Posts

Free Writing Workshop August 26th: Speed Date With Your Protagonist

  When writing fiction, your protagonist is the center point. There must be a reason your readers want to get to the end of the story, and seeing what happens to your protagonist is a key motivator. Your readers don't have to like your protagonist, your protagonist doesn't have to be the "good guy," but they do need to be compelling. This is a prompt-focused writing workshop to help you build the strongest main character you can. Come ready with your protagonist and your preferred tools to write!  The workshop is virtual over Zoom on July 22nd 2:00 pm-3:30 pm Eastern/11:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific  Sign Up This is a free virtual workshop through SCRiB LAB.  Find out more about this and other free writing workshops and resources on their website!

Collected Character Prompts: July 2023

Image
 Every Wednesday I post a character writing prompt on Instagram @aurora_a_hurd . Here are July's prompts! I missed a week - it was a busy month! Prompt #40:  Write a detailed physical description of your character.  How do you plan on integrating that throughout the story?  Prompt #41: How do your protagonist's weaknesses align with  your antagonist's strengths and vice versa? Prompt #42: Does your character have a home to go back to?  Or is it home they're running away from?

Collected Character Prompts: June 2023 (Pride Month)

Image
Every Wednesday I post a character writing prompt on Instagram @aurora_a_hurd . Here are June's prompts, which are themed for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month! Promot 36:  For speculative fiction writers: What would it look like for you to write a queer-normative world or society? Does that change how you write your characters? For fiction writers: What time is your story set in? How do your characters' identities shape their experience? Prompt 37: Think of a role or character archetype you have never seen a character who is LGBTQIA+ fill and rectify that.  Prompt 38: How do your characters define family? How many different types of families does your world/story show? Are there ways to expand that? Prompt 39: A character's joy is as, if not more, impactful than their sorrow. What are the things that bring the most joy to your character?

New Free Writing Workshop July 22nd: Speed Date With Your Protagonist

When writing fiction, your protagonist is the center point. There must be a reason your readers want to get to the end of the story, and seeing what happens to your protagonist is a key motivator. Your readers don't have to like your protagonist, your protagonist doesn't have to be the "good guy," but they do need to be compelling. This is a prompt-focused writing workshop to help you build the strongest main character you can. Come ready with your protagonist and your preferred tools to write!  The workshop is virtual over Zoom on July 22nd 2:00 pm-3:30 pm Eastern/11:00 am-12:30 pm Pacific  Sign Up This is a free virtual workshop through SCRiB LAB. Find out more about this and other free writing workshops and resources on their website!

Collected Character Prompts: May 2023

Image
Every Wednesday I post a character writing prompt on Instagram @aurora_a_hurd . Here are May's prompts! Prompt 31: Using the language of flowers, choose three types  of flowers that best represent your character. ~ Resource: https://www.almanac.com/flower-meanings-language-flowers  Prompt 32: What is a goal that your character can never achieve?  What does it take for them to be at peace with that fact?  Or will they never accept it? Prompt 33: What is the most recent thing  in your character's search history? Prompt 34: Is your character also a writer or an artist?  If so, how does that shape the way they view the world? Prompt 35: What does your character think of lying?  Do they see it as something unforgivable, a necessary evil,  or as no big deal - just something that everyone does?

Collected Character Prompts: April 2023

Image
Every Wednesday I post a character writing prompt on Instagram @aurora_a_hurd . Here are the prompts from April! Prompt 27: How does your character handle being alone?  Is it their favorite way to be or do they get bored? Prompt 28: How would your character react to someone making a bad pun?  Or would they be the one making the pun? Prompt 29: Are there tropes your character falls into?  How can you play with and expand those into something unique? ~ A resource: https://tvtropes.org/ Prompt 30: Choose one of your secondary characters and write their perspective  of the main character(s). Is it positive? Negative? Indifferent?

It's back! And it's free! Idea to Manuscript Class September 2022

I'm working with ScribLab to bring back my first class, Idea to Manuscript, in a slightly condensed form. Instead of 6 workshops, there will be 4, and you can take them for free!  Each class will be 1.5 hours, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Eastern, every Sunday in the month of September. Sign up here! Below are additional details: Have you always wanted to write a novel but don’t know where to start? Have you not written in years and want to dive back in? Do you have lots of ideas but don't know how to start filling that first blank page? Have no fear! This 4-week class is here! This class focuses on how you can get started on the project you’ve always wanted to work on. You’ll learn the tools you need to get that ever-important first draft down on the page. Over the course of 4 weeks, we’ll learn: 9/4/22 Choosing and Fleshing Out an Idea:  We’ll get introduced to the writer’s toolbox and learn how to choose ideas and start writing. 9/11/22 Plotting the Course and the Importance of Charac