else says it.

Why?

Writing Prompt #424: Secrets from a Voice

Someone's voice reveals something about him.

(Hopefully I'll be able to make this blog a priority again sometime in the next month. Until then, I wish you better luck with your masses of commitments than I've had with mine.)

Writing Prompt #423: Imperfection

Someone fails to hide an imperfection.

Writing Prompt #422: Reunion

Someone returns after a long absence.

Was the absence unexplained? Was anything left unsaid? Are they remembered?

Writing Prompt #421: Blunt

Someone says something very bluntly.

Insults are easy. Can you find an awkward compliment?

Writing Prompt #420: Awkward Lecture

A student knows more than the teacher.

A student knows a LOT more than the teacher.

What now?

Writing Prompt #419: Dialogue Snippet #2!

Write a scene that includes the words, "Because he's leaving."

Do you like dialogue snippets? Would you like more of them? Would you like to comment and tell me what you'd like?

Feedback is welcome. Till then, I'm still throwing chum to the invisible internet whales and shall assume no one cares.

Writing Prompt #418: Dread

Yesterday, I was running through a parkinglot at full speed, and I sincerely thought, "Maybe I will be hit by a car and won't have to face these people and do this."

I did what I knew was right and brave. I survived.

Write a scene where your character does something he or she has been dreading.

Writing Prompt #417: Shifting Contexts

Show the difference in how people interact with each other in different places.

I interact with my boyfriend very differently at my house than I do at his, and we interact very differently in restaurants than we do on sidewalks.

Sometimes, when you're with a friend in a new context, it's hard to know how you fit and what your role is. Sometimes you need the other person to take the lead and sometimes they don't.

So, write. ^-^

Writing Prompt #416: Helping the Noob

It's someone's responsibility to show a new person the ropes.

Writing Prompt #415: Crowd-Sourcing

Someone draws strength from a group of people.

Writing Prompt #414: Dowager Heroine

I got to spend a little more than an hour basking in the wisdom of an artist who was a widow.

She had so much to share and to teach, so many experiences and dreams to draw like gemstones from her pockets, and then every other moment, she mentioned him. 

She was wise, she was stable, she was strong, she was very much a part of this world, and she was living without her best friend. Half of her was somewhere else. She could talk about him, and she could teach, and he wasn't there.

Your challenge: Someone who isn't present is very important. They're influencing everything, but they're not here and they're not coming back.

Writing Prompt #413: I'm Not Who I Was

A person enters an environment where they are known for behavior and characteristics that no longer define them.

A high-school reunion? A family reunion? The dusty cowboy coming back to the small town he saved from werewolves ten years ago in a blood-bath that will be retold for centuries till he's only a legend?

How do you fit in when people know you as someone you're not?

Writing Prompt #412: Public Displays

Someone expresses their affection in public.

Is this a place and a culture where that's accepted? Is the other person chill with this? Has this ever happened between them before? What are the results?

Writing Prompt #411: Plans for the Future

People make plans for the future. Not the two-weeks-from-now future; the far-off, if-we-live-that-long future.

Writing Prompt #410: Short Date

Two people have only a short time to see each other. Friends, betrothed, business partners, whoever they are- how do they make the most of it?

And how do they face the impending separation?

Writing Prompt #409: Catching Up from Wonderland

Here's a situation I was in recently:

Communication with someone (or a group of someones) has been cut off for a span of time, and in that span, LOTS has happened. Lots that is big and life-changing and self-changing and world-shaping has happened. And now your character has to catch up these people that are important to her.

"Hi, mom. Remember that friend? I'm engaged."

"Hi, Grandpa. I'm a supervillain now."

How do you say this? You're going to rock their worlds too.

You're not the same person you were the last time you talked. These relationships are going to change. How do you face that, and reassure them?

If you figure this out, let me know. I have a lot of explaining to do.

Writing Prompt #408: Extenuating Circumstances

Someone is unable to keep a promise due to circumstances that were unexpected. What are the consequences?

(Sorry for the unintentional hiatus, guys- laptop and back-up system both went AWOL.)

(...I will not be reliable until it's fixed. I'm typing on borrowed time right now. Sorry about that.)

Writing Prompt #407: Facing Armageddon

Two people openly discuss something difficult that is going to happen.

How do they comfort each other? How can they be cheery in the face of probable pain? How do each of them cope differently?

Additional challenge: find a strange venue for the conversation.

Writing Prompt #406: Breaking Open

A character experiences an emotional upset in the presence of someone they weren't planning on including.

Sometimes you don't get to choose when you break. You don't get to choose when a truth hits your face like icewater and you're driving down the road and don't remember what the colored lights at the intersection mean. You don't get to choose when pain splashes up from your depths and cripples you in a movie theater.

But the Author chose. And He knows what he's doing. Sometimes, what we wouldn't have chosen is still the very best thing.

You're the God of this story. Break a character. And make it the best thing possible.

Writing Prompt #405: Equipment Removed

Your character has to perform a task without a tool he's used to using.

As I am currently bereft of my laptop, I will be cheering your character on.

Writing Prompt #404: Unorthodox Meal

A friend of mine once ate a dinner of goat cheese and Cheerios.

Last night, I had the most delightful romantic dinner with the pasta from an off-brand Kraft macaroni package and 2 boiled eggs.

Write a scene that means something, that accomplishes something, and make your characters make-do with food.

Writing Prompt #403: Doesn't Get Old

Write about something that someone does not get tired of.

Writing Prompt #402: Misguided Comforting

Someone tries to comfort a person, and their method does not work.

You're not going to give up there, are you? You care about this person, right? So do the waiting, do the silence, do the staying and the listening and the hoping and the reaching and FIND another way to comfort them.

They don't need Plan A. So what's Plan B?

Writing Prompt #401: In the Waiting

Someone has to wait a long time for something they really want.

Instead of showing us the completion, and instead of showing us the beginning, give us a little piece of the waiting.

There is heroism here. There is overcoming here. There is truth and wisdom and vulnerability and intimacy and strength and weakness and light.

And sometimes, oh, so many times, we are better for the overcoming.

Good is worth the wait. Happy writing.

Writing Prompt #400: Decisions Under Impairment

Your character is not thinking clearly, and knows it.

Hypoglycemia? Chemical impairment? Emotional Distress? Sleep deprivation? Lots of things can make us less capable of thinking than we've been before. How do we make decisions when we know we're not at our best?

Writing Prompt #399: Remembering Everything

I have ONE friend about whom I remember almost everything.

There is no logical reason for this. I met lots of people the day I met him. He was pleasant, but I firmly disregarded him as a romantic candidate.

I can tell you the location where he told me each story, replay his facial expressions in front of my eyes, give you the names of people mentioned, recount every deduction and decision regarding him I made the last nine months. Most of the time, I struggle to remember names.

Challenge: There is something, or someone, about which/whom your character remembers everything.

Is there anything about which you remember to an intense degree?

Writing Prompt #398: Not-My-First-Language

Two people communicate in a form that is not second-nature to either of them.





Why is this important enough to them that they're putting in the effort? Is it something intense that they have to say, or is it just the need to communicate at all? What are the barriers, and how are they surmounted? And what are the mistakes along the way?

Writing Prompt #397: Salubrious Contact

Someone's company is GOOD for someone else. How?

When I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue, the doctor asked me if there was ever a time when I was calm. And I looked over my whole life to that moment and realized that the only calm I remembered was sitting next to one friend.

I've since been cured. I've since fallen in love with that friend. And I've since gone on to discover more and more ways that people can be good for each other.

So write yours.

Happy writing. Blessed adventures. I'll be pulling for you.

Writing Prompt #396: The Tell-Tale Heart

Your challenge: Someone's vital signs give them away.

A quickening heartbeat? Intestinal gurgling? Sweat on their shirt? Drooping eyelids? Catching breath? What is the secret, what is being revealed, and why does the person discovering it care?

You can hear a lot with your head on someone's chest. Just saying.

Happy writing. Blessed adventures. <3

Writing Prompt #395: The Silver Iterance

Someone borrows someone else's words to say what they want to say.

Movie lines? Poetry? Quoting back something someone said to you before? Sometimes someone has already said it better. Sometimes the history of words makes them mean more than they would on their own.

Happy writing. Blessed adventures.

Writing Prompt #394: "You're Happy for What?"

Someone shares their anticipation for an event with someone, and is met with incredulity.

I did this today.

"You're happy about seeing your boyfriend?" 



The old woman in question was confused and disgruntled by this. I don't know why.

Questions to consider: Why is your character sharing what they're excited about? What do they expect?

Writing Prompt #393: Goodness in Destruction

Something an enemy meant for wrong works for the character's good.

Can I give you a little nudge on this one? Sometimes the destruction is still there. Sometimes all the wounds and all the hurt are still there. Sometimes the enemy makes his mark and the damage is done.

But then, in that sometime, sometimes you get the chance to forgive.

You get the chance to reach beyond yourself. You get the chance to step out of the ashes and embrace repentance and turn away from what you did wrong and do the right thing. And your rise is making your life a better story than if everything had stayed peachy and you weren't wounded.

Sometimes bleeding makes it a better story.

If only every story I wrote could be as good as mine.

Writing Prompt #392: Cliche Redeemed

Take a cliche, and make it actually work.

Kissing in the rain? The waiter takes people for a couple? Work with it.

Writing Prompt #391: Bad Timing, Good Thing

Someone says something at an inappropriate time. How does it work out?

Writing Prompt #390: First Time

Someone is doing something for the first time. Using a cash register? Kissing a boy? The first time at anything is hard.

How does another character help them, or fail to help them through it?

Writing Prompt #389: Excuses, Excuses

I'm...four days of no-blog late. That is horrible. Also, I was fifteen minutes past my curfew tonight. And that is ALSO horrible.

(And I do apologize but you don't care so let's get to work.)

Your challenge today is: make a character break a promise. Now find the excuse that makes that excusable.

You were late the baseball game because a pterodactyl attacked you and you lost your right arm? ...excused.

Writing Prompt #388: Dialogue Snippet #1!

Today I yelled this across a grocery store and it caught my imagination.

Write a scene where SOMEONE says: "This will never happen again."

Writing Prompt #387: Reserve

Your character must hold back feelings or impulses.

Avoiding PDA? Keeping a secret? Propriety in addressing a monarch?

For me, this is really hard. Everything I think goes across my face. I'm so used to everything I want to do being perfectly appropriate that not diving into the arms of the one I love is really difficult, no matter whom we're in front of.

But I'm learning that it's alright to have secrets, and that there's no cowardice in occasionally holding back. As long as there is someone you tell everything, and a time when you don't hold back at all.

Happy writing.

Writing Prompt #386: Believe Me

Today (as of writing this, not publishing it), I brought pizza to a friend's house.

I called ahead to let him know I was bringing pizza. Then I discussed it with him on Facebook. All was jolly and fine, and he bid me a good day.

And then I showed up with the pizza, and he met me at the door with this bewildered look of wonderment on his face and stared and said, "...you actually brought pizza."

"I called ahead. I told you I was bringing pizza."

"Yes, but I didn't think...why would you bring me pizza?"

I'd made a promise, but it hadn't quite sunk through.

Your character makes a promise. Why does the person not believe them? What will it take before they trust?

Writing Prompt #385: Change of Plans

A couple of days ago, my plans of filmmaking were upturned when a tree crashed through the roof of my co-director's house. No one was harmed, but instead of filming and editing and then having a nice date, we spent the day hauling branches and hauling rubbish and hosing down tarps.

It was wonderful. I had such a delightful time getting to be near him.

Can you drastically destroy plans your character was really looking forward to- and give him something better?

Writing Prompt #384: Trainee and Sensei

Your character is taken under the wing of someone more experienced.

Why is the person helping them? Pity? Expediency? What is your character already good at? What do they have to learn from this person?

Not just on the job. What do they have to learn about life?

Writing Prompt #383: See You Again

Someone goes to an abnormal length to see someone they love.

Writing Prompt #382: Helping a Hero

Someone does something to honor someone they see as a hero.

Donating money to buy coffee for the troops overseas? Stooping to aid an elderly veteran? Who are your character's heroes, and how can he help them?

Happy Independence Day. We need all the heroes we can get.

Writing Prompt #381: On the Job Blunder

Your character makes a big mistake on the job.

What happens?

Writing Prompt #380: Personal Questions

In today's writing prompt, people ask questions about things that are really, REALLY none of their business.

What is it like to be on the receiving end of this? More than that, why is the other person prying?

Insensitivity? Loneliness and voyeurism? ...really meaning the best and worrying about someone?

I'm getting a lot of practice putting myself in the shoes of people who "get up in my business." Most of the time, I think they really care. But no matter what, it's always a good opportunity to find the right thing to do.

Happy writing.

Writing Prompt #379: A Conversation with the Past

Someone speaks to their past self.

How? A photograph? An alternate dimension? Therapy?

With what? Forgiveness? Reassurance? A promise for the future?

What do you say to the past? And can the past ever speak back to you?

Writing Prompt #378: Useless Advice

Someone is given advice that is entirely unhelpful.

Who's giving the advice? Did they expect advice that was more useful? What can they do now?

Writing Prompt #377: Hope in Hardship

A character is hopeful in the face of difficulty.

Not delusional. Not in denial. Hopeful. 

How is that done?

Writing Prompt #376: Hard Questions

The more I do friendship, the more I realize that the stuff that the most wonderful stuff comes out of the moments that are horrible.

The times I said the wrong thing. The times I asked the hard question. The times we're exhausted and rained on and lost. Those are the times when what's really amazing happens.

The worst moments MAKE the best ones.

I'm challenging you to put your characters in a horribly awkward situation, and test and torment and pressure them, and pull out the gold.

Real life will give you all the trials you need to be a hero. Can you do the same for your characters?

Writing Prompt #375: Bad News

Your character has to break bad news to someone. How can make it go easier?

Writing Prompt #374: Blurt

Someone blurts out something really awkward, and it turns out okay.

Make sure they have a reason to blurt. Like being really tired, or really distracted or something.

I was both. I'm happy and alive. Things work out.

Writing Prompt #373: Endearment

Someone uses an endearment.

Is this a moment of courage and stepping out? A leap of faith? A test? What does it say about the characters? What has been changed or gained?

Yes, my prompts are going to be rather mushy for a while.

Writing Prompt #372: Gentleness

Someone goes to an abnormal length to avoid hurting another person.

Writing Prompt #371: Wishes Granted

Someone gets to do something or say something that they've wanted to for a long time.

Writing Prompt #370: Decisions and Boundaries

Do you ever make decisions ahead of time, because you know later you won't be in your right mind?

Write about someone who's done that. They made this decision and now they're in the thick of things and they know they're supposed to keep to the choice they made.

I hope you have fun.

Make good choices!!

Writing Prompt #369: People Watching

Your character makes an assumption about a stranger. It it correct?

Writing Prompt #368: Something Right

Someone does something right.

Nothing held back, nothing half-done, nothing ugly thrown in with the glory. The lines are right, the heart is pure, the action is complete.

Those are the scenes in your own life, no matter how badly they end, no matter how much pain and confusion surrounds them, that you look back on and are glad happened.

So write something right.

Writing Prompt #367: In the Middle of Horrible

Something good happens in the middle of something horrible.

Writing Prompt #366: Fear of Being Let Down

Do you ever confront in yourself the fear that someone's going to let you down? That they won't be the shining example of virtue that you looked up to?

Being let down by a hero is hard. Being betrayed by an example is awful. But the worst is realizing that you're wronging someone who hasn't done wrong and keeping them at arm's length for fear that they'll fail.

Heroes fail. People fail. So what? Can't you trust for the hope and the love and the faith to forgive and help them up?

Being failed by someone you love isn't the worst thing. It's an opportunity to love, to do what's right, to BE a hero. Failing them back would be.

So here is my challenge. Your character looks up to and trusts someone. A friend? A mentor? A lofty personage? That person fails to be really good. Maybe your character has to confront and restore, maybe he has to find the ideals that are bigger than the hero was, but find what is real, find what is true in this experience, and write.

Maybe someday you'll be a hero who falls. What happens then?

Writing Prompt #365: A Year

Your Brain on Squirrel has officially published a year's worth of writing prompts for you. SO.

Write a scene where a person does a thing or visits a place, and then write the same person doing the same thing or visiting the same place a year later.

What has changed? It's probably them.

Enjoy.

Writing Prompt #364: Double-Gifted

Someone gives a gift with a secret meaning.

Writing Prompt #363: Sharing

Write a scene where your character shares a person.

Are they sharing a parent with a sibling? Sharing a spouse with a child? Sharing a friend with someone who needs their attention more?

What makes it important? What makes it worth it? What makes it okay?

Can you create a love for the interloper that makes the interruption, however painful, okay?

Writing Prompt #362: Surrendering a Desire

Someone gives up something they want.

Is it time with a person? Is it a special thing? A meal? A chance to rest? Why? What's more important?

Just because something is right, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. And just because something hurts, doesn't mean it isn't right.

Writing Prompt #361: Self Promotion

Your protagonist has to see him/herself as something cool and sell that.

Writing Prompt #360: Gut Talk

Today I broke down in tears telling my stomach that I forgave it and it had been doing its best and I was sorry that I'd blamed it when it had been doing the best job it could.

I scared my sister because I was sobbing with sympathy for the emotional plight of my own organs.

So today I'm challenging you to write a scene where someone has a conversation with one of their internal organs.

And I'm just going to challenge you a little more and ask you to be nice to yourself. Because sometimes, when it feels like a part of you is trying to kill you, like, say, your stomach eating your esophagus, it's just doing its best to save your life. Please love every part of you.

~ Joy

Writing Prompt #358: Hiding Gas Stations

Your character conceals portions of a story to avoid upsetting someone.

I don't tell my mom when I had to stop for gasoline at 1 am, or my dad when I get lost. I don't tell my friends when I'm sick or in pain or my brother when I'm sad. I'm really good at hiding the right things from the right people so everyone's okay.

What is your character hiding, and why?

Writing Prompt #357: Second-Person Narration Justified

Have you ever written to someone telling the story of something they were there for?

The first time you met, that thing they thought went terribly, what you were thinking that time when.

I have a habit of writing letters when there were things in the moment that I couldn't say. I don't send them, but I write anyway. I tell people how important they are or how confused I was and what I wish I'd said. I tell them what would be interesting to them; what they looked like, how they sounded, what I'd assumed about them and how I think I was wrong.

Write a story in second-person. The more important you make the story to the narrator, and the more important you make the write-ee to the story, the more gripping it'll be.

Writing Prompt #356: Correspondence Tale

Audience changes presentation, doesn't it? How much you leave out, how much you keep in, what details are important. It changes the way you're able to open up...sometimes in a really, really good way.

Write a story in a letter. How does the writer relate to the intended recipient? What does the recipient already know?

Writing Prompt #355: Blame Game

Two people argue, each claiming that the topic is their fault.

Sometimes you can't win this argument. What do you do then?

Writing Prompt #354: Unexpected Gesture

Someone does something in the moment that is unexpected. A hug? A kiss? A round-house kick? A bow? Why?

Writing Prompt #353: Provoked Discussion

A fictional story provokes a discussion between two people about a topic relevant to their lives.

Is it a movie? A campfire tale? What does one person want out of the other?

Writing Prompt #352: Bad Date

Two people set out to have fun and have a terrible, terrible time.

So how is the outcome positive? >:)

While I've never gone on a date, I did get lost in a parking lot at night in a thunderstorm for an hour with an awesome friend and get soft drink thrown on me by a couple of whack jobs as they sped past.

I think it turned out pretty well. Your turn.

Writing Prompt #351: Definition of Friendship

Recently in a conversation that left me fighting tears and gripping the will to live, I said that a friend was someone who has seen you fail, seen you weak and stupid, seen you be wrong, but still thinks you're worth more than your mistakes.

I'm challenging you to write about a character lifting someone up after they've been stupid. Write about treating someone more valuable than their trouble.

I hope you have people in your life who see the value of you, who dream the best for you when you're at your worst. I hope you have people who see you like Jesus does. I'm glad I do.

Writing Prompt #350: Thanks for the Stones

It's the kind of day where I stub my toe and I'm grateful for the pain just because it distracts me.

I needed to tell someone. But there is no one I can tell without making their day worse or being thought even more of an idiot. So, oh, look! A writing prompt for you, the one anonymous reader.

Someone is thankful for something unpleasant. Why?

I hope your day is better than mine. But whether or not that is the case, I hope your day draws strength and comfort from the same direction mine has. Peace to you. 

Writing Prompt #349: Surprising Support

Your character receives support from an unlikely quarter.

Writing Prompt #348: Revelation of Aid

Your character realizes that someone was helping or protecting them.

Writing Prompt #347: Small Audience

Someone performs for an incredibly small audience on a regular basis.

Is it one person at the back of the coffee house? Is it an old lady in a nursing home? Is it one stranger on the internet who never comments but you see that they clicked through?

Writing Prompt #346: Container

Your character has a container and doesn't know what's in it.

Writing Prompt #345: Teaching Methods

Today, the little boy I tutor in kung-fu decided that instead of following normal procedures, it would be really fun to just punch me.

Normally, I take punches. He needs the practice and the satisfaction of contact, and as of yet he's not really strong enough to leave a bad bruise. But today was out of turn. Today was unruly. And this was a precedent I couldn't let him set.

So, I changed tacks. I told him it was time to strengthen his bone density. And every time he attempted to punch me, I whacked his arm out of the way, hard. We went back and forth for 2 or 3 minutes of frustration, until he was rubbing his sore little forearms.  (Admittedly, darting in to kiss his cheek while he was trying to punch me was probably too much of a toll on his ego.)

Write about a teacher who has to change methods. Is it choosing a gentler method to encourage a stumbler? A harder focus to maintain respect? Have fun.

Writing Prompt #345: Sides of Brightness (part III)

Pick a person, any person, and write out ten things that you like about them.

Writing Prompt #344: Sides of Brightness (part II)

Pick a task you really loathe.

Write from the point of view of a character who loves doing it.

Writing Prompt 343: Sides of Brightness

Pick someone who ticks you off.

Find something you like about him or her, and write about it.

Writing Prompt #342: Minimum Communication

You know that a huge part of good story telling is just leaving out the stuff that doesn't matter.

Have characters communicate using the minimum number of words.

Writing Prompt #341: Ignoring Warning Labels

Someone misuses a household product.

Writing Prompt #340: Secrets Kept

Someone is keeping a secret from your character. Is there a circumstance where that's okay?

Writing Prompt #339: Interrupting God

Your character has to interrupt someone. What is the need? What are the risks? How will he go about this?

Writing Prompt #338: Invisibility is Bliss

Someone is ignored. How do they turn it into a good thing?

Writing Prompt #337: Needy People

Someone clamors for attention.

Can you be kind to them?

Writing Prompt #336: Missed Appointment

Someone misses an appointment.

Writing Prompt #335: Mistakes

Someone turns a mistake into a good thing.

A stain becomes art.

A broken thing is made something better.

A wound between friends becomes a deeper trust.

Can you do it?

I know Someone who does.

Writing Prompt #334: No Feedback

Someone communicates without receiving any feedback.

No expressions.

No responses.

No blog comments. *cough*

But for some reason, they keep speaking into the void. Why?

Writing Prompt #333: Loathsome Task

A character has to do some disgusting or otherwise distasteful job.

You're welcome.

Bonus Prompt: Misnomer

Someone's name doesn't fit them.

[...and I accidentally posted this on the wrong day. So, bonus prompt. For you. Happy Birthday.]

Writing Prompt #332: Love Language (2)

Yesterday we thought about your love language. Today I'm challenging you to think about the language of caring of someone who's different than you.

One of my close friends is made very happy by hugs and words of affection. Another friend is task-focused; he'll feel loved if I take a task off his plate (and many times that is just "I am fine; ignore me"). One best friend, the best way to love on her is to drop absolutely whatever I'm doing and help her do something else.

Find a love language that is not your own, and write about reaching and loving a character that owns it.

Writing Prompt #331: Love Languages (1)

Different people express and receive affection different ways, right? What's your way? When do you feel the most valued and appreciated? What makes you feel loved?

Write about someone going out of their way to communicate to a character in your love language.

Writing Prompt #330: Coin Flip

I'm challenging you to write a scene, and every time you're about to make a decision, flip a coin.

Does he put his hand on her arm? *flip*

Does she threaten to kill him? *flip*

Is the dog wearing a polo shirt? *flip*

This exercise forces you to come up with more ideas than you normally would, to consider options beyond your comfort zone. And, it lends writing an element of unpredictability that can be a lot of fun.

It might be the second-best thing to a really amazing co-writer.

Have fun.

Writing Prompt #329: Parental Revelation

A character finds out something that a parent never told him.

Writing Prompt #328: New Name

Someone is given a new name.

Writing Prompt #327: So Serious

Write a story where people take something that you'd normally consider light or casual very, very seriously.

Best example of this? The 80's movie Strictly Ballroom. Absolutely brilliant.

Writing Prompt #326: Saving Kittens

Give a scary character something that they love.

Writing Prompt #325: One-up

Your character one-ups someone else.

Writing Prompt #324: Receiver

Your character is hurt by someone. Then that someone makes it better.

Writing Prompt #323: Tested

Someone is being tested.

I'm sorry this is late. College finals intervened. I pray you pass everything with flying colors.

Writing Prompt #322: Found in Translation

Someone thinks another character cannot understand what they're saying.

Writing Prompt #321: Numbers

The character has to figure out something to do with numbers.

Give him a distraction that makes this difficult.

Writing Prompt #320: The Worst Thing

The nice thing about The Worst Thing you can imagine happening to you, is that there is nothing more to worry about. Nothing more to lose. Nothing more to hold you back.

My worst thing is probably a lot smaller than your worst thing, but I failed. I face-planted. I did everything I didn't want to do. And here I am. It hurts. And it's okay.

Write a scene where your character's worst possible thing has happened. What do they do now?

Writing Prompt #319: Behavior Modification

Someone tries to change someone else.

Writing Prompt #318: Nothing Back

Someone does something for someone who can't do anything for him.

Writing Prompt #317: False Representation

Someone claims to be representing someone else, but your character divines that it's a lie. How?

Writing Prompt #316: Love in Action

God loved this world this way: he gave his only son, so whoever puts their trust in him won't be destroyed, but instead will live forever.

So how does your character "love"? How does your character translate a value, "you're important," into action?

Gauntlet is thrown.

Writing Prompt #315: Self-Perspective

Someone sees themself from someone else's perspective.

Hearing a story narrated? Watching behind-the-scenes footage? Photographs of you getting your mail? Have fun.

Writing Prompt #314: Stranger Danger Reversed!

Someone is encouraged by a stranger.

Writing Prompt #313: Motivators

Someone has to do something unpleasant. They use something strange to keep themselves on task.

Writing Prompt #312: Forgotten

Someone has been forgotten. How do they deal with that?

Writing Prompt #311: Deadlines

Someone's on a deadline. They're behind schedule. The consequences are extreme.

Force them to make tough choices.

Writing Prompt #310: Positive Response

Someone embraces the bright side of something awful.

Writing Prompt #309: Gift Gone Wrong

Someone gives a gift which goes horribly wrong.

Oh, look, you didn't even have to read the blog post. That was in the title.

I'm sure both readers of this blog will appreciate all the time I just saved them.

Writing Prompt #308: Negotiations

Someone gives something to get something.

Too easy for you?

They have to make these negotiations while not in their right mind.

Writing Prompt #307: Unsaid

There's something important that someone isn't saying.





Sometimes you can't say what you want to. Sometimes the most important piece of information you have is the one you can't even hint at.

So raise a problem, heat up the conflict, and resolve it...without saying that thing.

Writing Prompt #306: Promise Refused

Someone refuses to make a promise.

Writing Prompt #305: Dual Communication

Someone is trying to have two conversations at the same time.

Writing Prompt #304: Shadows to Light

Write a character with a problem you had in the distant past.

Last year is not the distant past. Go distant.

Writing Prompt #303: Resemblance

A character treats someone unfairly because the person reminds them of someone else.

Writing Prompt #302: Pulchritude

Someone appreciates someone else from an aesthetic point of view.

Writing Prompt #301: Elderly Advice

Someone takes the time to listen to an old person.

Writing Prompt #300: Arguing Well

How do you do a good job of arguing? I'm not asking how you do a good job of winning an argument. How do you argue well? How do you respect the other person? How do you listen? How do you show them that you care even while you disagree? And when you have to, how do you give in because they're more important?

Write a scene where someone wins over a hard opponent because they argue well.

Writing Prompt #299: Open Judgements and Unshaking Opinions

Your character gives his opinion of someone to their face.

Writing Prompt #298: Fish out of Water

Put your character in the opposite of his normal situation.

The extrovert is watching from the fringe of the crowd. The introvert is the center of attention. The guy who orders around giant men is being controlled by toddler females.

I hope you have fun. :)

Writing Prompt #297: Recognition Unappreciated

Someone receives recognition for a job well done, and isn't happy about it.

Writing Prompt #296: Actions Explained

Someone explains an abnormality in their actions.

Why are you sitting so far away from the boy?

Why do she flinch at birdsong?

Why does he laugh every time he sees a Volvo?

Explain.

Writing Prompt #295: Put on the Spot

Someone has to give an on-the-spot performance.

Are they called on to speak? To sing? To perform some feat of physical strength?

When you have no warning, how do you deal?

Writing Prompt #294: Opening Jars for Superman

Someone strong needs help.

Writing Prompt #293: Competence Makes for a Story

A character explains why he's good at something.

Writing Prompt #292: Reversing Expectations

Something potentially terrible turns out well.

Your deranged uncle's match-making efforts? The worst church Easter production ever?  Find something doomed and salvage it with savage brilliance.

Writing Prompt #291: Goodbye Perfected

We spend so much of our lives without a chance to say goodbye.

That person I sat next to in class, the semester ends and I never get to tell her I'm glad it was her in that seat.

The teacher who changed my life leaves it without a word, without a warning that today is the last time I get to listen.

A storm hits the house and there is no chance to sit by my bed one more time.

BUT.

Sometimes, we have that chance. Sometimes we get to live life to the hilt and lunge out on limbs to look crazy and tell people that they changed our lives, that losing them hurts, and that it's worth it to have known them.

Write about someone who has that chance and takes it.

Forget socially acceptable. Forget normal. Say goodbye.

Writing Prompt #290: More Fun with Role-Reversal

Think of a conversation that parents and children usually have, and reverse the roles.

The mom is on the side of the plunging neckline. The dad is worried about disappointing the boy. The grandchild is the one having a senior moment. The older sibling wants to hang out, and the little one is busy.

Can you find something sweet, something real, something genuine in a moment of reversal?

Writing Prompt #289: Out of Your Hands

Someone has a decision made for them.

Writing Prompt #288: A Choice of Direction (Decisions, Decisions)

Someone chooses the direction for the rest of their life.

Are they choosing a profession? An education? Or is it one of those small, almost invisible watershed moments where you choose the person you're gonna be?

Happy choosing.

Writing Prompt #287: Something Rising

A character gets back something he/she thought was lost.

A relationship? A pet? Trust? A job?

Sometimes just when you give something up for dead, you get it back better. And sometimes, something amazing is held out to you, because Someone Bigger than you thinks you're worth the kind of love you can't possibly earn.

Sometimes life is a lot like Easter.

Happy Resurrection Day! I hope yours is fantastic.

Writing Prompt #286: Sublime Punishment

Your challenge: write a story or a scene where a punishment is a blessing.

Need ideas? Batman has it covered.

Writing Prompt #285: The Outsider

Someone is on the outside of a joke.

Writing Prompt #284: Crushing Fear

I have one friend who, for some reason, attracts people to attack him from behind.

Wherever we're seated, someone will come up to fake-throttle or fake-kick or fake-stab this friend. One night when we were out somewhere he had his back to an unsavory crowd, and I mentioned that it made me nervous to have his back vulnerable to attack because everywhere we went people snuck up on him. And he smiled like I was a little kid and told me that he always heard the people coming.

The friend wasn't being tricked or shocked. He always knew what was going on, and he could read whether or not there was a threat. I didn't need to be afraid.

The next time we were sitting in friendly territory, and someone "snuck up," I saw him smile. His eyes slid over to me, to tell me it was okay. Then he faked all the shock he needed to to satisfy the crowd.

I'm challenging you to write a scene where your character convinces someone not to be afraid. Not a scene where they try. A scene where they succeed.

I hope the friends in your life are as fear-crushing as the heroes and heroines in mine.

Writing Prompt #283: Avoiding Introduction

Have you ever been somewhere with a friend, and an acquaintance of his greets him, and he greets them back and then there's silence, because for some reason, your friend does not want to introduce you to this other person and he is going to let the silence stretch on for as long as he needs to until they leave?

Write a scene where someone specifically avoids introducing people to each other.

Writing Prompt #282: Requesting Exile

Someone asks for something that they don't really want.

Writing Prompt #281: Learn to Read Chinese in 3 Minutes. And French Braid. And Talk to Dogs. ...and Lose 20 Lbs.

Ever notice how much advertising promises that you will do something in a ridiculously compressed time frame? Most of the time, both the advertiser and everyone reading the ad knows that the promise is exaggerated, but we're still drawn in. The promise of accomplishment without effort, however ridiculous, is appealing.

What if it worked?

Write a story about a character who accomplishes something within a compressed time frame.

Writing Prompt #280: Testing the Limits

Someone tests the limits of a power.

A power over themself? A superpower over nature? The power they have over a person?

Make them see how far it will go.

[I was trying to put this in the queue and I accidentally posted it early. So...happy early-prompt day.]

Writing Prompt #279: Over the Line

A character wants something he cannot morally attempt to get.

Writing Prompt #278: Wanting Something

Your character wants something from someone.

Yeah, I know. This sounds sooo basic, right?

When do you do this?

When do you let yourself actually want something from another human being? When do you hope for something from someone else? When you do this, they have a power over you, no matter how small. When do you let this happen, and when it happens inside of you, how do you deal with it?

Is there any right way to get something from someone? Or do you just wait like it's a storm that might break or might not? Does being good, doing right, mean you never move for what you want at all?

Sometimes. For some of us. What about you?

Writing Prompt #277: Allied Antagonist

Create a scene in which someone who is normally your protagonist's ally is an antagonist.

Why is this person blocking what he wants?

Writing Prompt #276: Maintaining Boundaries

Someone deals with an encroachment on their personal space.

Writing Prompt #275: Things You Want to Say

Do you ever have things that you want to say but you can't?

Sometimes I'll be in a big group conversation and there are things I want to say to someone but it isn't appropriate so I'll wait till everyone's loud and I'll whisper the thing really quickly under my breath, and maybe no one heard it, but at least it was said.

Sometimes when I finish a phone conversation I throw the phone down on the bed and jump back like it's a snake, and then I say "I love your voice," or "You're really cool," or "What was that all about and why did you have to call?"

Write a scene where someone says the thing that they don't get to say.

I hope it turns out well for them.

I hope someday I get to say things.

Writing Prompt #274: Honesty, Motion and Whales

I don't get a lot of traffic on this blog, but the three things people have searched for and found Your Brain on Squirrel were "writing prompts on honesty," "writing prompts about motion," and "writing prompts for whales."

SO.

I am challenging you to write a scene regarding honesty, motion, and whales.




You know you want to.

If YOU have a suggestion as to the kinds of writing prompts you'd like to see in the future, comment and let me know. In the meantime, you have a whale to write about.

Writing Prompt #273: Being Real

Today someone told me that they knew I was real, and that I didn't have to hold back from being real for fear they thought I was faking.

I'm still rolling those words in my mouth like a lollipop, holding them close to my heart like heater, spinning around in this idea like it's a bright, new backyard with a sky full of stars and clouds and I can yell to God.

How does your character hold back? How does your character dilute him or herself for the people he interacts with? What does your character have to worry about people misinterpreting or misusing or rejecting or shying away from?

Who does your character get to be real with?

Even honest people have things that they have to hold back, and hopefully, people that they don't hold back with. Write a scene that shows the difference.

Writing Prompt #272: Compliment

How do you receive a compliment? Like, what's the hardest kind of compliment for you to receive?

What are the differences between the compliments that edify you, and the compliments that are uncomfortable? How are you supposed to respond when affirmation seems over the top? When it seems inappropriate? When you think you've been mistaken for your sister?

Compliment a character, and make them grow to receive it, or reject it.

Writing Prompt #271: Independent Thinking

Someone receives advice and opinions from friends, and then makes a decision that goes against that advice.

Sometimes the only way to do the right thing is to do what other people see as wrong. Sometimes it would be more wrong to accept others' opinions for your own than to obey them.

And sometimes the best friends are the ones saying, "When this blows up in your face, I'll still be here."

There's always a risk that they're right and you're wrong. But if you let other people make your decisions, what kind of life are you leading?

Writing Prompt #270: Unorthodox Advice

An elder or parent gives advice that parents normally don't.

Writing Prompt #269: Wrong About You

Write a narrative telling someone how they proved you wrong.

Writing Prompt #268: Running in the Family

Two sides of a family have some difference.

How subtle can you make this?

Writing Prompt #267: Non Sequitur

Today I had a conversation that went as follows.

Gentleman: Why don't you have a watch? You need a watch.
Me: I do have a watch. I just don't like the way it feels. I carry it in my purse.
My sister: I wear a watch.
Gentleman: (to me) This is why you'll get married first.

I do not understand.

Write a scene with a non sequitur; a conclusion that comes out of nowhere. Have fun.

Writing Prompt #266: Command Voice

It doesn't matter that I already have a rapport with the players. It doesn't matter how long I've earned my street-cred. When I stand in front of the ShamRooks chess team, my posture, my movements, my eye-contact have to be the highest level I can make them. I don't walk. I float. I don't speak. I command. I don't look at people. It doesn't matter if I'm exhausted and ready to faint from blood sugar issues; every piece of my performance is targeted to motivate my players and to reassure them that I know what I'm doing.

Command positions require stepping into a role to be what people need. Write a character who steps into a role and has to be more than he is. Is this role a new one? Is it one he takes regularly? Show us the difference.

Writing Prompt #265: Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Someone tries to match-make your character with a person.

This can range from coy to authoritarian, from hideously awkward to don't-laugh don't-laugh don't-laugh funny. Have fun.

Meanwhile my grandmother will be ordering me to sit beside young men she favors.

Writing Prompt #264: Welcome

A character must make someone feel welcome.

If you can give that character reasons not to want the person he's welcoming there, you will have more tension. >:)

Writing Prompt #263: Introduction

The manner in which a person introduces you to their other friends says a lot. The way you introduce someone to your other friends sometimes says too much.

Write an introduction.

Writing Prompt #262: Teacher-Student Problem-Solution

A teacher deals with a problem student.

Writing Prompt #261: Comforting Sufferer

Someone suffering comforts someone else.

Writing Prompt #260: Darker Past

Some story or detail hints that who someone is is not the way they've always been.

This isn't always a big deal. The tee-total-er of your party immediately responds describing how awful daiquiris made from banana peels taste. The gentle teacher takes the opportunity to describe the sound it makes when you break someone's legs with a bat. You run into someone who knew you "way back when."

Write.

Writing Prompt #259: Touch

Someone is comforted by a touch.

Writing Prompt #258: Distracting Aesthetics

Someone is distracted by beauty.

[I'm changing the updating schedule to 8 pm the day before instead of midnight. I hope this will be more convenient for you, reader.

Seriously. Reader. I'm convinced it's all robots and one stranger. Hi, you.]

Writing Prompt #257: Defense

Someone normally thick-skinned responds defensively.

Writing Prompt #256: Unusual Honesty

How often do we actually tell people what we think of them and how much we care?

Write about someone doing that.

Writing Prompt #255: Humbling the Proud

Someone formerly of great power has been brought low.

[This is the post for the 28th and it is early. My apologies.]

Writing Prompt #254: Exception to the Rule

Today, I said hi to someone, avoided having them carry my bag, and walked on.

A friend caught up to me and asked me what had just happened, because I had frightened her.

She knew that avoiding anyone was not my normal behavior. She knew that my normal modus operandi involves being really friendly and welcoming and enjoying the people I meet. She knew that what for most people would be normal-friendly in me was a sign that something was seriously wrong.

Write a scene about an exception to the rule, about someone your character treats differently than other people.

And if you get the chance, would you pray for wisdom for me? I don't want to hurt anyone unnecessarily, but people are dangerous, and I want to make the right exceptions.

Writing Prompt #253: Abnormal Courage

Something that would normally be scary, isn't.

Writing Prompt #251: Think Fast

Someone has to answer a question very quickly.

Writing Prompt #250: Missing

Someone who was expected to be somewhere, isn't.

Writing Prompt #249: Taking Back Words

What if you could unsay something you'd said?

Writing Prompt #248: Unexpected Response

Write a scene where someone responds to a query or a concern in an unexpected manner.

Some things that can be unexpected?

"No problem."

"I'm glad this happened."

"I have something more important to tell you."

"I love you."

"Get in my backpack."

Writing Prompt #247: Benign Secrets

Sometimes even the most honest people can't share things. "It's not my secret." "It would just upset him." "She'd get mad at my friend."

Put someone in a conversation with something they cannot say.

Writing Prompt #246: End of Procrastination

Someone goes at a task that has been left undone for a long while.

Writing Prompt #245: A Difference of Opinion

Two parents respond to the same issue in entirely different ways.

The cliche approach would be "Yes, you can," and "No, you can't," but why not challenge yourself? Why not let the character go to two people for advice, and get really different responses?

I have a weird reminder to add here: Parents are super invested in their kids. Sometimes this means that they freak out and stress and before you get a chance to deal with whatever you brought to them, WHOOOOSH!! there are all these feelings and issues that seem unrelated or even offensive spewed all over the table. And before you know it, you came with a question about one, simple, tiny thing and you are receiving a hysterical lecture on the disintegration of society and your own inevitable doom.

Because yes, you have feelings and questions and stuff to work through, and so do they.

Parents have feelings too. And sometimes, they're bigger and scarier than the kids' are.

Writing Prompt #244: Physical Affection

Someone unaccustomed to physical affection expresses or receives it.

Writing Prompt #243: Happy Birthday

Write a birthday message that addresses a problem.

Writing Prompt #242: Misjudging

Your character discovers that s/he misjudged someone.

These moments are so beautiful and so humbling.

Writing Prompt #241: "I'm Fine."

Some months ago, I started keeping a video diary. It started as a way to tell stories about things that were too happy to forget, but very soon I fell into the habit of chronicling when I was confused.

The upshot is that I've spent a good bit of time watching myself deal with agony.

Pushing aside the strange, dissection-like fascination of watching myself in pain, there is one thing I see over and over. What I'm saying and what I'm blatantly, obviously feeling are almost always opposites.

"I'm fine." *snot running down face*

"I'm fine." *shaking in tears*

" I'm alright." *buckles like a folding chair*

Write a scene where someone who is obviously not fine tries to say that they are.

And if you get a chance, I hope you try video-journaling. You see a lot more than you expect to.

Writing Prompt #240: The Satisfaction

There are so many times in our lives when we'd like to know the truth, but prudence dictates that we hold back, keep our peace, bite our tongues, lock our smiles and accept a world in which we'll never have the "why."

And then sometimes we find out.

Write a scene where someone finds out a "why," or in which someone gives up the hope of knowing.

Writing Prompt #239: Breaking Radio Silence

Two people talk again after a big event.

An apology. A forgiveness. A disagreement. A resolution. Something has challenged the fabric of their friendship. Now, on the other side of that, how do they break the silence?

Writing Prompt #238: Good News, Bad Time

After a whole day of being calm under pressure and pleasant under a loss that hurt, I got the kind of shocking good news that people write Hallmark films about. After a whole day of calmly working through sorrow and continuing to work with kids like I was okay, after a day of calmly BEING okay, I panicked. I broke. I lost my composure and went to pieces and cried like a little kid in front of people I don't cry in front of and I didn't calm down till someone gave me a soda.

Good news can be scary. Good news can take more energy and pain to process and accept than the bad stuff does. And good news can destroy the composure you think you have.

Write about a moment of good news, but don't write, "and she was happy." Write the terror of relief. Write the shock of something going right. Write what is scary and horrible and hard. Good news is eventually good, but sometimes to get to that we have to go through quite a bit of bad.

Writing Prompt #237: Harrowing Juxtaposition

Pick a really crazy physical task that you are personally familiar with. A routine in show choir. A mountain climb. A chess game against a five-year-old. Bathing a dog.

Now write a dialogue scene using that task as a metaphor for the conversation the whole way through.

Writing Prompt #236: Appreciation

Write a scene where someone really appreciates someone else.

I'm not talking about saying thank-you a lot; I'm talking about appreciating. Enjoying them. Admiring all that's good about them. Letting yourself discover and delight in everything they are, without asking them to be something else.

This only works when you're not afraid. But it's wonderful.

Writing Prompt #235: Limits

Your character has to draw a line as to how far he will go to attain a goal.

Need a new perspective on this? Research Business Ethics quandaries for ten minutes.

Writing Prompt #234: Blunt

A character deals very frankly with something tense and emotional.

Why? I don't know. Sometimes life happens like that.

A tip if you're getting stuck: You can deal with someone else's situation frankly.

Writing Prompt #233: A Splendorous Invitation

Write an invitation to something normal and make it very strange, or write an invitation to something strange and act like it's normal.

Writing Prompt #232: Made to End

Your character treasures something, even knowing it's going to end.

A friendship? A time out of prison? ...a cookie?

Everything ends. What's worth goodbye?

Writing Prompt #231: From the Blue

Someone meets your protagonist at an unexpected time.

Writing Prompt #230: Wrong and Wonderful

A character is happy to be proved wrong.

Have I done this one already? So much of my life right now is being deliciously, wonderfully, beautifully wrong.

Writing Prompt #229: Partial Recall

Some names slip my mind because I was caught up in the person and forgot to remember.

Some names take multiple tries because remembering then seemed easy, so I didn't put in the effort.

Some names stick in my mind from the first moment, without me ever trying, as if my brain knew the person was going to be important, even before I realized how precious the name could be.

And every once in a very great while there is a name that my mind flat refuses to vomit up just because I've wanted to forget meeting the person since I met them.

Write a scene in which someone remembers a name they shouldn't remember, or doesn't remember a name that they should.

Writing Prompt #228: Lecture

I receive lectures a lot, from a wide range of people. I generally take it as a badge of honor, because I figure it means they think I'm valuable enough to lecture. But I had a weird experience today.

A friend brought up a problem and began to lecture. Not recommend or discuss, but lecture. It was heavy. It was uncomfortable. And I had this choice on how to receive it. (You always have a choice.) And in the midst of this very uncomfortable, strange conversation that I hadn't expected, I realized that this was a step of intimacy in our friendship. I realized that the way we responded to each other in this, the way I'd choose to respect and disagree, the way he would respond and mediate and if he'd listen and how he related this to me, this heavy, awkward, strange piece of communication was more important than dozens of conversations we'd had previously. This was a step of trust or a rejection, and we chose.

I'm challenging you to write a scene where your character receives a lecture from someone for the first time. The judgements can feel unfair. The assumptions can be overbearing. The advice can seem extreme. But if you let yourself experience the intimacy of the moment, a lecture can turn into something wonderful.

Writing Prompt #227: Conversational Kata

What if people studied conversation the way they study fighting styles, the way they study music, or the way they study art? What would the process of learning be like? What would be the differences in different schools of thought? And how would it change the way you related to people?

Write a scene about a person studying conversation, or pursuing a conversation he or she has prepared for.

Writing Prompt #226: Excluding Him

Your character wants to leave someone out. Why?

Writing Prompt #225: Lists

I have a to-do list as long as my arm, so of course I'm working on this blog.

Make a list the center of a problem.

Writing Prompt #224: Soiled

My hands are speckled with spray paint, and my fingers are inspired. Someone has a fancy or important meeting with other human beings, whether a party or a business meeting or a date, but their skin and/or clothing is somehow stained, splattered, soiled or tainted. Can they get the substance out? Can they carry it off?

Writing Prompt #223: Improvise

Someone doesn't have an object that they need for a task. Make them improvise.

Writing Prompt #222: Off-Kilter Cuisine

People put together a celebratory meal with strange components under strange conditions.

Writing Prompt #221: Dressing Up

Someone takes extra steps to look nice.

Writing Prompt #220: Gourmand

Someone appreciates food.

Writing Prompt #219: Persistent Motion

Someone continues to function after the destruction of a hope.

Or, if this is too dark for you and today you need something happy (I can relate), a child gives someone a flower.

Writing Prompt #218: Off-Topic

Two people talk about one thing, but they're really talking about something else.

Writing Prompt #217: Tracing Faces

Someone memorizes a face.

Writing Prompt #216: Begin Again

Someone restarts something they failed, doing something differently.

Writing Prompt #215: Misinterpretation

I recently had a very awkward (do not read "singing in elevator" level but instead "vomiting on plane" level) situation at a friend's house. Someone asked me a question that I could not answer. I gaped like a fish, totally incapable of responding, and then I stuttered in bad old English, and then I rambled and said things wrong. It was awful, but not really because of what happened. Because of the way I interpreted the reaction of my friend.

I read his silence as doubt about my answer. I read the tension in his jaw and his averted eyes as him being embarrassed by me. I thought that I'd embarrassed disappointed my friend and that maybe he didn't even know me.

And I was wrong. As we talked afterwards I found out I'd been wrong about everything. As I'd thought he was misjudging me, I was misjudging him.

Write about someone who misinterprets someone's feelings. Show us both sides of the story, at the same time or in separate viewpoints. Show us how easy it is to be wrong.

I know I will be working not to make the same mistake again.

Writing Prompt #214: I LOVE YOU!!

Someone says "I love you" at a weird time.

The weirdest I've experienced involved a LOT of fecal matter, but it was immensely memorable.

Writing Prompt #213: Not Alone

Today, someone cleared their throat and I realized that I was not singing in an empty elevator.

Write a scene where someone thinks they're alone, but they're not.

Writing Prompt #212: Remembrance

Today a gentleman led me around his house showing me the memorabilia of his recently deceased mother. He was so happy and proud to display her ceramic fish, her pictures and her dolls. He'd made a place in his home to remember her.

How does your character remember someone who's gone? How do you hold on to what is dear, while moving forward?

Writing Prompt #211: Commonplace

The things I remember are almost always the big moments- production days and meetings with friends and big, shining, crazy challenges that were overcome. But when I look at most of my life, all of that exciting stuff happens because I spend lots and lots of time pulling things out and putting them in bags. And pulling them out of bags and putting them away. And over and over and over this dull, methodical work fills the interstitial spaces and lets me do what's big.

Can you write a good scene about what's interstitial? Can you make us see the importance, the value and the grace in what is mundane?

I hope you can. Because I want to value these scenes in my life, too.

Writing Prompt #210: Beat to the Punch

Your hero has a goal, and then finds out someone already accomplished it.

Now what?

Writing Prompt #209: Shockingly Good

Someone has pure intentions.

Yeah, this is usually a shocking reveal along the lines of "Wait, you're a space alien, a fairy and a Russian spy?"

I'm challenging you, though! Think about what a character with really pure intentions would be like. What opportunities for easy evil would they pass up? What good would they do that was unexpected?

I'm not saying build a sinless character, but think about your life. When you meet someone who actually does things because he cares about people and enjoys them instead of having ulterior motives all the time, it's like meeting the tooth fairy.

Writing Prompt #208: Breach of Etiquette

Someone responds to a breach of etiquette.

It can be an offense against the character himself, or someone around him.

Suggestions:

1. Spitting.

2. Picking up someone's stuff and moving it without acknowledging them.

3. Mopping at someone with a handkerchief. (Don't do this. You hand them the handkerchief. Mopping at a person entirely negates the chivalry and you look churlish. I mean, people forgive you because they love you, but it makes it harder for their friends to love you because it's very easy to see your action as an assault.)

4. Inviting yourself to someone's date.

5. Eating someone's food.

Writing Prompt #207: Missed Metaphor

Yesterday I had a conversation that went like this:

"And then they decided I was a leper."

"THEY THOUGHT YOU HAD LEPROSY? D:"

"...no. ._."

Someone takes a statement too literally.

Writing Prompt #206: Motivation Questioned

Someone is doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

Writing Prompt #205: Inconvenient

In the middle of doing something high-stakes and time-sensitive, your character is called on to keep a promise.

Writing Prompt #204: Laurel Rejected

Someone receives an award or an honor that they don't want.

Writing Prompt #203: Togetherness

Write about a family-bonding exercise.

Writing Prompt #202: Child-Unfriendly

Someone prepares a child for a conflict or a danger.

Writing Prompt #201: Shielding

Someone hides a weakness.

Writing Prompt #200: A Look at Evil

Have you ever met something that repulsed you? A level of spitefulness or deception or opportunism or lack of regard that was so gross that you wanted to get away, no, you wanted to destroy it, but you couldn't do that, so you wanted it to go as far away as it could and never come back?

What do you do when repulsive evil is attached to someone you are told is valuable? What do you do when what you hate is riding someone you are supposed to love?

Make us repulsed by evil. Then show us how your character deals with the person.

Writing Prompt #199: Gifted

A friend recently told me that she was going to purchase me a family photo. To this end, she had taken a picture of herself with me, one of my siblings and one of my parents, and she was going to take it to a store and they were going to make a large print and put it in a frame, so I could display it in my living room and in my office. She asked me, with glowing eyes, if I had ever had a family photo before.

Pick something odd or out of place or broken. Write a story where it's a heart-felt gift.

Writing Prompt #198: Unreliable Narrator (micro)

You might be familiar with the concept of an unreliable narrator- the idea that the person telling a story is lying or is himself blinded to the truths of his story. I'd like you to take this idea into the micro. Someone is telling your character a story, but for whatever reason, their take on things is unreliable- and your character knows it.

If you want to take this one step further from cliche, make the unreliability a result of limited intellect or emotional recollection instead of malice.

Writing Prompt #197: Victory

Have a character slam-dunk win at something.

Writing Prompt #196: Delicate Balance

How do you protect an underling from a superior? Make your character defend someone under him from someone who holds power over him.

Writing Prompt #195: Alternate History

My sister and I got into a debate today about how our lives would be different if the Americas had been colonized by Poland instead of Spain. While we discussed religion and geography and politics, we ultimately decided that Dora the Explorer would be a lot more complicated.

Your challenge for today is: Pick something in your past, or the past of the world at large, and change it. What's different? Write.