How does your story end? I was reminded of how JK Rowling said, somewhere, that she wrote the epilogue of the Harry Potter series first, before writing book 1. She knew she wanted Ginny and Harry to end up together, that kind of thing. So how does your story end? How do your characters continue … Continue reading Scene Prompt #44: Resolution

Sometimes, and I don't know about you, but sometimes we get so caught up in creating a perfect story, a perfectly salable product, that we aren't willing to allow ourselves to fail and discover happy accidents of genius (that would probably make for a more salable product). So today, we're going to step back from … Continue reading Scene Prompt #42: No Pressure

For this prompt, pick a scene where your characters have to move about for a few paragraphs. It could be a fight scene. Could be an extraction scene. Could be a scene where your character slips and falls into a pond. Whatever's going on, pick a scene where you have to describe some kind of … Continue reading Scene Prompt #41 : Bust a Move

Tone is described as the writer's attitude toward the material. In fiction it might be more helpful to think of it as the narrator's or point-of-view character's (POVC) attitude toward the story they're telling. For example, the narrator's view of the events might be cynical, satisfied, resigned, resentful, optimistic, wry, sincere, reverent . . . … Continue reading Scene Prompt #40: Hey, watch your tone

Does your story have a soundtrack? For this prompt, pick a song that resonates somehow with the story you're telling. A song without words is probably best, but pick whatever you want. Listen to it, over and over if you need to, until you can feel it affecting you, summoning a scene in your mind … Continue reading Scene Prompt #37: Sounds Right

What's your story's setting? Is there a place--a city, a building, a park--the characters keep coming back to? For this prompt, think about the main or recurring setting. What's its history? How long has it been around? What was it before? Who used it before? What interesting things, big or small, happened there? When? Why? … Continue reading Scene Prompt #30: Location, Location, Location

Do any of your characters have a secret? Let's see if we can add/deepen some secrets. No promises this is going to prompt a scene, but it could prompt several scenes. You may already know your story's secret, but if you don't . . . When I don't know what I'm doing, I generally fall … Continue reading Scene Prompt #29: The Secret

While flipping through these books I use to help me think of these prompts, I landed on something about death, and I was reminded of the James Scott Bell Great Course. (I'm about halfway through it. It's pretty good.) In one episode, he talks about death stakes. He says readers probably won't care enough about … Continue reading Scene Prompt #22: Death Stakes