Hello. This blog is meant to record my journey as I attempt to complete 777 writing prompts, doing at least one prompt a week. Full of not only stories, but also my thoughts on the process, and anything else I find relevant to post here. Enjoy :) instgram: thewritingpromptproject
Depending on what your intentions are with your story, I’m sure a lot of you would like your readers to actually enjoy reading your novel. That doesn’t mean you need to cut out all the stuff that makes them feel sad, but it does mean you should take some time to really figure out what you’re trying to say. Don’t be reckless with your reader’s feelings.
Here are a few tips on satisfying your readers:
Give them a reason to care
If your readers don’t care about your characters, they won’t care about your story. Give your readers a reason to root for your protagonist and they’ll start to become emotionally attached to what’s happening to them. If you start killing off your characters for fun and it doesn’t seem to impact the story in any real way, it’ll feel cheap.
Think hard about your cliffhangers
It’s fine if you want to end your novel with a cliffhanger, but really think about how it’s supporting the story. Will there be a sequel? Are you going to frustrate your readers or give them a reason to tune back into the series? Really think about your cliffhangers and figure out what works best for your story.
Don’t take character deaths lightly
Please don’t just kill a character just for shock value. Please don’t start killing off all your characters just because you want to get a big reaction out of your readers. After a while, they will start to lose impact and your readers won’t want to invest emotionally in characters they know are going to die without any real good reason. I know that in “real life” people die unexpectedly all the time, but there’s a reason people like to read stories. There are ups and downs and it gives the reader an emotional break.
Don’t talk down to your readers
The worst thing you can do to your readers is talk down to them or treat them like they won’t understand what’s happening. Don’t act like they’ll never fully get what you’re trying to say in your story because that’s condescending. If readers aren’t connecting with your story and characters, that usually means there’s a problem with your story. Your readers are smart and they deserve respect.
It can be hard to start a story. Just how do you transform an idea into words, then transform those words into a plot? Ell Angelina, NaNoWriMo participant, shares the process she goes through to bring a story from conception to the page:
While I don’t like going for long periods of time without writing, I do prefer to let ideas age like a fine wine (or, since I don’t drink wine but am fond of smoothies, like an unripe banana).
If an idea stays with me for years, it must be worth exploring. No, it won’t be the same story that I envisioned when I first came up with the idea, but that’s okay. That’s good. I will see flaws I was blind to years earlier, or be able to combine two good ideas into a great one.
Writing is hard work and you’ll be rejected…MANY TIMES. Always keep in mind that you wrote a novel. You created something from nothing. I know it’s hard not to feel like a real or accomplished writer unless you have an agent or get published by a BIG publishing company, but you ARE a writer. It might take a long time to reach your goals, but you’ll get there if you keep pushing yourself.
Please enjoy writing and take some time out to give yourself a pat on the back. I’m often very hard on myself and I figured most of you have experienced the same thing. Write because you love writing.
The crowd roared once more. The strobe lights, which had taken a break while the masked guy was talking, came back flashing to the beat of a heavy metal sound cranked up to earsplitting volume. I pressed my hands to my ears. It was a wonder that I didn’t explode with sensory overload.
“Introducing,” he started as he soared up near the ceiling, “the meanest, greenest, and smelliest monster ever who is in dire need for a bath, the Gargantuan Garbagetron!!”
The smell hit me before I even caught sight of it. It was like rotting fish and sour milk was blended together and poured onto cow manure. I covered my nose but the stench slipped through my hands and forced itself up my nostrils as the monster towered over me.
It grinned, revealing rows of yellow fangs and flexed its 6 triceps. All four of its eyes glowed with the irrational rage of a wild tiger that haven’t eaten in days. I gulped. How could I defeat him if I can’t even take my hands off my nose? I’m pretty sure all it needed to do was breathe at me and I’d be unconscious until next year.
“And on the other side”—Wait, what? —“the monster who brings terror to children and their mothers. The true king of the forest”—There’s another one?— “Boarillaz!” The masked host gestured to the other side of the room where a creature with a head of a boar and the body of a gorilla hurtled into the ring. It snarled and snorted at me with contempt before letting out a roar and pounding its chest with its humongous fists. Oh man, I’m screwed.
“The one last standing will win a very delicious, special writing stick!” Is there a way to still be standing when you’re dead? “I am your host, Maskevelious and it’s time for the fight to begin.”
At the sound of the buzzer, Boarillaz lunged forward. I brought my arms up towards my face and shut my eyes, expecting to be hit by the force of incoming Boarillaz that would not only send me flying to the cave walls but also drench me in spit, judging from foaming of its mouth. But, it never came. I peeked out of my arm shield to find my two opponents grappling with each other without any regard to their other opponent.
Finally, my lack of presence came it handy. I quietly shuffled to the farthest corner of the ring from them and slid down, making myself as small as possible and trying not to gag at the Gargantuan Garbagetron’s pungent stench.
So I watched them battle it out, hugging my knees so tight I could feel my heartbeat hammering at it. Well, I heard them. I had my head buried onto my knees because of the smell, and also out of fear. I only look up for short gasps of air, but I didn’t have to worry about missing the action, Maskevelious made sure of that.
I flinched at the thump. “What a nice uppercut from Boarzilla! Hard enough to fix that hideous face, amiright? Did I just see some teeth fall out?” Maskevelious voice rung through the whole room loud and clear.
I let out a small squeak at the whump. “Ooh, that’s gotta hurt! Wasn’t that a spectacular throw by the Gargantuan! Over the shoulder! Smashing the boar down to the hard floor.”
I kept wincing and groaning as I heard every blow, followed by Maskevalious’s very painful and descriptive commentary, imagining the severe pain I would feel if they were all aimed at me. My body was rigid as I tried to mentally prepare myself for the inevitable.
After 20 minutes, I relaxed my grip. My thoughts had slowed down from a pounding waterfall of anxiety to a relaxed state. They were both evenly matched and looked like they could still fight for hours. I mean Boarillaz is letting out weird snort-wheeze noise every few seconds and the Gargantuan Garbagetron is smelling smellier by the minute, but they’re still going at it with full strength and without any regard for me.
I grew more optimistic with every minute. “Perhaps they’ll tire each other out.” I thought, “then I can get my precious darling back without throwing a punch and dying. I could just kick back and watch the—AAAH!”
The last part wasn’t just in my head. I was actually screaming as a 300-pound gorilla-boar hybrid nearly crushed the life out of me. It slammed onto the ropes, inches away from me, before falling headfirst onto the floor. A hush went over the crowd as they waited to see if Boarillaz would get up. When it remained still, the crowd went wild at the spectacular throw that ended their fight.
I wanted to throw up. The end of their fight meant the beginning of my fight. After relishing the glory of defeating Boarzilla, the Gargantuan Garbagetron turned and fixed its bloodshot eyes at me. It came at me, slowly like it was savoring the moment until it can beat me to a pulp. Each step closer pounded the surface of the ring like it was stamping me with its huge feet.
The panic surged through me like lightning. I desperately tried to revive Boarzilla, shaking his hairy shoulders, and slapping his hairy face, but it was no use. It was out cold.
I kept on slapping anyway, holding on to hope. For a moment there, I thought I saw Boarzilla snout twitch but then Maskevelious swooped down, grab its leg, and carried it away. He was surprisingly strong, lifting Boarzilla up as if it was as light as a rag doll
“We can’t have Boarzilla waking up!” he bellowed as he dropped Boarzilla to the floor, “This wrestling match has gone on long enough and its already past our bed time! Now, just K.O. the human already Garbagetron and win the prize so we can all go home!” The crowd erupted into choruses of “Yeah! Kill her!” and other comforting words.
Curse that Maskevelious and everything he held dear. In a swift motion The Gargantuan Garbagetron arm grabbed my neck and held on very tight. He lifted me off the ground and just held me there, squeezing as hard as he could.
I tried to pry his hands off my neck, but there were slimy with mucus, and I couldn’t get a firm grip. My lungs screamed for air, and I thrashed about, kicking my legs as hard as possible. I could feel my brain shutting down, drifting to unconsciousness, but I couldn’t faint. I had to get you back. I need my pen.
I knew what I had to do. It grossed me out, but there’s no other choice.
I relaxed my body, making it heavier so it’s hands slid up my neck. I opened my mouth, and I bit it. I bit the Gargantuan Garbagetron’s filthy, green, smelly hand.
It roared in pain, and instantly let me go. I fell to the ring, mostly unharmed, but severely traumatized. I gasped for air, choked, and gagged at the same time. The Gargantuan Garbagetron tasted as good as it smelled times 100. I had to wipe my tongue with my shirt and even that didn’t get out the putrid taste.
“Wait, what’s happening to the Garbagetron!” screamed Maskevelious, his voice no longer that obnoxious announcer tone. I looked up and saw a ghastly sight. The hand I bit into was turning black and pieces of it seemed to be coming off.
“WHAT HAPPEN TO ME!” The Gargantuan Garbagetron roared over the gasping and screaming crowd. I had no idea of course, but I knew this was the only chance I have of getting out alive.
“It’s saliva!” I shouted, thinking quickly off my feet, “Don’t you know that human saliva is toxic to all monsters?” There was a collective gasp and murmurs from all around. I stared down at the murmuring crowd as deviant as I could possibly can. Maskevelious gaped at me from above, and The Gargantuan Garbagetron was still howling over his damaged hands.
“Yeah, that’s right. Why do you think a puny human like me was brave enough to fight these humongous, totally threatening monsters? Because I know their greatest weakness!” I was on a roll.
“So,” I continued turning towards my opponent, “Gargantuan Garbagetron. Do you still want some of this?” I coated my tongue with saliva and let it hang down my open mouth. At this, the Gargantuan Garbagetron’s eyes widened and it shook its head and cowered to the end of the ring.
“Yeah, I thought so. Now, give me my stinkin’ pen back or I will spit on each and every one of you! I happen to have mastered long distance spitting for this occasion so you better do as I say!” This was all baloney, but they all bought it. The monsters silently looked at me with fearful eyes, their bodies leaning as far away from me as possible.
I felt something small drop on my head. “There. You got your pen back. Now go, and never come back!” Maskevelious shouted from the air, his voice trembling. “And don’t you dare tell your human friends about this!”
Relief flooded through me. I did it! I got you back! I picked you up and held you up to my heart before putting you in my pocket. Then, I nodded towards the monsters, bared my teeth once more and walked out to the tunnel, my legs shaking.
I sprinted home as soon as I was out of their sight. They might still come after me once their common sense kicks in.
I pulled you out again as soon as I reached my bedroom and kissed you. I still couldn’t believe I just won a wrestling match for you. I did it! I rescued you from their grip to return to mine.
I sighed and plucked your cap off, revealing your tiny nib. I was going to use you right away. I held out my left wrist that had my fading “tattoo” and slid your nib against it expecting the black ink to spill across my white skin. I paused, and drew more, pressing harder. I quickly took a random piece of paper from the floor a furiously scribbled with you.
I sat with my mouth open, staring at my drawing pen. The one I have owned for almost two years. The one I went through all that trouble to rescue by wrestling two humongous monsters, one I had to bite to avoid being strangled to death. The one I risked my life for! This really sucks!
“I can’t believe it,” I whispered gradually getting louder, “all this time… you were out of ink!”
FINALLY I’M DONE! This story really was a big pain the butt, and I’m really glad I am finally done with it!
I am glad I pushed through and completed this story, because I don’t think it was as bad as I thought. It’s still a coherent story, even though it is pretty weird haha :p
The full story is on my wattpad (aizekezia1224), so if you want to read the whole story in one go, just read it there right now! haha :p
As I have mentioned before, in my months of absence from tumblr, I have gained a lot of new followers, about 200 to be more exact (350 followers now!) and i want to celebrate this and also celebrate my return to the tumblrverse.
So, for my next promptsperiment project, I have decided to let you guys have a hand in deciding the prompts I have to do. This is killing two birds with one stone because I left my prompt jar which has all the number in Canada while I’m halfway around the world.
The Prompsperiment project is basically an experiment to see how many prompts I could use before a story will no longer make sense. So with every experiment, I add the number of prompts I’m going to mash-up until I feel that I can’t make a coherent story out of it anymore. I do not abide to word count restrictions though, because it’s hard haha. Maybe i’ll try it in one if it makes sense...
I have already done a mashup of 2 prompts (alternate cinderella story + crime) and 3 prompts (monster wrestling arena + identity tattoo + unusual love story). You can view the story’s either by going onto my wattpad (aizekezia1224) or click on the #prompsperiment tag to see all the stuff about this experiment.
I really want to try to get at least until 7 prompts for this project, but after seeing the difficulty of last time, I wonder if I can do it. I will try though.
So, next is the four prompt mash up and I’m going to let you guys help me decide which four prompts I’m going to do since I do want it to be random. Just choose a number between 1 and 777, reblog this post adding the number of your choice, and in two weeks, I will randomly choose four of those numbers and do the prompts corresponding to it in the prompts file on my computer.
Hopefully this will be success! and thanks again for everyone who had followed me and have read the stories and everything else I’ve written. I truly appreciate it :)
You do not conceive a novel as easily as you conceive a child, nor even half as easily as you create nonfiction work. A journalist amasses facts, anecdotes and interviews with top brass. Enough of these add up to a book. A novelist demands quite different things. He has to find himself in his materials, to know for sure how he would feel and act and the events he writes about. In addition, he requires a catalyst — a person, idea, or emotion which coalesces his ingredients and makes them jell into a solid purpose.
My screams bounced of the walls as I went further and further through the tunnel. The thing that had hold of my legs felt slimy, and all my efforts to kick it off were just in vain. I slammed onto the floor and the hard rock ceiling of the tunnels a few times, but whatever was pulling my leg didn’t seem to care. “BE MORE CAREFUL WILL YA!” I shouted after a narrow miss with a huge boulder, but it didn’t have any effect on my journey through the cave.
After what I assume is a few hours, I was out of the claustrophobia-inducing tunnel and was lifted high off the ground. The low rumble I heard at the middle of my journey had erupted into an ear-splitting cheer. I caught glimpses of different colored bodies as I soared through the huge open space before being released from the grip and crashing onto the floor.
Groaning with pain, I tried to open my eyes but was immediately blinded by bright light. A green streaked through my line of vision as I shaded by eyes with my hand. After some rapid blinking to chase the white spots out of my eyes, I could finally get a glimpse of my surroundings. And what a sight it was
My mouth hung open as I tried to comprehend what I saw. There were monsters! Hundreds of them! In all shapes and sizes surrounding me cheering and waving! Some were holding signs with the weirdest names I’ve ever seen like “The Mangonian Masher” for instance. To top it all of, I’m sitting in the middle of a gigantic wrestling ring! Oh no! Do I have to fight right now? I’m not ready!
“Look who we have here!” a voice boomed. I look up and gasped. A masked man in a sparkly green suit was floating in thin air! Well, he looked like a man. I couldn’t really see much, but I did notice he had long golden hair and fancy shoes. He grinned showing rows of surprisingly sharp teeth and pulled the hanging mike closer to his lips.
“Welcome… to… the Monster Arena!” Cheers erupted from the crowds as fireworks flew out of his outstretched arms. Music boomed through the air pumping up the atmosphere. “Wow, this is the first time the human to enter this arena! Let’s give her a round of applause!”
Ear-splitting cheers erupted once more as I continued to gawk at everything from the sea of monsters waving their banners, to the colorful strobe lights flashing around the arena. This is truly an underground monster-wrestling arena in a mysterious cave and I am the first human to attend! I don’t know if I should be afraid or very very afraid.
The masked host let out a satisfied sigh as the cheers died down. He looked so pleased that he managed to cause such a big uproar. “Well, that was fun. You may leave now.”
I stared blankly at the man suspended in the air. I didn’t hear a word he was saying, as I was too busy picking up the pieces of my exploded brain so I didn’t know what the hell is going on.
“Yeah, you heard me correctly. We don’t need you now that we have this!” He reached inside of his coat pocket, pulled something out and held it high for all to see. The crowed oohed and aahed as a mini spotlight shined from above and illuminated the item in his gloved hands.
I gasped. It was you. The one I’ve been searching for all afternoon. My 0.1 Black Stabilo Drawing Pen I got at Gramedia for 15 ribu rupiah (approx. 1 dollar). I have finally found you! “Hey! That’s mine!” I shouted.
The masked man ignored me and continued on. “You see the winner of this wrestling extravaganza was supposed to get a fresh human on a stick so we tried to lure here by taking their writing sticks hostage. But for some reason no one ever came. We even left fliers directing people here, but I guess humans are to stupid to follow simple directions.”
Low rumble of laughter filled the room and he waited for it to quiet down before he continued, “Because of human incompetence, we had no choice but to make the writing sticks the prize. I must say, while they don’t have the meaty umami flavor of human flesh, they have a satisfying crunch that could only come from those thin plastic casings. And those juices! They are divine! Black is the best flavor, but blue has more depth.” The monsters roared in agreement, many of them nodding or pumping their fists up. “Now leave, so we can have the final match.”
Leave when they were going to eat my precious pen? My baby? No. Not happening. “No.” I said, standing up, “I’m not going anywhere without my pen. So hand it over! If you want some writing sticks, just go to Gramedia. They have loads!”
Sweat trickled down my brow as I waited for a response, but I stood my ground. I clenched my fists to stop myself from trembling. The masked man lowered himself down a bit and stared at me, first with surprise, and then with a grin. “Well then,” he said as he slipped you back into his coat pocket, “there’s no other choice is there? You’ll have to fight!”
At exactly 8 pm, I stood in front of the cave behind my school, ready for battle. I had spent my three hours pretty effectively. I watched wrestling tutorials and WWE matches on YouTube and tried out some moved on my stuffed animals. I gotta say, if those wrestlers are anything like Griffin, my stuffed lion, I would be all set.
I looked around and shivered. I had never been around school this late before. It’s so dark and empty. The cave looked menacing enough from far away during daytime, but when you’re facing it up close like this in the night, it looked like it was going to swallow you whole.
I gulped. I tried to be brave and willed my legs to move, but they wouldn’t. “C’mon legs, go!” I shouted in my mind, but it was like I was nailed to the floor. They would only dislodge when I heard the sound of footsteps coming my way. However, instead of going into the cave, I jumped into the bushes hoping that whatever was coming wouldn’t see me.
I peeked out and saw that it was just school janitor talking jokingly with one of the lunch ladies, Gladys. I only remember her name because she has a huge mole in the middle of her forehead that I can’t help look at every time she spooned the day’s lunch. It was looking especially bulbous tonight causing me to gag a little.
I ducked down when they neared the cave. I could hear them talking animatedly, but I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. There was a sort of… growl in their voices, like they were gargling mouthwash. Maybe, it’s just their accent. Anyway, their probably talking about the fight, which I’m going to compete in OH MY GOSH WHAT AM I GOING TO DO.
I waited until they were out of sight before I walked out from behind the bushes. I took deep breaths and tried to give myself a pep talk. “You can do this,” I told myself as I took a tiny step forward, “you are a strong, confident woman that can do anything you put you mind into.”
I inched towards the mouth of the cave, muttering encouraging words to myself. There was something odd about this whole thing, I can feel it, but I need to get you back. So, I have to move forward and win you back. I hope this doesn’t objectify you, though you are an object of my affection.
The night wind ushered me forward which should scare me, but it actually made me feel braver, like someone was pushing me on. I started to relax a bit. As I was examining a rock near the cave entrance that was perfectly spherical, something grabbed me by my ankle and dragged me into the darkness.
Let’s talk about the title. It’s very cheesy, but then again I came up with it in like 5 seconds. It was just like “ok it’s an unusual love story, with fighting.... good enough” hahaha.
Hope you enjoy part two! It’s really meant to be read all at once. I’ll post it in my wattpad (aizekezia1224) when it’s all done. You could read all the stories I have written for this blog there.
I’ve also decided to make a tag for this story since it’ll have at least 4 parts so it’s easier to find. Just go to the #twppthreeprompts tag to do so :)
Let me say this again: you must not come lightly to the blank page.
Stephen King
Started reading On Writing by Stephen King and though I haven’t finished it, this is one of the most eye-opening advice I’ve ever seen so far. The blank page is a place of endless possibilities, and every mark you make in it limits what a blank page can be. So be intentional.
Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel
Here are ten questions to ask that will not put your friend in a tough spot, but will still give you some useful input on your novel:
1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!”
2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming?
3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best?
4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know?
5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book?
6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe?
7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life?
8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.)
9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.)
10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”
Your friend is probably still going to tell you, “It was good!” However, if you can ask any specific questions, and read between the lines, you can still get some helpful information out of even the most well-meaning reader.
Ooh, these are excellent, and I have a hell of a time coming up with good questions to get more than a cycle of “I liked it!” “Great, what did you like about it?”
“…It was good?”
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