History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: January 2024 Writing Prompts!

| December 29, 2023

Well, 2024 is just around the corner, so here we go with the first writing prompt post for the year! List 1 is Doodlewash’s January 2024 list. I added a link to “puffling” on this list because I only learned when I looked it up that it’s a baby puffin! How cute is that?! List […]

Fun for Friday: Unnatural Animals?

| December 22, 2023

Our local zoo does a Wild Lanterns event each winter with all sorts of “animal” displays. We haven’t been to the nighttime version this year, so we haven’t seen the animals lit up, but we see them on our daytime zoo walks. So this week, you’ve got a trio of “unnatural” animals to use in […]

Fun for Friday: December 2023 Writing Prompts

| December 1, 2023

Well, we’re in the home stretch. It’s December now, which means it’s time for the December 2023 writing prompts! This month’s prompts are all sourced from other locations. The first column is Drawcember from Reddit. The second column is from Doodlewash’s December art challenge list. And the third column is from Writers Write’s December 2022 […]

Fun for Friday: 500 Fiction Writing Prompts!

| November 24, 2023

Looking for a load of fiction writing prompts? Check out the 500 fiction writing prompts at Written Word Media! They’re grouped by genre, and include both speculative fiction and non-speculative fiction ideas. But you know me, I’d probably try to turn those non-speculative prompts into something speculative as well!    

Fun for Friday: Spooky DefCon One Instagram Writing Prompts!

| November 10, 2023

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! Write a piece about a group of bats preparing for Halloween shenanigans. Write a piece about classic monsters preparing to do something that isn’t traditional for them. Write a piece in which autumn (the season) is a character. Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for […]

Fun for Friday: November 2023 Writing Prompts

| October 27, 2023

November is nearly here! While for many writers, that means National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), sometimes prompts can still be a vital part of the process. If you get stuck on any given day, you can pop over here to see the three words for the day and see if any of them give you […]

Fun for Friday: More DefCon One Instagram Prompts!

| October 13, 2023

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! Write a piece about an overheard conversation. Write a piece about an animal with unusual characteristics. Write a piece about an atypical battle between good and evil. Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for writing prompts every other Friday, or check them out when I […]

Fun for Friday: Seasons as Characters

| September 22, 2023

In connection with Monday’s post about seasons in worldbuilding, I’m thinking about seasons as characters. How would you write a character based on spring? Which elements of that season would you emphasize? You could write a character who’s all joy and rebirth and growing things, or you could write a character who’s like torrential downpours […]

Fun for Friday with Instagram Prompts!

| September 15, 2023

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefCon One Instagram account! Write a piece where music impacts the outcome. Write a piece set in the 1980s. Write a piece about a plant with unusual characteristics. Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for writing prompts every other Friday, or check them out when I post them here!

Fun for Friday: List Stories

| September 8, 2023

Here’s a fun writing prompt! Come up with a click-bait style article title that involves a list of top whatever. Then use that to tell a story within the context of the list, with the different items on the list as a sort of header for each section of the story. The format lends itself […]