Tip of the week

[elisotta]

I am subscribed to a few listservs and this tip came up and thought it was interesting enough to post.

Are you looking for story starters or prompts? Try filling a recipe box with index cards full of your own homemade prompts. Spend some time sitting in front of the television or listening to the radio, and jot words and phrases onto the cards.

Comments

[tam_maat]

Oooh, that's a really cool idea! I used to pick out phrases from newspapers, which works quite well. You can twist the words to be used in any genre you like, about any subject you like.

I find that the best method for this is to write them down (or cut them out, whatever you're doing with them) and then leave them for a while, so that the phrase is no longer connected with the actual incident it was written about. It gives you a lot more freedom that way :)

Thanks for sharing this, but what are listservs, and where do you find them?!! :)

[elisotta]

Listservs are basically email lists. Definiton

You can be put on a listserv from just about anywhere on the net. It depends on what your topics of interest are.

On Writing
Personal Journaling listserv
Prompt a Day listsrv (see right side column)

Here's a catalogue of Listservs from all over the world.