Prompts
Two People, Going In Opposite Directions
Fiction prompt: Start or end your story with two characters going in opposite directions (literally or figuratively). What this brought back to me was a friend I met in recovery. He was every bit a Heyoka (they are contrary). When looking it up to give a description, it was attributed to the Sioux; the Lakota, and the Dakota people.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
I use Inktober as a Writing Aid
If you are a writer reading this, you know just how hard it is to find content to write about. Oftentimes, we have writing groups that employ various methods such as word sprints to get that creativity flowing. However, I have been in many of these groups that died out due to the curse of inactivity. Another source we often use are writing prompt groups such as r/writingprompts on Reddit, but the very specific prompts on there can be limiting, or may not inspire creativity. There are plenty of other resources writers use to practice, but let me throw my personal resource out there: Inktober52.
By Callum Summers2 months ago in Writers
One Story Below Is True
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — In two or three sentences, write down three unusual, startling, or amusing things you did or that happened to you. One thing must be true; the other two must be lies. Use details. Read them to a group, and they may ask questions to help them guess which one is and which ones are not. The Objective - To understand how we can exaggerate events in our lives, appropriate the lives of others - friends, enemies, strangers - or just plain out and out lie. All these are ways of using what we see and experience to produce fiction.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
2025, In So Many Words
About a year ago, I posted my first piece here on Vocal in years. In Making it Hard to Fail, I talked about my goals for the new year in response to a challenge prompt. My goal was simple: to write for 15 minutes a day. No more was required, though as I suspected (and found in executing this plan) more did often follow.
By Raistlin Allen2 months ago in Writers
Preservation for Eternal Impact
It is easy to feel as though most of what is said disappears. Words are spoken, written, posted, argued over, and then quickly buried beneath the next wave of noise. Attention moves on. Platforms refresh. What once felt urgent becomes invisible. In that environment, a quiet but persistent question emerges. What actually lasts. And more uncomfortably, what is worth preserving when so much seems to vanish without consequence.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast2 months ago in Writers
Unusual Names To Go In Writing Fiction
Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter — What If? Writing Exercise for Fiction Writers prompts The Exercise — In your notebook, keep a list of unusual names for potential characters. In fact, every writer should have a collection of old yearbooks, benefit programs, phonebooks, and so forth to browse through when he needs to name a character. And don't stop there. Keep lists for things you might need to name sometime in a story. Remember that tone is important, so when naming the list below of things choose an earnest name and a farcical one. Name the following things. Imagine stories they might go in. The Objective - To loosen up your imagination by naming things you wouldn't ordinarily have to name - never mind "own."
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Writers
