Story A Day

Last Day of StoryADay May 2012!

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Thu, 31 May 2012 11:27:50 +0000

Today is the last day of StoryADay May 2012!! Even if you haven’t written a single story yet this month why not write and finish a story today? Writing and finishing one story in a single day is quite an achievement. You’ll be proud, I promise. To those who have been writing every day: wow! [...]

[Prompt] May 31 – Best Friends and Endings

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Thu, 31 May 2012 04:01:37 +0000

Today is the last day of StoryADay May 2012. I don’t know about you but I’ve had a blast – not just writing but meeting up with old friends and making new ones. And now the challenge is ending. So I decided to make the prompt celebrate both those things: Write a Story Featuring Your [...]

StoryFest 2012 is coming: June 8-10

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:00:29 +0000

This is for everyone – whether you wrote or you didn’t. If you wrote in a previous year; if you wanted to write but couldn’t make it; if you wrote one story; if you simply read and enjoyed someone else’s. This is our chance to celebrate, and boost both the short story and our friends [...]

[Prompt] May 30 – The Climax

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:01:44 +0000

We’re almost there…but not quite. You might call this The Climax: that moment right before the resolution. So today’s prompt really has to be: Focus on writing a great climax The climax is the action the protagonist chooses to take after facing the moment of crisis, where he or she is pushed to the edge [...]

[Prompt] May 29 – Make Your Hero Heroic

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Tue, 29 May 2012 04:01:24 +0000

Congratulations. You’ve been writing stories all month. You’ve written more short stories this month than most writers write in a decade 1. My guess is you’re getting pretty good at this by now. Sure some of your stories will be ragged urchins hanging around the door making you feel guilty — with their unfinished clothes [...]

[Prompt] May 18 – Description

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Mon, 28 May 2012 11:24:17 +0000

Today we are going to focus on description. Yesterday’s dialogue-heavy prompt probably resulted in very little descriptive language (unless your characters were poets). Today we’re going to remedy that. Write a story where you concentrate on descriptive language. Pick a tone and try to stay with it throughout the story (rich, natural metaphors lathered on, [...]

[Prompt] May 27 – Dialogue

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:01:12 +0000

Today it’s time to work on our dialogue. Write a story that focuses on writing realistic dialogue I’m a fan of the podcast Writing Excuses hosted by 3-4 working science fiction/fantasy/speculative fiction/comic authors and occasional guests. Even if you don’t write in these forms, don’t let that put you off. It’s 15 minutes long and [...]

[Prompt] May 26 – Dramatic Monologue

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Sat, 26 May 2012 04:01:49 +0000

Aren’t there times when you wish you could just say your piece without anyone interrupting you? Well, today’s the day — for your protagonist, at least. Write A Dramatic Monologue Have your protagonist tell their story out loud, in a self-aware way. Make it clear that they know they have an audience – whether or [...]

[Prompt] May 25 – Shifting Perspectives

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Fri, 25 May 2012 04:01:15 +0000

Today’s prompt is a little different. It’s going to show you just how much difference Point of View can made. Rewrite A Story From A Different Perspective Take a story that you have written (either this month or at some other point) and rewrite it from a different point of view. If it was third [...]

Climbing Mount Revision One Step At A Time

Julie"TheAdmin"Duffy — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:30:19 +0000

As we sit here, there are only seven days left in May. Seven more stories and then you’re free to take a break, keep writing, set your stories on fire or, preferably revise them into works of genius. To help you out with that latter option I’ve recruited Gabriela Pereira from DIYMFA.com to give you [...]