| INKsters Virtual Literary Salon Competitive Writing Daily Prompts |
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the center column is for those planning novels for NaNoWriMo, and the third column is our mini-stories. Pick yer poison! Please let me know if you see any errors on these pages ... it's gotten kinda complicated to proof. ItsNaughtKnotty Cannned |
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| Date | Idea Prompts | NaNoWriMo Project | Story Starters |
| 1st |  Neighbors What do you borrow from your neighbors? What is your neighbor into that is kinda weird? If the press showed up to interview you, what would they ask? |
Protagonist Description: Let's name a few: Odysseus, Jesus, Hamlet, Holden Caulfield, Harry Potter. You just have to say their names and you know all about them. In 500 words or less, tell us about your protagonist for your new novel. A physical description, an emotional description, and a little bit of history will help you understand who you're going to be following around for the next two months. |
 Box Monster The monster attached itself to the top of the house and ... |
| 2nd |  The Treatment What treatments have you had recently? What embarrassing things is it finally time to share with your peers? |
Protagonist Support: Even Gregor Samsa, who woke up one day as a cockroach, needed his family, music and friends. Who are the people that love your protagonist and why do they want the best for him or her or it? |
 Why? She threw up her arms in resignation because ... |
| 3rd |  Legalese What language does your baby speak? What languages have you studied? Using legalese, write something incriminating. What is good for your later development? |
Protagonist Today:
One day, King Lear asked his daughters to say how much they each loved him. It turned out to be a bad idea and a very bad day. But the day BEFORE was pretty good. He taxed the tenants, he had a lovely breakfast, his stroll in the gardens seemed particularly refreshing. What does your protagonist do on an ordinary day ... the day before all the things in your novel turned into a story. |
 Alone on an Island She found herself alone in the palm trees and if she didn't act quickly ... |
| 4th |  Punkin Head How's your fairy godmother doing these days? |
Supporting Cast (Round): You may have the need for one, or two, or three other characters with fully developed appearances, personalities, histories, and support systems of their own. Who are the other characters you intend to build full lives around? Why are they important? |
 Sunset They held each other and danced as the sun disappeared below the horizon, and she smiled knowing ... |
| 5th |  Sword Fighting Describe a time nature got the best of you. Tell us about your last fishing trip, or your last sword fight. Describe what you like to do on boats. |
Supporting Cast (Dynamic): Maybe it's your protagonist, maybe it's somebody else, but you're very likely to need somebody to change in an important way during the course of your novel. Who will be your dynamic characters? Why do they need to evolve? How will they change? What will make them change? |
 Butterfly Rides "Yeeeeeeee haw!" she screamed as the butterfly descended into the irrigation canal ... |
| 6th |  Elitist So I hear you're an author, and that makes you better than the next guy, right? What makes you an elitist? What makes you common? Are you losing your hair? |
Supporting Cast (Flat): Ahhhh, the much maligned flat character. You need them! Your point of view in your novel means you're not going to spend time fully developing the funny boy at the coffee shop, the gay cowboys' boss, the surprisingly pretty girl on the subway. Take a moment to imagine and share some of the people in your protagonist's life who might be necessary, but won't play a leading role. |
 Iron Man He stood at the feet of the giant metal man and ... |
| 7th |  Arrogance Retell your favorite trip abroad story. Who is the most arrogant person you know? How are you surviving in the modern economy? |
Supporting Cast (Static): Second Lifers may understand this character type better than others since we deal with inanimate objects seeming to be alive all the time. Take a moment to picture the big scary house in the movie Psycho. Or Hogwartz. Maybe the Death Star in Star Wars. Blood on Lady Macbeth. Or maybe Little Stinky the INKsters bear. Sometimes things grow in importance to the point of being characters themselves. What stuff in your protagonist's life is so important it becomes a character in itself. Describe those things and explain why they are important. |
 Bearly Art She'd been painting all day when the forest ranger came waltzing by and ... |
| 8th |  Extra Large You're involved with something in your life that is going to require a substantial amount of caffein to survive. What is it and why can't you handle it straight? |
Supporting Cast (Antagonist): Our favorite character. Who will be the troublemaker in your little world? Lovingly describe your antagonist. Maybe try speaking in the antagonist's voice so you can come to know the inner soul of the person we love to hate. A word of caution here, if your antagonist is 100% evil with no redeeming qualities at all, and even you as the author don't like him or her, you've probably created a flat character and you'll have a difficult time making your readers believe they have the power to fuel the drama in your story. |
 Sparkles A new hat, a big mushroom, and a sparkler made her feel invincible against ... |
| 9th |  Don't Ask Don't Tell How is your gluteus maximus these days? Ever asked a question you didn't want answered, and yet it was? Who is your favorite Roman? |
Genre:
We've spent over a week thinking
about our characters because they (not you!) drive the novel. Once you
know your characters and how they will react in any situation, you ...
the writer ... become the observer recording the salient points of
their drama. So now let's give our characters something to do and a
place to do it. Will your characters ride a horse and sing? Will your characters play
baseball with ghosts? Will you spend time with unicorns and sorcerers?
Will your character find meaning in her kitchen making toast for her
gardener? If you haven't been in awhile, go to a book store, buy a
cappuccino, and wander the aisles until you find the shelf where you
want your novel to be sitting this time next year, and then tell us why
this will be your genre this year. Don't tell us the plot in today's
assignment, but tell us why you love science fiction, or romance, or
epic poetry? What is it in you that drives you to that shelf?
|
 Fire Starter She should have disappeared, but seeing the fire growing along the ground in the distance caused her to ... |
| 10th |  Better Speck If you could be just a little bit better, what would you have to do? What is the smallest thing that matters to you? |
Story: Finally! Ten days later I finally ask you what the story is. Picture yourself on an elevator. The editor-in-chief from Random House steps onto the trolly car (see, I can talk British!) and pushes the 23rd floor button. Your palms get sweaty, your voice shakes, you find yourself inexplicably standing on your toes. You know you have exactly one minute (or 500 words) to tell her what your novel is about in the hope you can convince her to look at it. Go! |
 Enough Already "Leave me alone you stupid little fairy," the woman told the obnoxious little girl who'd suddenly materialized in her life and wouldn't go away, but ... |
| 11th |  Saving Energy Have you started installing these fancy new lightbulbs in your house? How do you like them? What do you have that is really old and way better than something modern? What makes you feel holier? |
Plot: You're sitting in New York City (the not so good part) in your agent's ratty office surrounded by stacks and stacks of paper, dusty furniture, and Taco Bell cups. She's smoking and speaking to you in that condescending accent of hers. She peeks up at you over the top of her half-framed glasses, ashes fall onto her desk from her Marlboro, and she says, "I know, I know, you told me they're in love, but it's a video game, this Second World whatever thingy of yours. You tell me right h'yere on page seven how two avatahs go about falling in love. But sweethawt, I need to know WHY they're in love." Why why why. You have your characters, you have a sense of what happens to them, but tell us about the bottom of the iceberg. Why are these things important? What is at stake? |
 The Plot Sitting alone in the tiny cemetary listening to the trees groan and crack seemed like the best way to ... |
| 12th |  Silent Fight You're seething inside. Describe your internal diaglogue. |
The Big Conflict: There's a school of thought in the literary world that conflict is the only plot line. It drives a storyline conveniently for the author. There's a reason why conflict happens (and someday I'm going to write my deconstructionist treatise on this very notion) and you as the writer need to understand the one big problem making your protagonist's life cumbersome. You love your protagonist, you even love your antagonist (if you have one), you hate to see troubles come their way, but go ahead and send it in. What's the big problem in your novel and how will they ever set things right? |
 Going too Far Unable to fly, the tiny dragon angrily admitted the best solution would be to walk all the way to ... |
| 13th |  Shoes or Jewels? Okay, you can only take one ... which is it? |
Little Conflicts: It might be Hannibal Lecter's annoying brilliance, it might be a fender bender on the 405, it might be phonies, it might be your skull just turned into a donkey's head. If you watch Seinfeld, you know about millions of little funny conflicts, and if you watch CSI you know about millions of un-funny conflicts. Examine your storyline and describe the bumps along the road your characters will face. |
 High Tech Her dad's idea of a cool tree house was much different than her idea, and yet ... |
| 14th |  Costco What do you buy in huge quantities? What do you like that most people dislike? How was your last (weirdest) trip to the super discount store? |
Style: When I write, I start out trying to be flowery and literary. This usually gives way to me trying to stay on the topic. In the end, I'm telling jokes and being sarcastic. Imagine you're being interviewed for 60 Minutes tonight and Mike Wallace asks you, "How would you characterize your writing style in this novel?" And you smile quirkishly, and say.... |
 Howdy! The robot waived and smiled as ... |
| 15th |  Advice Who gives you advice you don't want? Who do you want giving you advice? What would you trust a gay person to do more than a straight person? |
Tone: You're writing a horror novel and you have a choice between "Scary Movie" or "Halloween." Your science fiction novel could be J.R.R. Tolkien or Douglas Adams. Your readers want to have a certain "feeling" as they make their way through your work. You'll be in charge of setting the mood and atmosphere for your protagonist to endure. What is the final feeling you'd like the tone of your novel to leave? |
 Litter "They leave a damn surf board with a sexy drawing right out here in the middle of everything," the unicorn grumbled. "I guess I will just have to ..." |
| 16th |  Almost Full Describe the time you ran out of gasoline. Describe a trip on a crowded elevator. You've been hired as an elevator design engineer, how are you going to make it more fun? |
Language: Now we get down to the evil part of writing. We write our daily shorts to work on our weak spots, but we undertake novels to celebrate our abilities. Do some self analysis and identify your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. What things go well for you, and what things give you a struggle? How can you focus on your strengths and avoid your weaknesses? |
 Midnight Snack Listening to the owl's story bored her, and all the dead people kept saying the same things over and over, so she began to make a new plan to ... |
| 17th |  Accountants What's the best thing your accountant has to say? What's the dumbest thing your budget says about you? Who would you replace if you were in charge? |
Language Models: If we can't write like William Shakespeare, we can try to be Earnest Hemingway. If we can't write like William S. Boroughs, we could try our hand at William Carlos Williams. We all want to write like J.K. Rowling so we can get one billion dollars. None of us want to write like Stephen King, but we sure want his success. Who is the writer you want to emulate as you begin your journey on this novel. What makes their use of the English language the model you admire? |
 Adjustable Rate Mortgage When his mother saw the condition of the house, she burst into tears and ... |
| 18th |  Arrested You've been arrested and they're taking your photograph. What type of image would you like to portray? |
Point of View: Pesky pesky. Readers don't care who tells the story, but editors and critics get all high and mighty about shifts in point of view. You can speak from an omniscient all-knowing god-like point of view, you can be Spartan and self-righteous and allow only a first-person view of the action, or you can jump into the action too, just as you've done in Second Life, and celebrate us and our and we, in the fun and exciting world of participatory second person viewpoint. All of these points of view have benefits and limitations, but if you switch from one to the other, you better have a good reason! Who will tell your story and why? |
 Oopsy Daisy He'd managed to bring the planets into orbit, but he'd forgotten to ... |
| 19th |  Working at Home How much work do you bring home? What would you like to do in the bedroom to be more productive? What things do you do that drives your significant others crazy? |
First Person: You settled into your narrator's voice yesterday, now let's question that decision. What if Helen of Troy wrote her own version of the Iliad? What would Oedipus's mom write? Pick one of your flat or static characters and have them describe the plot of your story from their own point of view. We know they're not going to be a big deal in the story, but for just a moment, let them speak in their own authentic voice about what they've seen and done to be a part of your novel. |
 Yank It The massive crane pulled the tiny house and its yard out of the Earth and lifted it to ... |
| 20th |  Yummy What's the best local dish in your area? What do you taste like? If you were a shark, who would you eat? |
Parody: Twenty straight days of obsession over your new project. You don't eat right, you don't sleep well, you daydream about the day your character will finally set ablaze the antagonist with your loving verbs. Then you get a telephone call. Fox's MadTV plans to do a parody version of your award winning novel and they've managed to talk George Clooney and Angelina Jolie into playing the lead roles. They want you to toss together a funny little skit to poke a little fun at your novel. Can you write it down real quick? It's due today. |
 Ahoy Abandoned pirate ship my ass, he thought, and he ... |
| 21st |  Devil's Den What does your front door say about you? If strangers could see your family on a bad day, what would they think? What do you do in your house that's lowering the property values? |
Un-Parody: Harvard and Oxford contacted their benefactors and they've agreed to provide you with a substantial honorarium if you'll come to a hoity-toity literary conference in Sydney and speak (oh say, 500 words) on the subject: "My novel: The real story." Can you drop your rough draft of your speech into the mailbox today so we can look it over? |
 There She Is I could see her standing way down there on the beach as the sun rose and I knew ... |
| 22nd |  Summer Vacation What's the worst vacation you've ever taken? Describe your favorite local watering hole. |
Setting: We're two-thirds of the way through the month and we've never talked about setting. Here we are in beautiful Second Life and we know the importance of the environment and how it affects the life we lead. In novels, only Jane Austin can get away with one setting ... the parlor. Now that you know almost everything you need to know about your novel and the creatures inhabiting it. Describe in excruciating detail the principal locations where you anticipate important actions will happen to your characters. |
 Unexpected Date She'd been expecting somebody, well, she didn't know who she was meeting, but the arrival of the mermaid meant ... |
| 23rd |  Anxiety What sets your buzzer off? How does anxiety play a role in your life? What do you have to do in the morning? |
Locations: Review your story line and imagine all the locations you'll need to make this novel happen. Your evil character will need a demon's lair, your happy housewife needs a yellow kitchen, your pilot needs his spaceship, and your teenager needs the back seat of the Oldsmobile. You might not need to flesh out every detail of these locations, but you'll need to be able to help your reader find their way around these settings. Write an overview of the many other places you'll need in your novel and the key descriptions you'll need to make them come alive. |
 The Guardian He stood sentry at the entrance to the vault and ... |
| 24th |  Chicken So really, why DID the chicken cross the road? |
Era: You know that guy who does the movie trailers with the deep voice? He always begins every trailer with the same phrase: "In a world where...." Whether it's a galaxy far far away, a Grecian amphitheatre with Euripides underway, a boxing match on the streets in the late 1920s, or Second Life last month, your novel will be set in at least one era and you should know a little bit about the zeitgeist of the age. Take some time to capture the reasons why you've selected one of these eras. Remind us (and yourself) of the key aspects of the era you're bringing to life. |
 Friday Night The teachers had all gone home, the sun had gone down, and her mother still hadn't picked her up, so she decided ... |
| 25th |  Baby Steps What are you doing now while waiting for what you really want to do in life to begin? What unrealistic goals have you set for yourself? |
Socio-Economics: Rich or poor? Fitzgerald or Hemingway? Consider the impact affluence will play in your drama. Poor people have one kind of problem; rich people have another kind of problem. Somebody climbing their way through the ranks has yet another type of problem. Describe your vision of the economic status of your characters and how that affects the way they think and act. |
 The First Glimpse We'd been traveling through the forest for so long the first glimpse of it seemed like ... |
| 26th |  Sisyphus You've just accomplished something worthy of a cheese burger and milkshake. What is it? What do you do over and over that has no value in your life? How do you go about being optimistic in the face of pessimism? |
Furries Dilemma: It's not the same from country to country, from land to land, from this world and that world, but it seems like everywhere you go, somebody is discriminating against somebody else. Do any of your characters have biases? Does one of your characters really truly hate a class of people? How will you build a world of love and light if your readers are used to bigotry? Take a moment to analyze your plans and discuss how embedded social stigmas might affect your novel, both for you as the author and for your rag tag band of merry ones. |
 Questions "You've climbed the mountain to worship me and seek my advice," he said, "now what is your question?" |
| 27th |  Mouse Trap What is more important, the journey or the destination? |
Symbolism: Black is scary, red is mean, yellow is happy, white is virginal. A pencil means you draw. A typewriter means you're way the coolest. An orange sunset stands for hope. Edible underwear stands for, uh, well, it means you won't be writing much. If you're writing about vampires, you have an inherited set of symbols at your disposal. If you're writing about Second Life, you know what a boy in a white T-shirt, blue jeans and flip flops means. Sometimes a symbol becomes symbolic only after repeated appearances within a literary work, as classical music does in A Clockwork Orange, or the Virgin Mary does in the Bible. As you make final preparations to dive into your masterpiece, what existing symbols do you imagine will be useful in your work? What things within the body of your work will end up with symbolic meaning? |
 Train Station Out of the fog and mist, the massive iron contraption ... |
| 28th |  Civilized Describe a situation where tact played an important role. What's nicer, the inside or outside of your house? What happened at the last dinner party you attended? |
Theme: We now must tread carefully. Nothing will ruin a book faster than an author dead set on cramming a thematic message down the reader's brain. Less competent writers don't have faith in their readers' intelligence. Those authors feel like they need to spell out the moral of the story. If you believe in your protagonist's ability to run the show and live through the complications of the storyline, you'll let the theme evolve naturally from the actions of your own characters. Nobody needs to tell us that Oscar the Grouch really isn't all that grouchy. When we hold our Second Life book club for your novel, and we all sit around and talk about what your book meant to us, what will we say? What message will we have taken away from your efforts? |
 Singin' the Blues I might be a dog, he told the crowd, but I'm a damn talented dog, and besides ... |
| 29th |  Never What communication tools are you using well and which ones do you neglect? What is your favorite way of communicating? Who do you ignore? |
The Ending: Okay, you know you don't want to tell us about it because even you're not sure what the ending is ... but now is the time to set your course. Any editor who looks at your book will insist on a plot synopsis and they'll insist on knowing what your ending will be even before they start to read the book. (Really, I promise!) So set it down for the record and you'll have a compass for your characters. How does your novel end? |
 Clowning Around She looked back over her shoulder and he was still there ... |
| 30th |  Manna from Heaven If you could have something drop magically from the sky what would that be? When would it happen? What would it take to acquire the same thing through normal means? |
My Life: The last two days of October is a time to remember yourself. You've done the pre-planning. You know what you're going to write. There's no way you're not going to be successful. So you need to write your "About the Author" biography for the back page of your book. Who are you? What makes you the right person to write this story? This is the part that will be quoted in high school book reports for all eternity, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to find yourself utterly fascinating. |
 At the Mosque The chanting for the 5 a.m. call to prayer began on time, but if she had her way ... |
| 31st |  Kitties What behavior trait of cats makes you crazy? What would your sign say if you needed to beg? Where would you go if you lost everything? |
My Goals: The goal of NaNoWriMo is 50,000 words by November 30th. That's 1667 words per day. Take a moment to jot down your other goals. Maybe you need to write a little more to feel a sense of accomplishment. Maybe you need to call your mom, your high school teacher, your agent, and let them know what you're doing. Maybe you owe it to yourself to spend a night in a fancy hotel on November 29th and your husband needs to watch the kids. Whatever your goals for the next month are, share them! Writing them down will make them happen. And now, make the commitment: "I, (name), take the Second Life version of the NaNoWriMo challenge, to be my obsessive commitment for the next month, to have and to drive me and my family and my acquaintances completely crazy from this day until December 1st in the afternoon when I wake up from a nap; for better or for worse but hopefully better because I sure don't want a crummy novel after all this work; for richer (ah yeah!), for poorer (no way! I'm the next Sidney Sheldon), in the mental sickness bordering on derangement for undertaking this insane idea, to love and to cherish and to write my little fanny off from this day forward until I write the best novel of my life." You can write better vows than this one. Do it now and go to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow. |
 Visions She'd only taken a few sips, but already she could see purple butterflies all around her face, and ... |
