Writer's Digest blog - Promptly - Notable Story Picks

Mid-Week Prompt: A Game of Confession

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:14:48 GMT

Hey writers,

Hope you had a refreshing Labor Day. I spent the weekend in Goshen, Ind., in the upper reaches of the great Midwest, tooling around on boats and board games (after all, as the local TV commercials boast, there’s more than corn in Indiana—which you’re pleased to discover after five hours of driving through husk country).

Even though I went down in flames on several games (I recall storming out on Pictureka! and proclaiming some rather unfair judgments upon the board featuring odd monsters and fantastical shapes), spending some time with old friends was excellent.

Here’s to hoping you had a pleasant weekend with old faces, free of any game-related confessions that go beyond mere Pictureka! slander (see below), and the clever, prompt-nailing trauma inherent in Jason Dougherty’s “A Decision, a Laugh, a Howl” post, which is this week’s Notable Story Pick.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

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PROMPT: A Game of Confession
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Old friends have gathered, and are passing the time with a card game.
“Ante up,” you say.
“I have a confession,” your old roommate replies.
Everyone widens their eyes, but then lowers their heads.
They know something you don’t.

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Also, anyone interested in a writerly jaunt to NYC? Registration is still open for the WD Conference: The Business of Getting Published that’s coming up next week, Sept. 18-20. Check it out if you’re interested in the future of the industry, or want to take in some editor meetings, marketing and promotion sessions, and more. Update: Got ahold of a coupon code for us. If you register by Sept. 14, paste in "PC109" to get $50 off the registration.

Mid-Week Prompt: Rejecting the Rejection

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:09:06 GMT

Hey writers,

Not too long ago, a strange thing happened in the storied submissions intake department of WD (my cluttered desk). In short, a writer pitched us a pretty solid idea, but we had run something similar in a previous issue, so I sent a polite “no,” and explained the situation.

My e-mail pinged an hour later: “Can I reject this rejection?”

I sat there, brainstorming faux-clever responses galore, from the dashing one-liner to the form letter (a triple play!), and eventually X’d the e-mail out.

Still, I found it hilarious, and often wonder what her letter would have entailed, had it gone into greater depth.

Also, a tip of the prompt hat to Beth Cato, whose “That Strange Day” piece is this week’s Notable Story pick. Next week, guest judge/WD Editor Jessica Strawser and I will pick our favorite story for the monthly swag giveaway.

Have a great Wednesday,

Zachary

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PROMPT: Rejecting the Rejection
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

You’ve had it. You can’t take it any more. You decide to reject a rejection letter.

Mid-Week Prompt: Things We Lost in the Flood

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:06:15 GMT

Hey writers,

Cincinnati weathered a bit of a flash flood Monday, and I answered the phone at WD to my mother panicking—sewage had bubbled up from a drain, and was streaming into her basement. My father and I held our breath and dove into the old goods—think antique candy, family photos, basset hound lawn ornaments, clothes, stacks of anonymous boxes—and hauled up the most worthy items for hospice in the garage.

In a flood situation, what would you save—or not? (I can assure you a few mid-80s chocolate rabbits met their demise.)

Also, a tip of the hat to Jared David's intriguing portrait from "Wherever You May Write," which is this week's Notable Story pick.

Yours in writing,

Zachary

PROMPT: Things We Lost in the Flood
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

Your home floods. You race to save one item, but at the last minute, change your mind.

Your Mid-Week Prompt: Redefining Love

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:15:35 GMT

Hey writers,

How goes it? All is well in Promptland and Digest-ville. We just wrapped our October issue and are plodding onward toward our November/December mag, and the (most-excellent) post-wrap (brief) calm has descended. I’m working on a piece for the next issue involving literary journals and magazines, and I’m curious, since many of you have the short-fiction skills—have any of you written for any lit mags? Which are your favorites?

Also, a tip of the hat to J. Alvey and his authentic, spooky “Here’s to the Lion” story. It takes the cake as this week’s Notable Story pick. Thanks for the great tale and a great spin on the prompt and predators, Joe.

Be well and write well,

Zachary

PROMPT: Redefining Love
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:

In a scene, define love.

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Also, there’s been a lot of talk around the office about the upcoming Writer’s Digest Conference on the business of getting published and selling books. Yesterday the WD event powers that be announced that all attendees can get free critiques of their work, and 10 will be selected to meet with literary agents. (If you’re interested, it’s Sept. 18-20, New York. You can read more here.)

Your Wednesday Prompt: Here's To the Lion

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:42:47 GMT

Hey writers,

On Monday I read through last week’s pool of stories: How you all turn around such content so fast with innovative spins continues to baffle me. Moreover, it’s awesome to see Constant Writers (the Promptly pickpocketing of Stephen King’s Constant Readers terminology) developing—a sense of your voices is percolating to the surface. I’m proud to have you writing here, and I type that without flattery. To you, and our new writers this week, thanks for sticking around after the initial challenge. I’d like to call all of you out, but you know who you are.

As for the Notable Story pick of the week, the title goes to Loveskidlit’s story from “Photogenic Stranger.” Check out her well-written, haunting flash-fiction here. To me, she took an unexpected direction and nailed the prompt, down to the meditative final line.

For today’s story, let’s try the Literary Roadshow approach again (I’ll pull a normal, out-of-context line from a book, and use it as a prompt—is one writer’s line-in-passing another’s creative jackpot?).

Yours in writing,

Zachary

From Ernest Hemingway’s short story "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber":

PROMPT: Here’s To the Lion
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, write a story inspired by or containing the following:

“Here’s to the lion,” he said. “I can’t ever thank you for what you did.”
Margaret, his wife, looked away from him and back to Wilson.
“Let’s not talk about the lion,” she said.
Wilson looked over at her without smiling and now she smiled at him.

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Also, I run writing exercises in our InkWell section of the magazine, and yesterday stumbled upon Bonnie Neubauer's new WD "Take Ten for Writers" book, which is jampacked with endless prompts and exercises. If your prompt quota is still not filled, check it out or read an excerpt here—it inspires jealousy in even the finest prompt scribes.