Tag: prompt

prompt, Writing

May 2023 Prompt

AJ Niblock

Let’s go!!!! I’m trying really hard this month to stay on top of my to do list. So far, things are going okay, not great, but better than the last two months.

If you’re here for a prompt, look no further:

“I wanted to believe him. I really did. But I had trusted him before, and it hadn’t worked out that well. So now when he assured me that…”

Complete the Story

I love prompts like this that are super vague. No names and no real details. This can go anywhere…

If you’re new to my page, let me tell you about my yearly writing goal. (Also, if you would like to share what you’ve written using the prompt, I would love to read it. If you want, I will even post it on my blog).

So, this year, my goal is to write 12 short stories, one each month. At some time, usually near the first half of the month, I share the prompt I’m using, and then I try to finish the story by the end of the month. This year, I’m trying to force myself to write longer stories. My word goal is 1500 per story.

At this point in the year, I’m one story behind! Hopefully I will be caught up soon. The last two months have been bananas. I was sick off and on for most of them, and we were house hunting.

House hunting is done! I still have a freakin’ cough, and it drives me crazy. But it’s getting better.

Anyway, happy reading and writing today and every day! Hope you all have a great month!!

prompt, Writing

April 2023 Prompt

AJ Niblock

This month has been a crazy ride for me.

In super exciting news, we bought a house! So excited to be moving and living in something that’s ours and not renting again.

In not so super news, I’ve been sick for basically the entire month. At first I had flu like symptoms that lasted like five days, but since that stopped, I’ve had a cough that will not go away. Plus, every third day or so, I feel absolutely exhausted and run a fever.

The cough is driving me crazy. I feel like I shouldn’t leave the house because I don’t want to spread anything plus I feel like every one gives me a dirty look when I cough in public.

All of this adds up to me being behind on everything. I’m behind on my blog, my drafting, my chores, reading, and any other personal project I’m currently working on.

If you came here for a short story prompt, here it is:

“A group of young men strolled down the street as if they were training to be secret agents. It was the kind of town most young people dreamed of escaping, where everyone had their own private fantasy. Some might have ideas about…”

Complete the Story

Whatever is going on for you, I hope you are healthy! And whatever your goals, I wish you good luck and hope you are making progress.

Happy reading and writing today and every day!

prompt, Writing

March 2023 Short Story Prompt

AJ Niblock

I am running behind with just about everything… I was sick for the last two weeks of February, then family visited, and this week, I’m on day three of a migraine.

I would like to feel okay for a few days in a row to get my act together.

Anywho, if you’re here for an idea, and not me rambling about stuff, here it is:

“It had been more than two weeks since the fire, but the stink of it was still in her hair, on her skin. She took long showers twice a day, but the smell lingered. When she closed her eyes at night, the images came back to her, images of…”

Complete the Story

I hope if you’re reading this, you are having a better week than me.

On a happier note, I recently got the entire run of the Fables comics! I’ve been reading them like mad!

Happy reading and writing today and every day!

prompt, Writing

February 2023 Prompt

AJ Niblock

It’s February… you know this, and it’s more than half over all ready. We all know this. However, I am still stuck in the mood where I just can’t seem to get things done. I am blaming the weather. Winter is a time to be less productive, right?

The only thing I’ve managed to achieve is learning new crochet techniques. In fact, I made two really cute jellyfish…

If you’re here for writing, and not my useless ranting about procrastinating, here is the short story prompt for this month:

“I know most people find the beach relaxing. But when I’m standing there on the shore at high tide, watching the effect the moon has on the great oceans of the world, I find myself wondering what effect it has on my insides, which are more than half water themselves, and I get dizzy. I’m like that, I think too much about things, like…”

Complete the Story

As always, happy reading and writing today and every day!

prompt, Writing

January 2023 Prompt

AJ Niblock

I hope your year is off to a better start than mine.

My family and I had a wonderful winter break. We basically did nothing but chill. It was relaxing.

Then the first week of January rolled around and one of our pets died. Obviously, not a great start to the year. In fact, since we have lived in our current location (3 years) we have lost one pet a year. That’s three deaths in three years.

My heart is so full of grief right now. The pets we’ve lost led long happy lives, but it still hurts.

The biggest change since losing our bird is that my house is unbearably quiet. It’s kind of making me feel crazy. Our bird, Jingles, chirped all morning, and even more so when it rains, which it does a fair amount here (we live near Seattle). I miss every little squawk and cheep.

Like I said, I hope your year is off to a better start than mine. I have started to work on my goals for this year, but I’m taking things slow right now. The weather and other things is leaving me with very little motivation right now.

If you want to, I encourage you to join me in my short story challenge for this year. Like usual, I’m going to share one prompt a month and then write a story with that by the end of the month, for a grand total of 12 stories by the end of the year. This year I’m challenging myself to write a little bit more each month. My goal for each story will be 1500 words minimum.

Without further ado, here is the first prompt for 2023:

“He had trouble walking, trouble standing up, trouble buttering his toast. But his mind was as sharp as ever. He had this amazing way with trivia. He could tell you…”

Complete the Story

As always, happy reading and writing today and every day! If you decide to write a story, I would love to read it!

prompt, Writing

December 2022 Prompt

AJ Niblock

It’s time for the last writing prompt of the year! I’m excited because this year, I’m meeting a lot of my goals. Right now, I still need to finish some short stories for the year, but luckily, I have time this month.

Before I share this month’s prompt, I want to write a little about how NANOWRIMO went for me. So, as many of you know, last month was NANOWRIMO. I won again! All very exciting, but more importantly, I learned something about myself… I should NOT write mysteries.

I am not kidding. I decided this NANO to challenge myself to write something that is unlike anything else I’ve ever written. I tend to write sci-fi or fantasy, definitely leaning more towards fantasy. So, long story short, I tried to write a mystery novel.

To those of you who write mysteries, WOW, WOW, WOW! It’s not for me. You guys rock! I realized something very early in NANO… in order to write mysteries, you need to know stuff. In fantasy and sci-fi, you can make up how the world you’re writing about works. In a mystery though, you should sound like you actually know real things. I figured out very early on that I didn’t know enough about the forensics and details of my crimes to make them sound plausible. And this amounted to me really struggling to keep my story going. I still had a fun time, and I still managed to write 50,000 words. However, I have no intention of ever finishing that into a publishable novel. It ended up being a learning experience, and I’m okay with that.

If you came here looking for something to write about, look no further. The last short story prompt of 2022:

“They’re out there,” he told me. “Fields and fields of them. As far as the eye can see.” I wasn’t sure what he was talking about. He pointed to the horizon, and I looked, but all I could see was…

Complete the Story

Hope everyone is having a great day! Happy reading and writing today and every day!

prompt, Writing

November 2022 Prompt

AJ Niblock

It’s NANOWRIMO! You should be writing! (Just kidding. Only be writing if you want to).

Well, it’s only the third day of NANO and things are going well for me. This year, I’m writing something I’ve never written before–a mystery novel!

It’s fun to be trying something new, but also daunting. I’m enjoying it so far. Unlike fantasy writing though, I’ve had to look stuff up. (Gasp). I’m not world building or creating my own magic. This time, it’s about solving a crime (and a little bit of magic).

Anywho… whatever you’re working on this month, I hope it’s going well for you.

If you’re here for the short story prompt of the month, you’ve finally found it!

November’s short story prompt:

It was just ridiculous enough to be true. Then again, she could be making the whole thing up. It was just so hard to imagine Diane’s father, the respectable banker who never left the house without a suit and tie, actually…

Complete the Story

This one sounds like it might be leading somewhere salacious…

Happy reading and writing today and every day!

Life, prompt, Writing

September 2022 Prompt

AJ Niblock

It’s a new month, and that means it’s time for a new writing prompt!

If you’re looking for something to write about, look no further:

“As a young girl, she learned how to juggle fruit: apples, oranges, sometimes pears. There was little risk, little drama, and people smiled politely and then moved on. But they started paying attention when she started juggling…”

Complete the Story

This month is all about editing for me. I am working through my new novel before I start deep editing. I’ve finished my first round of edits, and now it’s time for the real work. If you’ve ever edited something as lengthy as a novel, you know what I’m talking about. It’s an even harder process when you edit yourself. I always have someone else read my work too, but before it goes to them, I go through it about four times. It takes months. And here we go…..

My plan is to start querying in mid-October, maybe November. Wish me luck.

Happy reading and writing today and every day!

prompt, Writing

August 2022 Prompt

AJ Niblock

August is doing that thing, again… flying by! I don’t know what I’ve been doing this month, but it isn’t anything productive. I’m okay with it though. Sometimes it’s good to just be happy.

This month I’ve been roller skating twice! It’s so much fun. I love skating! But at my age, when I fall it hurts for days and days. Luckily, I only fell once, and I’m thinking of going again soon.

Anyhow, I haven’t been drafting much because it’s about time to start editing! I can’t believe I’m about to edit my fourth novel! It’s a great feeling, but every time I get to this point, the overwhelming amount of work still to do is shocking and renders me into long straits of procrastination. I find the best way to avoid editing is to not make eye contact with the draft.

In all seriousness though, if you are here for the prompt this month, it’s about time:

The boy woke up before dawn. The horses were restless. Something wasn’t right. He rose and tiptoed quietly down the hall, careful not to wake his mother. She was exhausted after last night’s…

Complete the Story

Now get to writing!

Happy reading and writing every day!

prompt, Writing

July’s Prompt

AJ Niblock

July is trying to get away from me, like so many of the months earlier this year. I’m not letting it happen.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

I am avoiding distractions and checking my to-do lists several times a day —- it seems to be helping.

If you are here for the short story of the month prompt, look no further:

They’ve done all these studies about how twins remain connected, psychically, their whole lives. I haven’t seen Sally for twenty years, but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with pain in my knee and I know it’s her pain, not mine. Or I’ll be taking a walk and I’ll feel…

Complete the Story

I can’t wait to share this one with you. I love writing stories about twins who are connected!

Whatever you’re working on, I hope it’s going well!

Happy reading and writing today and every day!