Inspiration Monday

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Per Debra’s suggestion, I’ve decided to post some weekly writing prompts, here forward known as, “Inspiration Monday.” Of course, because I won’t get around to getting the post up until 8 or 9 pm CST Monday, most of you won’t see it until Tuesday. But I digress.

The Rules

There are none. Read the prompts, get inspired, write something. No word count minimum or maximum. You don’t have to include the prompt in your piece, and you can interpret the prompt(s) any way you like.

No really; I need rules!

If you work better with guidelines: write 200-500 words on the prompt of your choice. You may either use the prompt as the title of your piece or work it into the body of your piece. You must complete it before 6 pm CST on the Monday following this post.

 

The Prompts

Leftover humans*

Our last kiss

When it looked at me, I screamed

I knew I shouldn’t have published that article

The invention of music

 

If you want to share your Inspiration Monday piece, post it on your blog and link back to today’s post; I’ll include a link to your piece in the next Inspiration Monday post.

Happy writing!

* Today’s first prompt is brought to you by The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak.

About Stephanie Orges

Stephanie is an award-winning copywriter, aspiring novelist, and barely passable ukulele player. Here, she offers writing prompts, tips, and moderate-to-deep philosophical discussions. You can also find her on and Pinterest.
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7 Comments

  1. Oh sh*t I knew you were going to do this! Gulp. But these prompts are way more inspiring than what I see around, as I knew they would be. What a difference that makes!

  2. I tried…I can’t do it. I’m an editor and essay writer right down to my soul. I don’t know how the stories should end. I think I need facts, whether they be from my own experience or from research.

    I’ve been thinking how there are people who have amazing ideas but their writing is messy, and there are people who are not natural storytellers who want to clean it up. Then there are people (like you!) who can do both. I need an outline, a collaboration. What a wuss, I know.

    • Debra, I think you’re trying too hard. You don’t have to write a whole story. You could just write one scene – or even one description. One hundred words that paint a picture. Take the third prompt, for instance; you don’t have to figure out how you got yourself into this situation (or even what the situation is). Just describe the “it” – maybe it’s the monster from your closet, or maybe it’s a creepy demon child, or maybe it’s a seemingly lifeless doll that just a second ago was turned the other way. Just describe the thing and why it made you scream.

      While you’re writing it, don’t worry about how good it is, or even if it makes sense. Just get a couple hundred words on paper. A big part of writing is figuring out what you are NOT going to say, and to do that, you just have to say whatever comes to mind. Then, go back, and see if you can find something useable in what you wrote. Cut, reword, and rearrange.

      You can do this!!!

  3. Thank you Stephanie. I can’t believe how this “assignment” has caused me stress! But, I have never missed a deadline in my life and I’m not going to start now. Thanks, I needed this!

    • That’s what I’m here for. You should also be advised that this moment of sheer panic happens to every writer. It will happen when you first sit down to write whatever you said you would write, and it will happen again right after you put the finished piece into someone else’s hands. Don’t be intimidated.

  4. Pingback: Panicking Through My First Prompts | Find an Outlet

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