Writing Guidelines
- Read/review your scene from yesterday; do this quickly. Try not to linger and edit.
- Start the above timer.
- Write a today’s scene in first person 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.
- Resist the urge to edit new scenes, try to hold off until the end of the month, focus on your creative process and put the editor away for now.
- 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 in your novel folder.
- 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 Workshop. Submit your work at the bottom of this page.
- If you have already begun your narrative or are rewriting a fully drafted narrative, use this prompt to further explore character and place. Rewriting a scene can be a fantastic step in the revision process.
Writing Prompt
Return the protagonist to the initial reflective surface. Make the protagonist face self, again. This moment will become a “chorus” or motif within the overall work. In revision, the reflective surface might change drastically and metaphorically, but for now, keep it simple and actual, rooted in the setting and character. Feel free to let this reflective surface change locations. For instance, a bathtub and a swimming pool can both hold reflective water.
Timer
Submit for Individualized Feedback
Please use Universal Manuscript Guidelines when submitting: .doc or .docx, double spacing, 10-12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1 inch margins, first page header with contact information, section breaks “***” or “#.”
