“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”John D. Rockefeller Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what happened after a moment that you now believe you should have taken a bigger risk than you did. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must let go of something valued and trusted to obtain something that’s only potentially...
“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”Albert Einstein Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about an experience when creativity outperformed intellect ins finding a solution to a challenge. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s knowledge proves insufficient to achieve an important goal.
“A sense of humor, being born of perspective, bears a near kinship to philosophy; each is the soul of the other.”Will Durant Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time humor helped you through a difficult moment. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which new information inverts your protagonist’s perspective on a prior serious event.
“Hear the words of prudence, give heed unto her counsels, and store them in thine heart; her maxims are universal, and all the virtues lean upon her; she is the guide and the mistress of human life.”Akhenaten Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a time you acted without prudence and achieved a positive or successful outcome in spite of it. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in...
“Wise leaders generally have wise counselors because it takes a wise person themselves to distinguish them.”Diogenes Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned from observing someone you respected surrounding him or herself with people you did not respect. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes all her/his allies lack the wisdom necessary...
“We should always allow some time to elapse, for time discloses the truth.“Lucius Annaeus Seneca Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about a situation that after time turned out differently than you’d originally understood it. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns a truth that defies his/her most important...
“A sharp sense of empathy can make a huge difference, and with it in an ability to manipulate, to gain cooperation, and to deceive.”Edward O. Wilson Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you learned from a person whose apparent empathy caused you to be deceived. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist learns s/he was deceived by a person previously considered an...
“As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think.”Joseph Campbell Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a jump you made that did not turn out as you’d intended. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist jumps across a chasm that’s wider than thought.