Happy New Year's Eve!

Today is the last day of 2011. Looking forward to 2012, I have a great deal to accomplish and I am hoping that my efforts will bring opportunities and changes in my personal circumstance. What will I do in 2012?

I will continue to write and do artwork.
I will continue to read.
I will continue to exercise and eat healthy foods.
I will continue to be as kind as I can.

I am hoping to remember that music lifts my soul, dancing lightens my spirit, a little chocolate now and again is good for the child in me, friends need to know how much I appreciate them, feather boas can be a wonderful accessory, and smiling does make one feel better.

My wish for anyone reading this is that you have the opportunity to eat mangoes naked, play in water fountains, and dream dangerous dreams. Hold tight to wild desires to travel in a gypsy wagon, fly over prairies in a dirigible, or sail in a tall ship with pirates. May you swim with dolphins, watch elephants amble, and soar with the peregrines. I hope you make things that didn't exist before you thought of them-- love, poems, paintings, or whatever. It is my wish that you feel loved when you need it and particularly when you don't and that you are liked. I hope that you have someone to love and like in return. May your days be filled with kindness, wisdom, abundance, risks, mistakes, and successes.

Happy New Year!

The "Dubious Magical Powers" Writing Prompts

I remember reading the Trojan War and feeling bad for Cassandra. She had this totally awesome ability of being capable of predicting the future, but no one would believe her.

These writing prompts are about dubious magical powers. Have fun.

1. Your point of view character can make other people fall asleep just by willing it. What does he/she do with this ability?

2. Your point of view character has the ability to make a person have to urinate just by staring at them. What does he/she do with this debilitating power?

3. Your point of view character can make cats do his/her bidding. What does he/she do with this awesome power? Do the cats resent him/her? Where does this ability come from?

4. Your point of view character can see other people's past lives. What does he/she do with this? How do they explain that it isn't just made up? How do you explain how the character acquired this ability?

5. Your point of view character is literally a magic chef and can make anything taste sublime. How does he/she showcase their ability? Where do they get their ability? Is there a cost to having this ability? What challenges could this character encounter?

The "Things Lost and Things Found" Writing Prompts

Have you wondered about things lost and things found? I am always curious when I see a lone shoe on the side of the road. I wonder who the owner was and where the other shoe went. Lone mysterious keys give me pause to imagine what they unlock. Sometimes if I am lucky I will find someone else's discarded "to-do" or grocery list. I always find these fascinating. What about when you are certain that an object was in a secure place and then it turns up missing? Do you ever make up a story about where it went? Not just the socks that disappear in the laundry, but other stuff like photos, books, treasured toys, and the last of the ice cream. The theme for these writing prompts is that they are about things lost and found.

1. Your point of view character is at the grocery store. As they pull out a cart, they see a piece of paper in the cart. It is a list. On the list it says the following: "cow liver, a red candle, a red rose, olive oil, 2 packs of playing cards, salt, garbage bags, rubber gloves and coke. Don't forget to get the robes from the dry cleaners." Make up a story to go with this list.

2. Your point of view character is a bus driver. He/she finds a clasped leather case at the end of their shift that has been left on the bus. What might be in the case? What do they do?

3. Every morning your point of view character makes tea and sets the cup on the counter. For a week they do this and the tea cup disappears to be found later in other parts of the house. Why are the tea cups moving? Who or what is moving them?

4. Your point of view character loses their birth certificate. passport, and driver's license. When they get them back, all the information is slightly altered. Why? What do they do?

5. Your point of view character finds a strange key at the back of a drawer as they are moving out of their apartment. When they move into their new place, a strange trunk is unloaded and left by the movers. The key fits the trunk. How did the key and trunk get in the point of view character's possession? Do the key and trunk do something? What is in the trunk?

Happy writing! For more writing prompts please check out Jo-anne Odell's blog at www.jmodell.blogspot.com

The "Pushing the Limits" Writing Exercises

Sometimes pushing the limits can be useful and you can learn a great deal. All of these writing exercises are designed to push the limits in some ways to experiment and help clarify aspects of writing.

1. Write a complete story in six sentences. What could you say in 6 carefully crafted sentences? Examples can be found at Six Sentences

I am hoping to make this a regular feature on this blog in the New Year and will publish six sentence stories that are submitted to me. Guidelines for submission will be coming in the next week.

Here is an example of mine:

Smiling, she drank her tea and ate her biscuits. Noticing a spot on her blouse, she tried to wipe the stain away. Persistent as her forty-year marriage, the brownish splotch would not wash out even under the tap. The cat played with a string under the tablecloth. A cold, stiff hand flopped out onto the persian rug from beneath the lace. She really needed to do something about Herman.

2. Ernest Hemingway was once bet that he couldn't write a short story in six words. He wrote the following: For sale: baby shoes, never worn. Write a story in six words. What could you say in only six words? Examples can be found at Six Word Stories

3. Describe the worst piece of writing that you can. What would be features of this piece? Would the characters be flat? The story plotless? etc.

4. Write a paragraph describing some scene that you have observed. After writing the scene, edit out at least one third of the words and see if you can convey the meaning of the first draft.

5. Pick a form of poetry and write a poem in that form. Sestinas like Elizabeth Bishop's Sestina (which I featured a month or so ago can be found at: http://thestarsarenotmadeoffire.blogspot.com/2011/11/poetry-elizabeth-bishops-sestina.html) are difficult to write and force the author to think of ways to make the six words that the poem hangs on be used in different ways to convey different meanings.

Try these writing exercises! Have fun with them! If you need more inspiration, more writing prompts can be found at Jo-anne Odell's blog at: www.jmodell.blogspot.com

"Once Upon a Time" Writing Prompts

I have been reading some of the short stories of Angela Carter. She is best known for her collection of short stories which was titled "The Bloody Chamber." I may feature this collection at later date in a book review, but each of the stories is a retelling of a fairy tale.

Fairy tales are potent with meaning. Today's collection of writing prompts are all taken from fairy tales.

1. In the story of Beauty and the Beast the traditional theme is that by being debased the prince learns to be generous of spirit and Beauty recognizes this spirit beyond his ugly visage. But the story is also one of transformation. The prince loses everything to become the beast, is transformed, and finds happiness in the end. Beauty loses her family, makes the best of her situation, and is transformed in the end as well. How could you retell the story of Beauty and the Beast and put the emphasis more on ideas of death and rebirth?

2. Sleeping Beauty is a story about a young woman who is cursed to sleep until she is awakened by the man who will be her love. It is often interpreted as a story about sexual awakening. What if the story took a different turn entirely? What if Sleeping Beauty is an artist or a dreamer and her "awakening" is really pulling her away from her subconscious and her source of inspiration? What might the story look like then?

3. Puss-in-Boots is about a wily, talking cat whose fanciful tales cause his master to become very wealthy. What if Puss-in-Boots were real in the modern day? How could a talking, wily cat be a boon to a modern day young person?

4. In the Emperor's New Clothes no one is willing to admit to the emperor that they cannot see the clothing. No one is willing to risk their reputation and speak with honesty. How could this idea be transported into a fairy tale telling of the presidential primaries?

5. Snow White is taken into the forest because of her jealous step-mother who wants her killed, lives with the seven dwarves, is poisoned, and eventually is saved by a prince. What if the story of Snow White is about an impetuous teenage girl who simply runs off and sees herself within the story of Snow White? How could that story be told?

These are just a few ways to reinvent fairy tales. A rereading of a collection of the tales could provide inspiration for many stories.

More writing prompts tomorrow! Please check out Jo-anne Odell's blog at www.jmodell@blogspot.com for even more writing prompts.

"Spiff New Gadgets" Writing Prompts

Today is the day after Christmas. Did you get some spiff new gadgets? Something to play with? Something to make life better?

Do you remember the 1950's "house of tomorrow"? Do you remember the vision of the future from the Golden Age of Science Fiction when we were all supposed to work less? have push button convenience in all areas of our lives? drive flying cars?

Several mechanical innovations have changed the way humans live. Where would we be without the wheel? the weaving loom? the cotton gin? This set of writing prompts/ideas revolve around innovations that might come about.

1. Imagine if we had teletransporters and cars were only a luxury item for entertainment. A person could live in Fiji and work in Los Angeles. Education, entertainment, friends, and shopping could be anywhere in the world. Parking lots could become groves of trees and urban gardens.

2. Imagine if we all never left our homes and lived virtually with all of our supplies delivered to the house, employment happening online, and we could create avatars to represent ourselves anyway we chose. How do you think people would choose to represent themselves? How would people socialize? What would happen to ideas of family? Marriage?

3. Imagine if we could directly link to a computer through our cerebral cortex and did not need a tablet or laptop. What would happen to dreams?

4. What if cybernetic parts could just continually replace worn out organs? At what point would a person remain a person or be designated an artificial intelligence? Where does a person's identity and sense of humanity reside?

5. Androids that are impossible to distinguish from real humans are developed. Would they be released and sold? Would there be a protest? Would people accept the androids? Would there be a demand that they be made to look less human?

Have fun writing! More writing prompts can be found at Jo-anne Odell's Blog at http://www.jmodell.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

Merry Christmas to Everyone!

More writing prompts to come tomorrow. I hope today brought everyone joyous memories.

Magic of Christmas Eve Writing Prompts

Christmas Eve is a time of possibilities. It is a time of imagining. Who knows what might be wrapped up in brightly colored paper with a bow on top? What fantastical creation have the elves created? What will Santa Claus bring?

1. It is a cold Christmas Eve. The stars glimmer distantly in an indigo sky. The snow glistens with moonlight. A wind whips up a swirling devil of snow and someone materializes. Who is this person?

2. A young woman is walking home late in the evening on Christmas eve. She hears the cacophonous honking of geese and the ground vibrates. The Horned God appears before her. The Wild Hunt is on. What happens next?

3. A mysterious red bag is found by your point of view character. When he/she opens the bag it seems cavernous-- rooms larger than the satchel size it appears to be. What might be at the bottom of the bag? What happens next?

4. Your point of view character is given what appears to be a fantasy book, but as they read glimpses of a reality beyond the norm can be seen in their peripheral vision. The visions become maddeningly enticing, what does your point of view character do? What happens?

5. Your point of view character wakes to a tapping on her window and sees a sprightly ancient figure touching her window pane. Frost spreads from his fingertips. He startles when he sees he has been observed. Your point of view character pursues him. What happens next?

Merry Christmas and Happy Writing!

The "Good Things Come in Small Packages" Writing Prompts

Ever since Pandora opened the box it has been known that pretty potent stuff can come in small packages. These writing prompts are about those small packages that pack a wallup.

1. Your point of view character is sitting on a bus. After a clutch of people get off at a stop, he looks across the aisle and realizes that someone left a tiny, but beautifully wrapped package on the seat. What does your character do?

2. Your point of view character is the head of security on an interplanetary cruise ship on its way to the pleasure domes of Io. He/she finds a queer object wrapped in a thin fragile substance with some sort of adhesive. There is a type of cord tied around the object. What does your head of security do?

3. Your point of view character wakes up to find a small package beside his/her head on the pillow. Thinking it is from their partner, they open it up. It is a ring. Later after speaking with the partner, the point of view character finds out that the partner did not leave the ring for them. What does the point of view character do? Who left the ring? What might be up with the ring?

4. A small creature is discovered who can create minute temporal distortions. What does this discovery do?

5. An intergalactic trader comes back from an expedition into a far off quadrant of the galaxy. He brings back with him a type of empathic stone that can absorb the strong emotions associated with memories. What might the stones be used for? How might things go awry?

More writing prompts to come tomorrow. Further, there are more writing prompts that can be found on Jo-anne Odell's blog at: http://www.jmodell.blogspot.com/

Merry Christmas! Happy Writing!

The "And You Thought Candy Canes Were Only For Sucking" Writing Prompts

Continuing to spread the Christmas joy and offering my gift of writing prompts, I present five more writing prompts! This time all five have to do with those slender, cylindrical peppermint twists of holiday sweetness-- candy canes!

1. Your point of view character is a small child at a holiday party. He or she is frightened of Santa, because who wouldn't be frightened of Santa. Funny red suit, big dude. But this character timidly is the last to go up to Santa, he/she tells him want they want and he gives them one of those itty bitty candy canes in plastic wrap. And its broken. Your point of view character says thank you but is disappointed. He/she goes to get a cookie from the buffet table and while there a spindly hand grabs their ankle from beneath the table cloth... What happens next?

2. Your point of view character is at a wild Christmas Eve party and a voluptuous woman in a green elf suit tells him to drink down a brilliant green drink. He wakes the next day in a cage made of candy canes. What happens next?

3. Your point of view character is a vampire hunter. He/she is stalking a vampire in a suburb that has been fully decked out with Christmas lights and decorations. A woman rushes at him, he grabs a wooden candy cane decoration stuck in the ground and stakes her. What happens next?

4. After all the wrapping paper shreds have landed and the presents are all opened, your point of view character finds beneath the tree a candy cane with a note in a fine script that says: "Eat me!" The point of view character sucks on the candy cane... What happens next?

5. Your point of view character is a detective who has been called in on a murder on Christmas Day. The weapon... a candy cane. How did the murder occur? Who did it? What happens next?

Make a Picture Worth At Least a Thousand Words Writing Prompts

While I continue thinking of creative uses for candy canes for tomorrow's writing prompts (you thought candy canes were only good for sucking on?), I pulled a few photos off of a post by Matt Stopera on Buzzfeed. Any of these 50 inexplicable photos could prompt a story. Here are five that I pulled.



1. I wonder if John Irving had seen this photo prior to writing "The Hotel New Hampshire." Why does the bear have his hand on the woman's shoulder? Why is she sitting on the bed in her shift? What has transpired between them?



2. Why are these two posed as they are? Is this a wedding photo? What has gone between the two of them? Why is one of the figures wearing a deep sea diving suit? Is this Captain Nemo's wedding photograph?



3. What is up with the woman with the dark glasses? Why does the man have his back to the camera? Is this some kind of steampunk polyamory? What is the story between these three individuals?



4. Armadillo or space alien? How did a daguerrotype come about of this creature? What is this creature?



5. This naked lady looks pretty pleased with herself. Who is she? Are men just interchangeable heads? What is the story with her mannequin/android/love doll?

Because even more writing prompts are even more fun, you can find writing prompts at Jo-anne Odell's blog at: http://jmodell.blogspot.com/

The "I Had Sex With a Werewolf and Bat Boy is Our Illegitimate Love Child" Writing Prompts!

More writing prompts for you for today inspired by none other than... da dada dum...THE WEEKLY WORLD NEWS! In its day, "The News" had some truly inspired creative writing. So spinning off of some their old headlines, writing prompts!



1. Our current political situation is a result of a subtle alien takeover. President Bush was endorsed by aliens. Who are these aliens? Do they just want our fish sticks and custard? What is their plot?



2. Cthulu has arisen! And he is hungry for Jersey! Bon Jovi thought he was safe and Jersey looks like heaven until the Elder God rose up out of the sea. How can the many tentacled one devour Jersey?



3. A merman is caught in the South Pacific. What does he look like? Did he accidentally get caught or did he intentionally show himself? How long have the merman been in the South Pacific? And why have we not had proof of their existence before?



4. Alien skulls are found on Mars. Is anything else found? What do they look like? What story can be pieced together from what the exo-archeologists find? Are any of the skulls made of crystal?



5. A vampire cat is caught with a bowl of human blood set out as bait. How does the world react to proof that vampires exist? What do the vampires do?

Go forth and write!

Happy Dancing Like Drunken PenMonkeys at an Ecstatic Orgy Where the Goddess Brigid is giving Free Samples from Her Cauldron Writing Prompts!

Yup. You heard right. Happy dancing like drunken penmonkeys at an ecstatic orgy where the goddess Brigit is giving out free samples from her cauldron. The Cauldron. So slurp it up and write with fervor here are a handful more of writing prompts:

1. Your point of view character wakes up in the middle of the night to a sound like a canon ball being shot in the bedroom and discovers a gun toting, pen wielding Hunter S. Thompson in the bedroom who demands that your point of view character get the hell out of bed and start writing. Life is short, the world is large, and there are things to discover. He asks, "Do you think all those chicks in Hollywood really have blonde hair and tits like zeppelins? Do you really think that all those CEOs aren't working a conspiracy? And what the f**k do you think they put in the water?" What does your point of view character do?

2. Your point of view character is in a car accident in which she gets knocked unconscious when her head hits the steering wheel. When she becomes conscious, she intuitively knows the psychology, history, and thoughts of everyone she meets. She knows that Diane secretly eats chocolate chip cookie dough at midnight after lighting cinnamon scented candles and putting her Celine Dion cd on. She knows Mike grew up in Milwaukee, had a three-legged golden retriever named Wonderdawg, and wanted to draw comic books about the adventures of Mighty Millicent the Millipede before becoming an admin assistant. She knows Juan wears red lace panties under his Carhardts and loves Rita Hayworth movies. She sees a man and he is thinking of... What does she do with this knowledge?

3. "Time is a thief who slips in without notice and before you know it, life is gone," says the old man with the rheumy eyes. He grabs your point of view character's hand in one of his ancient, talon-like hands and adds, "I was young once. Don't work too hard. Tell people you love them. Stay in contact with your friends. Have fun. The darkness comes." And then he dies while your point of view character watches. Your point of view character has the distinct feeling that dead is dead, no afterlife. What does he do?

4. Your point of view character finds a strange coin on the sidewalk. After bending to pick it up, he straightens and finds a handsome man in a three piece pin stripe suit directly in front of him who demands the coin. The point of view character says that he found it first. The Devil looks at your point of view character and says that the point of view character really doesn't want that coin, but he will let him keep it. What happens? What does the coin do?

5. The gypsy turns over The Lovers card followed by The Death card and looks at your point of view character and says, "You have the opportunity to know great love, to be in love, deep love, but it will break your heart and leave you at Death's door. But no fate is sealed. You can decide not to fall in love. Run away from love. It is your choice." What does your point of view character do? What happens next?

Stay-tuned more writing prompts here tomorrow. Joining me in this writing frenzy is Jo-anne Odell whose blog with more writing prompts can be found at http://jmodell.blogspot.com/

We are like this crazy Ginzu knife package of writing and writing prompts! Let the creativity flow!

Juicy Writing Prompts

More writing prompts to get the creative juices flowing!

1. A representative from an alien race appears and offers a revolutionary form of energy that will move civilization past the need for oil, but they want ten percent of the earth's population as slaves. Your point of view character is part of the committee to decide if the bargain should be taken or turned down.

2. Your point of view character meets an actual witch who looks like a human being but is an entirely different species. What would the differences in the two species be? What would be your character's reaction? What would your point of view character do?

3. Your point of view character finds/invents a real love potion or love spell that can make anyone they want love them. What happens? What does the point of view character do?

4. Your point of view character discovers something in the attic while cleaning out their recently deceased grandmother's house that changes the way they conceive of their own identity. What does the point of view character discover? In what ways does it change how they view who they are?

5. Your point of view character discovers a book that seemingly tells their biography from the moment they were born. As the point of view character turns the pages more text appears and their future seems to be written. How does the point of view character interpret this book? What do they do with it? How does it or does it not change them?

Writing Prompts!

Continuing with the gift of writing prompts:

1. Write a story in which you evoke the feeling of "home." This could be your home or it could be the home of a created character.

2. Set your story in a fantasy world and create a holiday with a mythos. What would be the name of the holiday? How would it be celebrated? What would be the myth and who would be the characters in the myth?

3. The world that your point of view character lives on only has winter every twenty years. What would winter mean to them? How would they prepare for it? What would be the characters' reactions to snow?

4. Your point of view character lives in a totalitarian state in which writing anything too provocative could get them killed. They write a beautiful treatise that shakes the core of the country. Describe what happens.

5. Your point of view character is the personal historian to the King and Queen. What do they write? How do they view their job? What is the day to day life like in the castle?

Day One: Writing Prompts

As my Christmas gift to whoever stops by I am going to post a set of story prompts every day from now through New Year's Day. I will probably post other things as well, but enjoy the writing prompts. Merry Christmas!

Story Prompt Number One: It is the day or two after New Year's Eve, your point of view character has just woken up and either the memories of the previous night's celebration are flooding into his/her head or another character is relaying the events. Give the story either a science fiction or fantasy twist.

Story Prompt Number Two: Your point of view character is a servant in a wealthy household. It is the day after a drunken feast and party that included gambling. Guests are sleeping wherever they fell. At the gambling table there is money laying about. No one is around, does the point of view character steal an unrecognizable amount of the money?

Story Prompt Number Three: Your point of view character is the last of a fantasy species. Pick the species and tell their thoughts as they realize they are the last of their kind.

Story Prompt Number Four: A stranger promises your point of view character that he can reunite them with a lost love but there will be a price. The point of view character must designate someone else whose life will become forfeit. To demonstrate the stranger's power he gives the point of view character a day with the lost love. What does the point of view character do?

Story Prompt Number Five:Your point of view character awakens from slumber to find a ghost standing at the end of the bed. The ghost claims to be a relative of theirs. What happens next?