Author: jonathandegler

Inexplicably, The Wayward Bus, by John Steinbeck has been popping in and out of my head over the past couple weeks. It wasn’t my favorite of his novels, but I keenly remember admiring his ability to turn something simple like a bus ride into a novel. Steinbeck’s descriptive abilities are unparalleled, but we could certainly practice and strive towards his level.

This prompt is a challenge to describe the mundane. Attempt to look at the world around you with new eyes. Reexamine the things you do on a day to day basis and turn it into a drama. Of course, you’ll have to take a few creative liberties, but that’s part of the exercise.

Consider writing about:

• your drive to work
• the bedtime routine with your children
• a lunch break walk to get food
• a boring meeting

Don’t limit yourself to this short list, but try to write about something you wouldn’t normally find exciting.

Turn off your tv, write every day, and push yourself to always improve your craft.

Write in whatever kind of genre you wish for this prompt: fiction, poetry, or even non-fiction if something like this has happened to you.

You wake up in the middle of the night to the smell of smoke, and your eyes are burning.

FIRE!

Take the story however you’d like, but you’ll get “bonus points” if you add in some twists like:

• Unconscious family members
• Phone is dead
• Your dog or cat is missing
• You run back in for a precious photo album or your computer

Have fun and share your favorite sentence as a comment to this post. We’d love to read your words.

Writing is a practiced art that demands time. The great writers of the world tend to make it look easy, and while one of you might be destined for greatness as well, chances are you’ll need hours upon hours of practice.

Octavia Butler is one of my favorite authors. She masterfully comments on slavery, racism, and human perseverance with bizarre characters and plots. She said this about the writing craft:

“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it.

That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.”

Write every day. It hardly matters how much or the project. Consistently put words to a page and you will grow.

Hopefully these writing prompts will help you in your daily practice or even spark ideas for scenes in your stories or novels.

Happy Writing!