Writing Prompts

In order to get myself to post more, I'm giving myself assignments!  I'm choosing prompts with I will post the first week of each month and will be writing to them over the course of the month.  As today is the 7th, I'm starting at the tail end of the week, but hey--it's a start.

Why prompts?  I love writing exercises. They push me a little bit, get me out of my standard train of thought, but I don't feel that I need to write anything more than a snippet at a time.  If they lead to a short story, good.  If they don't--so what?  They're fun, they can help work out knots in one's main WIP, develop a skill that needs a little work, and I never feel my time is wasted on them.

So there are three more weeks in February.
Here are 9 prompts:

1. A character out of place, new to a city/town/time/planet
2. Describe, in detail, a single room in a manner that conveys the emotional state of the POV character.
3. Enemies, alone, trapped in a situation where neither can kill each other or do one another any real harm--what happens?
4. Construct a scene with dialogue alone, that still gives a sense of setting/place.
5. Action scene with an unskilled main character, out of depth
6. Escape from a magical institution (temple, school, estate) by a non-magical character
7. Best friends learn something about each other that could change the nature of their relationship, and cannot tell each other what they know, while in a situation forced to interact socially (either privately, or in public).
8. Magical being loses ability and is forced to live among humans--but telling the story from the perspective from an unsuspecting human.
9. Princess in a tower: refuses to believe she deserves the imprisonment, but she does (the POV of a villain! hard for me).

If you like any of these and want to use them, feel free! I just came up with them, so there's no site to quote or anything.  But, if you do, I'd love to read them, so be sure to let me know.

I will also be open to any prompts you might have for me for March.

Critiques & Process II

So what are the bazillion options out there?

I have received critiques via email, in person, in Google Docs. I have shared scenes on this blog and received feedback. I have posted to forums, and I have listened to critiques over the phone. Different people critique at different rates, so it’s best to know your style of writing and critiquing in order to pick the best mode of feedback.

When I’m writing, I am generally very immersed. I tend to focus and produce a lot, rapidly. Every time that I have tried to revise slowly I have failed to complete a revision. I get board, distracted, or move on. I take it this means that I need to be as immersed in the revision as in the writing. The few times that I have done that, the results have been much better.

I need critiques from people who can look at completed drafts and make comments on the whole thing. I need to take a break in between the completion and the revision, but not so long that my brain decides to go in a new direction with the story -- which it will and has done 4 times in the past 7 years. With one story. So I need to work fast. Take short breaks, write shorter pieces, but never let the pace slacken.

When I am done applying changes, according to a per-decided schedule, I need to be done. I will tweak something forever. I will always see my pieces as unfinished works. Again, that is something that the years of reworking stories has taught me a bout myself.

Measures to Mature My Process

Pacing is not a good idea with roommates. I mean, I felt crazy enough when I used to live with the parents and my mom would tell me to stop because she could “feel the energy.” Lol.

My guy is the only one who has encouraged it. But due to realities of our modern economy, we have had 3 roommates since the start of ‘09. Thankfully our current roomie is an absolute dear, and I wouldn’t know what to do without her.

But I like her. And I don’t need her to know exactly how crazy I am. Because, well, I guess I still get a bit self-conscious about this whole thing. So I have adjusted my pacing to walking.

Source: google.com via Drea on Pinterest

I turn on Pandora on the cellphone, plug in the earbuds and head for the least car-filled route near my home. And then I zone in and if the world sees me walking, crazy-eyed and talking to myself---

Well, they can deal. I still need to think. I have to get my thoughts together before I write. I have done best, written fastest, and completed projects better the more pre-writing time I dedicate to it. So this is what I have to do.

And I have to listen to me.

Image: via viva institute