I’ve featured a lot of writing prompts on the blog. They’ve become a regular feature. The thing is, I’m not sure they are useful. They rarely (with one or two exceptions in the “photo writing prompt” category) get many visits, almost never a comment. Occasionally someone searching the ‘net for a topic will stumble upon a writing prompt, but I’m just not sure if they are really what people are looking for in a blog post. So, for now, I’m going to suspend the regular writing pr

Thanks to some fabulous Twitter folks and the Creative Writing MFA Blog, this has been a stellar week here on the Stories I Read, Stories I Tell blog. Lot’s of great traffic and discussion focused on my post, To MFA, Or Not. I wanted to re-cap the other posts from the week, and hope to deflect a little of the spotlight on those posts as well. I tracked down some good deals at Amazon for music to write by. I offered up a combined exercise for fiction writers and legacy/persona

If you’ve noticed, I’ve stopped numbering my Unblocker posts. If you are ever in need of a creative spark, the Unblocker prompts and photo inspirations can be found in the “Blog Highlights” tab, above. Click on the “Writing Prompt” link to find the entire list. For the last two weeks, I’ve presented you with a “combined” Unblocker prompt where I’ve attempted to present one prompt that can be used both by the Legacy Writer, and the Fiction Writer who wants to more deeply explo

Continuing where last week’s Unblocker left off, we remain focused on childhood. This series of Unblocker writing exercises combines Legacy Writing (writing with a focus on personal history) with exercises you can use to break free if you’ve found your fiction writing to be stuck. My theory is this: The legacy writing exercises can also be good for fiction writers who have hit a creative wall with a character. Just as the legacy writer can use these questions to unlock the im

Last week I began a series of Unblocker writing exercises which combine Legacy Writing (writing with a focus on personal history, bordering on memoir) with Fiction Writing. My theory is this: The legacy writing exercises can also be good for fiction writers who have hit a creative wall with a character. Just as the legacy writer can use these questions to unlock the important things that happened in their past, a fiction writer can use these same questions to help break a stu

I found this little darling while wandering the aisles of a flea market in Indiana a few years ago. I knew, at first glance, this is the sort of thing that could inspire some future Stephen King, but looking at it again, I think there are other ways a writer could go, using this doll as inspiration. Perhaps you will take the easy path and animate this gal into a murderous, demonic force, but that sort of ground has been covered before, so you’ll need an original slant. Maybe

I’ve featured a whole series of these “unblocker” exercises here on the blog. My intention has always been to help folks who find themselves “blocked” in their writing, for whatever reason. Writing exercises are great tools to use when you seem “stuck”, but they can also be useful for finding hidden secrets of our fictional characters. Over the last few months, I’ve also been considering ways I (a fiction writer) can help folks who are looking to write their own story. I’ve b

This exercise, adapted from The 3 A.M. Epiphany is all about point of view and “writing the other.” In the scene you are about to write are two characters: a woman, and a man (boyfriend, husband, father, boss) who is dominating her. There is a long history between these two, and he has always had a certain control over her. It may be physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, but there is a high level of manipulation, influence, and humiliation that is wielded by the man over th

This Unblocker is a writing prompt you’ll come across in any number of books and workshops, in one form or another. You can use this one to not only jump-start your writing, use it as a reminder that life is short, and you should try to do the things you’ve “always wanted to do” when ever you get a chance! Exercise: Make a list of five things you’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t done yet. Maybe some things you can’t afford, some things you are afraid to try, some things yo

After a holiday weekend, most of us probably have plenty of writer’s inspiration: time spent with family, time spent with friends who enjoy too many adult beverages, time with people who probably SHOULDN’T be anywhere near fireworks but have a pickup truck full of them…it’s all rich writer’s ground. But, just in case you are looking for something to give you a jump start this week, here is Unblocker #4, for your consideration… Unblocker #4 Write a scene featuring two of your

Tuesday Morning: Unblocker #2…If you’ve hit a temporary dead end with your writing or just want something new to try out, check out today’s Unblocker: Write a scene with four characters, each has been struck by lightning, at different times/places/circumstances. They didn’t know, until they talked, that they all had this one thing in common. It is the ONLY thing they have in common. I’m going to try to be more consistent, posting a few specific things to the blog and the Face