Write the story that begins: "We arrive barefoot, and leave shoeless..." photo: ebszabo
story opening
alchemy
According to Miriam Webster Dictionary, al•che•my was a science used in the Middle Ages to change ordinary metals into gold. Great writing is alchemy. photo:Iwan Gabovitch Writing Prompt: Select a relationship in your life and transform it from ordinary metal into gold.
cry wolf
“Literature was not born the day when a boy crying "wolf, wolf" came running out of the Neanderthal valley with a big gray wolf at his heels; literature was born on the day when a boy came crying "wolf, wolf" and there was no wolf behind him.” Vladimir Nabokov, Lectures on Literature Take us to the moment … Continue reading cry wolf
it’s me
Begin here: photo: Orion Nebula Space Galaxy Write a scene involving two people in orbit, each believing they have been sent away together for entirely different reasons. Begin with "I'm the one they've been waiting for..." Incorporate at least three of the five senses.
open here
Consumer reports can help with more than product research, comparison, and ratings. Open a story with one of these lines from How To Clean Practically Anything “It is usually recommended that you leave the scanner flat and lock the…” Or “Failure to properly care for an answering machine may invalidate the…” Draw the story from … Continue reading open here
in the end
You can know a story by examining how it begins, and understand it by examining how it ends. In life, the ending is in the beginning. In writing too, openings and endings resonate. photo: Leon Brooks Here, on this bench, was the end. Writing Prompt: Write the opening paragraph - show what began on this bench. Then … Continue reading in the end
setting the stage
When you open your story - or start a scene - it is critical that you place your reader in the middle of things - you can only do that if you, and the reader, know on a sensory level where the action is taking place. Using the prompts provided, set the stage: time, place … Continue reading setting the stage
a suggestive opening
Opening with a suggestive setting description can be useful for setting the mood of a story. It can foreshadow what is to come, and the words that you choose will shape your reader’s perceptions of the characters and their relationships. Here is a story opening: By mid afternoon the sun will cook the air into … Continue reading a suggestive opening
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