Tracy Said:

Writing prompts please?

We Answered:

A good writing prompt that always works - no matter where you are in the story - is to pick five unrelated objects around you and make them central to the story. Don't try to aim for page length (at least at first), but instead go for as long as the story takes to be told - be it five pages or five-hundred. If you're still having problems, I'd recommend trying a loose outline - that way you have structure, but are free to throw in twists and turns when you get bored.

If you're looking for good advice, I'd recommend checking out the Writing Excuses podcasts. They're done by Brandon Sanderson (fantasy author), Dan Wells (horror author), and Howard Tayler (sci-fi webcomic artist) and are both entertaining and informative, and are only 15-20 minutes long.

(www.writingexcuses.com or you can download the newer episodes off itunes)

The best part? They give you writing prompts at the end related (most of the time) to the topics discussed in the podcast.

Good luck, and have fun with your writing. And remember, finishing one story is a thousand times more rewarding than writing one-third of one hundred stories.

~Zuzu

Rachel Said:

writing prompt???

We Answered:

A prompt is meant to spur you to write. You have a word or image and you build from there.

For me, XXX makes me think of a huge neon sign saying "Live Girls!" in front of a strip joint way out in the sticks. Then I think of someone slumped dead underneath that sign, and I have the start of a mystery story. It doesn't even have to be related to the most common meaning of the trigger. You could think of that Vin Diesel movie a ways back, and think about two teens on their first date sneaking in to see it.

Just think about it, and you'll get your own image that comes to mind, and free write from there.

Francis Said:

Need help writing romance novel....?

We Answered:

Ideas come either from thrilling personal experience or through the depths of high voltage imagition