Today, I’m going to share with you a prompt from the wonderful weekly site Booking Through Thursday, which they call simply ‘writing challenge’ and I’ll call connecting the dots. Here’s what they have to say:

• Pick up the nearest book. (I’m sure you must have one nearby.)
• Turn to page 123.
• What is the first sentence on the page?
• The last sentence on the page?
• Now . . . connect them together….

(And no, you may not transcribe the entire page of the book–that’s cheating!)

Since there seems to be some confusion among participants, here’s a little clarification for my version of this. You can connect the two sentences directly if they seem to go together, or you can invent something to go between them as a connector. If you connect them directly, free-write for a little while speculating as to what tale they might be part of or hint at, or turn them into part of a larger tale. If you invent a connector, try to end up with a full page of writing by the time you’re done (the phrases you borrowed can fall anywhere within that page).

Today’s prompt is called ‘childhood memories’ and it’s from another Heather over at A Creative Journal:

[S]pend some time writing about a safe place you remember from your childhood. This could be someone’s house or at the top of a tree in your backyard. Once you’ve written that one up, also spend time writing about a scary place you recall from your childhood. This could be a particular house you didn’t like to pass on your way to school or a room in your own house.

I particularly appreciate Other Heather’s reminder to only tackle the scary place if you’re ready for it—smart words! You’ll find quite a few interesting prompts and links at her place, so go visit while you’re at it.

Just a quick thank-you to Meghna for posting a list of great writing prompt sites. I’m adding most of them to the blogroll:

• prompts by number (link fixed now)
• Pumping your muse prompts
• Random logline generator
• Story Spinner Online

Today, go find a prompt from one of these wonderful sites and enjoy! I particularly like the wackiness of the logline generator for silly fun, and the pym prompts for neat photos.

Today, from Freelance Folder’s 7 can’t-miss ways to kick-start the writing habit:

Write nothing but headlines. Sometimes the thought of writing an in-depth article is too much for your brain to deal with after a long day (or at the start of one). Spend 15 or 30 minutes just churning out headlines without worrying about how catchy they sound.

So today, write headlines. You might choose an area to write headlines in beforehand (sports, local news, fashion, parenting, pets, farming, health, science) or just go crazy. Check out the above link for more ideas! Or go on and read more of Freelance Folder for plenty of ideas that span the wider world of freelancing.

Still looking for my muse

This morning I came across 50 Writing Ideas I Couldn’t Find on Another List. There are definitely some unusual suggestions there! Today, pick one at random, pick one that inspires you, or, if you need help choosing, try the following, which is one of my favorites from the list:

11. Write a review of a book that hasn’t been written.

Another article from that same blog that you could use is 5 simple ways to get out of a blog writing pickle. Coming up with ideas for writing in your blog can be very similar to looking for ideas for writers’ exercises.

Many writers advocate judicious eavesdropping on others’ conversations as a means to gain inspiration. This morning I stumbled across a blog called Eavesdrop Writer that’s all about this particular form of inspiration. Today, visit that site and pick a conversation from those related on the front page. Use it as part of a longer scene, or use it to inspire one or more characters who might have uttered those bits of dialogue.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday meme deals with female main characters:

Who is your favorite female lead character? And why? (And yes, of course, you can name more than one . . . I always have trouble narrowing down these things to one name, why should I force you to?)

For today’s exercise, pick a female lead who captures your imagination and free-write for ten minutes about why you find her so fascinating. What aspects of character make her so intriguing? What about the writer’s style draws you in to her trials and travails?

Friday’s Feast is a great weekly source of random question-prompts to get your fingers moving. For example, here’s last Friday’s menu:

Appetizer
When was the last time you visited a hospital?

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how ambitious are you?

Salad
Make a sentence using the letters of a body part. (Example: (mouth) My other ukelele tings healthily.)

Main Course
If you were to start a club, what would the subject matter be, and what would you name it?

Dessert
What color is the carpet/flooring in your home?

You can answer one, two, or all of these. Remember that even courses that seem to have one-word answers, such as today’s dessert, can be expanded on with a little thought. Why do you like or dislike that flooring color? What’s the story behind that impossible-to-remove stain that the white carpet shows so well? How did that flooring feature in an argument between you and your spouse?

Word Nerd
Shirts, tote bags, more!

Over at the Booking Through Thursday site you’ll find a weekly question about how, when, and why you read. Pick one today—it doesn’t have to be the current question—and journal about it. The folks who participate weekly often write just a paragraph or three, particularly as it’s a blogging meme, but for the purposes of journaling, try to fill one side of a sheet of paper. Either that, or commit to using it as a weekly blog prompt for at least one month, and each week check out at least five other bloggers’ answers to see what other people do in comparison to you.

Here’s a truly nifty prompt generator for you: the Special Projects Generator. You can press the shuffle button, or you can use the arrow keys to go up or down in a given category. This yields a three-word phrase describing a unique ‘project,’ such as:

• changeable rubber garden
• do-it-yourself glitter furniture
• ingenious collapsible magazine
• dramatic morphing orchestra

Use one of the above or go to the site and generate your own favorite. Then do one of the following with it:

• Write up a proposal (deadpan or over-the-top silly) for this project.
• Write a story in which this object, device, or whatever appears or has a role.
• Imagine the kind of world in which such a device would be commonplace, and explore it.
• Imagine that you’re a venture capitalist and someone has just given you a presentation on this project. Justify why you would or wouldn’t fund it, either seriously or or not.
• Explain what the project is and how we absolutely, positively need it in our world. Make as compelling an argument for it as you possibly can, no matter how silly the item is (in fact, the sillier the better).

I found this link at the PHS Computer Project Lab’s Monday Links for Educators.

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