Alliterative alphabet

Write the alphabet vertically down the left hand side of a page.

Write alliterative phrases or sentences that begin with each letter of the alphabet.

Examples:

N: "Nothing," noted the nodding notary.
U: undulating underpants underwater

When you're done, An Alliterative Alphabet is an alliterative alphabet about the alphabet.

"The A adeptly acts as an
aristocratic apex anchored atop
an accompanying alphabet."

Goatnapped

From Writersdigest.com. They have daily writing prompts if these aren't coming fast enough.

Your pet goat is missing. There are five likely, yet extremely different, suspects. Describe each suspect in detail, his motive and how the “goatnapping” occurred.

(The goat is an imagination twisting touch but feel free to change it to something else. Maybe a pet Targ?

Movie titles

Write a story for one of the following movie titles.
Or write a blurb that might go on the back of a book or DVD with that title.
Or write a review that you might post at Amazon.

(They are all real movie names by the way.)

• Abraxos: Guardian of the Universe
  
• Acla's Descent into Floristella
  
• Across the Moon
  
• Adventure of the Action Hunters
  
• Bullwhip Griffin
  
• Hairbreadth Harry
  
• Tartu

Man Bites Dog

This is from a card game -- Man Bites Dog -- that can be a hoot! (We ignore the scoring and just make up headlines.)

Make one or more newspaper headlines using just the words from the list. Try to use at least five of the words in each headline. It might make it easier -- and more fun! -- to print the words out in a large font, cut them out and shuffle them around.

mystery
first
cruel
bizarre
falls for
tough
mayor
indicted
wife
last
revealed
blasts
hero
singer
star
bored
blind
romantic
angel
stuns

Quackly vale

Do something with

quackly
vale
simper
fling
cranberry
kiosk
winsome
prey

Can you get them all in a story? In a paragraph? In a sentence?

Pretending

Write about someone who is pretending to be someone or something he or she is not.

(As usual, set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and write.)

Sentence Chains

Write a sentence. Any sentence.

Take the last word and use that as the first word of your next sentence.

Keep on going!

The sentences don't need to connect. Just random sentences to get creativity flowing.

If you want take one of the sentences and use it as a writing prompt.

Fools' Knock

Until _____, nothing had ever happened in the village of Fool's Knock.

Set a timer for 10-15 minutes, fill in the blank and keep writing.

You won't have a complete story by the end of the time, just a beginning, perhaps just a paragraph. The purpose is to get stuff flowing out under pressure. Don't worry about grammar or spelling or even if things make sense! It's going to be raw.

If at the end of the timer you're on a roll, by all means keep going!

Often the biggest roadblock to writing is ourselves. We edit too much. We reject ideas before we even give them a chance. The timer will force you to write over that voice that says "Nah, that's no good," or "That's boring."

You will write a lot of junk. Expect that. Maybe even require it of yourself. If you expect it to be bad then the gems that pop up will be like treasures. Again don't worry that it's not a finished product. Don't worry about grammar and spelling.

Welcome writers!

This is a storehouse for all the writing prompts, tips and ideas I generate each week for the UnschoolingWriters yahoo group. (The posts here at Blogger are a mirror of the posts at Dragon Writing Prompts at Blogsome.com where they offer categories. The blog at Blogsome stretches back to September 2005.)

I love writing prompts. But self-reflective writing prompts make my eyes glaze over. I don't want to write about real stuff. I want to write about pretend stuff! So I went in search of some fantasy friendly writing prompts and made some up and have been posting them at the UnschoolingWriters list.

Sure, writing about real things is a good way to enliven writing about pretend things but this collection is for the times you don't feel like writing about your favorite pair of shoes or the worst day of your life. It's for when you feel like writing about dragon riding and interstellar transports and ham-handed dwarven safecrackers.

Not all the writing prompts will have explicit speculative fiction elements but they should be easily adaptable or at least appealing. Since there are kids on the UnschoolingWriters list the ideas will be PG-13ish. Some of the websites I point to might have more mature content, but if I notice some, I'll make a mention of it.

That's about it!

Joyce Fetteroll - Head Dragon Writer

Top 10 tabloid headlines for September 2005

The City Newsstand (a newsstand/bookstore in Chicago) publishes the MAGBAG -- Top 10 Tabloid Headlines each month (and have been doing so since 1998!) (It says they're mostly from Weekly World News (WWN) and the SUN.)

Choose one as a writing prompt.

SEPTEMBER 2005

1. MAN-HORSES THREATEN THE WORLD! — WWN
   
2. Bush thrilled to be reading at 6th grade level AND IT'S ABOUT TIME! — WWN
   
3. ORIGIN OF APATHY DISCOVERED, BUT NOBODY CARES! — WWN
   
4. CHICKENS EAT FARMER — WWN
   
5. Leprechaun ejected by casino — HE'S TOO LUCKY! — WWN
   
6. BOMB-SNIFFING ELEPHANTS STOMP OUT TROUBLE — WWN
   
7. NIGHT WATCHMAN SUES OVER WORKING NIGHTS! — WWN
   
8. LOUD ROCK SHOW MAKES TEEN'S HEAD EXPLODE! — WWN
   
9. RHODE ISLAND TO BAN BABY-TALK TO DOGS! — WWN
   
10. CUBS BOOST WORLD SERIES HOPES WITH . . . HOLY WATER! — SUN