Month: January 2025

Have Fun Writing About This Character

Have fun writing about this character

Today’s prompt is to have fun writing about this character. Maybe it’s the opening lines of a story. Maybe it’s a short character sketch. Maybe it’s the backstory for this little girl’s expression. Here’s mine.

“Uncle Matt.” My niece Amelia slid her glasses down her nose. “I told you not to give Pumpkin treats from the table.” She glared up at me, tapping her foot.

I gulped pop. A grown man should not be made to feel so awkward by a six-year-old. But if the six-year-old was the clone of her mother, who was the big sister who had been born without a funny bone but with a terrifying sense of what was proper, then such a reaction was understandable.

I swigged more pop as Amelia tapped her scuffed croc.

At least that’s what I kept telling myself.

For more character prompts, click here.

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Writing Fun with Characters

Writing fun with characters

Since this month is all about having fun with writing, I’m giving you ideas on how to have writing fun with characters. I’m a character writer. I start with developing characters and getting to know them. Once I understand them as well as my kids, it’s time to throw them into a story. When my writing isn’t going well, I look to my characters to rescue the narrative. And to put the fun back into a story.

Fun Ideas for Characters

Here are some ideas to write about characters for just the fun of it.

  • Create two very obnoxious characters. Then put them in a scene together.
  • Write from your pet’s POV, especially what it thinks of you.
  • Insert yourself in a scene with one of your favorite fiction characters like Sherlock Holmes or Bilbo Baggins.
  • Insert yourself in a scene with one of the characters you’ve created.
  • Reverse a famous hero-villain pair. For example, Superman terrorizes the world, and only Lex Luthor can save it.

Fun Ideas for Characters in Your WIP

If you’re writing on a deadline, you might not have time to write something outside of your WIP. So below are ideas to consider adding to your WIP, if you’ve found all the fun has gone out of your current project but you can’t step away from it.

  • Add a scene or two with your favorite supporting character.
  • Have two characters who don’t like each other meet.
  • Have your main character (MC) fight wither their closest friend.
  • Have your MC do something that’s outrageous for them.
  • Have your antagonist do something outrageous for them.
  • Bring together two characters who haven’t had a scene together yet.
  • Add a character who isn’t supposed to be in the story. For example, you decided you didn’t need your MC’s grandma in the story and sent her on vacation. Bring her back and see if she can fit in the story.
  • Write a scene that isn’t working from the POV of a different character.

What suggestions do have for writing fun with characters? For more character prompts, click here.

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Write a Winter Haiku

Write a winter haiku

This month I’m trying to get the fun back in my writing, so all my prompts for Monday Sparks are to encourage you to have fun with writing as well. One of the drawbacks of writing novels is that it takes so long to feel like you’ve accomplished anything. That’s why today’s prompt is to write a winter haiku.

If you aren’t familiar with the poetry form called haiku, it’s a poem of three lines: the first is five syllables, the second is seven, and the third is five again. You can create one in a few minutes and then bask in the glow of having finished a writing project. If you can’t get your poem to fit the syllable scheme, go with what seems right to you. It’s supposed to be fun!

For more haiku prompts, click here.

Winter Haiku

I’ll take ice and snow

Over rain and mud. Winter

Should act like winter.

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A Warning for Writers

A warning for writers

I’m kicking off the new year with a warning for writers. Why a warning? Because of a problem I’ve encountered. This problem can sneak up on you, and you discover you have it before you realize it. Or it may hit you like a runaway train. What’s the problem? The fun goes out of your writing.

Instead of looking forward to it, sitting down at your computer or notebook feels like a chore. So this month my theme for JPC Allen Writes is fun–how to have fun with your writing no matter what you write.

Where Did All the Fun Go?

I think a writer can lose their enjoyment in their craft for a number of reasons. For me, it’s been the pressure of being an author. I love having my novels published, but I can let the demands of meeting deadlines and marketing siphon off all the fun I have getting to know my characters and crafting a complicated mystery.

Maybe you’re not published yet. You have a finished manuscript, or you’re working on one, and you’re researching how to get published. Investigating various agents and what they want, querying them, building a platform, and studying craft and marketing resources can make you forget why you wrote the novel in the first place.

Or it could be a tough time in your life. Personal traumas don’t allow you to enjoy this art like you use to.

Or your inspiration has dried up. Anything you write seems dull, unoriginal, or pointless and you don’t know how to get the creative spark to reignite.

Let’s Inspire Each Other!

So this month, I’ll have posts offering suggestions on how to have fun with writing fiction, things I enjoy about writing my cozy mystery series. I’ll also offer fun writing prompts for my Monday Sparks.

I’d love to hear from you. Has there been a time when writing wasn’t fun? Why? What did you do to regain your delight in this art? If you haven’t figured that out yet, please join me on Mondays and Thursdays, and we’ll work to find you a solution.

But don’t forget …

Have Fun!

For some fun writing prompts, click here.

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