Category Archives: writing prompt

A Story Prompt For Fiction Writers

basement unfinished

Today in the writing class I teach, I had planned to give the members a writing prompt, but instead, we analyzed a short story in The Writers Digest Writing Competition Collection. 

Here is the prompt in case anybody would like to give it a whirl.

 

 

Rachael, normally a deep sleeper, woke to the sound of someone singing. The alarm clock showed 2 a.m. She got up to look out the window. The heavy downpour of rain made it hard to see clearly, but the street was empty and no lights were on in the neighborhood. She crawled back in bed thinking she had been dreaming.  The drops beating on the window kept her awake.  Then she heard it again. The singer sounded close enough to be in the house.

Rachael grabbed her robe and put her cell phone into the pocket in case she needed to call the police. She tip-toed into the living room, stopped, and listened. A male voice sang a slow tune she didn’t recognize. She checked the kitchen. The singing was louder. The linoleum flooring didn’t muffle the sound as well as the carpeted living room. He was in the basement.

 

There you have it. Who is he?  How did he get there? What is he doing? What is the promise of the story?

If the prompt inspires you, let me know if you wrote a story. Or if you just want to guess the answers to the questions, put them in the comments. It would be fun to read a variety.

 

 

 

Julaina Kleist-Corwin

Editor of Written Across the Genres

Author of soon-to-be-released Hada’s Fog

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Writing Prompt

summer fun old fashion

Now that summer is half over and school will begin in about a month, how have your children spent their free time? Our house is in a court with three families who have children under the age of 11. They’ve been playing basketball and baseball in the mornings and evenings. The afternoon is too hot. My cat likes to watch them and so do I. Their team sportsmanship, their social interactions when they are distracted, and their determination to win are inspiring. Last summer, I wrote a poem about how considerate they were toward each other during a game. This year I thought of a couple short stories to show the changes they are making as they grow up.

A prompt to write memoir flash fiction or write in a journal to record this special year in their lives would be valuable in the future. They will be different next summer.

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