writing prompts
The Finish Line
Nothing is a bigger thrill for the young writers I mentor than what we have come to call their “publication parties.”
Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs
When I was a young teenager my family made a road trip from Minnesota to Texas to visit my father’s parents. The long trip south mostly featured one kind of civil war: the endless bickering of my two brothers and the male cousin who’d come along for the ride. For the trip back north, I staked out a hidey-hole in the far back of the station wagon and crammed myself in amongst the luggage, still-wet-from-the-hotel-pool swimsuits, and snack foods.… more
That’s How I Roll
As a kid I was the one who instigated a lot of the fun. It might be playing pirates in the tree house, or cops and robbers in my mom’s parked station wagon, or spies who wrote secret code in lemon juice (later revealing the message by holding it over the toaster). Often our make believe reflected whatever section of the library I happened to be working my way through at the time.… more
Tuned in to Talk Radio
When I was a little girl and my Minnesota grandparents came to visit, we shared them around for sleeping purposes. One night I would share my double bed with Grandma, and the next night my brother and I would switch places, and I’d sleep on his top bunk while Grandpa settled into the bottom bunk.
Grandma was a bit of a night owl like I am, so it was never hard to keep her talking.… more
That Time I Drove the Karma Bus
All freshmen at my college had to wear beanies at the start of school. Besides the obvious fashion quandary, the problem was that students from the town’s rival college gloried in stealing beanies.
And I knew if any of my upper classmates caught me sans beanie, they had the power to make me stand on a table in the cafeteria and sing my high school fight song.… more
Curves Ahead
I was thrilled when Teenage Nephew 1 grew old enough to mow my yard.
We negotiated a price and then headed outside. I knew that at his house, his father was King of the Riding Mower, so mowing was a completely new skill to Teenage Nephew. So I carefully reviewed the basics with him: mower operation, safety issues, how he shouldn’t plow over my rose bushes.… more
Don’t Let the Dinosaur Drive the Bus
Some basic story lines that rarely fail to provide excellent starting points for struggling young writers.
Tripping with Mona Lisa
After my first book was published, one of my friends gave me a knowing look and said, “I’ve figured out exactly what your story means.”
I nodded wisely, two of us in on the same secret together, but truthfully? I was eager to hear what she had to say. Because in all the time I’d spent writing, revising, and talking about the book to other people, it had honestly never occurred to me to ask myself what the story meant.… more
Georgia, Broadway, and Niagara — Cheese or Font?
So what’s the perfect game for somebody who lives in a state with lots of dairy farms, spends a huge hunk of her time writing or reading, and has been known to insert a butter head into a novel as a red herring? Why, it’s Cheese or Font, of course!
If you’ve never played, please remember to come back and finish reading after you’ve wandered here to check it out.… more
Writing Under the Influence
The creative career guidance book said my options were puppeteer or mime.
Take the Next Turn
As a writing warm-up, why not ask your students to create a fresh new spin on a tired old way of saying something?
Wandering Aimlessly
As a brainstorming activity for your student writers, I encourage you to offer them meandering time.
The Limo’s on the Way
I’ve found there’s an alarmingly close correlation between the topsy-turvy emotions of a high school crush and a writer’s feelings during the process of submitting a manuscript to publishers.
As the writer waiting for an answer from The Perfect Publisher, you go through the same hopeful highs and “why doesn’t anyone love me?” lows. The manuscript that just last week looked pretty darn good has somehow overnight developed a hideous zit.… more
Backseat Drivers
Some of the best advice you can give student writers is also some of the easiest for them to carry through on: to write better, they should read better.
Read better, as in: Read more. Read widely. Read outside their usual reading “type.” Read carefully. Read for fun.
Read first for story, and then read as backseat writers.… more
Signal Your Intentions
It wasn’t so unusual that my teenage nephews were sending me signals that translated to: “Will you take us to the store right now so we can spend these Christmas gift cards from Grandma?”
What was new this year was that they also wanted to do the driving. Brand-new permits in their pockets, I agreed to let one twin drive us there, and the other drive us home.… more
Forgetting How to Drive
You always hear it around the time of the first fall snowstorm in Minnesota: “It’s like people have forgotten how to drive!” It refers to the fact that even drivers who are diehard Minnesotans — as evidenced by the Minnesota Vikings flags flying from their pickup antennas — don’t seem to have the tiniest clue how to drive on snow-packed roads.… more
Pickle Voice
I think that what we mean when we talk about “writer’s voice” is a writer’s personality showing up on the page. It emerges through many diverse writing choices, ranging from word usage to tone to rhythm.
A Vehicle for Change
I’d heard my mom talk about “duck and cover”: hiding under her school desk from a potential nuclear attack. And I’d participated myself in tornado drills during my own school days, lining up in a basement hallway with our arms covering our heads.
None of that prepared me for a lockdown drill. I was on one of my regular gigs as a visiting author when the teacher pulled me aside and prepped me on what to expect.… more
Shifting Gears
The only argument I’ve ever witnessed between Teenage Nephew 1 and Longtime Girl-friend was a doozy.
And I couldn’t help chortling with glee because the basis of their disagreement was so close to my heart: What makes for the best possible story?
Actually, the way they put it was, “What’s better, ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Harry Potter’?” But don’t let the fact that they were comparing two fictional worlds fool you: this was a white-hot debate, the competitors more impassioned in their arguments than politicians at a pre-election picnic.… more
Adjust Your Mirrors
You get a different view of the road behind you depending on which of your car’s mirrors you look into.
And writers can direct readers to a different outlook on their story depending on which point of view they use as the “mirror” for the events that take place.
I’ve found that point of view is a tricky thing for many writers, whether they’ve been at the writing game for five months or twenty-five years.… more
Green for Go
Traffic signals don’t require a single word to send a clear message. Even small children can learn how to “read” them. Red reads “stop.” Green reads “go.” Yellow reads either “slow down” or “speed up,” depending on the “character” of the driver.
Even young students can also “read” wordless picture books. Because the artwork reveals its own narrative, young readers can follow the action, interpret the characters’ motivations, predict outcomes, and intuit the mood and emotions of the story.… more
License Plate 007
Story dialogue is charged with the large task of helping to tell the story: it reveals characterization, advances the plot, and provides action.
Next Exit: Adventure
Sometimes just a town’s name is enough to entice you. Who could drive past the exit for Last Chance, Idaho — or Hell, Michigan — or Happyland, Oklahoma — without at least contemplating how your life might be changed if you took that unexpected detour?
All on their own, names tell a story. That’s why I often do an online search to learn as much as I can about a character name that I’m considering for my writing — looking up ethnicity, variations, meaning — because many times, it opens up new insights into that character for me (or proves to be the wrong choice).… more
Swerving Over the Line
During one of my visits to see my Alabama brother’s family, we took a road trip to the Ave Maria Grotto. That’s where a Benedictine Monk named Brother Joseph Zoettl built over 125 Mini-Me versions of some of the greatest buildings of the world.
Artists are often inspired by someone else’s masterpieces. But in working with young writers, I’ve found that it’s easy to mistakenly swerve over the center line from the safety of inspiration into the danger of plagiarism (or trade- mark infringement).… more
Watch Where You’re Going
Riding along with my dad was like going on a Midwestern safari. Even while driving, he had an amazing knack for spotting critters as they peeked out from behind trees, perched on phone poles, or slid along the roadside.
He didn’t seem to pay any attention to the makes of other cars, or billboard messages, or what other drivers were wearing.… more
Driving in the Dark
A while back I was at my parents’ lake cabin with my extended family. My brother’s teenagers had all brought along friends, and on Saturday we packed everyone who fell into the “thirteen to fifteen” age range off to the late movie. As the resident night owl, I volunteered to pick up the kids when the movie was over so that the other grown-ups could make it an early night.… more
Tunnel Vision
Driving through a tunnel effectively narrows our field of vision. The walls and ceiling restrict our view to only that which is inside the tunnel. It doesn’t matter if there’s a mountain parked on top of the roof, or an ocean of water being held back by the walls: when we’re inside the tunnel, those things are outside our view.… more
Just Another Roadside Abstraction
For this week’s writing road trip, I offer you texture.
I aim for an abstract element of a realistic subject and use texture to add interest and suggest depth.
—a quote that to the best of my research abilities I find attributable to artist Margaret Roseman.
I liked the way the above quote spoke to how texture can be used in visual art.… more
Racing to Catch a Plane
Sometimes very young writers I work with literally stop the story mid-thought and write “The End.”
Destination
What ‘audience destination’ does the narrator intend? Who do you imagine will read your story?
Guess What’s in My Glove Compartment?
Let’s play a little game. I’ll tell you some things about the inside of my car, and you tell me what you can discern about me from those details.
Anti-Tailgating Measures
A few years ago, a country highway I regularly drive in the summer became part of a pilot program to stop tailgating. Large white dots were painted on the road, and new signs instruct drivers to keep a minimum of two dots between them and the car they’re following. Rear-end collisions are a danger on this roadway, and the program hopes to encourage drivers to leave enough room between cars so they can take corrective action if something goes wrong.… more
(E)motion Sickness
Most of my many school visits have been amazing, positive adventures (see my post titled “Traveling Like a Rock Star”). A few of my visits have featured minor bumps in the road. And one school visit — thank goodness, one only! — might be better described as a major traffic incident.
It happened when I was still a “newbie” to school visits.… more
Focus Your Trip
When students set out to revise, a whole lot of different things will all try to grab their attention at once. Encourage them to focus their attention on a few key things each time.
To Each Maker, Their Model
as often as I tell students that I prefer to wait until I can see the entire shape of a piece before I title it, there are always those who ask me—beg me, really—for permission to write their title first.
Writing around Roadblocks
I’ve tried to create a stimulating atmosphere in my home office. Works of art by the illustrators of my picture books adorn the walls. I have a Rainbow Maker in the window. There are blooming plants and inspiring sayings and a basket of toys to play with. There are birds chirping outside the window (even an occasional owl when I’m working at midnight).… more
Driving Miss Daisy
When I was a kid, one of my neighborhood gang’s favorite summer games was to “play chauffeur.” We’d jump on our bikes and gather for shoptalk at chauffeur headquarters (a.k.a. the middle of our quiet side street). Then we’d race off in different directions to pick up members of the enviably wealthy and pampered (yet of course imaginary) families that utilized our driving services.… more
Traveling Back Through Time
One of my favorite pieces of writing advice comes from author Faith Sullivan. I share it here for you to pass along to your students. When you are writing about a story’s setting, don’t leave the reader feeling like a distant observer.
Drive-by
When I visited Los Angeles not long after the 1992 riots, a home-town writer told me a story that made me feel what it was like to live there in those uncertain times.
His drive home passed a large police station. He was always on alert as he drove by; everyone thought there could be more trouble at any time, and he assumed that a police station might be a key target.… more
Fitting in with the Locals
The way we talk can be a dead giveaway that we’re from elsewhere—Google the phrase “pop vs. soda,” and you’ll find color-coded maps that divide the country like election night results.
Driving After Dark
As an elementary school kid, my most vivid recurrent dream featured a road trip.
In it, I’m in the driver’s seat, although it’s the car that’s in control. My two-years-younger brother and our two best neighborhood friends are also along for the ride. We are on a straight stretch of the two-lane highway that leads out of town, our headlights piercing the otherwise intense darkness.… more
Driver’s Ed
It’s amazing that I passed my driver’s test on the first try, since I can see now that I was a pretty bad driver. But I was an excellent test-taker, and the State of Minnesota sent me home with a score of 96 out of 100. Mere weeks later I backed the family van into the mailbox.
It’s not that my parents didn’t try their best to improve my driving skills.… more
On the Lam
Encourage students to drive their imaginations like speeding getaway cars. Before you know it, their stories will be packed with the suspense and tension that conflicts provides.
What a Picture’s Worth
When I was a kid, a visit from my Texas grandparents guaranteed horizon-expanding experiences.
For one thing, we were exposed to food choices not common to our little house in Minnesota’s north woods. I’m not talking about chili — my Texan father cooked that all the time. I’m talking about Grandma drinking hot Dr. Pepper instead of coffee.… more
Well-Traveled Paths
by Lisa Bullard
I slip into auto-pilot when I’m driving through overly familiar territory; I stop taking in the same old landmarks. And then one day, there’s a stop sign where there’s never been one before, and my eyes are re-opened to the possibilities around me.
There are “story paths” like that too: fairy tales and other narratives that have grown so familiar we fail to notice the power they hold unless we’re forced to take a fresh look.… more
Pilgrimage
by Lisa Bullard
Every year, thousands of bikers road trip to Sturgis (South Dakota) to celebrate their shared passion for motorcycles. For some of them, attendance is an eagerly anticipated annual tradition that holds the same power found in spiritual rituals.
One year my friend and I were caught unawares in the middle of the experience. We had traveled to South Dakota without knowing about the pilgrimage of believers, but as we came closer to our destination, the growing number of bikers, thick as plagues of locusts at gas stations, forced us to piece together the clues.… more
Taking the Wheel
by Lisa Bullard
Some days I really wish I was better at being a bad writer.
Here’s why. Drafting, that early stage of writing when you are just trying to capture your ideas, usually works best if you can get words down as quickly as possible. But my inner editor is horribly critical. If I let that inner editor take the wheel while I’m drafting, it’s as if my car has hit a patch of ice: my wheels start spinning, I skid, and eventually I crash into a snow bank.… more
Literary Madeleine: The Horse
I am not a horse person. Oh, I survived a week at Girl Scout riding camp and years later when I was on the staff at a Y camp I enjoyed helping bridle and saddle horses for the early morning trail riders. But I’ve never been truly comfortable riding or, maybe especially...