SADM 2018 – Day 30: Change your Point of View

http://storyaday.org/day-30-change-your-point-of-view

Julie says: After setting you free yesterday, I’m putting a few more limits on you again today.

The prompt: Take a story that you wrote earlier this month, and tell it from a different point of view

The point of this prompt is to show you that sometimes a story benefits from being told in a different way. Noir stories work in first person because that’s what we’re used to. Something set in a Victorian era works well in Third Person Omniscient because that’s how Dickens wrote–it’s what we’re used to.

Use this prompt as an excuse to play with a story and make it richer, through voice.

Go!

And me? Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 29: The Story You’ve Been Waiting To Write

Not a lot of today left… sorry about that!

http://storyaday.org/day-29-the-story-youve-been-waiting-to-write

Julie says: I know you have stories you want to tell, that the world needs to hear.

Your experiences, your outlook, your way of expressing yourself, are unique in the history of the world and I’m so glad you’ve come this far, and you’re still writing.

And I know you’re going to continue to write, because you’ve come this far.

Today I’m giving you a prompt that might seem a little lazy from me, but there’s a reason.

The Prompt: Write the story that you’ve been hungering to write.

I’ve been very proscriptive this month, telling you what you write, and you’ve been writing for four weeks. You’ve got stories in your head that are nipping at your brain, whispering “tell me!”, so today I’m setting you free.

Tell one of those stories.

Go!

And me? Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 28: Use These Words

http://storyaday.org/day-28-use-these-words

Julie says: This is the kind of writing prompt that puts so many limits on your story that you can’t worry about making the story good. Sometimes you end up with a good story, but the silliness of the prompt removes all pretension and blocks.

The Prompt: Your story must include these words; ink, previously, work, breeze, seven, run, delicious, example, spontaneous, barb.

Go!

And me? Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 27: Start at the End

http://storyaday.org/day-27-start-at-the-end

Julie says: Start a story that begins with the ending, then immediately jumps back in time.

e.g. “It all started 12 hours ago.”

Think of this as the way someone might shoot a heist movie: a character is being led out in handcuffs and a voiceover says, “It all started 12 weeks ago.”

(In a short story you probably need to keep the scale in hours as this means you don’t have too many scenes.)

Don’t worry too much about getting this perfect. Feel free to be cheesy. Just have fun. Leave a comment to let us know how you got on!

Go!

And me? Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 26: The Sale

http://storyaday.org/day-26-the-sale

Julie says: Today’s prompt lets you practice your dialogue and thinking about communicating your characters’ motivations to the reader.

One character is trying to sell something to another character. .

This could be metaphorical: they are trying to sell them an idea.

It could be literal: they’re trying to sell them a car.

Go!

Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 25: The Moral Dimension

http://storyaday.org/day-25-the-moral-dimension

Julie says: Write a story about someone whose boss is doing something contrary to the main character’s morals.

Today I want you to write a story about a character whose boss (or somebody important to them, with power over them) is doing something illegal/unethical. How will your character react?

Go!

Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.

SADM 2018 – Day 24: Disappearing Act

Ironic that the day I forget to share the Story A Day May prompts should be about something that’s not there!

http://storyaday.org/day-24-disappearing-act

Julie says: Tell a story that features a disappearance

This could be an Intrigue/Idea story. At it heart it has a question, or a mystery or a big idea.

It could be the disappearance of a person, a cultural phenomenon, or of the bees, or of Arctic Ice. Or it could be something more nebulous. Your story could be serious or slapstick. What will you come up with?

Go!

Sadly, I’m not doing the challenge this year (too busy) but do leave a comment below to let me know how you do.