Writing prompts | Flint & Steel

Sparks №24: See You Later January

A weekly newsletter from Flint & Steel

I’m so ready for January to be over. I struggle the most during this month, partially the weather, post-holiday blues, no sunlight, below zero temps, and it seems to drag on for twice as long as any other month.

But one thing I’ve loved this month is reading the Writing Prompt Challenge submissions! I’ve been so inspired by the ideas rolling in.

I will write responses to some of the prompts in the upcoming months as well (of course, featuring your original prompt article).

Remember you still have until February 2, 2022 by 8pm CST to submit your entry!

Originally I posted I would announce the winner on February 12 but I’m going to bump that up to Tuesday, February 8th!

Last week I asked if you were participating in Winston’s latest Coffee House Challenge? I was able to enter (at the last minute) so make sure to comment on this newsletter the link to your Substack newsletter (if you didn’t last week).

Thank you to those who have already subscribed to my newborn newsletter; I really appreciate it!

Even if you aren’t doing the challenge, please let me know your newsletter link because I’ll do a roundup of newsletters and I would love to share yours.

The Stats

At the end of each month, I’ll sum up our stats here at F&S. Thank you to everyone who has been reading and submitting. We are at 152 followers, 6391 minutes read (30 days), 7063 views (30 days), and 115 unique daily visitors.

So my question for you this week is . . . As we say goodbye to January (hallelujah) are you saying goodbye to anything else? Habits? Things? People? Mindsets? Fave TV show?

✨ Ellie, editor Flint & Steel

📣Update! Writing Prompt Challenge Contest 📣

Remember the deadline to submit to the Writing Prompt Challenge and have the article be published is February 2, 2022, at 8 pm CST.

Also, feel free to write in response to the prompts and submit them to F&S. This is a great way to get some new ideas for your Medium articles.

The latest submissions

Mulan wrote, “If someone asked me whether I love nature, I would say, yes, of course. But one day when I walked with a friend in downtown Vancouver, I started to question myself,” in “Do You Love Nature?”

Asking, “what do you think about nature? Have you been scared by nature?”

Buse ermen wrote, “Talking to someone was terrifying for Marnie because Marnie thought her voice was too bad for anyone to hear, and she always spoke in a low voice so as not to hear her own voice,” in “My Little Main Character: Marnie.”

With the fiction word prompt: “‘What is the thing your main character is the most ashamed of in their life?’’

Kris Bedenian wrote, “We must find ways to fit those things with meaning into our lives, moving that time machine forward in the right direction with our passions and hobbies,” in “What Does Time Mean to You?”

Kris’ writing prompt is asking “What Does Time Mean to You?”

Kaori Mitsui wrote, “In the morning, I have oats & an egg as my main thing. In the afternoon, I ask myself, “fish or meat?” With some vegetables and main carbs, in the evening, I usually have the opposite one that I did not choose in the afternoon,” in “Food I like to Eat in the Morning, Afternoon, And Evening.”

Kaori’s writing prompt is “What foods do you like to eat in the morning, afternoon, or evening?”

Divina Grey wrote, “I dug deep for this one, guys; like twenty-three-years-ago deep” for her writing prompt challenge submission, asking “Is there a ‘ripe’ age for marriage?”

What’s your opinion? Write a post in response!

pockett dessert wrote, “What is your best exciting flying adventure?” in her submission, “Flying High: An Exhilarating Ride in a Beautiful Hot-Air Balloon.”

Check out the beautiful photos that accompany the piece!

You can find the list of all the challenge entries here:

✨Your Articles ✨

Thank you to everyone who submitted articles this past week! We had a lot of pieces by new F&S writers, which is great, so make sure to stop by each other’s articles to give some clap/highlight/comment love.

Adrienne Beaumont wrote, “When I’ve packed up and left my marriage, I think perhaps that was brave. It would’ve been easier to stay, but would I have been happy? Would the children have been happy? I think not,” in her Freewriting Friday response.

That is very brave Adrienne!

Beverly Annette Little wrote, “There are the lesser-known holidays celebrating fun things like dark chocolate or chopsticks or frozen yogurt — plus occasions dedicated to important causes like National Girls and Women in Sports Day or Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Week,” in “Every Day is a Celebration in February.”

This is great Beverly for content ideas in February. Thank you for putting this list together!

E. Katherine Kottaras wrote, “Source: Walking in Atwater Village which is just the best little stretch of street over on the east side of L.A., with many independently owned restaurants, vintage and thrift shops, and tzotchke boutiques,” in her latest Seed Words post.

Check out the seed words for this week (and the inspiration behind them).

Jennifer Pierce wrote,

“I had that dream again, remember?

Where I walk along a quay

The ocean shimmers like silken tears

and your steps

go the other way”

in her poem, “Bad Dreams.”

L Burton wrote, “When I discovered paint pouring a few years ago, I thought ‘this is my new thing!’” in “Hobbies” in response to the hobby prompt.

I love this painting technique Lynn!

Kaori Mitsui wrote, “‘Oh, I love the ocean! When Robo drives, I love watching the coast and the water; Buddy wagged its tail,” in “From the Coast to the Top of the Hill,” in response to E. Katherine Kottaras’s seed words prompt.

Kaori, I love how you used Katherine’s seed words for continuing Robo and Buddy’s adventures!

Amanda Laughtland wrote, ““And there was Helen,” Grandma Dagmar could always barely get this part out from laughing so hard. “There was Helen in the hydrangea bush!” in “A True Story from ‘B’ Avenue,” in response to E. Katherine Kottaras’s Seed Words #1.

This got me chuckling, a must-read!

VerityAlways wrote, “Thank you! This word certainly hits your nerves,” in “You’re Fired,” in response to the fired freewriting prompt.

A funny rant at that moment when everything is falling apart!

Danielle Hestand wrote, “I relish the ability to make many different unique designs and play with bead designs and shapes to create unexpected effects,” in “Why Is Making Wire Jewelry One Hobby I Love?” in response to the hobby prompt.

Check out the beautiful jewelry Danielle makes in her article!

Barb Dalton wrote, “Rudeness and lowliness are unnecessary in any circumstance and at any time. No one is holier than thou,” in “If I Could Fire Someone, It Would Be My Landlord,” in response to the You’re Fired prompt.

I was uttering, “yas” all the way through your piece, Barb!

and Barb wrote, “It was insufferable. I felt like a doormat, and I was already one of those at home,” in her article about being fired, “Before I Went Nursing in Quebec, I Tried Retail.”

I can completely relate to trying to work in retail, not for me either!

L Burton wrote, “‘I shall buy this plant and name it Robert,’ I announced to my husband as I picked up the blue planter filled with succulents,” in “In Bloom,” in response to the houseplant prompt.

I got it! Robert. Plant. Ha!

Kris Bedenian wrote, “Yes, loving those around us is a priority, but honoring our own desires is also a vital role in our existence,” in “Acknowledging Your Yearning for Creativity.”

A must-read article; I could have highlighted the whole thing! Thank you Kris!

Sandra B wrote, “But I also think we need to remind people of the beauty of nature. Entice them to go outside and see what is worth saving. So the photography hobby can help me tell better stories and do just that,” in “Hobbies, Everyone Should Have Some,” in response to the hobby prompt.

Check out the repurposed and DIY projects Sandra’s husband has made!

✨ Welcome New Writers ✨

VerityAlways — Makena Darya — Umme Salma — Călina Mureșan — Anne Bonfert

Calls for Submissions

I welcome writers to share their own freewriting exercises, writing prompts, and writing contest alerts here at Flint and Steel. You can write short-form or long-form posts.

You can find submission guidelines on our Be a Writer page.

✍ Freewriting Friday

In the latest Freewriting Friday post, we are exploring the words brave, competitive, and unpredictable in celebration of the the Chinese New Year tomorrow, February 1st.

📣 Around Medium: Calls for Submissions, Writing Prompts, and Challenges 📣

Check out last week’s newsletter for more writing prompts and challenges.

Tips

As always, review each publication’s guidelines for their prompts. Many prompts do not have a set deadline.

Make sure when you are responding to a prompt, you credit where your inspiration came from, like a link to the prompt article.

Many of these prompts could fall under nonfiction, poetry, and fiction so don’t limit yourself. There is no right or wrong. Use these prompts as a springboard to your writing.

⌚ = time-sensitive writing prompt!

⌚ Ellie Jacobson wrote about the Writing Prompt Challenge at Flint & Steel

ADEOLA SHEEHY-ADEKALE, with The Honest Perspective, shared their weekly prompts. . .

✔ Whose image is your body being compared to? What definitions of beauty do you hold?

✔ How has the popular ideal of beauty shaped your relationship to your body?

✔When did you last feel beautiful?

Know Thyself, Heal Thyself is back! The prompts for the week of January 31–Feb 4th (no deadlines for writing in response):

• Take a black-and-white image and use your words to create a color prism of mindful actions. (Challenge yourself to write something different or try something new)
• Take a label you have worn for too long. Write new care instructions.
• Take a negative self-talk phrase or old story & add the word YET.
• What movie, song, or fairytale describe your life’s story and why?

Marrisa W. , with Coffee Times, shared the latest book prompts:

✔ The saddest book you’ve ever read

✔ Your favourite sad book

✔ A book that made you cry

Trista Signe Ainsworth with Thank You Notes, shared the weekly prompt, about pep talks. Do you give yourself a pep talk often? What do you say to yourself? How do you motivate yourself to keep going or change direction in life?

and the February prompt is about celebrating the quiet moments of love. Valentine’s Day is about the commercial side of love. Don’t get me wrong, I love a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates, but what about the tiny moments of love that fill us with gratitude? With romantic love, a friend, a family member, or a stranger even?

Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), with The Brain is a Noodle, shared her latest #WritingPrompt: Are there experiences you have trouble verbalizing into words?

Chelsea Marie, with The Storyteller’s Vault, shared writing prompts for nonfiction.

✔ The best budgeting tip I’ve ever heard.

✔ The best local restaurant you’ve never heard of.

✔ Four words I never heard before last year (and wish I could wipe from my mind).

Subscribe to the Sparks Newsletter

If you would like to subscribe to the Sparks newsletter, visit the newsletter page. You can also find past newsletters for more writing inspiration.

— Ellie Jacobson, editor

📣 Attention Medium publication editors 📣

Have a writing prompt, challenge, or a call for submission you want included in an upcoming Sparks Newsletter? Feel free to leave a comment in the Latest Newsletter (link found on main page at Fleet & Steel), email me at [email protected], or tag me in your prompt article and I’ll include the info in the next newsletter. Newsletters go out on Monday or Tuesdays.

Please include a link to the article that summarizes the prompt/challenge/call for submission and if there is a deadline. I will link to the article and to your publication in the newsletter. I also tweet the newsletter throughout the week for added exposure.

💖 Thank you to all the Flint & Steel writers 💖

Sahil Patel, Shirley Jones Luke, Samantha Jensen, MA, MAEd, Trista Signe Ainsworth, MIGHTY MISCELLANY, L Burton, Heathere CW, Kaori Mitsui, Penelope Mayfield, Pierce McIntyre, Pene Hodge, Yean Foong (M.Ed.), Elin Melaas, Sarah Minnis, Mindy Morgan Avitia, JM Heatherly, Nikki, Andria Kennedy, pockett dessert, Dennett, Diana Lotti, Ronald C. Flores-Gunkle, Mulan, Amanda Laughtland, Vidya Sury, Collecting Smiles, Penny Grubb, Sorina Raluca Babau, Prashansa Chandekar, Will Hull, Ravyne Hawke, Jane Grows Garden Rooms (Jane Frost), Mimi Bordeaux, Adrienne Beaumont, Karen Schwartz, Divina Grey, Sangeetha Shankar, Ellen Andaya, Barb Dalton, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Beverly Annette Little, Lucy Dan 蛋小姐 (she/her/她), Beverly Annette Little, Aabye-Gayle F., AliciaMarie Belchak | Master Life, Build Dreams, Danielle Hestand, Rick Allen, Jennifer Pierce, Tamil — Amy Rosie — Jennifer McDougall — Susan Poole — Adrienne Parkhurst — Chelsea Marie — Charlie Cole — Katie Michaelson — Sandra B — Buse ermen — E. Katherine Kottaras — Bingz Huang — Winston — Stephanie Stephenson — Marilyn Flower — Kris Bedenian — Kathy K — Nick Stockton

. . . and our 152 followers! 💖

✍ Written by Ellie Jacobson, ©2022 all rights reserved.

✨ I’m a freelance writer and editor from Minnesota, writing my first novel, a psychological suspense novel. Are you a writer? Check out Sparks, my newsletter filled with writing prompts to spark your creativity.

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