100 Days to More Brilliant Writing: Week #15

Monday, September 28 - Sunday, October 4 * Days 71-75

This week's prompt is autumn.

Do with it what you will.

100 Days to More Brilliant Writing: Week #14

Monday, September 21 - Sunday, September 27 * Days 66-70

Take a look at the magazine submission guidelines (markets) posted on the right of our website. Read through the submission guidelines for the ones of interest.

Brainstorm ideas for a short story, nonfiction piece (article, craft, activity, biography), poem, or rebus story. If you end up liking your idea, develop it, workshop and revise it, and submit it to a publisher.

Complete this prompt and you earn the title of Marketeer.

100 Days to More Brilliant Writing: Week #13

Monday, September 14 - Sunday, September 20 * Days 61-65

I believe we have hit the 100-day writing slump. Therefore, this week's prompt is not so much a writing prompt as an assignment:

Post a comment to this blog telling what motivates or energizes you to write when you are in a slump. What gets you going again? What inspires you? What makes you actually sit down and pick up the pen?

Complete this prompt and you earn the title of Bluesbuster.

100 Days to More Brilliant Writing: Week #12

Monday, September 7 - Sunday, September 13 * Days 56-60

Whew! It's amazing how time flies, isn't it? Speaking of time, it's time for this week's prompt. This week's prompt is meant to explore the relationship between setting and character. I know you are all just quivering in anticipation, so here it is:


Choose a setting with which you are familiar, preferably someplace you lived or grew up, and create a character from that setting. Explore the setting to draw your character out of it: what sorts of people exist in that setting? What might some of their challenges be? How would someone from that setting speak, talk, or think?


Then, post your character sketch or a brief scene.

100 Days to More Brilliant Writing: Week #11

Monday, August 31 - Sunday, September 6 * Days 51-55

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to select a portion of a work-in-progress and have someone else critique it. This someone else should ideally be a writer-type person, but can also be an unwitting friend, neighbor, family member, etc. To gain the most benefit from this exercise, ask the reader specific questions, such as:

What is the main character's motivation?

What is the central theme of the work?

Where do you see this scene/novel/character going?

What slowed you down?

What worked for you?

How would you improve it?

Don't forget to keep writing every day, just 15 minutes! You have 15 minutes, right? If not, try writing in 5-minute increments.