Journaling + Fiction – September 18

“I say if it’s going to be done, let’s do it. Let’s not put it in the hands of fate. Let’s not put it in the hands of someone who doesn’t know me. I know me best. Then take a breath and go ahead.”Anita Baker Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the most exciting plunge you’ve ever taken. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist mistakenly...

Journaling + Fiction – September 17

“You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.”Albert Einstein Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a breakthrough solution that occurred on a different level than the problem it fixed. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist must enlarge a problem to solve it.

Journaling + Fiction – September 16

“A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”Henry Ward Beecher Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about an experience when you used humor to successfully navigate a minefield. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist’s sense of humor creates more trouble than it avoids.

Journaling + Fiction – September 15

“Think lightly of yourself and deeply of the world.”Miyamoto Musashi Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about a moment you realized you were thinking too deeply of yourself instead of everything around you. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist misses a chance to do good for others because s/he’s thinking too deeply of her- or himself.

Journaling + Fiction – September 14

“Along with voting, jury duty, and paying taxes, goofing off is one of the central obligations of American citizenship.”Sarah Vowell Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about your favorite way to goof off. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist goofs off with a frenemy.

Journaling + Fiction – September 13

“However much you deny the truth, the truth goes on existing.”George Orwell Journal prompt: Reflect on your previous journal entries and spend at least 20 minutes writing about a truth you’ve been denying so long you’ve forgotten it exists. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist refuses to believe s/he has been betrayed by an ally.

Journaling + Fiction – September 12

“Love is what you’ve been through with somebody.”James Thurber Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about the most intense circumstances you’ve been through with a person you loved at the time. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist realizes that a relationship based on a shared intense experience won’t work.

Journaling + Fiction – September 11

“The most striking quality common to all primitive art is its intense vitality. It is something made by a people with a direct and immediate response to life.”Henry Moore Journal prompt: Spend at least 20 minutes writing about what you’ve learned about the value of living in the moment. Fiction writing prompt: Write a scene in which your protagonist discovers s/he has no time to think about how to...