Writing Prompt: Your Story

Everyone has a story. Several, in fact. We, some of us, think that our stories are not unique or interesting enough to write about, but you'd be surprised at how much each of us has to say. Start listing key events in your life, large and small. From there, start filling in the detail. Try...

Writing Prompt:David Bowie and other miracles

The whole world is united in mourning for the death of a great and talented individual. David Bowie made it ok to be unusual. His art inspired people for decades and we're all feeling the loss. I've been listening to his music and remembering where I was in different stages in my life when I...

The Playing Field – A Short Story

The field stretched out four acres behind the schoolhouse. Two long rows of evergreens spanned from one end of the field to the other, creating a sense of protective separation from the school grounds and the outside world. It had been snowing incessantly for three days so that the grounds were white. The tree branches,...

Writing Prompt: Broken

Things break all the time. Some intentionally, like eggs or piggy banks. Others are accidents, like dropping something on your iPhone or shattering a glass while washing up. Sometime things get broken without anyone even realising, like promises, hearts or relationships. Draft a story around the concept of something broken. What happened, who was involved...

Writing Prompt: How to…

You'd be surprised how hard it is to describe how to do something in a clear and logical manner and still keep it interesting. Some of the best books I've read have combined "How to" with narrative that teaches you something and also tells a story. For instance, "Like Water For Chocolate" by Laura Esquivl,...

Writing Prompt: Six Degrees

Edinburgh is a village. No matter where I go, I run into either someone I know, or someone who knows someone I know. Although I sometimes like the familiarity of it all, sometime I miss the anonymity of a larger city, like London. When I lived there, I could go months or even years without seeing...

Quote for the day

An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an  idea at all. -Oscar Wilde

Writing Prompt: Right before your eyes…

As I walked through the city of Edinburgh, I realised that I had not taken in the beauty of the city for some time. There were the gardens of Inverleith Park, complete with a little sundial garden, benches peppered around the place. From the top of the hill, you can see a small swan pond...

Writing Prompt: The Wrong Door

Have you ever walked into the wrong room by mistake or got off on the wrong floor in a hotel or office building? Have you ever got on the wrong train? A few years ago, I ran to catch a connecting flight from New York to San Francisco. I barely made it. As I settled...

Writing Prompt: Magical Creatures

Although it is not the genre I usually gravitate towards, I’ve always been a fan of fantasy. Whether it’s the horror of Dracula or the adventures of Frodo Baggins, I have a place in my heart for things and characters created from our imaginations that break all the rules of what we accept as reality....