History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: DCO Instagram Prompts Dump

| April 17, 2026

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! There’s some fun to be had here with interpreting specific words in a variety of ways! Write a piece about sweets that embolden the eater. Write a piece in which astrology plays an important role. Write a piece about an event that requires […]

Fun for Friday: April 2026 Writing Prompts!

| March 27, 2026

We’ve got a few more days until April begins, but it’s time for the writing prompts for April 2026! This month, I’ve turned three art challenges into writing prompts. Column 1 is from @veryberrydraws’ FreshARTpril 2025 prompt list. These prompts are all fruits and vegetables, but I think that when you combine them with the […]

Fun for Friday: Playing Catch Up with DCO Instagram Prompts

| March 13, 2026

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! These might be an interesting set to combine in a single piece! Write a piece about a person with unique expertise. Write a piece about a person with absorption powers. Write a piece about mittens getting in the way. Follow the DefCon One Instagram […]

Fun for Friday: March 2026 Writing Prompts!

| February 27, 2026

It’s almost March, so it’s time for the March 2026 writing prompts! This month, we’re starting with a throwback or two. Column 1 (and the image) is from my March 2018 writing prompts, and column 2 is from my March 2019 writing prompts. I figure those are plenty old to bring them back. (And we […]

Fun for Friday: DCO Instagram Prompts Are Back!

| February 13, 2026

I’m back with prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! These are from late September and through October, so some of them have a bit of a fall theme. Write a piece about someone using a fork as a rake … or vice versa? Write a piece featuring a new candy trend. Write a piece […]

Fun for Friday: February 2026 Writing Prompts!

| January 30, 2026

We’re almost through January now, so here’s February’s writing prompts! This month, I’ve picked prompts from art challenges. The first two columns are definitely more February themed, but without too much overlap. The third column adds a nice random element to the mix! Column 1 is Doodlewash’s February 2025 prompts. Column 2 is from Natural Beach Living […]

January 2026 Writing Prompts

| December 26, 2025

We’ve still got almost a week of December, but it’s time for the first monthly writing prompts for 2026! This month, I’ve got one list that’s decidedly winter themed, while the other two have fewer winter-specific prompts. Column 1 is Doodlewash’s January 2026 prompts. The list included a few plants and animals I wasn’t familiar […]

December 2025 Writing Prompts!

| November 28, 2025

It’s time for the December 2025 writing prompts, and this month, I’m doing a little something different! The first image and first column of words are a throwback to 2017, which was the first time I did December writing prompts on this blog! This is a list that was designed for six-word stories, but you […]

Fun for Friday: November 2025 Writing Prompts

| October 31, 2025

I’m not entirely sure where October went, but here we are at the end of the month, ready for the November 2025 writing prompts! This month, the first column comes from Kick in the Creatives. The second column is from Doodlewash. The third column is a new-to-me art challenge, Gouachevember. There’s a very small amount […]

Fun for Friday: Back to DefCon One Instagram Prompts

| October 24, 2025

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! Write a piece about a grocery store in a soap opera. Write a piece where a wicked person is squashed. Write a cozy piece with a stuffed animal and hot cocoa. Then change something to make it weird! Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for […]