Day 25: Writer’s Choice: Scaffold Writing or Black Box

Below are two options for today: Scaffold writing or “Say Cheese.” You can choose one or both. If you choose to do both, consider writing the prompts in two different sessions.

Scaffold Writing: Before the Timer

Choose two or more of your previous “30 Stories” narratives and combine them into a single, new narrative. You can choose your “Scaffold Writing” narrative if you wish.

  1. Copy paste each narrative into a new document so that you keep your original narratives. In this new document, add the stories separately, like a collection. You might consider using the “Titles” and “Navigation” features in MS Word (or other preferred word processor) to organize the stories and scenes.
  2. Title each scene within each narrative as if titling chapters within a novel. Be detailed in the title, details over witty wordplay. When you see the title, you want it to remind you quickly of characters, strategic details, place, etc.
  3. Next, you are going to decide which scenes are most important in a timed exercise. Reorder each scene within each narrative so that they are in order of most interest to least interest. Start the above timer.

Scaffold Writing: After the Timer

  1. STRUCTURE: Keep the two top scenes, delete the others. (Remember, you still have all your original work in their original documents.)
  2. CHARACTERS: Amalgamate your characters. Merge protagonist details. Merge antagonist details. Merge secondary characters. If any character cannot hold its importance, delete it.
  3. PLACE: Amalgamate your places. You might decide to keep the place or places of in narrative one, marinating a few details from narrative two. You might decide to create a brand new world, using the details from both narratives.
  4. POINT OF VIEW & TENSE: Decide on a single point of view and psychic distance. Decide on a single verb tense. Rewrite both scenes so they share the same point of view, distance and tense. (You can always complicate this further, later in your revisions, but for now, simplify the frameworks so that the merging of the narratives is easier.)  
  5. Now, put the merged narrative on the desk and let it rest a few days. Tomorrow, focus on the next writing prompt.

Black Box Writing Prompt

You’ve committed a crime and your punishment is to sit in a “black box” room as a video of your crime is projected on an entire wall, looping, for three days straight. You must sit in a chair and watch this video loop for the entire three days. You are not allowed to eat. You may have sips of water from a single water bottle. You cannot leave to go to the bathroom. Behind you is a gallery of spectators filing in and out of the room 24/7.

 

Writing Guidelines

    1. Feel free to incorporate elements from your previous narratives if you like.
    2. You will write a narrative, in ten minutes or less. If at any point, the narrative derivates from the original prompt, let it. Go where your creativity leads you.
    3. Stop writing when the timer stops. Take a break. Stand up. Grab a drink. Keep writing new words if you like or, if not, file the scene/narrative for a later time.
    4. Give yourself at least two days before you edit these new words.
    5. Start the above timer.

One on One Creative Writing Workshop

If you would like to share your narrative, post it to the discussion board below and share it with your course peers. If you end up expanding this narrative into a fuller work and would like written, individualized feedback on it, we invite you to join us for a One on One Creative Writing Workshop.

Day 24: Olfactory

You’ve just been diagnosed with a degenerative olfactory disease. You will completely lose your sense of smell within a year.

 

Writing Guidelines

    1. Feel free to incorporate elements from your previous narratives if you like.
    2. You will write a narrative, in ten minutes or less. If at any point, the narrative derivates from the original prompt, let it. Go where your creativity leads you.
    3. Stop writing when the timer stops. Take a break. Stand up. Grab a drink. Keep writing new words if you like or, if not, file the scene/narrative for a later time.
    4. Give yourself at least two days before you edit these new words.
    5. Start the above timer.

One on One Creative Writing Workshop

If you would like to share your narrative, post it to the discussion board below and share it with your course peers. If you end up expanding this narrative into a fuller work and would like written, individualized feedback on it, we invite you to join us for a One on One Creative Writing Workshop.

Day 23: Cryogenic

Tomorrow you are going into a cryogenic sleep state as part of a governmental experiment. Your family will be well taken care of.

 

Writing Guidelines

    1. Feel free to incorporate elements from your previous narratives if you like.
    2. You will write a narrative, in ten minutes or less. If at any point, the narrative derivates from the original prompt, let it. Go where your creativity leads you.
    3. Stop writing when the timer stops. Take a break. Stand up. Grab a drink. Keep writing new words if you like or, if not, file the scene/narrative for a later time.
    4. Give yourself at least two days before you edit these new words.
    5. Start the above timer.

One on One Creative Writing Workshop

If you would like to share your narrative, post it to the discussion board below and share it with your course peers. If you end up expanding this narrative into a fuller work and would like written, individualized feedback on it, we invite you to join us for a One on One Creative Writing Workshop.