A story within a story

Over at Writer’s Village University, I rub elbows with plenty of writers. In a recent exchange with a fellow writer, he talked about mining his book manuscripts for short story ideas related to his longer works. It’s a way to make additional money and even promote his books. 

I’m doing something similar with my novel, Dragonborn. In it, a book of evil plays a big role. The Book Darkmore holds the spirits of the people who used its powers and are no longer living. The spirits live within the pages of the book eternally, but when a new host gives itself to the book, the spirits of the book and its dark magic influence that human host. I have come up with a slew of creative writing prompts and am writing a collection of stories related to the Book Darkmore. Readers will learn of its origins as well as the history of the hosts as well as their spirits. It’s not something you’d have to read to understand the story of Dragonborn, but the stories make it a perfect companion book for Dragonborn fans and will cover all four with books of the series.

Today’s Writing Prompt challenge

Today’s writing prompt challenges you to find a story within a story. It doesn’t matter if the original story is yours or not. For instance, you could pull a story from something like the Wizard of Oz. The first that comes to my mind is, “The House that Fell.” It reminds me of when I lived through a category 4 hurricane. That memory is rife with story prompts. I could make it fiction or non-fiction. It might even involve something like time travel and the opportunity to do things differently before the storm hits. Follow your imagination. If you are stuck, go to one of your favorite fairy tales. The possibilities are endless

Harvest at least one possible story idea from another work. It can be your original work or from somewhere else. But I recommend you make a list of your creative writing ideas. Keep them in your story writing topics folder. Then if/when you feel writer’s block nipping at your muse, pull from your ideas folder and start writing something new. It will get the juices flowing and you’ll be ready to go back to writing what you were working on.

* * *

Some links in this post are affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to amazon.com and affiliate sites. 

 

Create Suspense with Things Unseen

No matter what genre you're writing, a little suspense is a great way to engage your reader. Today's writing prompt challenges you to create suspense by creating something unseen. The challenge is to introduce the element without actually seeing it. This can be done by showing evidence of its existence by using senses other than sight.

Create a suspenseful scene using sounds, smells, and feelings. For instance, if the air turns icy cold a character may suddenly see their breath bloom in a frosty balloon, a strong floral scent in a room could mark the presence of an entity, or the hair on the back of the neck prickling can create suspense. Bring the reader to the edge, make them hungry to know what it is they don't see by providing evidence that it is there.

***

For those who want to improve their writing, take advantage of a Special Session of F2K: Fiction Writing for the New Millennium for only $10. F2K is the most popular creative writing course on the Internet, and this session offers a free 60-day membership to Writer's Village University. This is where I got my start as a writer, and I highly recommend it.

***

Buy Donna Sundblad's book on Kindle: Pumping Your Muse, Windwalker, Beyond the Fifth Gate, The Inheritance