Prompt #12 : Adventure is out there

Hello writers, readers, friends…

We’re back with another writing prompt to help clear the figurative cobwebs from your fingers… Believe us, we’ve been there.

For this prompt, we want you to think of an adventure that you or a character of yours missed out on. Take those could haves an should haves and make them a reality. The point of this exercise is to make sure that you can keep yourself or your characters in character.

Think about that trip you didn’t go on, that chance you didn’t take, that person you didn’t tell about your feelings, that friend you never talked to again…

“Picture it: 2016. I was offered a job as a sports layout editor at a newspaper, but I didn’t take it. I could have lived in the same city as one of my best friends. I could have…”

Okay, okay…I couldn’t resist the Golden Girls moment for style…but there’s an essay, a poem, a story, a scene in that road not taken. We can’t wait to hear about it.

Perhaps you’ll send your finished project for our next reading period?!

Follow our blog, tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Good luck and happy writing!

Prompt 11 : Gently Down the Stream (of Consciousness)

Hey fellow writers!

We’re back with a new writing prompt for you!

We’ve been thinking about the importance of writing using stream of consciousness. Now, we can’t all be James Joyce, but it can be a useful technique for getting to know your character, as well as putting words on the page (or screen).

So, today’s prompt is to get in touch with a character. You can pick the character, but this character has to be weighing the consequences of a big decision.

Questions to ask yourself are:

What are their thoughts like? Do they follow a linear pattern, or are they more like Lorelai Gilmore’s “monkey monkey underpants”?

And, besides the main problem that they’re thinking about, what else is going through their minds?

And, of course, remember…

We can’t wait to hear about it…or to read it…perhaps for our next reading period?! Tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Good luck!

Prompt #10 : The Monster Mash-up

Okay peeps, we’ve got monster-sized prompt for you and we hope you’re ready for it!

As some of you may have noticed we don’t know what the dance for “Monster Mash” looks like. And that is a sad, sad thing for us here at The Green Light… so, we want to invite you to help us out!

What does it look like to monster mash? What makes it a graveyard smash!? Why is it the hit of the land? And whatever did happen to the Transylvanian twist?! We need to know.

Show us with your words or your images what it looks like to have that kind of a good time!

For this prompt, we require you to use one line from the song, and only one line. (Google “Bobby Pickett’s Monster Mash” if you need any help!)

Now, that you’re ready to party like it’s 1666, we wish you luck!

Remember, Halloween is right around the corner and we want you to send these in for our special issue! (You’ll be haunted forever if you miss this chance!!!)

We can’t wait to experience your work! Tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Happy Writing!

Prompt #8 : Villains

Welcome minions,

We’re here with another writing prompt for you, and this one’s a scream…

We want you to think long and hard about the villain of your story. You know, the true star of the show. The one who, despite death, makes it to the sequel–the one who gets the franchise.

If we’re talking movies, you’ve got to look at the greats: Ghost Face, Freddy Kruger, Jason, Michael Myers, Leather Face, Norman Bates, Dracula, Frankenstein(‘s Monster), the Mummy, Mr. Hyde… this list can go on and on and on… (seriously…Caitlin loves the horror genre.)

For example, let’s look at Scream. Ghost Face always, always, always has a backstory…even in the TV show. The abandoned child, the vengeful mother, the psychopathic fame seeker, the broken-hearted boyfriend/abandoned child…

Now, your villain/killer/slasher/stalker/creepy old guy who turns out to be endearing/escaped lunatic/red herring has to have a backstory. They need something that makes them more than just a mask or finger knives. It will help you build some suspense, and it can give you wonderful thrills and chills along the way. It also lengthens the list of suspects.

Of course, this prompt could easily apply to any genre, but we’ve chosen horror because Halloween is right around the corner and we want you to send these in for our special issue! (Come on…you know you want to!)

We can’t wait to hear about it! Tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Good luck!

Prompt #6 : Bloody Mary

Gather around guys and ghouls, we’ve got a new writing prompt for you!

You’ve all heard the tale that says if you say “Bloody Mary” three times while standing in front of a mirror, she’ll come out of the mirror and take her revenge. Right?

Well, in today’s prompt we’d like to challenge you to write us a gory story fitting of the urban legend herself.

The only catch is… you may NOT use the word “blood.” If you do, Bloody Mary will be coming for you…

And, of course, remember…we hope you’ll consider submitting your final project for our Halloween special issue! Check back during the month of October for even more wicked spooky prompts.

We can’t wait to hear about it! Tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Good luck!

Prompt #4 : Who do they think you are?

Hey there writer pals!

You guessed it…we’ve got a new prompt for you!

For today’s exercise, we want to know who “they” think you are. Take any person and write about how they see you. This person can be someone you know really well, or someone who passes you on the street.

This person is going to narrator your life story, or just a brief moment of it. Have fun with it; you never know what you’ll learn!

And, of course, remember…

We can’t wait to hear about it! Tweet to us on Twitter, mention us on Facebook, and/or use #GreenLightLit! Good luck!