For this prompt, pick a scene that you know your story needs but you don't know much about. Or, if you're revising, pick a scene that came out fairly bare. This would work well for a scene that has some substance, but is lacking, so far, in details. Maybe you don't know where to best … Continue reading Scene Prompt #48: Clustered

You can pick any scene for this prompt, written already or not, but it might be easiest to pick a scene that you know results in a clear twist. But all scenes should be somewhat surprising, so any scene will do. We're going to make that twist as twisty as it can be. How? Through … Continue reading Scene Prompt #47: So Frustrated

This is more of a revision prompt, and I'm taking it wholesale from Jack Bickham. You want to make sure, at the beginning of every new scene, that the readers are oriented. How do you do this? By making sure you let the reader know the scene's 5Ws. The reader of your novel has to … Continue reading Scene Prompt #46: Show Me First

For this prompt, pick a scene you may be resisting because you're not sure how to write it. I've got one right now that I should be writing that I haven't written (yet!) because it's "big." Let's tackle that scene. How? By asking ourselves: What is the core of this scene? There are several ways … Continue reading Scene Prompt #45: Storyboard

What's you're genre? If you were here last week, you probably already know. You might even have a list of your genre's characteristics and conventions, what the reader expects to see, experience, and feel, plus a list of how your story--its concept, plot, and characters--fulfills those requirements. Last week we looked at the opening scene. … Continue reading Scene Prompt #39: Gimme the Goods Redux

What's your Genre? Genre helps people who like the kind of stuff you write find your book. So . . . What's your story's genre? (If you're not sure, give it a google or check out one of the books below.) Now ask yourself: What kind of goodies are part of your genre? What are … Continue reading Scene Prompt #38: Gimme the Goods

You smell that? It's in your story. Run through your story, in your mind, and find the scene with the greatest amount of scent. It might smell good. It might not. It might be in the setting. Or maybe it's from a person. Or an object. The scent could be familiar, or maybe it's not. … Continue reading Scene Prompt #36: Sniff, Sniff

You might also call this prompt Ordinary World. Think of your main character. What was he doing before the story snuck up on him? What was his typical day like? What problems was he dealing with even before the story's main problem appeared? Now, think of a scene that would show all the essentials a … Continue reading Scene Prompt #35: 9 to 5

Let's practice some emotional showing! For this prompt, pick a location from your story that a POV character visits more than once, feeling differently in each scene. Who's the character? How do they feel? Write each scene paying particular attention to describing the setting and the other characters and what's going on through the primary … Continue reading Scene Prompt #34: The Filter

Pick a character, any character. It could be your main character, but it doesn't have to be. Pick someone who could use a little TLC from their creator (that's you). What does the reader need to know about who this character is (or was) before events pull(ed) them into the story? How did they think? … Continue reading Scene Prompt #33: A day in the life