History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: Big Pink Book of Prompts, A Galaxy Draws a Self Portrait

| September 18, 2026

For the twelfth prompt from the Big Pink Book, I took the three elements together and combined them into an idea for writing a poem with the title “A Galaxy Draws a Self Portrait.” I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m posting a photo of my page of notes. At the top of the page, […]

The Big Pink Book Prompt 12: Talented Amateur

| September 14, 2026

The next prompt (#12) in the Big Pink Book is a mostly blank page with three stickers, arranged in a rough diagonal from the top left to the bottom right. At the top left is a small, light pink, vaguely rectangular sticker bearing the text “Every artist was first an amateur.” In the center of […]

Fun for Friday: Yet More DefConOne Instagram Writing Prompts!

| September 11, 2026

Here’s another batch of writing prompts from the DefConOne Instagram account! Write a piece in which a hug can be perceived as mean. Write a piece in which an orange makes or breaks a picnic. Write a piece involving a popsicle causing problems. Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for writing prompts on Fridays, or check them […]

Fun for Friday: The Big Pink Book Prompt 11, Blue Doors

| September 4, 2026

On Monday, I shared the eleventh prompt from the Big Pink Book. If you guessed that I was going to do something with blue doors, you’re absolutely correct. (It was probably pretty obvious.) Even though the image at the top left is a birdhouse, it had a similar shape and dimensions as the door at […]

The Big Pink Book Prompt 11, Blue Doors

| August 31, 2026

Prompt 11 from the Big Pink Book is another one with stickers at the corners, along a theme. In the top left, there’s a dark blue birdhouse with silver snow on the roof and a bow at the top. At the top right, there are two shiny aqua squares above a light blue and white […]

Fun for Friday: September 2026 Writing Prompts

| August 28, 2026

It’s time, once again for next month’s writing prompts! This time, we’re just about to head into September, which means autumn for the northern hemisphere! I’ve got a collection of older September art challenges that I haven’t used before this month. The first column is from Catember 2025. How did I never know there was […]

Recap of the Big Pink Book, Prompts 1-10

| August 26, 2026

I’ve now posted the first ten prompts from the Big Pink Book, along with how I used each one. Here’s a quick recap post. A Map We Go Together Like … It’s Funny … Magical Books Flags and Leaves Fantasy Theme Weird Combination Zen? Stars and Rainbows Free Spirit Out of these ten prompts, I […]

Fun for Friday: The Big Pink Book Prompt 10, Free Spirit

| August 21, 2026

On Monday, I posted the blank version of the tenth prompt in the Big Pink Book, which had themes of joy and happiness. Of course, I had to take it in a different direction. A while back, I wrote a drabble titled “Tarot Esoterica: The Black Lagoon,” which appeared in This Book Has Ghosts in It. […]

The Big Pink Book Prompt 10, Free Spirit

| August 17, 2026

This week’s prompt from the Big Pink Book is a mostly open page with four stickers, one at each corner. Clockwise from the upper left, they are: A card from the Winnie the Pooh tarot deck corresponding to a card that isn’t found in any other deck that I’ve encountered. Its meaning is joy or […]

Fun for Friday: More DefConOne Instagram Writing Prompts

| August 14, 2026

It’s time for some more prompts from the DefConOne Instagram account! Write a piece involving Atlantis. Write a piece involving candles and house plants. Write a piece about an unusual circus or carnival. Follow the DefCon One Instagram account for writing prompts on Fridays, or check them out when I post them here!