History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: March 2022 Writing Prompts

| February 25, 2022

We’re reaching the end of February; as the shortest month, it almost always seems to fly past. In the Northern Hemisphere, it also means we’re gradually escaping the cold and gloom of the winter months, as we approach the beginning of spring in late March. March is also exciting to me because it’s my birthday […]

Fun for Friday: Wordle as Writing Prompts?

| February 18, 2022

If you’ve somehow missed the phenomenon that is Wordle, I’m impressed. The small white (or black), yellow, and green boxes are everywhere as people guess the word of the day. For me, it’s a nice way to start my morning and get my brain in gear. If you play Wordle regularly, and you’re looking for […]

Fun for Friday: Dragon Images

| February 11, 2022

This week, I’m using the awesome search on Unsplash to find Creative Commons licensed images for inspiration. I decided to see what sort of options they had for dragons, and the options did not disappoint! The first dragon is a white dragon with blue eyes. The whole of the dragon is not visible, but the […]

Fun for Friday: Finish the Story Game

| February 4, 2022

While this Finish the Story Game is meant for grade-school aged kids, there’s something to be said for starting with a simple prompt, like the ones provided here, and turning it into a story. You might use them as more of an inspiration than a starting line, or one of them may really grab you […]

Fun for Friday: February 2022 Writing Prompts

| January 28, 2022

It’s nearly February, so it’s time for some new writing prompts! This month, I’ve separated out each column to be a person, a place, and a thing, as inspired by a recent “Poetry Thunderdome” event I took place in, where those categories were sourced from the audience, and then we wrote poems very quickly based […]

Fun for Friday: Sci-Fi and Post-Apocalyptic Images

| January 21, 2022

This week’s Fun for Friday is sci-fi and post-apocalyptic images! The first image is an illustration from the mid-twentieth century speculating on what space travel would be like. It depicts three men, two of whom are seated at a table and one of whom is floating horizontally toward the table. They appear to be engaged […]

Fun for Friday: Steampunk Plot Generator!

| January 14, 2022

Steampunk may have had its big moment in the sun and moved on, but if you’re a fan, check out this steampunk plot generator! In addition to using a spreadsheet populated with some realistic Victorian-era data, it also gives you the plot in the Save the Cat! format, which means it pretty much walks you through […]

Fun for Friday: New Image Prompts!

| January 7, 2022

It’s time for another batch of image prompts! The first image shows a hexagonal framed structure that appears to be observation areas for a cityscape. (Deleted 11/18/22) The second image shows fireworks exploding behind the Eiffel Tower at night. The third image shows the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York skyline on a cloudy night, […]

January 2022 Writing Prompts

| December 31, 2021

Tomorrow begins a new year, which is also a great time to take on a new writing challenge! This month, I’ve got some words derived from a couple of non-thematic lists I found, mixed in with some totally random words. So you may discern some themes from day to day, but hopefully the inclusion of […]

Fun for Friday: Winter Photo Prompts!

| December 24, 2021

This week, I’ve got some winter themed image prompts that might also work for speculative fiction. Maybe they’re all related, and maybe they’re three very different places! (Images deleted due to unknown copyright holders.) The first image depicts a large but very slender crescent moon above the sun, which is above a bank of clouds […]