By Adeline K. Piercy In a desperate attempt to figure out what the world in my fantasy novel looked like, I volunteered to run a home-brew Dungeons & Dragons campaign for my friends. I turned my world into the context of our game and it challenged me to really develop the world. I had to … Continue reading Using Dungeons & Dragons Resources for World-building: Maps

Dreams can be strange, exciting, and surreal. Many writers pull inspiration from their dreams, and many stories include dreams in their plot! For some interesting starting ideas, check out this post from Bored Panda before you try out some ideas with the following prompts. As always, happy writing! Poetry: Write about the day after a … Continue reading Weekend Writing Prompts: DREAMS

We’ve all been there, one minute you’re furiously writing away and then suddenly…nothing. Try as you might; you can’t get any more words onto the page. When this happens to me, I feel like I hit a brick wall. I’m not sure why, but whenever I get writer’s block, I visualize one specific red brick … Continue reading Overcoming Writer’s Block

Apocalyptic fiction has been around since the origins of mythology. Modern recognizable stories started in the early 19th century and became mainstream after WWII since nuclear weapons brought global annihilation to public consciousness. A quick google reveals that the apocalypse genre can include all sorts of sub-genres and causes of mass destruction, such as a … Continue reading Weekend Writing Prompts: ALIEN APOCALYPSE

Dialogue may be one of the hardest things for a writer to perfect. When it comes to showing instead of telling, Andrzej Sapkowski is a master. In his books, dialogue is the primary source of storytelling--you can go pages without exposition, but the reader always knows exactly what's happening around the conversation. The characters have … Continue reading Dialogue Case Study: “Season of Storms,” from The Witcher Series

Food is one of those things that is easy to overlook when writing. We eat multiple times a day, and sometimes it's a chore. However, food is also a huge part of culture, family, connection, and even intimacy. This week's writing challenges are about slowing down, savouring, and telling stories around food. So, grab a … Continue reading Weekend Writing Prompts: FOOD

A PG How-To for R-Rated Content Erotica is a term that could describe Harlequin novels--you know, the paperbacks with a damsel draped over a set of rippling abs--or 50 Shades of Gray. While writing steamy romances and kinky scenes may seem taboo, it’s actually a pretty good way to make income as a writer, since … Continue reading How to Write Erotica

History is a great place to find inspiration for writing, but it's even better when it's strange! Here are some bizarre stories from history that you can expand upon, based closely on the story or written with great artistic liberty. Make it funny, make it dark, make it yours. Poetry: Pope Gregory IX supposedly hated … Continue reading Weekend Writing Prompts: STRANGE HISTORY

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and who doesn’t love a good romance? Capturing the tension that people feel between them, the stirring of emotions in a simple moment, the flutter that comes from a light touch… it can be hard to convey effectively. Here are some tips on writing romance! Nothing is more important … Continue reading How to Write Romance

This weekend, let's talk a walk down a subtle subject path and explore the quiet things that exist around us. You can explore this via reflection on the importance of that object, anthropomorphize the object, create a fictional world for the object, or whatever you think would be an interesting take on it! These prompts … Continue reading Weekend Writing Prompts: INANIMATE OBJECTS