Novel Kicks Fiction Friday: Accidental Mind Reader

Published January 20, 2023 | By Laura

It’s Friday which means it’s time to start writing some fiction.

Fiction Friday is our weekly writing flash fiction prompt.

The aim is to write for a minimum of five minutes and then keep going for as long as you can.

Don’t edit, just write. Once you’re done, you’re welcome to share in the comments but there’s no obligation.

Today’s prompt: Accidental Mind Reader.

On your way to a job interview, your character falls over and hits their head. They don’t think too much about it until the next morning.

They wake up and discover they can hear the thoughts of other humans and animals around them.

Write a conversation between your character and either another person or animal.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Micro Fiction

Published January 18, 2023 | By Laura

For today’s writing room, I thought we could write some micro fiction.

Short stories are deceptively hard to write, micro fictions even more so.

Pick three out of the following genres – gothic, romance, horror, sci-fi, historic, young adult.

Now, write a 6 word short story, a 50 word short story and a 100 word short story assigning one of the genres you’ve picked to each one.

For example, I’ve chosen gothic to the 6 word short story:

Midnight struck; she’s now lost forever.

Let me know how you get on in the comments below and as always, if you feel brave enough to post your work, I’d love to read it.

Have fun!

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Pick ‘n’ Mix

Published January 11, 2023 | By Laura

Hello and welcome to the first Novel Kicks Writing Room of 2023.

Today, I thought it would be fun to write a short story.

Before you begin writing, pick one thing from each section. Don’t overthink it, just write down the one you’re immediately drawn to. Once you’ve done this and written your piece, ask what kind of story it is. Is it a rag to riches, a quest? You get the idea.

Let me know how you found this exercise in the comments below or if you’re feeling brave, feel free to post your story.

Section one – pick one of the following occupations.

A joiner, a detective, an oil rig worker, an ice hockey player, a diplomat.

Section Two – pick one of the following places.

The alps, a basement, top of the Shard, a cat sanctuary, a bank vault.

Section Three – now pick an object.

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Change a Story’s POV

Published April 13, 2022 | By Laura

For today’s writing room, change a story’s POV.

Sometimes, it can be good to change it up a little.

Take a passage from either a current work in progress of your own or a favourite novel.

Change the POV of the main character and rewrite the passage.

What would a scene from Pride and Prejudice be like from the point of view of Lady Catherine De Burgh or what about if Rom was the main character in a Harry Potter scene?

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Structure

Published October 23, 2019 | By Laura

I am currently preparing for National Novel Writing Month. October is known as Preptober.

This got me thinking about structure and I have come across many variants of a three-act structure.

Take an idea you have and plan the plot using the following as a guide.

Act One:

1. Introduce your character and their world.
2. An event that sets the story in motion.
3. Determine what happens next.

Act Two:

4. Determine the goal that isn’t going to come easily.
5. The game changer.
6. The decision.

Act Three:

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Novel Kicks Writing Room: Setting

Published September 13, 2016 | By Laura

Tuesday 13th September 2016: Setting.

For today’s writing exercise, we’re going to be looking at setting.

Choose a place that you know well. Place your work in progress or an idea you’re thinking about developing into this setting.

Now think of an event that began up to a month before the beginning of your story.

Then, by only describing the place/setting reveal as much as you can about the story and the characters.

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Writing Room: Introducing Something Unexpected

Published July 12, 2016 | By Laura

Tuesday 12th July 2016:

Today’s writing group exercise is about introducing something unexpected.

Take something you’re working on at the moment. Make a copy of it (one that you can discard after.)

Now, using that copy, pick a major point in the story and introduce something unexpected into it. If it’s a serious subject, introduce something crazy like a talking animal circus or if it’s a lighthearted plot, introduce something serious into it. What if a unicorn suddenly popped up in a history lesson where your character has just assured the students that unicorns don’t exist?

How do your characters react to the change?

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