Sentenced to Writing

This story didn't come from a writing prompt or story starter. It came from me, musing about how all these stories about mermaids let them breathe underwater and then breathe air just fine. Fish can't do that, so why should mermaids? Take a look to see where that led me. The surface was close, all she had to do was reach her fingers a little further and the water tension would break. The perfectly calm water lay like an ice sheet between her and the world beyond. Just a little further and she'd know for herself. Her parents' warning rang through her mind: You can't be seen. You will be hunted and killed or sold. The air world is not safe for our kind, stay in the water, where you can be safe. The water was all she'd ever known. It had fathoms yet to be explored. But she didn't want fathoms, she wanted stars. With rebellion burning in her heart, she twitched her tail fin ever so slightly, pushing her fingers upward, breaking the surface tension at last. Air s...

Once upon a time Sir Gabriel and Sir Jerry had a younger sister, Princess Thea. She loved all things pretty. She loved sparkles and dresses and tutus and crowns. She loved dancing and laughing and listening to all their adventures. But above all, she loved unicorns.  Princess Thea wished from the bottom of her heart to have her very own unicorn. One bright sunny day, Princess Thea was dancing in the garden and watched as a single cloud flitted across the sky, dropping one light raindrop. She watched the raindrop fall, staring as it came closer and closer before landing on the ground in front of her. Imagine her surprise when a real, live unicorn appeared where the raindrop had fallen. A unicorn! She finally had her very own unicorn! It was bright blue with a long gray mane and a sparkly yellow horn. It was so happy to see Princess Thea. She giggled as the unicorn nuzzled her face and sneezed. "I'm going to call you Sparkle." Princess Thea said to her new best friend. Spar...

There are thousands of writing resources available, but one that I have found most helpful and inspirational is the Writing Excuses Podcast . The host are Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. They are both hilarious and helpful, all at the same time. If you are looking for experts to follow, start with these guys. On their website, they tell all new listeners to start with Season 10's episodes. Listen to an episode, do the homework, get better. That is their call to action. So here we go! You can follow along with me as I go through all of these episodes. If you want to join in, drop a link to where you're posting your content, or just add your content in the comments. Let's get writing! Writing Excuses 10.1: Seriously, Where Do You Get Your Ideas? The Assignment Write down five different story ideas in 150 words or less. Generate these ideas from these five sources: From an interview or conversation you’ve had From research you’ve done (reading science news, mi...