Writing Prompt: Family Member

I was on the train last night talking to some friends and we got on the subject of what we were going to do for Christmas. We told each other where we would be and which family members we would be hanging around with over the holidays and I began to describe my nieces and...

Writing Promopt: “All change here, all change…”

That is what the train conductor says when the train terminates and it's time to get off. There are times when I hear those words and I think they're a metaphor for something else. For instance, is the universe trying to tell me that it's time to change, to jump off this train and catch...

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: Whoof, Meow

There have been films and stories where the protagonists are animals. Think, "Animal Farm", "Watership Down", "Babe", "Charlotte's Web". For this prompt, try writing a story from the point of view of an animal or animals. Create a world for them to inhabit and throw in some conflict based on the setting and circumstances. Are...

Writing Prompt: A Thousand Words

They say a picture tells a thousand words. What about several pictures all mashed up together? For today, write a short narrative incorporating elements of all of the images below. What's nice about this exercise is that each image is opened to interpretation and its significance to the overall writing is entirely up to you....

Memoir: Mom and Grace

  It started at around 2am. I had already been asleep for several hours when she came into my room to wake me. Tugging gently at my warm wool blanket, she bounced lightly on the bed while I struggled to understand what she was saying. No matter how often it happened, I was always startled....

Writing Prompt: Theft

Have you ever stolen something? When you were a kid, did you nick something at school or from a pound shop? I once took $20 from my mom's purse. I felt bad, but it was just the once. The thing is, I sent some gift cards to a friend and just found out that the...

Writing Prompt: Cuddly Toy

I have collected a load of cuddly toys over the years. There's a ferret that friends gave me that still rests on my pillow. In my office, there is bunny rabbit that a colleague bought for me when we were out one day. I still don't really know why she gave it to me. We...

Writing Prompt: Ten Minute Time Out

Imagine you had ten minutes to say or do ANYTHING without anyone ever knowing. How would you use that time. Write a story where you character can freeze time for ten minutes. What do they do, why do they do it and what are the consequences. Remember, no one will ever know of their actions.

Writing Prompt: Genre Writing

Most writers tend to stick to particular genres. I have alway leaned towards contemporary fiction and stayed away from Sci-Fi, Fantasy or Western. As a reader, I love all of these and have the utmost admiration for anyone who can write in these genres. However, I think in order to fully explore your imagination and...