April 19, 2020 Writing Prompts & Info

We may not be able to meet in person, but we're still hoping to continue the inspiration and motivation.

At this point I think any plans we have for Open Mic Night or any other events are totally on hold. We may actually have to skip Open Mic this year. We're taking it one day at a time right now.

Writing Prompts:

1. After a long, hard winter, I couldn't wait to walk in the woods.

2. I was used to seeing wild animals in my rambles through the conservation area, but nothing prepared me for what I saw that day.

3. "What's that, Mommy?" My four-year-old daughter pointed at empty space.

4. I'd been through some tough times in my life. Accidents, betrayal, loss, you name it. Something told me this was going to be the worst yet.

5.  As he hurried through the dark street, he hunched against the eyes seeking him. Phantom  fingers brushed his spine, wracking him with shudders.

6. Most people think of animals as just animals. As a vet, I've learned each one has a personality as distinct as yours or mine.

7. The whole world was dancing in the jubilance of spring sunshine. Trees and wildflowers swayed in the breeze, birds swooped and pirouetted in a mating dance, squirrels wove arabesques as they chased each other.

8. The warmth of the sun and a teasing breeze lured me into sailing out of the bay. The forecast was good weather all weekend, so when a sudden squall pounced like a lion on my tiny craft, I was unprepared.

9. We spit on our pinkies and linked them in a solemn vow. We would never tell anyone what we were about to do, and no matter what happened we would face it together.

10. I have never told anyone what happened that day, until now. Now that I stare death in the face, secrecy is not only irrelevant but undesirable. People need to know.

Stay tuned for more information on when we will be able to resume meetings and possible events.

April 5 Virtual Writing Meeting by Diane Bator

HWG Writing Prompts April 5 2020

The Signs and their Ingredients

Hey all! 

While we are all in this crazy state of being forced introverts for a while, I thought I would find a way to keep our brains active and the creative juices flowing.

In the midst of things, I'm busy doing edits for Drop Dead Cowboy which comes out in September. It's the cover ideas I'm struggling with but that will come!

I'm also finding online courses to build my word skills. Too bad it's not helping my typing some days! I tend to stumble over my fingers when I go too fast.

Anyway, I discovered this on Facebook one day and thought it would make for some fun prompts:

Aries:  Flames directly from hell, shards of diamonds, the energy of a toddler, a gallon of caffeine

Taurus:  clusters of emerald gemstones, the scent of old books, warm chocolate chip cookies, silk pajamas

Gemini:  wind from a tornado, a pinch of salt, a child’s laughter, a cup of glitter

Cancer:  shimmering tears, the moon’s light, the scent of lavender, water from an ocean storm

Leo:  a Hollywood actresses’ tears, the pride of a lion, the morning sun’s rays, beaming highlighters

Virgo:  freshly roasted coffee, the scent of new books, a bouquet of daisies, breeze of a fall afternoon

Libra:  a cup of rose petals, a bottle of fruity perfume, creamy frosting, voice of Marilyn Monroe

Scorpio:  deep rooted secrets, the eyes of a psychic, passion *added for flavour*, a midnight conversation

Sagittarius:  a child’s optimism, a folk song riff, a language not yet known, wisdom of a philosopher

Capricorn:  the bones of a warrior, a gallon of pessimism, a leader’s authority, Saturn’s tough layered rings

Aquarius:  an alien brain, a tablespoon of stardust, holographic beams, one mystery flavored candy

Pisces:  melatonin, a cup of cotton candy, the heart of a goddess, tears of a siren

Can't wait to see or hear what you all write!
If anyone wants to share it on our blog, please email me or Pat and we can post it for you.
Until we can read to each other out loud again....
Stay healthy and keep writing!

Diane

Meeting, February 23, 2020

Sonja reported that she sent a proposal to the library regarding a NaNoWriMo event and a writers feedback event. The library is reviewing the proposal and will get back to us.

Judy suggested running a Shakespeare Sonnet Workshop (1 hour). Virginia suggested having Brian Henry in to give a writing workshop. We agreed to wait until we hear back from the library before putting forth more proposals.

After our prompts (below), June mentioned something about an Ode to a Salad. Since there was still some time left in our meeting we all decided to write an Ode to a Salad.

Writing Prompts

The writing prompt was taken from Writer's Digest - a game of Mad Libs.

Fill in the following:

1. A name
2. Noun
3. Noun
4. A place
5. Verb
6. Adjective
7. Adjective
8. Body part
9. Adjective
10. Time of year
11. A verb ending in -ing
12. A consumer product
13. A formal occasion
14. Plural noun
15. A verb ending in -ing
16. Noun
17. Plural form of something you wear
18. A place
19. Noun
20. Noun
21. Verb
22. Noun
23. Noun

Now, insert the words in the story below where numerically indicated.

Call me _____1______. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little to no _____2_____ in my _____3______, and nothing particular to interest me in ______4______, I thought I would ________5______ around a little and see the _____6______ part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen, and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing ______7_______ about the ______8_______; whenever it is a ______9______, _____10______ in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily ______11________ before ________12________ warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every _______13_______ I meet; and especially whenever my ______14______ get such an upper hand of me, that it requires strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately _____15_____ into the _____16______, and methodically knocking people's _____17________ off - then, I account it high time to get to _____18________ as soon as I can. This is my substitute for ______19______ and ____20______. With a philosophical flourish Cato throws himself upon his sword, I quietly ______21________ to the _____22_______. There is nothing surprising in this. If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or the other, cherish very nearly the same feelings toward the ________23________ with me.

Next Meeting

Sunday, March 8th, 1:30pm

Leader: Judy

Writing Prompts from Sunday, February 9, 2020

This week's prompts had a romantic theme in honour of Valentine's Day.

Romantic Encounters

What is Romance?

In the strictest academic terms, a romance is a narrative genre in literature that involves a mysterious, adventurous, or spiritual story line where the focus is on a quest that involves bravery and strong values, not always a love interest. However, modern definitions of romance also include stories that have a relationship issue as the main focus.

Examples of Romance

In the academic sense, an example of a romance is a story in which the main character is a hero who must conquer various challenges as part of a quest. Each challenge could be its own story and can be taken out of the overall story without harming the plot.

Example 1

§  A knight who wishes to prove himself by recovering a stolen heirloom from an enemy may find himself attempting to make his way through a dangerous wood filled with thieves.

§  Once he has accomplished this challenge, he may find himself climbing a tall mountain on which a group of people are in trouble. He would save the group somehow, and then move on.

§  Then the final stage: the enemy’s kingdom. There may be a fair maiden whom he meets and somehow helps or rescues, or perhaps she helps him.

But the fair maiden is not the focus of the story – his quest is the focus. Each story can be taken out, yet each builds the hero’s strength to face his final quest. These stories tend to be serious rather than humorous and touch on strong values.

Example 2

A modern romance would include:

§  The story of a character who keeps meeting the wrong type of people in his or her relationships or has run into a problem with a current love relationship.

§  The story would focus on the struggles the character faces while finding Mr. or Mrs. Right. The whole focus would be the relationship, although the character may also be dealing with other struggles, such as losing a job, handling difficult parents, etc.

These stories may be funny, sad, tragic, serious, or a mix. The obvious resolution to the conflict would be finding the right person or saving the present relationship.

Literaryterms.net/romance/

  

Prompts

1.      “I never stood a chance did I?”

“That’s the sad part. You did once.”   www.medium.com

2.      “I love you,” he whispers under his breath as the love of his life walks down the aisle to the man he is paid to assassinate.   www.writedivas.com

3.      She was beautiful in every way but, God, her feet stank.

4.      I was used to being alone. Immortals learn to accept solitude after awhile. I only went on the blind date so that my friend would stop bugging me.

5.      Father John looked over at Sister Mary. He didn’t even know her name before she’d taken her vows, but God help him, he was in love with her.

Write a story about:

a.       A knight who goes on a quest to save a dragon.

b.      People who meet at an animal shelter.

c.       Two people who hated each other as children and meet at a singles night event.

d.      Someone who falls in love with a ghost.

Choose a candy heart (a box of candy hearts was provided) and use what is written on it to complete one of the sentences below.

        i.            When I came back from lunch, there was a candy heart on my keyboard. It said __________.

      ii.            I couldn’t wait to see what was in the mysterious package I’d picked up from the post office. Inside was a bag of candy hearts. The message _____________ was on every one of them.

    iii.            Cereal was still my go-to breakfast in the morning. But today when I upended the box to my bowl, candy hearts came out instead. They all said ____________.

    iv.            A stranger bumps into you and you feel them grab your hand. When you look, there is a candy heart in your palm with the message ______________.

Next Meeting

Sunday, November 23rd

Leader: Clare

Meeting Notes from January 19, 2020

We discussed possible dates for this year's Open Mic Night. Thursday, April 30th was settled upon. Due to the change in the library's hours, the event will take place from 6pm to 8pm.

There is a giant book sale in Elora on May 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Members of the group are going to go together on Saturday, May 2nd, to fill up their book bags.

We discussed more ideas for events in 2020. An informal event surrounding NaNoWriMo in November will be proposed to the library. It was also suggested we do a Beta Reader Day at one of our meetings inviting authors of the community to participate.

Continue to work on your writing prompts and submit them to Virginia for the anthology. We are hoping to publish this fall.

Writing Prompts

1. Even a kick in the butt is a step forward.

2. You go for a walk in fresh snow. Suddenly you realize you're not leaving any footprints.

3. He stared at the lottery ticket and read the numbers eleven times before he was sure.

4. Tell a story about a celebrity meeting you.

5. Her job interview did not go so well.

6. Write a story about someone cleaning out their attic. They find an old piece of clothing, and inside of the pocket is an old keepsake.

7. Write about a character's secret area of expertise, something most of their acquaintances would be surprised to learn they know tons about.

8. "You're early," he finally says.

Next Meeting:

Sunday, February 9th, 1:30pm

Leader: Sonja

Writing Prompts from November 3, 2019

Writing Prompts

1. Things I should have said, things I could have said, and things I would have said. We all have these stories in us - the stories of what was left unsaid. Write about one of them (and the regrets or impact it had on you).

2. By the time the officer arrived, Jacob had done his dirty work.

3. I thought I had a perfect (marriage, career, etc.) and then, Fate, as Fate so often does, threw a wrench into the works.

4. If I could just make it home before David opened the letter, our lives could continue as they were.

5. Finnigan, my father's long-dead gray cat, always appeared in the house just before someone in the family died. Who had it come for this time?

6. That night, she put the beautiful porcelain doll, the one she'd bought at the antique fair, in a chest of drawers in her sitting room, and went to bed. Some time in the night she got up when she heard a sound like a child crying, and found the doll lying on the floor outside her bedroom door.

7. She stared into the crumpled car at her own mangled body, when a woman in a pale blue suit appeared and said, "You must come with me now." She protested vigorously so the woman said, "We will let you live this day over again but you must discover the one moment in it that could have changed this outcome, not just for you but for many others as well."

8. Hannah dropped the hitchhiker off in front of the house where she said she lived. It was a cold rainy night, so Hannah watched her as she ran up the driveway toward the front door, to make sure the girl was home and safe. But the girl never made it to the door - she vanished into thin air.

9. The turbulence was the worst she'd ever experienced on a flight and she was glad when they touched down safely; but when she entered the airport from her gate, everything looked, not radically different, but subtly and disturbingly different. This couldn't be Toronto. A passing flight attendant assured her that it was.

10. If you could go back in your life and relive one day in your past, what day would that be?

Next Meeting

Sunday, November 17th

1:30pm

Meetings October 5th and October 20th

October 5, 2019

Virginia informed us that the anthology is too short. Some people only gave one submission. You are able to submit more than one piece of writing so if you have more, please forward them to Virginia. We have extended the deadline to December 31st. If we still don't have enough pages to make a book we will hold it over until next year.

Marilyn is holding a free workshop on self-publishing at the Orangeville Public Library on Saturday, November 9th from 10am-2pm. Register with Shannon McGrady at smcgrady@orangeville.ca.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019, at 7pm, join the library for An Evening with Maureen Jennings. Maureen is the creator of The Murdoch Mysteries. She will be discussing her new book Heat Wave.

Prompts

The Trouble with Turkeys and Other Table Terrors

1. The trouble with turkey is....

2. Never make a pumpkin pie with the insides of a Jack O' Lantern.

3. My mother-in-law finally gave me her recipe for stuffing. Now I know why they can't get enough of it.

4. How was I supposed to know candied yams weren't made with candy?\

5. I thought it would be great to pick up some fresh corn from the stand outside the farm, but when I peeled back the husks, I was shocked at what I found.

6. Usually I open a can and let gravity pull out the gelatinous mold we know as cranberry sauce, but with my son bringing his gourmet chef girlfriend for Thanksgiving this year, I knew I had to step up my game.

7. Gravy can usually cover a multitude of culinary sins, but this year I was going to have to make mine using holy water.

October 20, 2019

Diane has HWG mugs available for purchase.

Prompts

1. While driving my car, I noticed....

2. When I was a teenager, all I wanted was....

3. What the hell are you doing here?

4. When the judge looked at me I prayed for the first time in many years.

5. When I awoke on the couch this morning I didn't know where I was.

6. The rain came on so suddenly I couldn't...

Next Meeting is Sunday, November 3rd

1:30pm to 3:30pm

Writing Prompts

Writing Prompts from the past 3 meetings:

August 18th

1. ABCDFEGMNRWY - write a piece using words in sequence beginning with these letters.
2. Repeat as above using letters in reverse order: YWRNMGEFDCBA,.
3. Repeat exercise 1 using the letters from the word HIPPOPOTAMUS.
4. Repeat as in exercise 2 using the letters SUMATOPOPPIH.
5. Use words generated in exercises 1-4 in any order to write a short story. You may throw in words of your own choosing to be creative in this part of the exercise (try to include as many of your words as possible).


September 8th

1. I don't know how to tell my friend that I'm imaginary.
2. Jim receives a note under the door and is intrigued, especially because it's the closet door.
3. She packed the box carefully.
4. He was great at starting things, but not so good at finishing them.
5. She pushed the cart through the automatic doors and steeled herself for the task ahead.
6. All the world is a stage.


September 28th

1. Think of one of your favourite possessions. Do one of the following:

1. Write about why it is special to you.
2. Make up a story about its history.
3. Imagine you are from another planet and found this item while exploring. Write about the item from that point of view.
4. Imagine you are an archaeologist in the future and find this article in a dig. Write about your observations and conclusions.
5. Imagine that in a time experiment gone wrong, the article was sent back to prehistoric or ancient times. Write a story about someone living at that time finding it.

2. I never believed in love at first sight until it happened to me.

3. Grace had mixed feelings about going to her high school reunion. She had few happy memories of her teenage years. But she was curious how her classmates had turned out.

4. When I was a kid, I was afraid of the dark. That's when the monsters came out. My dad told me there was no such thing as monsters. "See?" he said, turning off the light. "No monsters." He couldn't see them, even while they were reaching for him. He didn't see them as they followed him down the dark hall. He didn't notice when they turned around and came back toward me.

5. May people dream of exotic holidays, cruising down the Rhine or around the Caribbean, exploring the streets of Rome or Paris, tramping through the Scottish Highlands or the jungles of the Yucatan. Yet if they looked, they would find at their own doorstep sights to attract the most fervent tourist.

Next Meeting

Sunday, October 6th, 1:30-3:30pm

Meeting Sunday, July 14th, 2019

There was continued discussion about the anthology's cover, title and a foreword. Submissions should be emailed to Virginia in a word document by September 1, 2019.

Judy shared some of her Haiku poems with us before providing us with the following details and prompts:

A haiku is a short poem - just three lines long - that uses language to capture feelings or images. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets. The poems are often inspired by nature, a moment of beauty, a poignant experience, etc.

THE STRUCTURE: A haiku poem is only three lines long.
The first line has five syllables
The second line has seven syllables
And the third line has five syllables
These limitations will actually help you find just the right words to capture the essence or mood of the subject of the poem

BRAINSTORM SOME IDEAS AND DIVE IN

OR

1. After she died, I slept with her little yellow pyjamas under my pillow, and sometimes I'd see her scamper through my dreams, an arm's length ahead of me.

2. She tried not to lose herself in infatuation, but being with Darren took her away from the cloud of uncertainty and unrest at home.

3. When she looked at the house from the driveway, unease scuttled through her.

4. Like all teenagers, I was embarrassed by my mother - the way she dressed, her weird friends - and I was afraid of what my friends might think of her.

5. She loved going to Aunt Florence's house when she was a child - it was like a museum, every piece of furniture, every painting was like a story yearning to be told. But now she had inherited it, all of it, and something did not feel right, and then there was the dream she had, where Aunt Florence, all in a dither, seemed to be trying to warn her...

Next Meeting:

Sunday, August 18th, 2019

1:30pm

Meeting June 23, 2019

Diane had sent out an email last week advising the group of a Writers Conference in Newmarket on October 26th, 2019, from 8am to 6pm. Information can be found here: https://wcyork.ca/conference/.
The group decided to contribute a prize basket to the event as representation of the Headwaters Writers' Guild. Any published authors who would like to contribute one or more of their works to this basket should contact Patricia or Diane. Patricia will be contacting the Orangeville Public Library for a contribution of one of their book bags to use as the "basket".

Further discussion was had regarding the upcoming anthology. Virginia is still searching for an appropriate cover photo, however, a different title was suggested which would change the picture. The new proposed title is: "What Prompted That?: An Anthology of Writing Prompts". We are considering all possibilities so if anyone has an idea, please let us know. The deadline for submissions is September 1st, 2019. It was agreed that we would stick to our group's colours of gold and blue.

Writing Prompts

Prompt Lottery

1.         Pick a number between 1 & 10                      _____

2.         Pick a number between 11 & 20                    _____

3.         Pick a number between 21 & 30                    _____  

4.         Pick a number between 31 & 40                    _____  

5.         Pick a number between 41 & 50                    _____  

Pick your numbers before continuing.

Pass the page to the person on your left.

Turn the page over (list is below) and fill in the blanks below. Your winning numbers are:

1.         Main character:                      _________________________

2.         Location:                                _________________________

3.         Object:                                    _________________________

4.         Secondary character:             _________________________

5.         Goal:                                       _________________________

Write a story using those elements. The goal action may be applied to the object, secondary character, or something else altogether. The secondary character may help, hinder, or do anything you wish. Go wild. But use all 5 elements in some way.

Main character:

1. Prospector                                6. Carpenter

2. Hunter                                      7. Pirate

3. Cop                                           8. Executive

4. Mayor                                       9. Farmer

5. Teacher                                       10. Explorer

Location:

11. Shack                                     16. Mine

12. Garden                                   17. Forest

13. Basement                               18. Beach

14. Observatory                           19. Tower

15. Cliff                                        20. Library

Object:

21. Chest                                       26. Map

22. Instrument                               27. Gun

23. Lantern                                    28. Envelope

24. Trophy                                     29. Calendar

25. Star                                          30. Hat

Secondary character:

31. Artist                                        36. Extra-terrestrial

32. Any bird or animal                   37. Witch

33. Angel                                        38. Mythological creature

34. Time traveller                           39. Literary hero

35. Neighbour                                 40. Twin brother or sister

Goal:

41. Find                                            46. Destroy

42. Save                                            47. Create

43. Hide                                            48. Help

44. Thwart                                        49. Capture

45. Appease                                      50. Rob

Next Meeting: Sunday, July 14th, 2019, 1:30pm

Judy is scheduled to lead

(Note: we are only meeting once in July and once in August)

Meeting May 26. 2019

Members made us aware of two websites where one can receive free writing courses: www.futurelearn.com and www.coursera.org.

Diane will be reading at the Orangeville Public Library's W.O.W. Storytelling series on Monday, June 17th at 1:00pm.

Writing Prompts

Island Adventures

1.      A medieval monk is making his way to an uncharted island that is rumored to harbour small people. The sailors who tell the story of the Island of the Fair Folk give warning that the ships that approach the island past the sentinel stones will be swallowed up in a fog and never return. The monk has convinced his superiors that he should go to minister to these small people and that it’s likely they are only short of stature and not fair folk at all. What he finds is beyond anything he ever imagined.

2.      A young couple is setting out to live their dream of sailing around the world, when a fierce storm strikes and beaches them on a small deserted island. While waiting for a rescue, they experience an unusual earthquake that makes everything appear as if it’s made of rubber. They find themselves cast into a different time when a merchant ship comes to rescue them.  

3.      A single professional woman is invited to a party by one of the company’s clients. The multi-billionaire owns an island off the coast of Cuba and is having the party to celebrate his recent victory of a hostile takeover of one of his rival’s companies. While attending the party, she discovers that the takeover was more hostile than she thought and that the client counted victory too soon.

4.      A band of pirates fleeing a fleet of the King’s ships come upon a small island hidden in the bay of a remote land. Thinking to wait out the ships until they pass, the pirates conceal their ship behind the island and make camp among the unusual trees, where there are a number of exotic looking fruits. Low on supplies and unable to go out to fish, the pirates chance eating the fruits and find themselves transformed.

5.      A group of novice ghost hunters seeking to establish themselves as serious professionals charter a boat to a small island in the Mediterranean Sea that was used at various times as an asylum, a prison and a quarantine colony for the Bubonic Plague. Rumours from the locals say the island is haunted by malicious spirits and has been abandoned for over a hundred years. No one has attempted to approach the island since the priests deemed it a gateway to Hell and forbid anyone in the neighbouring area to set foot on it lest they be damned. Lured by the prospect of fame and fortune, the ghost hunters ignore the warnings and find more than just spirits inhabiting the island.

OR

Use some of the elements of the above island stories to create your own Island Adventure!

Medieval monk/Priests

Ship/boat

Storm

Party/Celebration

Pirates/Sailors

Rivals 

Cartels

Secret/Hidden                        

Fairies

Time travel

Merchants

Fame/Fortune

Magical Plants   

Gateway

Colony

Ghosts/Spirits

Next Meeting is Sunday, June 9th, 1:30pm

Orangeville Public Library

Patricia will be leading

Sunday, May 5th, 2019: Meeting

Writing Prompts

We had a lot to choose from but it was fun.

Do one of A, B, C, or D. Stretch your imagination. Mix and match.

A) Write a story inspired by a common saying. Here are some examples but feel free to use another:

1. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
2. A stitch in time saves nine.
3. Home is where the heart is.
4. It never rains but it pours.
5. Two heads are better than one.
6. There's no time like the present.
7. It's always darkest before the dawn.
8. Be careful what you wish for. You might get it.

B) Bottles can hold anything. Write about one of these:

1. A genie in a bottle.
2. A bottle full of mysterious liquid.
3. An antique bottle.
4. A bottle holding a surprise.
5. A note in a bottle.

C) Write a drabble. A drabble is a story that is exactly 100 words long. Short enough to challenge your editing skills, long enough to make a point.

D) Use one of the following prompts:

1. I bolted upright, fear clenching my heart in its fist, eyes searching the darkness for whatever had awakened her.
2. Finally, I was home. But nothing was as I remembered it.
3. He didn't look anything like I expected. Could the stories be true?
4. I stared at the cards and swallowed fear.
5. I was born in the wrong century. Too early, too late, I don't know. But I didn't fit here. I didn't fit now.
6. The rains were late that year. When they finally came, they were half-hearted, like a kid dragging his feet to school.


As always we encourage you to share your work here. For the first exercise a few people used more than one of the common phrases in one story.

Next Meeting Sunday, May 26th

Orangeville Public Library, 1:30pm

Sonja will be leading

HWG Meeting Sunday, April 28, 2019

Eden Mills Writers Festival is September 6-8th. The writing contest deadline is May 31st.

Prompts

Clare had us take a few minutes and do each of the following prompts. We came up with some interesting and entertaining results.

1. Write a paragraph or poem using words beginning only with either of the following letters: a, b.

2. Repeat exercise one using only words beginning with the letters w, s, r, t, m.

3. Repeat exercise one using only words beginning with the letters of the word antique.

4. Repeat exercise one using only words beginning with the letters of the word owl.

5. Fit the words together generated by any two of the exercises above.

6. Homework: Write a story generated by THE WISE OLD OWL (a large ceramic figurine Clare displayed).

Next Meeting is next week - Sunday, May 5th

HWG Meeting April 14, 2019

Upcoming events (now passed) were announced.

Anthology submissions are due to Virginia by September 1, 2019.

The Crime Writers' Panel at the Orangeville Public Library occurs Saturday, September 28, 2019, from 1pm to 3pm.


Prompts

1. Mondays are for fresh starts.

2. Things will get done when they get done.

3. The full moon was in three days and she knew what lay ahead.

4. Be nice to your hairstylist because what's to keep them from plucking one of your hairs and planting it at a crime scene?

5. If you were in my novel, you'd be dead by now.

6. Remember, most of your stress comes from the way you respond, not the way life is. Adjust your attitude and most of that extra stress is gone.

Meeting, Sunday, February 24, 2019

We have decided to proceed with an anthology of writings from group writing prompts. This will be in e-book format for the time being at no cost. Virginia has offered to prep this book but each submission should be edited. Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2019.

Prompts:

Headwaters Writers’ Guild

February 24, 2019

Third Person Point of View

Third person POV is used when your narrator is not a character in the story. Third person uses the "he/she/it" narrator and it is the most commonly used POV in writing.

There are 3 main types of Third Person POV:

Third Person Limited: Limited means that the POV is limited to only one character. Which means that the narrator only knows what that character knows. With third person limited you can choose to view the action from right inside the character's head, or from further away, where the narrator has more access to information outside the protagonist's viewpoint.

Third Person Multiple: This type is still in the "he/she/it" category, but now the narrator can follow multiple characters in the story. The challenge is making sure that the reader knows when you are switching from one character to another. Make the switch obvious with chapter or section breaks.

Third Person Omniscient: This point of view still uses the "he/she/it" narration but now the narrator knows EVERYTHING. The narrator isn't limited by what one character knows, sort of like the narrator is God. The narrator can know things that others don't, can make comments about what's happening, and can see inside the minds of other characters.

Taken from:

http://www.thebeginningwriter.com/2012/03/look-at-different-types-of-point-of.html

Prompts

Tell a story of a new relationship from both people’s perspectives. Here’s the catch: there should be no scenes between the two of them. You can only use descriptions to other characters, diary entries, thoughts, dreams, and anything else that doesn’t involve contact between the two main characters. 

The forest at Eryn’s End has a history of paranormal activity. Most recently, a young couple has disappeared while on a day hike. Write a story using either the perspective of one person from the couple, the perspective of one person of the couple and one of the potential rescuers or the perspective of the forest as an omniscient voice.

A vacationing family comes across a lone building called “Curiosities and Collectibles” while driving from the big city to the remote cabin they have rented for a week. Inside they find an elderly man tending the shop that looks strangely like an older version of the father/husband.

Write a story using the perspective of the father/husband and the old man.

Jennie and Matt go on a double date with Jennie’s best friend Clara and her new boyfriend Jake. Tell a story using one of the third person points of view.

Four co-workers, who have worked together at the factory for years, finally have their numbers come up in the Super 8 Lottery. Tell the story using one of the third person points of view.

It’s Bill and Carol’s wedding day! Write a story from the point of view of the bride, the groom and the priest, who has known them both since they were children.

Five siblings gather for the reading of their widowed mother’s will. Choose one of the third person points of view to tell the story.

Maggie Magee wants to skydive for her 60^th birthday. Her daughter is horrified and her husband is elated. Tell the story from each person’s point of view.

The Manor on the Hill is an old Victorian home that has been converted to a bed and breakfast and is haunted by several ghosts and one malevolent spirit intent on burning the place down. Choose a third person point of view to tell a story of how the ghosts and/or their living guests attempt to get rid of the “Fire Starter”.

Next Meeting: Sunday, March 10th, 1:30pm

Judy is leading.