First off, thank you for subscribing to WWT's blog posts. I really appreciate it. Here's the news: FeedBurner is ending their email subscription support. This means that if you want to keep receiving WWT posts, we'll need to get your email moved to a new subscription manager. It turns out that WordPress provides their own … Continue reading Important Note to Subscribers

For this prompt, we're not going to think about our own work. At least not yet. Instead of the Imitation, we might call this the Borrow or even the Steal. (But not the Copy!) What's the saying? Bad artists copy; good artists borrow; great artists steal? Something like that? Well, whatever... Think about some of … Continue reading Scene Prompt #16: The Imitation

This may be more of a character exercise, but I think it's fun. Basically, you're playing Perquackey or Kangaroo Words with your character's name. Make a list of words that can be formed with just the letters in a character's name. You might be surprised just how many words accurately describe the character and her … Continue reading Scene Prompt #9: Character’s Name

Think of a scene that maybe isn't flowing as easily as you'd like. Try telling it from a different point of view. If you're using first person, try third person or first person from the perspective of a different character. If you're using third person, try first person. Or try second person, with yourself as … Continue reading Scene Prompt #7: POV Shift

Imagine the scene you want to write. Instead of starting from the scene's beginning (if that's even how you normally start), sit back and identify what Raymond Obstfeld calls the scene's hot spot. It's "the moment that the rest of the scene is built around." It could be a big reveal or an action taken … Continue reading Scene Prompt #6: The Hot Spot

This is another one adapted from one of Laura Deutsch's prompts. Do you have any piece of the story (it's usually backstory for me, but it could be a character or an object or a setting or a plot point or whatever) that you keep coming back to, but you're not sure how it fits? … Continue reading Scene Prompt #5: I keep coming back