Feed the Senses

Using sound is one way to reach your audience's senses and pull them into your story. Today's prompt is a first sentence that includes sound:

Pumping Your Muse Prompt

Start a short story with this sentence:

Hot bath water seeped into my ears and magnified the sound of my rushing heart with a steady swish, swish, swish.

Scary Story

Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha. It's the time of year for scary stories. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction there's just something fun about trying to write a scary story with a beginning middle and an end that leaves your readers thinking and maybe even a little creeped out. Today's prompt is going to challenge you to do just that.

Pumping Your Muse Prompt:

Write a story based on this photo that is told from a ghost's POV, but try not to let that secret out until the end of the story.

Have fun!

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Check out Donna Sundblad's latest interview at Authors Unleashed

Buy Donna Sundblad's books:
Windwalker
Beyond the Fifth Gate
Pumping Your Muse

Character Depvelopment

Character development is an important aspect of any story, whether it's a short story or a novel length project. For today's post take an existing character from a work in progress or use it to start a new story.

Pumping Your Muse Prompt

Write a scene that offers a visual image of your character and also reveals something about the inner character. Link the character's appearance to their personality.

If you don't have one in mind, use this image to pump your muse.

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Check out my latest radio interview: Back Story - The Behind the Scenes Look at Writing

Fact Stranger than Fiction

Many days I hear things in the news that make me think, "If this happened 30 years ago, people would say, 'That would never happen.'" Today's prompt will be stimulated by news I came across in recent days.

Pumping Your Muse Prompt

If you want to write a political thriller there's plenty of fodder in the news to use as a springboard, but for the rest of you out there here are a few possibilities to oil your muse's gears.

Secret tunnels under the city

Helmsley's Dog Gets $12 Million in Will

Girl Sues Dad over Grounding -- and Wins

Choosing Your Baby's Gender

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Check out Donna Sundblad's latest interview at Authors Unleashed

Buy Donna Sundblad's books:
Windwalker
Beyond the Fifth Gate
Pumping Your Muse

Pumping Your Muse Story Starter

It's a holiday weekend and what a great time to write a story. Here's a story starter prompt for today. Place your story in this setting:

Pumping Your Muse Prompt

In a kingdom of secrets, in an era of danger and lies, two travelers and a philosopher hope to participate in the greatest fighting tournament of history.

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Check out my latest radio interview: Back Story - The Behind the Scenes Look at Writing

It's Alive

Before we talk about today's prompt, I want to point you to a story based on the Flyswatter prompt from last week. The Day of Small Things can be found on "My Scattered Stories". It has a Twilight Zone feel to it, so if you like that kind of thing, be sure to stop by for a break from reality.

Today's prompt is inspired by my childhood when I believed my toys came to life at midnight while I slept. I used to line up stuffed animals on my pillow until there was no room for my head. After all I wanted them to be comfortable! I converted other kids in the neighborhood to be believers. Mothers would call my mom to complain their children would not go to sleep at night because they were waiting for their toys to come to life!

Pumping Your Muse Prompt
Many a horror movie depicts inanimate objects that come to life. We have the car in Christine...houses that take over with garbage disposals, stoves and other items taking charge, or the classic Frankenstein. In space, things like the computer Hal takes over in 2001. I could make a list of such stories, but I don't want to tarnish the path your muse will follow for this one. For today's pumping your muse prompt, breathe life into something unexpected. If you choose something from the plant world give it the ability to reason and make it mobile. The same goes for choosing anything from the insect world. This can be fun, scary or somewhere in between. Enjoy!

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Check out Donna Sundblad's latest interview at Authors Unleashed

Buy Donna Sundblad's books:
Windwalker
Beyond the Fifth Gate
Pumping Your Muse

Dirty Water

Writing prompts that include a verb and noun that don't seem to logically go together can stimulate new creative paths that grow into an interesting plot or storyline. Today's prompt was inspired by an old song I heard on the radio this morning when my dreams met the half-light of dawn.

Pumping Your Muse Prompt:

Here are a couple of word combinations that will collide to ignite your muse!

• Love that dirty water.
• Itch I don't want to scratch.

Write a paragraph or scene based on one of the above.


Today's photo provided by SEPpics's

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Check out my latest radio interview: Back Story - The Behind the Scenes Look at Writing