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January 19, 2025 Writing Prompts for the Week

January 19, 2025

Happy Sunday! Pen names are nothing new for writers, but what about full-on alter egos, a la Beyonce’s Sasha Fierce? Could adopting an alter ego help make you a more productive writer?

I don’t have an answer, but I know it’s something worth trying on. (For more detailed instructions, check out Todd Herman’s book Alter Ego.) I can see how it might be a little easier to hit that word count if, before I sit down, I take on the persona of a wildly creative and confident, multi-published author. Something to think about…

This Week’s Prompts*

  1. I was, by widely held opinion, a very good child with a occasional, deeply disturbing, mean streak.

  2. What wasn't still flooded was already rank and rapidly developing mold, from where he stood to all the way across the lawn.

  3. Write a scene in which someone is served something they're allergic to (whether they notice it or not!)

  4. Luceia wanted to know if 12:30 still worked; I told her it did and that the garage code was the same.

  5. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and for this action there will be, well, chaos.

  6. Write a scene in which the villain from your favorite movie encounters the hero from your favorite book.

  7. "Buzz buzz," he said, nuzzling my shoulder, "I'm a dog that sounds like a bee."

*How to Use These Prompts: The italicized prompts let you create your writing entirely from scratch; the non-italicized prompts are intended as your first line and jumping off point. But, at the same time, there are no rules. Write on!

Book(s) We’re Reading This Week

North Woods by Daniel Mason
I don’t use the word “unputdownable” very often (mostly because I don’t like the word), but I’m finding the writing style in this book so compelling that it has been, truly, a challenge to put it down. The stories center on one small part of the US northeast and the humans (often alive, sometimes dead) who inhabit it. Five stars; go read it.

Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon

❝

Writing is not about writing, necessarily. Writing is about living. And the more deeply and full you live, the more you’re able to write.

Anthony Abbott

🎧 It’s a wild world sometimes and we’ve all got to be a bit savvier than we used to. Author and speaker Mike Michalowicz shares safety tips for authors—and everyone—you need to hear on episode 59 of his Don’t Write That Book! podcast.

📚 Book Riot’s “Read Harder” 2025 challenge is a call to read outside our comfort zones with 24 reading prompts to get us all exploring a little. I, for one, am here for it.

📒 If you’ve got half-filled notebooks strewn about your home the way I do, you might be interested to hear that there’s a solution to this madness. Megan Sumrell, a productivity coach, is hosting a free “One Notebook Challenge” training event and I’ve already signed up.

Top (Published) First Line of the Week

Isabel found a broken piece of ceramic under the roots of a dead gourd.

From The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden

Grab it on Bookshop.org (and support local bookstores!)
Grab it on Amazon

P.S.

Sure, I send out a weekly newsletter about writing, but, oh, there’s more to me as well. I’ve actually been a copywriter for more than 20 years, working for clients including Hasbro, adidas, Keurig, T.J.Maxx and, yes, even Harlequin Romance novels. (Who wrote the back cover copy for The Firefighter’s Secret Baby and Quarterback Daddy? This gal. Sadly, both out of print but, don’t worry, I’ve got copies.) If you’re wondering if it could be just as fun of a career for you, too, check out this training about copywriting.

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