Journaling + Fiction – October 12

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.”Ken Kesey Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the difference between leading and ruling. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist assumes the people behind him/her are following.

Journaling + Fiction – October 11

“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.”K’ung Fu-tzu Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about the best thought in your head right now. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist tried but fails to forget a wrong done to her/him by a frenemy.

Journaling + Fiction – October 10

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”Kahlil Gibran Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about how you hide weakness from others. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist lashes out at a defenseless ally to mask his/her weakness in the face of an antagonist.

Journaling + Fiction – October 9

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.”Martha Graham Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about whether your thought or your action makes you more unique. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist acts in a unique way for a...

Journaling + Fiction – October 8

“The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind.”E.B. White Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the most important doorway you’ve walked through since your childhood. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist refuses to cross an important threshold.

Journaling + Fiction – October 7

“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.”Thornton Wilder Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the person who’s shuffled off this mortal coil for whom you’re most grateful. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist pays respects to the surviving family members of an important ally.

Journaling + Fiction – October 6

“One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.”Rita Mae Brown Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about an unforgivable act you should have forgotten by now. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s memory is too acute to forgive an enemy’s trespass.

Journaling + Fiction – October 5

“Advertising isn’t about truth or fairness or rationality, but about mobilising deeper and more primitive layers of the human mind.”Brian Eno Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the advertisement you believe has most manipulated your experience. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist buys something s/he can’t afford because the advertisement for...