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 Monday, August 31, 2009
Creativity Wake-Up Call: Movies and Morals
Hey writers,
While waiting for a showing of Inglourious Basterds this weekend, a young teen (who somehow had a rather bushy goatee) sauntered up to my companion and me with a request.
Goatee: “Bro, which movie are you seeing?”
Zac: “Inglourious Basterds?”
Goatee: “Right on.”
(Awkward mutual stare)
Goatee: “Wanna do us a favor?”
Zac: “What’s up?”
Goatee: “Will you pretend to be my bro’s parents so he can get in?”
(Bro in question grunts in agreement, offers handful of popcorn)
As it turned out, we were seeing the film at different times, so I managed to dodge the moral issue of being someone’s understudy father. Which got me wondering about movies and more hearty moral questions.
Yours in writing,
Zachary
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PROMPT: Morals and Movies
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
You have just purchased tickets for a movie, and someone approaches you, tears in his eyes and something gripped in his palm, and asks a question—one that leaves you speechless.
Traditional Prompts
Monday, August 31, 2009 4:17:01 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00) 
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Friday, August 28, 2009
Weekend Prompt: Tragically, Hero
Hey writers,
Anyone have an iPhone? I’ve been too attached to my old phone (read: thrifty) to pick one up, but am steadily wishing I would. WD Market Books Managing Editor Alice Pope gave me a heads-up about this: featherproof Books’ TripleQuick Fiction iPhone app. In a nutshell, the app will serve up stories that are 333 words long (three iPhone screens). Writers can also pen (thumb-type?) their own pieces on the phone, snap a photo of themselves with the on-board camera, and submit it all on the spot.
Staring wistfully at my antique, offering a random prompt and wishing you the best of weekends,
Zachary
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PROMPT: Tragically, Hero
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
Write the story of how your hero came to be missing a tooth.
Traditional Prompts
Friday, August 28, 2009 3:56:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009
And the Winner Is . . . (Plus Photo Prompt)
Hey writers,
After combing through all of the stories from the last month, battling indecision, falling for many pieces, and filtering everything through our own negotiable subjectivity, we have a favorite pick from the July/August prompts.
Guest judge/WD Editor Jessica Strawser and I selected Beth Cato’s “That Strange Day” response to claim this month’s swag. She’ll grab a copy of Jill Dearman’s Bang the Keys: Four Steps to a Lifelong Writing Practice, Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman’s Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language, the Writer’s Digest Novel Writing newsstand publication, and The Writer’s Digest Guide to Creativity newsstand publication.
Below you’ll find a photo prompt from the Kentucky State Fair. I’d go into detail about the goings-on in the photo, but don’t want to sully your impressions of the character. Although he was wily. And feisty. And wearing make-up.
Also, Jessica is writing over at Jane Friedman’s publishing blog this week. Check out her post on “thought viruses” and how they can poison your creativity.
Finally, a sincere Thank You to everyone who wrote in the last month, vets and fresh voices alike—and for doing it here. How you all produce the stories you do—with the frequency and in the time frames you do—continues to baffle.
Yours in promptland,
Zachary
*Beth, please send an e-mail to writersdigest [at]
fwmedia [dot] com marked "Attn: Zachary Petit," so I can get the goods
shipped out to you!
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PROMPT: Life in the Booth
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
Write a scene about this man—perhaps a pivotal moment in his life—in the dunking booth, or elsewhere.
Winning Stories | Photo Prompts
Wednesday, August 26, 2009 5:43:20 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday Creativity Wake-Up Call: Cynic!
Hey writers,
In a Monday Kentucky State Fair hangover of nachos and cheese, midway games (I won a stuffed banana, which I claimed, perplexed), blue grass poultry, blue and white cows, Pineapple Whips, super-sugar-enhanced lemonade, a roomful of prize rabbits, a flea market with miracle products galore, a Bald Eagle, tater tots, a 1,000-pound pumpkin and death-defying rides held up by wooden blocks, I forgot to put a photo prompt from the fair on my flash drive this morning.
Thus, I’ll offer up a Literary Roadshow prompt today, and I’ll be back Wednesday with the photo—and the swag recipient for our favorite story from the last month.
Yours in writing,
Zachary
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PROMPT: Cynic!
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, write a story inspired by or including the following (from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle):
“What a cynic!” I gasped. I looked up from the note and gazed around … “Is he here somewhere?”
“I do not see him,” said Mona mildly. She wasn’t depressed or angry. In fact, she seemed to verge on laughter. “He always said he would never take his own advice, because he knew it was worthless.”
Literary Roadshow
Monday, August 24, 2009 4:23:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 21, 2009
Weekend Prompt: In Your Father's Shoes
Hey writers,
WD Editor Jessica Strawser and I are gearing up to conquer a critical chunk of our Nov/Dec issue today, so I’ll cut my usual screeds and ramblings short(er), and wish you an excellent weekend. I’m planning on jaunting down to the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville tomorrow, and there’s a high likelihood some prompts will arise next week from my (often bizarre, if not curiously charming) old Kentucky home’s festival. Think rooster crowing contests. Miniature horses. Lynn's Paradise Cafe Ugly Lamp Contest. Yes.
Yours in writing,
Zachary
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PROMPT: In Your Father's Shoes
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
You put on your father’s shoes, take a deep breath, say a quick prayer, and walk outside. His hat never quite fit right, but still, you wear it.
Traditional Prompts
Friday, August 21, 2009 3:56:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Mid-Week Prompt: Rejecting the Rejection
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.
Notable Story Picks | Traditional Prompts
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 5:09:06 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 17, 2009
Your Monday Creativity Wake-Up Call: The Ultimate Secret
Hey writers,
I stumbled upon some old essays this weekend, and came across one of the most intriguing craft quotes I’ve ever read, courtesy of George Orwell and his piece “Why I Write”:
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
Thus, I revisited my haggard copy of 1984 and dug up an Orwellian Literary Roadshow prompt below.
Here’s to the writing angels and demons,
Zachary
PROMPT: The Ultimate Secret
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring, write a story inspired by or containing the following (from Orwell’s 1984):
“Julia.”
No answer.
“Julia, are you awake?”
No answer. She was asleep. He shut the book, put it carefully on the floor, lay down, and pulled the coverlet over both of them.
He had still, he reflected, not learned the ultimate secret. He understood how; he did not understand why.
Literary Roadshow
Monday, August 17, 2009 5:55:04 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 14, 2009
Your Weekend Prompt: Behind the Curtain
Hey writers,
Here’s to hoping your writing week treated you well. Attached below is a new prompt, if the creative urge so strikes you this Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Have an excellent weekend laden with scores of It is decidedly sos (or, Reply hazy, try agains, depending on your preference),
Zachary
PROMPT: Behind the Curtain
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
A fortune-teller rubs her glass orb and grabs your hand. She closes her eyes. She raises her head toward the sky and mumbles. Then, she bursts out laughing.
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If your prompt stomach continues to groan, check out The Writer's Book Of Matches: 1001 Prompts To Ignite Your Fiction, which was penned by a few of my friends at WD (Alice Pope and Scott Francis, et al.). Alice, who I forced into an overblown logline, promises you'll be basking in a raging inferno of writing genius.
Traditional Prompts
Friday, August 14, 2009 3:56:45 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Mid-Week Prompt: Things We Lost in the Flood
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.
Notable Story Picks | Traditional Prompts
Wednesday, August 12, 2009 4:06:15 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 10, 2009
Your Monday Creativity Wake-Up Call: That Strange Day
Hey writers,
The July/August issue of Writer’s Digest is nearly off newsstands, and I feel a bit weepy, like an old friend is about to pack up the U-Haul, give some of those awkward parting hugs and hit the road. I love this edition, and I say that not to get everyone out to the store to gobble it up in droves, but because—from Jessica Strawser’s interview with literary guru Anne Tyler to the publishing survival guide package and the blast I had profiling travel writer Rick Steves—it’s one of my favorites from the last two years.
July/August 2009 WD: Gone too soon, off to the great mag universe in the sky. (Or, rather, to the Internet, where it will live on at the Writer’s Digest Shop.) Luckily it’s slick sibling, the September 2009 issue focused on literary agents, hits newsstands in mid-August, with cutting-edge coverboy Cory Doctorow dishing about his innovative (and seriously cool) approaches to publishing.
As some Monday coffee for your creativity (without all the acidic burn), here’s the prompt I wrote for the July/August issue. Onward!
Yours in writing,
Zachary
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PROMPT: That Strange Day
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
It’s been raining for weeks and a single thought has been stuck in your mind: It plays itself over and over, and you can’t stop pondering what happened on that strange day—the day it started raining.
Traditional Prompts | InkWell Prompts
Monday, August 10, 2009 4:20:40 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Friday, August 07, 2009
Your Weekend Creativity Challenge: Like a Virgin
Hey writers,
Attached below: Your weekend prompt.
In a short story I’m working on, a character fires a gun. No momentous occasion for the character; not exactly out of the ordinary. Except when he went to shoot it, the report fizzled out—a bang somewhere between a snap-and-pop and a stack of books hitting the ground. The bullet left the chamber and sauntered out into the open, leaving the character itching a bug bite and sending a text message.
Which made me realize: I knew nothing about how to fire a gun. What happens when you fire it. How to fire it. What your hands feel like after you fire it. How the air smells.
Which, simply put, left the fiction lifeless.
So I decided to go out and get educated with a friend at a firing range—which put a lifetime of bb-gun play and video game stereotypes to shame, revealing an armada of new writing fodder—the sheer (mildly scary), restrained power. The roar. The kick. The quasi-embarrassing scratch on my face from one particularly strong kick.
As Steve Almond once wrote in our magazine, “All readers come to fiction as willing accomplices to your lies.” Sometimes, it seems, good writing is all about sharpening our lies.
Here’s to trying something new.
Have an excellent weekend,
Zachary
PROMPT: Like a Virgin
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
Do something you’ve never done before, and use the experience in scene.
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Also, if you're a publishing futurist or simply curious about where current trends are heading, check out Digital Book World. I'm intrigued, and the blog debates are pretty stirring.
Traditional Prompts
Friday, August 07, 2009 4:25:55 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Your Mid-Week Prompt: Redefining Love
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.)
Notable Story Picks | Traditional Prompts
Wednesday, August 05, 2009 4:15:35 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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Monday, August 03, 2009
Your Monday Prompt: Wherever You May Write
Hey writers,
Hope everyone had an excellent weekend. I ended up stumbling upon whereiwrite.org (check it out if you have a second—it’s fascinating), a site that documents notable scribes in their natural habitats. Which made me wonder: Where do you all write?
Here’s to hoping all is well in your world (and at your desk),
Zachary
PROMPT: Wherever You May Write
In 500 words or fewer, funny, sad or stirring:
Write a scene that takes place wherever you write. Take an object [or two] that is always present at your desk, and make it a key element of your scene.
Traditional Prompts
Monday, August 03, 2009 5:42:26 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)
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