Sometimes the best way to get back into flow with your writing isn’t to push harder—it’s to step back, reset, and make space. That’s where a writing retreat can work wonders. But what if you can’t get away to the beach, the mountains, or even a local Airbnb? No problem. You can create a deeply…
The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide 2. Writing a synopsis of your story isn’t a bad idea, since this will invariably tell you whether or not your book is any good. For your website, Amazon profile description, or back cover description, you’ll need to compose a compelling marketing piece about the…
Here’s a fresh and fun batch of realistic writing prompts for another week of May—light, engaging, and full of possibility. Monday’s Prompt: The Lawn Chair Line-Up Your character drives past a long row of empty lawn chairs lining the street early in the morning. No one’s around yet. They stop to ask someone what’s going…
The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide 2. In terms of characters, you need to make sure that they don’t spend too much time alone throughout the story. They can certainly spend time in their own thoughts or even talk to themselves aloud. Yet if they’re doing this too often, they need…
Here are 7 brand-new, realistic, and fun writing prompts to spark your creativity for the middle of May. These lean into curiosity, humor, and everyday storytelling. Monday’s Prompt: The Group Text Spiral Your character gets added to a group text by mistake—and decides to stay quiet and just watch. But then they recognize someone in the…
The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide 2. Long descriptive paragraphs are something that many writers struggle to control when writing their stories. Often there seems to be no option but to describe a scene in great detail, but sometimes you end up with almost a page or even more of…
Mother’s Day is coming up, so here are some creative writing prompts to inspire you to write about Mom’s big day. Monday’s Prompt: The Gift That Wasn’t Write a story about a grown child who forgets Mother’s Day—again. But this year, instead of being upset, the mother has a quiet secret of her own that…
The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide. One of the most common questions asked of authors, whether from children during school visits or in interviews, is “Where do you get your ideas?” In so many ways, ideas are all around us – in newspapers, magazines, pictures, photographs, other books whether fiction or…
by Suzanne Lieurance Every month we feature a different writing challenge here at writebythesea®. This month’s challenge is all about great opening lines. To take part in the challenge, first join our private Facebook group for creative writers here. Once you’re in the group, scroll down till you get to the May challenge, where you’ll…
Here are 7 realistic, quiet transformation prompts to help you end the month writing. These focus on subtle, meaningful changes that build up under the surface. Monday’s Prompt: The Book They Almost Returned At the last minute, your character decides not to return a library book or sell an old favorite. Flipping through it again,…
The following is an excerpt from The Children’s Writer’s Guide. If you drive to work, you probably don’t normally notice the things you pass each day, such as company names and logos, advertising billboards, road signs and so on. Yet these things too can provide a starting point for your writing. As an exercise, choose…
This week’s prompts focus on everyday moments, turning points, and the small decisions that ripple outward. Monday’s Prompt: The Grocery List Your character finds an old grocery list tucked inside a coat pocket—written in someone else’s handwriting. The items spark a memory, a regret, or maybe a phone call they’ve been avoiding. Tuesday’s Prompt: The…
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