Twenty Inventive New Year’s Writing Prompts

I am a professional author, full of interesting ideas and ready to help other writers create amazing stories.

Here are twenty inventive New Year’s Writing Prompts to start your writing year off right.

1.       A professor has a dream about no one coming to her class on the first day of the semester

2.       A mom realizes that her kids don’t go back to school until February

3.       A grumpy neighbor gets mad that Christmas lights are still on

4.       A gym owner hands out cookies and gets punched in the face

5.       The lights go out on New Year’s Eve and don’t come back on in the morning

6.       A candle store goes out of business because every single Christmas gift gets returned

7.       A woman’s New Year’s Resolution is to leave her husband

8.      Fireworks go off on New Year’s Eve but then a city realizes it was a bomb

9.     The ball drops in Times Square, breaks open and ______ flies out

10.   Everyone is forced to relive the last year over again

11.   A child’s New Year’s Resolution is to get their parents to divorce

12.   A January calendar is printed with the wrong date

13.   Travelers use the wrong dated calendar to book airline tickets that are one day off

14.   A woman decides to leave her Christmas lights up all year round

15.   A granddaughter starts to declutter her grandmother’s house and finds a shocking amount of____

16.   A boy gets a new pair of sneakers and discovers they allow him to_______

17.   A grocery store gives away a chance to win a free car with every pound of kale sold.

18.   A blizzard shuts down a mountain highway, and two strangers find the same cabin

19.   There is a national emergency signal sent at 12:01 am that says _____

20.   There is a magical calendar and whatever you write on it comes true

If any of these writing prompts tickle your fancy, you might love one of my books! You can check them out points up up there! And if you write a bestseller based on one of my prompts, please acknowledge me in the back.

To help other authors come up with great ideas, pin one of these photos to Pinterest!

A Story About Pie

Let’s talk about pie.

Yes, pie.

The dessert, not the mathematical number.

I have a friend, A, who is a phenomenal pastry chef.  I have been able to sample her creations on numerous occasions, but I have never pressed my advantage. Our children were in the same class in first or second grade and that was the first time I heard about A’s cream puffs.

You see, it was A’s child’s birthday and instead of bringing in store-bought cupcakes for the class, A brought (per her child’s request), homemade cream puffs.

My child informed me that they were delicious and could she also have homemade cream puffs brought to school for her birthday?

My child asked me for cream puffs for years. The memory of those delicious cream puffs haunted my poor, underprivileged child saddled with a useless mom who was not even going to attempt homemade cream puffs.

Yet. I became friends with A anyway, even though she showed me up in the cream puff department. And the tartlette department. And the macaron department.

She is a trained and accomplished pastry chef, after all. I accept that I cannot compete in these arenas.

But like I said, I’ve never asked for special favors or samples. I would never presume. Baking is hard work and can be expensive and I respect that this is her job.

Then one day last week, A posted a photo of a new recipe she was developing.

It was a completely new type of pie.

A described it in loving, intricate detail, using elevated vocabulary that only true foodies would appreciate.  Panna cotta. Sweet milk. Chocolate ball.

Okay, even I understood that last one.

I get a text soon after from A: Do you want to try this new pie?  

Um, yes.

I dropped by A’s house and she had a miniature sized  pie waiting for me. It was perfect. Perfect shape, perfect dollop of whipped cream on the top, sprinkled with just the right amount of chocolate garnish. Not a crumb out of place. Not a scorch mark or over-brown spot to be seen.

“I’m trying it out,” A said. “I want to know what you think.”

“It looks perfect,” I said.

“Eh,” she said.

EH?

And right then, I saw it.  The tangle of emotions that a creative person gets when they’re trying something new. The excitement, the uncertainty, the passion, the perfectionism.

To me, that miniature pie was perfection. If I had made up the recipe – from scratch, mind you – then created eight sample-sized pies that all looked like they could go straight into a Parisian patisserie’s display case, you would not be hearing “eh” from me.

I would be jumping on top of couches and demanding an excessive amount of praise for creating something amazing from nothing.

For A? It was simply the first draft of a new pie.

Which is something I recognize. My first drafts… well, yes, they’re amazing. But I know they can get better.

I told her then – she was inspiring to me. (And I’m telling her now.)

The fact that she has a new idea – and then uses her skills and talents – to create something that people will gobble down (with pleasure) in five minutes?

It makes my heart ache a little. Humans want to create things. We want to bring smiles to faces. We want to impact days, if not lives.

Whether it’s pies or hand-knitted sweaters from artisanal-dyed yarn or bold paintings or fun stories about falling in love and solving mysteries, so many of us want to share little expressions of ourselves with others. We want them warm, fed, smiling, inspired.

If you’re a creative person, thank you. You make the world a better place.

You know what else makes the world a different place?

A new pie, every month.

That’s right. My friend A has a pie of the month club.   Which is where this story goes to a whole new level.

While I was appreciating A’s new, never been created before pie recipe, and seeing the connection between her culinary creativity and my literary efforts, I remembered the Pie of the Month Club.

“Why don’t I do that?” I asked myself.

I really hate when I do that.

But I have spent the last seven months having lots of deep thoughts about life, work and creating. (#pandemic) I’ve asked myself a lot of uncomfortable questions.

If A can create pastry recipes from scratch EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH…

Could I do the same?

No, not pies, obviously. We’ve established that’s not my oeuvre.

Stories.

Could I put myself out there and go a little crazy? Try new things? Update old things? Write boldly, write unapologetically, write whatever it was I wanted to read that day? Add the fiction equivalent of cardamom when people expect cinnamon?

I think I want to try.

Maybe?

When you start writing commercially, you start to let other people’s opinions get inside your head. And it’s time for me to knock some of that out.

There’s a song that I’ve been loving lately that sort of sums this all up – my words and A’s baking.

If it ain't familiar, it's 'cause you ain't had it yet
Even if you don't like it, I bet you won't forget
There's always one or two pushing on the envelope
So I'ma raise a glass to you if you're one of those

- Maren Morris

So. Who’s in for Story of the Month club?

If you’re interested in following along with this new development, make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter. I haven’t thought through all the details yet but whatever they end up being, the Inner Circle will definitely be the first ones to know!

Why You Need to Quit Nanowrimo

Why You Need to Quit Nanowrimo

 (Look at me with the clickbait title!)

Okay, I don’t mean YOU need to quit Nanowrimo.

I mean, you, over there. Yeah. You need to quit.

You who have tried everything and don’t understand why writing a whole book in a month isn’t working for you when OBVIOUSLY it works for kajillions of other people in November every damn year.

[Side note: Nanowrimo is National Novel Writing Month and also an organization that promotes this event. Nanowrimo encourages participants to write 50,000 words during November.]

For myself, I have “won” Nanowrimo (it’s called winning when you complete 50,000 words in one month.) That was the year that I graciously accepted all the prizes (yes, there are prizes), one of which was a nice discount on Scrivener , the writing software that I still use for all my first drafts to this day.

I’ve also attempted Nanowrimo and “lost.” (They don’t call it losing, but it’s the opposite of winning so…)  But of course I’ve never considered it a loss. ANY words on the page are great. Any stab at a book means, well, that the book is closer to… dying? (What kind of metaphor is ‘taking a stab at,’ anyway?)

I’ve also encouraged and recommended Nanowrimo to almost anyone who has come to me, seriously, and said they want to write a book. (If I haven’t recommended it to you, it’s because I didn’t take you seriously, Mr. Dude at the Sports Bar who had a Great Idea for a KGB Spy Book but like, Harry Potter Style That Will Be Bigger Than 50 Shades of Gray.)

Why do I recommend Nanowrimo to new / aspiring authors? Because you don’t know if you can write a book until you actually try to write a book. It’s as simple as that. Writing books is a lot more than having ideas and picturing them in your head. Writing a book entails WRITING FIFTY to ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND WORDS (approximately) in a (mostly) legible way and making sure it tells a complete story.  That’s… a lot. I’m not going to make it sound like it’s not.

So, you know, if you’re reading this and have always wanted to write, go sign up at Nanowrimo.org and see what they have to offer.

But you said I had to quit Nanowrimo, Lindsay.

I did.

Because I think you should try. And then quit if it’s not working for you.

Why? I hear you saying, “I want to be a writer. I have this amazing idea for a Harry Potter style KGB spy novel that I must gift to the world as my legacy!”

Awesome. The world needs that book, ASAP. (The more times I type this, I might steal this idea, honestly.)

But Nanowrimo doesn’t work for everyone. It’s worked for me, and then it hasn’t. And look, I have five books published with traditional publishers and two self-published books. I have a great agent and a very popular podcast and fans around the world.

And I still know that I’m not going to be able to write fifty thousand words this month.

How do I know that? How do I know that this fantastic program that’s helped so many aspiring writers is most definitely not going to help me this month?

Well, here’s the second piece of advice I started giving new writers about eighteen months ago.

…There’s a class you need to take.

It’s called Write Better Faster. The instructor is Becca Syme.

And she’s helped me sooooo much. I wish I’d taken this class when I was just starting off. Through her insights and the application of a variety of personality/ strength/ self-knowledge instruments, you’ll start figuring out whether something like Nanowrimo will work for you.

Plotting, pantsing, worksheets, writing alone, writing in groups, sprints, critique groups, accountability, deadlines, BICHOK, “treating writing like a job,” “getting in the flow…”  You hear about all these things when you start dipping your toes into the writing community and at first, most of us are tempted to TRY EVERYTHING. And then we’re frustrated when we’re struggling to complete a novel and the people we started off with have self-published a ten-book high fantasy series.

Becca’s classes (and I’ve taken three of them and been coached by her) have helped me learn my strengths, my personality and the type of environments I work best in. All of these lead to greater productivity and greater, well, wellness, truth be told. 

I don’t stress out as much as I used to when the words don’t “flow.” I don’t feel the need to jump on every bandwagon, sign up for every writing course, buy every “how to do novels” book. I know what works for me, and if I don’t, I have the tools to figure it out.

Nanowrimo probably worked for me that first time because I’m a highly competitive person, because I had a small, tightknit group of people who were doing it with me, because I had a steady, predictable schedule at the time and because I’d thoroughly thought out my story ahead of time. 

Nanowrimo hasn’t worked for me since because I either jump in without a fully intellected story (that’s a word in Becca-land) or because it hasn’t been necessary for my publishing strategy. (I know now that my strategic strengths are very strong – and I should always listen to them).

But that’s me. And what I (now) know about myself. ^^^ All those reasons may not apply to you.

So yes, by all means, try Nanowrimo. PLEASE. Again, you never know until you try. Keep sludging through, keep at it!! It’s a thrill to win!

Or… sign up for Becca’s Write Better Faster course. And save yourself some essential pain if Nano seems… harder than it should be? There’s probably a new class starting soon (PERFECT for those I’m going to write a book resolutions.)

She also has a new course called Live Better Faster for those who want to know themselves better to succeed at other life/ career endeavors, not necessarily writing.  

And if you end up taking Write Better Faster, I can’t wait to see you in the Facebook groups or hit me up on social media and let me know ALL the THINGS that you’ve learned and what you’ve learned to Quit.

More Nano/ writing advice:

Alexis Anne’s Five Tips for Writing Nanowrimo

First Draught Writing Podcast

Women With Books Podcast: Chapter 4 with Alexis Daria

Becca’s books if you want to learn more about her philosophy (Yes, I stole her clickbait convention.)

Dear Writer, You Need to Quit
Dear Writer, Are You in Burnout?
Dear Writer, You’re Doing it Wrong

And you can listen/ watch Becca on her Youtube Podcast, The Quit Cast

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!

What to Pack for a Writing Retreat/ Girls Weekend to England

A Writing Retreat - what to pack and what to leave behind.

If you have followed me on Instagram this month, you’ll have seen two types of posts: #readwriteplan challenge photos and pictures of my glorious writing retreat in England with my friends.

How it came about: My amazing friend Julia Kelly is an Anglo-American author who now lives in London {you must read her debut historical fiction The Light Over London and her upcoming release, The Whispers of War}

Click and Pre-order now!

Anyway, Julia graciously invited us to London and her family manse in the countryside and five of us eagerly accepted her hospitality.

And I’ll just skip to the part where I tell you that it was magical. A big part of that is the retreat location, of course. England is so historical, so verdant, so charming (to us Americans living in suburbia, especially) that it can’t help but inspire ALL THE STORIES in my head. But another big part of this is the amazing retreat effect - getting out of the day-to-day #momlife, the feeding of humans and animals, car pool and same old scenery. I love my life, and I am blessed in thousands, if not millions of ways. But a change like a walk down the Thames (or Seine or Hudson or Nile) can excite lots of neurons for months, if not years.

So now you’re convinced (I think you probably already were….) You want to go on a girls’ weekend/ spiritual / writing retreat. Great.

First you need a suitcase. I picked an ancient yet indestructible canvas LL Bean duffel and a Dakine rolling suitcase.

What to pack:

This list may or may not work for you, but maybe it will be a good starting point. After all, I spent weeks thinking deeply and strategizing this suitcase selection so if it helps someone else, that would mean all my mental effort went to good use.

Then you pile everything you might want to take in a big heap on your bed.

*Carry-On Packing for a Week in England in September*

Clothes (in 20 inch rolling suitcase)

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of leggings (I love the Zella Live in Leggings) (LINK)

1 pair of “other pants” (this is whatever you like best. I picked a pair of black sweatpants that would be comfortable but chic on the plane)

1 cozy cardigan (I wore this one on the plane for warmth and to save space in my bag) (LINK)

1 lightweight jacket (rain proof if possible)

3 long sleeve shirts

3 t-shirts

3 lightweight scarves

Pajamas

Underthings/ lingerie/ socks

Packable Hunter boots (LINK)

Birkenstock clogs (can double as slippers in a cold 500 year old house) (LINK)

Adidas Superstars (or other comfortable and cute walking shoe) (LINK)

Pro tip: ROLL. ROLL. ROLL.

*Now, since we were staying at a house, I knew we had the opportunity to do laundry. But I still think this list would be good for a week even if you weren’t planning to wash any clothes.

Now you start your next pile of essential items. Yes, a chocolate bar is always an essential for travel.

Non Clothes (in carry on sized duffle)

Medicine/ vitamins/ glasses

Small toiletry case with all the minis: shampoo, conditioner, curl cream, shower gel, toothpaste, toothbrush, face cleanser, lotion, etc.

Face spritz / moisturizing balm for travel (I brought both, but this was the first time for me to use a moisturizing balm stick and I think this one will be my go-to for now on. It was so convenient and really made my hands/ face/ elbows nice and dewy) (LINK)

1 extra pair of earrings, 2 necklaces

Paperwhite Kindle (I adore mine - so many books can fit in a pocket!) (Link)

Bluetooth headphones (noise cancelling help you sleep on the plane) (LINK)

[And because this was a work/ writing trip:

Computer/ cords/ chargers/ converter

Notebook/ planner/ pens]

So all that in 2 bags + a small crossbody purse (with my phone/ wallet/ lipstick/ hand sanitizer) that I could stash inside the duffle while flying.

My iPad mini + bluetooth keyboard was perfect for writing in an English garden.

Things I Left Behind:

Water Bottle - at home in the United States I am virulently anti- plastic water bottle. It makes me physically sick to think of all the plastic we’ve littered this planet with because we don’t want to wash a glass. #sorrynotsorry. BUT. I can’t justify the weight and bulkiness of my stainless steel bottles when I’m flying carry-on only internationally. So I accept that I will buy a plastic water bottle or two on the trip and try to refill at the house/ hotel.

My usual laptop - This was another tough decision. Writers have an attachment to their computers which makes sense given all the time we spend with them and, frankly, all the intimate things that we put on there. But I ultimately decided to leave the laptop at home and just bring my ipad mini / bluetooth keyboard. This wasn’t really an issue of space/ weight (I have a very lightweight laptop and the ipad combo, while smaller, isn’t much lighter.). This was a practical decision based on how many chargers/ cords I’d have to bring. My Ipad obviously shares the same charging requirements as my iphone and air pods and the keyboard uses the same cord as a Kindle. It made sense to me to streamline all this technology as much as possible but of course, your (airplane) mileage may vary

Travel blanket - I love the idea of a travel blanket, but again, I can’t justify the space/ weight when wearing a chic shawl/scarf and cozy cardigan will keep me warm enough anywhere.

Extra notebooks - ah, a writer’s heartbreak. It was hard deciding which babies to leave home, which ones had ALL THE GOOD THINGS already written in them. But again, I went with weight and practicality and just brought one cheapie notebook from a conference.

More sweaters - When we scheduled a writing retreat - in England, in September - this Texas girl day dreamed for months about strolling through moors in all sorts of cashmere and knit. Alas, the weather was a bit warmer than my daydreams which was probably best for my space issues. One beloved sweater, one practical jacket and layering with scarves kept me warm enough.

New country, who this?

Where to go next?

I’d go back to the UK in a heartbeat… Maybe travel to Scotland? France? Or somewhere closer to home? I’ve been wanting to do a beach trip for forever. Where would you go?

Fancy a getaway that’s a little easier/ cheaper than a week in Europe? You could, of course, check out my books: The Royal Runaway and the upcoming The Royal Bodyguard which will first be published in the United Kingdom and around the world!

Sign up for my newsletter for exclusive details about The Royal Bodyguard here: INNER CIRCLE NEWSLETTER.

And if you want more packing tips for a business conference, I have posts on that HERE and HERE.

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, which means I could receive a few coins for posting them. As always, thank you for your support and encouragement!