Writing Regimen #1

Remember to give the daily writing prompts their own titles

Daily Writing Prompt: Write outside of your comfort zone. Not a fan of poetry or flash fiction? Take one of your already written works and translate it into a different genre, specifically one you are uncomfortable with or dislike. Reading Writing Exercise: On Keeping a Notebook in Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion.
Here and

I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the minds door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget.
Here separate the title of the excerpt from the quote and also from the writing prompt portion. Just a formatting thing, makes it easier to read.

Write about a character whom is suddenly haunted by the person he/she used to be or something bad that he/she did that he/she had, up until now, forgotten about. Riff Word: Junk
Just re-word and expand on this prompt. Take out the confusing he/shes and be more concise.

Literary Quotation: Develop an interest in life as you see it; the people, things, literature, music the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself. Henry Miller

Writing Regimen #2 Daily Writing Prompt: Reinterpret a blast from the past. Take your most dramatic childhood memory, your favorite one or a nightmarish one, and write it in present tense at the age you are now. How would you react to the situation now? Reading Writing Exercise: Going Down by Jennifer Belle. Whats wrong with you? I asked myself. You are a happy person. You are an upbeat sort of person. Men smile at you on the subway, women ask you what shampoo you use. Cheer up for Christs sake, I told myself, relax, youre fine, be happy, Girl. When I talk to myself I call myself Girl. Write from a characters point of view whom is having an inner conflict with himself/herself.
I think you can complicate this prompt and make it feel more new. Ive written on this prompt so many times. Expand on this. Throw in another element that will make the writer feel stimulated to write something more than just a character with a conflict.

Riff Word: Miniscule Literary Quotation: The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish. Robert Louis Stevenson

Writing Regimen #3 Daily Writing Prompt: Your worst enemy Think of the least desirable personal trait(s) about yourself and create a character from it. For example, maybe you are a person that holds grudges. Create a character that does the same and take it to the extreme. The you can decide the fate of the character! Reading Writing Exercise: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been. Pause you who read this, and think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day. Many stories are about important or out-of-the-ordinary events that make [or have made] an impact on the characters life or have made an impact on the authors life, but even a whatseems-to-be-ordinary day, impacts a persons life. Write a story in which nothing crazy happens to your character, but make sure to point out the impact it has on the his/her life.
Sub character for every time you use his/her. Reword this prompt, break up the first long sentence. Also, be more specific. This prompt is a little vague.

Riff Word: Awry

Literary Quotation: It is easier to influence strong than weak characters in life. Margot Asquith

Writing Regimen #4 Daily Writing Prompt: Re-interpret. Compose another literary piece (not your own) in a different genre. For example, take a poem or [short story] haiku and rewrite it into a short story, or vice versa. Reading Writing Exercise: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. Many things symbolize rebirth, prosperity, a new beginning, etc. Choose something physical that symbolizes one of these positive aspects, like a dandelion. You can write a poem about this symbol, a short story in which your character seeks this symbol; the possibilities are endless. Riff Word: Cryptic Literary Quotation: Alternate history fascinates me, as it fascinates all novelists, because What if? is the big thing. Kate Atkinson
I think this is a really great quote to use.

Writing Regimen #5 Daily Writing Prompt: Frenemy Think of your best friend or the person you trust most. Now create a character from that person but as your enemy. How would they betray you (realistically)? Reading Writing Exercise: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.
I think you should include a longer portion of this excerpt from Fitzgerald. I am sure there is more about missed opportunities in the surrounding text, so give the writer some more to work with, here. Remember, its a reading/writing exercise.

Think of an event in your life that you missed out on, even something as simple as missing an outing to the park with your family, and write about how that would have presented a different opportunity in life for you. Riff Word: Infiltrate Literary Quotation: The question isnt who is going to let me; its who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand

Writing Regimen #6 Daily Writing Prompt: Nobodys perfect Think of someone you look up to, or used to look up to, such as parent or other elder family member someone you thought could do no wrong. Now write about the moment they did something that made you question them for the first time. Reading Writing Exercise: My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares. Love who you love while you have them. Thats all you can do. Let them go when you must. If you know how to love, youll never run out. Think of someone you deeply care about, whether it is a significant other or best friend, and write about if you two had to part ways. Riff Word: Stoic Literary Quotation: You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. Franz Kafka

Writing Regimen #7 Daily Writing Prompt: Four senses? - Pick one of the five senses, sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell, and write a story or poem about a character who has lost one of these senses. Reading Writing Exercise: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will. Choose an animal and write a prompt about how it would limit or not limit your everyday life. Would you be able to go about your normal routine or would it take you on adventure? Riff Word: Recluse Literary Quotation: The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases. Carl Jung

Writing Regimen #8 Daily Writing Prompt: Unreal - Choose a mythical creature (vampire, unicorn, centaur, etc.) and write about their interactions in the human world. Reading Writing Exercise: Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. But she did look back, and I love her for that, because it was so human. So she was turned to a pillar of salt. So it goes. People arent supposed to look back. Im certainly not going to do it anymore. Think about a dilemma or situation you experienced in which you regret how weak you reacted. How would the situation have been different had you not looked back? Riff Word: Stoic Literary Quotation: Fiction is the truth inside the lie. Stephen King

Writing Regimen #9 Daily Writing Prompt: 6 deadly sins Choose a deadly sin (sloth, gluttony, envy, etc.) and write about the world in which that sin is not a sin at all. How would the world be different? How would people act? Reading Writing Exercise: Coraline by Neil Gaiman. When youre scared but you still do it anyway, thats brave. Think of when you were faced with a dilemma or a hard situation or hard decision that you backed down from. Now write a prompt about a character who is faced with the same situation but perseveres through it. Riff Word: Exotic Literary Quotation: Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see. Henry David Thoreau

Writing Regimen #10 Daily Writing Prompt: Your favorite color - What is your favorite color? Now, what is the first word or idea that comes to mind when you think of that color? Write a story or poem about that idea. Reading Writing Exercise: Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. One must always be careful of books, and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us. Pick your favorite book or poem and open it to a random page. Now, find a random line or sentence. Use this line or sentence to write a completely different story or poem. Riff Word: Muster Literary Quotation: Saying nothing sometimes says the most. Emily Dickinson