March 3

Writing Prompt: Fear of failure is a common theme. Fear of success is less common, but it can also sabotage our efforts. Are you or is your character afraid to fail or succeed? Write about the incident that may have triggered this fear.

March 2 Writing Prompt: The Will to Survive

Writing Prompt: The will to survive is a popular theme in literature. Write about how this theme has played out in your life or in the life of someone you know.  What characteristics does someone need to have this will?

In March, while the winds are blowing, I thought it would be interesting to think about various themes that play out in our lives or the lives of our fictional characters. For example, such universal ideas as injustice, isolation, and good versus bad, are universal concepts that have been repeated throughout history. Themes show up in a variety of ways. They can be life’s lessons, repetitive patterns, or insights we have about ourselves and others. Throughout the month of March, see how you resonate with the various prompts and see if you can discover themes that affect your life and the life of your characters.

March 1

Writing Prompt: A theme is a message that stretches through a book or novel or a period of time. What is the major theme that has played out in your life?

February 28, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about your current state of being.

What emotion are you feeling right now? Love, joy, surprise, anger, sadness, disgust, fear? Write about how you are feeling today or the emotion you feel most often. Does this feeling drive your actions? If so, how?

February 27, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about criticism.

Think back to your childhood. Were you criticized by a parent or teacher? What did they say about you? Did you believe them then? Do you believe them now? How has this criticism affected your life?

February 26, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about judgment.

Do you judge other people? What do you judge about them? Their appearance, financial or employment status, religion or belief system ? How does judging others make you feel?

February 25, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about feeling nervous.

When was the last time you felt nervous? Where were you? What were you doing? What goes on physiologically when you are nervous? What do you think about?

February 24, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about joy.

What person, place, thing, or situation brings you the most joy? What do you like to do when you are feeling joyful?  Write about how you can bring more joy into your life.

February 23, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about grief.

What makes you sad? Have you lost a pet, child, parent, sibling, lover, job, home? Grief can fill our hearts and make moving forward seem impossible. Give your sadness and grief color and shape and write about it as if you’re describing a painting.

February 22, 2014 Writing Prompt:

Write about lust.

Do you lust after chocolate, an expensive pair of boots or leather jacket, your neighbor’s husband or wife, or your best friend’s salary? Perhaps you lust for power? Whatever it is, imagine you have this particular thing and write about how you got it and how it feels having it.