No motivation. No inspiration. No magical words flying from keyboard to paper. Writer’s block, that ominous, horror story creature haunting you from the deep dark caverns of despair.
Don’t let it take you prisoner.
Here are some ways to fight back.
Prompt Replies: Pirate Stories
Pen Friends ~ Thanks to everyone who submitted their pirates! They were all were fantastic! Unfortunately, we were not able to post all of them. Our selected prompts were written by, Rebecca Henry, Tyler Hanson and Isaac Schmid this week. Please enjoy their creativity and tell us which pirate you prefer and why!
Prompt 1# Tyler Hansen, Washington. http://www.hanson-arts.com
The sky drifted and fell into the blasted, nasty sea doing nothing to help my splitting head. The liar, whoever he was, hadn’t gained my favor. I swore, once I untied the vile ropes of seasickness, I’d have his throat. Not knowing which way was right side up I rocked back and forth, clenching my poor temples. When my vision cleared, I sat up, and for the first time I laid my uneasy eyes on him.
Playing with the frayed ends of a bow line, he looked at me with a twisted smile. The taunt of his ugly face plucked the ends of my braided nerves, unravelling my unstable mind. I fell to the side and wretched. I looked back up and clenched my fist, the sinewy strands running through my forearms ached (tapped from a night and a day hanging in the open sea) as the spasms in my back and shoulders twisted my spine into a stabbing crescent.
How to Choose Your Character’s Gender
How do you end up deciding this important choice? Is it from personal experience of the story you’re writing? Is it how the character presented him or herself to you? Is it how the story needs its main character to be perceived? Weak, strong, overbearing, shy… these all create ideas of gender for us, no matter which side the descriptor causes you to fall on. But how do you shake up those old pre-conceived notions without going on a crusade? (Only those who agree with you are going to read that, and will they really be reading to experience your story, or to be validated by it?)
Prompt: Pirates
The sky drifted and fell into the blasted, nasty sea doing nothing to help my splitting head. The liar, whoever he was, hadn’t gained my favor. I swore, once I untied the vile ropes of seasickness, I’d have his throat. Not knowing which way was right side up I rocked back and forth, clenching my poor temples. When my vision cleared, I sat up, and for the first time I laid my uneasy eyes on him.
What happens next?
Finish this prompt, and give us the best pirate you got in 500 words or less. Send us yours at thespinningpen@gmail.com . We will select our favorite to be shared with our readers.
Writing Real Boy Protagonists
What qualifies as a Real Boy in young adult novels?
The boy next door? The rebel? The savior?
Who or what composes the right boy protagonist? Many people have their ideas.
People argue that they are too perfect, too strong, too brave, too good looking, and whose Peeta Mellark’s love, devotion, strength, and life-saving capabilities raise an unreachable standard for real boys. But I don’t think so. Because I see all of those things in the real boys around me.
Prompt Replies
Pen Friends ~ Thanks to Vanessa Weight (our selected prompt winner) and Noah Dingman, our SP teen contributor for replying to the prompt. Due to changes on our blog, we were a bit late in posting. Sorry! Please enjoy their creativity!
Prompt #1 Vanessa Weight, age 16, Washington
A thirsty cry startled me from a sweaty sleep. The sound– high-pitched and screechy– rang in my ears. I licked my dry lips and cracked a smile. I knew that sound. Among the tents of my father I heard it all the time –camels. Today it was much more. It was the sound of salvation. I was close. It had been three days since I entered the desert… , but yet I felt as though my journey had just begun.
As the comforting sound of the camels slowly drifted away, I came to realize that I wasn’t safe to rest, not here in the open. I couldn’t afford to make myself more vulnerable than I already was. I quickly started packing my supplies–including my dagger and my revolver–into my bag as I prepared to keep moving. I figured there’d be enough food and water for at least another week, as long as it was used sparingly. I had to find shelter, and fast. As the break of dawn began to rise, I would be spotted far too easily. If I had any chance of finding the artifact, I had to get there soon.
Critical Things to Do Before You Write Your First Novel
Hindsight is twenty twenty they say. Before I ambitiously embarked upon the adventure of a lifetime, I had no clue what to expect. Sure, I’d read many novels and books and blog posts on how to write them.
What I quickly found out was reading about writing, and actually writing, are totally different. It’s like thinking you’re a good singer because you watch America’s got Talent and belting out off key tunes at a karaoke bar. Time for a reality check.
How to Write Fiction
Writing fiction—what a life! You can choose any time, any place, any situation, then drop in characters you’ve created. A blank sheet is a good thing. It’s raw material that you can build a new world (or worlds!) with.
I’ve worked as a history professor and researcher. It was great, but it’s a job where you have to dig and search and make sure you have your facts straight. In fiction, it comes from your head. It’s harder than I thought, but much more fun.
Here are a few tips on writing fiction and where I draw my ideas from:
Prompt: Camels
A thirsty cry startled me from a sweaty sleep. The sound–high-pitched and screechy– rang in my ears. I licked my dry lips and cracked a smile. I knew that sound. Among the tents of my father I heard it all the time –camels. Today it was much more. It was the sound of salvation. I was close. It had been three days since I entered the desert…
What happens next?
Finish this prompt in 500 words or less. Send us yours at thespinningpen@gmail.com . We will select our favorite to be shared with our readers.
A Tourist’s Guide to Speculative Fiction
It’s the first Monday of June, and for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, things are starting to feel like summer. Hopefully, that also means vacation is on the horizon. And what’s a vacation without a good book (or twelve)?
Since I happen to be a fan of speculative fiction (Science Fiction, Fantasy, and everything in between), that’s where I tend to default when making reading recommendations. But, say you don’t care for “spec fic,” or you haven’t found the right place to dip your toe into the pool with the rest of us quirky folks. If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place, friend!
I’d like to present to you A Tourist’s Guide to Speculative Fiction.
There are about a thousand different genres and subgenres under the speculative umbrella, but four of the most popular (and in my opinion, accessible to general audiences) are fantasy, fairy tales, science fiction, and dystopian. I’ll highlight some recommendations for each.
The Spinning Pen 