Tag: writing prompts

Writing Prompts – White Guys Fantasy Edition

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Howdy! Here we have a new list of writing prompts for your perusal, featuring fantasy-based works. And apparently most of the fantasy and sci-fi books I have hard copies of are by cis white guys… 🙁

We can make it work.

Writing Prompts – White Cis Guys Fantasy Edition

Okay. I do read fantasy and sci-fi written by people other than cis white guys, I promise, I just haven’t bought new books in a while. I don’t have easily accessible copies of the Charlaine Harris, Seanan McGuire , and Kim Harrison books that I’ve enjoyed in the last year, nor can I include Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl, having lent my copy to a friend.

Now, I’m not saying I don’t like the books that I selected from. Quite the opposite – the 7 selections here all come from books and authors I love. And one TV show. I have a massive book with all the Firefly scripts.

Although, whenever I read H.G. Wells I can pretend that I’m reading a book by a bad-ass bisexual lady, thanks Warehouse 13. And look, The Invisible Man is just a deliciously creepy book with a strangely sympathetic monster. I do love a good monster.

Anyways, as always, change things up and don’t be a plagiarist.

Actually, that’s your mission for this assignment – mix these prompts up into something new! Fantasy and sci-fi needs more diversity, and it starts with the stories being told. I can’t do it alone, friends.

Alright, so let’s delve into my unfortunately white guys heavy collection of science fiction and fantasy, and use these prompts to make it better. Honestly my brain has started writing a story already just from the prompts I’ve found. I hope they inspire you too.

7 Fantastical Writing Prompts

“Why come to me? Why not a private investigator?”

“Because you know about…” She gestured, fitfully.

“About magic,” I said.

– Storm Front, Jim Butcher

“But it gets dark.”

“So?”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of what?”

“The dark.”

“Why should I be?”

– “Pillar of Fire,” Ray Bradbury

“What happens to the soul of a man who dies between the stars, far from his native world?”

– “The Haunted Space Suit,” Arthur C. Clarke

“The girl is a witch!”

“Yeah. But she’s our witch.”

Firefly Ep. 5, “Safe,” Drew Z. Greenberg

“There have been no wizards since [him], and you would never in this world  have beaten him. But I tell you this – he would never in this world have beaten you.”

“I am ready then.”

– The Princess Bride, William Goldman

“I could have swore I heard a voice.”

“Of course you did.”

“It’s there again”

“Don’t be a fool. You think I’m just imagination? Just imagination?”

“What else can you be?”

– The Invisible Man, H.G. Wells

“Where is she?”

“Gone. The darkness took her.”

– Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman

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Other writing tips and prompts can be found here.

Need a place to put your writing? Check out my line of notebooks on Etsy!

For your pinning pleasure:

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Writing Prompts – Dictionary Definitions 1

Posted on by possumpaperworks
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Hey all! We’re trying something a little new for this list of writing prompts. I’ve seen people use dictionary definitions to inspire their writing. This is a list of some fun and unusual words for you! See what weird words spark your interest.

15 Writing Prompts – Dictionary Definitions

Confession: I have a lot of dictionaries. Some of them are totally normal. Webster’s Dictionaries, American Standard, all the big ones. Most of those I got for free. If I see a dictionary in a free book box, 90% of the time I pick it up.

I don’t know why. I rarely look in said dictionaries. Exactly once I gave a friend a used dictionary as a gift — he really wanted to have a real paper dictionary.

Some of my dictionaries are a little stranger. I have an anagram dictionary, a rhyming dictionary, multiple slang dictionaries, two “weird word” dictionaries, and more baby name books than I can count. There’s also a few thesauruses and other assorted reference books in the mix. I look forward to digging into them all for future prompts.

The definitions on this list are all taken from Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary of Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words, by Josefa Heifetz Byrne. I picked words at random, so it’s an odd mix.

My tip for the week? Don’t alloo on the quidam that hides in the uvid haha, y’all. I don’t care what kind of habromanic musard you are, or how big of a karimption you can gather. You never know what kind of crotaline manqueller might be spatrifying your haha. 

Spell check hates me now.

Good luck, and may these words inspire wonderful worlds for you!

15 Dictionary Inspirations

1) Habromania

n. Extreme euphoria.

2) Crotaline

adj. Pertaining to rattlesnakes.

3) Manqueller

n. Murderer.

4) Uvid

adj. Moist or wet.

5) Musard

n. An absent-minded dreamer, or fool.

6) Gulosity

n. Enormous appetite; greediness.

7) Haha

n. A sunken wall, invisible from a distance.

8) Spatrify

v.t. & i. To besmirch, befoul; to sully and spot.

9) Alloo

v.t. To set on; to incite.

10) Peristerophily

n. The breeding, care, and training of pigeons.

11) Jactancy

n. Boasting, bragging.

12) Irpe

adj. A grimace or bodily contortion

13) Fimblefamble

n. Excuse, particularly a phony one; a lying answer.

14) Quidam

n. An unknown person.

15) Karimption

n. A crowd; a mass.

Look, I never said I would make it easy on you, okay? That would’ve been plain fimblefamble.

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Other writing tips and prompts can be found here.

Need a place to put your writing? Check out my line of notebooks on Etsy!

For your pinning pleasure:

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Writing Prompts – Literary List 2

Posted on by possumpaperworks
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Welcome to the literary list #2 writing prompt extravaganza! Today I’ve got 7 fresh prompts to share, all of which come from dialogue in books, plays, and comics.  For no particular reason, all prompts also appear on pages 37, 38, or 39 of my copy.

Writing Prompts – Literary List #2

Let’s be real, you’re not here to hear me talk about the list. You want the prompts, and I don’t blame you! These 7 are great fun, and since they all started as chunks of dialogue, you should find inspiration quickly for your own dialogue, poetry, or whatever.

I just need to say, that last one reads way more dieselpunk than it should, given the actual subject of the book. And I love it.

Remember to mix things up a bit if you’re planning on publishing the resulting work. I make an effort to find generic but interesting sentences, but don’t take chances. Change the wording, pronouns, whatever. Don’t plagiarize, people.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Prompts #8-14

“You made me look ridiculous in there.”

“I looked just as ridiculous as you did.”

– Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Tom Stoppard

 

“I found another bone!…Boy, this is a weird one.”

– Weirdos From Another Planet, A Calvin & Hobbes Collection, Bill Watterson

 

“Are you running away from anything?”

“No. I’m not running away from anything. Not in the way you mean.”

Shane, Jack Schaefer

“I don’t need anything.”

“You’ll need your nightgown.”

“I’ll sleep naked.” 

“The Next In Line” in The October Country, Ray Bradbury

 

“You can do what you want to do.”

“I’ll go back with you. I’m on my way down there.”

The Piano Lesson, August Wilson

 

“And if anyone comes–“

“Who might come? Will it be soldiers? Like the ones on the corners?”

“I really don’t think anyone will.”

– Number the Stars, Lois Lowry

 

“His ancestors have probably lived in that alley for generations.”

“So he’s one of us.”

“I suppose so.” 

Dewey the Library Cat, Vicki Myron (w/Bret Witter)

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Other writing tips can be found here.

Need a place to put your writing? Check out my line of notebooks on Etsy!

For your pinning pleasure:

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Writing Prompts – Literary List

Posted on by possumpaperworks
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Hey there! I’ve been a slump lately regarding writing tips, so we’re trying something new. Everyone likes writing prompts, right? Sure hope so, because that’s what you’re getting! And just because I can, the prompts of this 1st post are a fun literary list!

Writing Prompts – Literary List (1st Edition)

In this first list, I’ve collected quotes from classic literature; sci-fi, fantasy, and  mystery fiction; non-fiction (including a book on science!); and poetry.

To find these prompts, I went to my bookshelf and opened a few books to random pages. Some of my favorite authors and books populate this list, as do a few random ones. If you want, read the books (and poem) yourself!

These prompts can be used in short stories, works in progress, poetry, or whatever else you like to write.  You can choose to use these prompts one at a time, or get wild and challenge yourself to use all 7 of the quotes in one go. Good luck with that last quote though.

Remember, though: you’re the author. If you feel the need, change names, pronouns, or even subject. The prompts may be quotes, but that doesn’t mean you have to include their precise words in your work. In fact, it’s better to not! No need to plagiarize–these are only inspirations, after all. Mix it up!

Here are your 7 prompts!

“Someone almost took a ride on the merry-go-round.”

– Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury

 

“Kate sat at the head of the table with an account book open before her.”

– East of Eden, John Steinbeck

 

“[His] laugh was raw and sad. ‘I guess he wanted to warn me that everyone screws up sometime.'”

– Wilde Lake, Laura Lippman

 

“I take to dying like a man. I do it to impress the crowd.”

– “My Guilt”, Maya Angelou (read the poem if you use this prompt)

 

“According to Newton, everything exerts a force on everything else.”

– 1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science, James Trefil

 

“They all got scared, about as regularly as they got paid.”

– On the Road With Charles Kuralt, Charles Kuralt

 

“For some unexplained reason, the teleport cubicles were in the bathroom.”

– Life, The Universe, and Everything, Douglas Adams

Good luck, and happy writing!

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Other writing tips and prompts can be found here.

Need a place to put your writing? Check out my line of notebooks on Etsy!

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