A Year of Writing Prompts: January 3

How to use these prompts

What is this cat thinking?
Where does it live?
Who are the people and where are they going?

Prompts

1. "Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate." JRR Tolkien
2. Why were the ten lords leaping?
3. In 1924, Howard Carter discovered the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. Write a story including the boy king in some capacity, during his lifetime or after his death.
4. In 1882, Oscar Wilde had "nothing to declare but my genius" when entering America. Write about someone entering another country who does have something to declare.
5. In 1496, Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tested a flying machine. Write an account from the point of view of someone who witnessed this.

Character Names

Elmer, Elmo, Benjamin, Vida, Daniel, Danielle, Dana, Dan, Danika, Genevieve, Alfred

Character Traits

• Precise and accurate with a gift for getting straight to the point.
• Impatient.
• Gifted artists with a particular liking for landscapes.
• Able to express themselves clearly in writing; good at mathematics.
• Tend to be selfish and envious when young, but mellow and become more benevolent as they become successful.
• Can be critical of others and be sarcastic, blunt and caustic.
• Good at unmasking hypocrisy and make it their business to uncover fallacies in others' beliefs.
• More likely to be admired and feared than liked.
• Are not easily satisfied and do not always consider the feelings of others.
• Inquisitive with a sharp, piercing intelligence.

Possible Themes

Permanent records; things written in stone. Inscriptions and carvings. Museums.

Invented languages.

Relics of ancient civilizations.

Art and sculpture.

Objects

An ancient granite carving; flowers; a harpsichord; a spear; beads carved from human bone.

A Year of Writing Prompts: January 2

How to use these prompts

Who is this woman?
Where is she arriving at?
What is she running from/to?
What happens next?

Prompts

1. January 2 is National Science Fiction day - so write something with a science fiction theme.
2. In 1900, Queen Victoria first wrote her famous "We are not amused" line. Write something about someone being distinctly unamused by something somebody else says or does.
3. It's Run It Up The Flagpole and See If Anybody Salutes It day. So write a story involving a flag or a flag pole. Or even both.
4. "Those people who think they know everything are annoying those of us who do." Isaac Asimov
5. In 1869 the first traffic lights in the world, which were lit by gas, blew up. Write a story about a person who might have been affected by this event.

Character Names

Karina, Abel, Stephanie, Alexander, Alexandra, Lex, Alec, Alondra

Character Traits

• Will go to any lengths to achieve their ambitions. This may well include underhand dealings, spreading rumours and even violence. Love, romance and a sex life may well be sacrificed too, if need be. On the plus side, they are capable of achieving much for the public good.
• Taking advantage of the vulnerable is something they may do to achieve their ambitions, but this is what can cause their ultimate downfall if the truth comes out.
• A restless nature and a fondness for travel and exploration.
• An interest in anything to do with the East, in particular Turkey.
• May be religious with a particular interest in ancient religions. They may be at odds with their family because of their beliefs.
• Another thing which could get them into a sticky situation is experimenting with dangerous and edgy ways of reaching a higher state of being.
• Appreciate simple natural beauty and harmony. More likely to collect art than to create it.
• A tendency to burn their bridges behind them, but do so with confidence. They are brave, but will not take unnecessary risks.
• May be secretly romantic and fond of children. They may come from a well respected family.
• Will be tempted by the opposite sex, but will manage to escape any sex scandals.
• Although kind and generous, they tend to be a bit superior and hard to get to know.

Possible Themes

The search for the meaning of life.

The ultimate sacrifice.

Man's inner strength; optimism, veracity.

Objects

A plough; a hissing snake; a brazier; a brown paper sack.

A year of Writing Prompts: January 1

How to use these prompts

Where does this doorway lead?
Could it lead to another world or dimension?
Is there some significance to a character's passing through it?

 

Prompts

1. "Railway terminii are our gates to the glorious and the unknown." EM Forster
2. There are a whole lot of superstitions connected to New Year's Day. For example, "if you wash on New Year's Day, you'll wash one of the family away"; it's unlucky to lend anybody anything, or use scissors on this day; if you hold a funeral on New Year's day there will be one in the parish every month of the next year. Write about what happens when somebody breaks one of these superstitions.
3. Write about a chapter of disasters that happens because someone is suffering a massive hangover from the night before.
4. "A New Start"
5. Someone starts writing in a brand new diary, unaware that the diary has magical powers.

Character Names

Genesis, Amos, Maslaw, Solvita, Fruszina, Davu, Janus, January

Character Traits

• Has a quick mind and loves anything to do with speed. Possibly a keen cyclist.
• May have learned to fly a plane, or have a desire to do so.
• Lives on the edges of the law with an uncanny ability to get away with it. However, having to leave their home and even go to another country to escape being caught may become necessary.
• Live on their wits and are cunning.
• Interested in family history and may have found some high ranking or important people among their ancestors.
• Lovers of nature, in particular trees and walking through fields in the moonlight.
• Deeply religious with a tendency to preach fire and brimstone - but they do it because they genuinely care about other people.
• Protective of their family and friends.
• Romantic and idealistic - feel things deeply and can become melancholy. They can be seductive, charming and adventurous in love, and have an understanding of what makes the opposite sex tick.
• Courageous and confident - not afraid to meet danger head on and to go all out to achieve their ambitions. However, this can mean they rush into things.
• It's entirely possible they have a deep dark secret.
• There may be someone who wants to get their hands on this character's inheritance or the wealth and position they have worked for.

Possible Themes

Beginnings.

Religion and seclusion.

Environmental issues, nature, green politics, natural remedies.

Conspiracy theories.

Objects

A dog; a fox; a mansion; a sword; chocolates.

A Year of Writing Prompts

Are you looking for a new writing challenge? Do you have writers' block and want some prompts? If so, these posts are for you. This year, I will post some ideas relevant to each day of the year, which you are welcome to use to kick start your writing.

Rules

The first and most important rule is that there aren't any rules, only suggestions.

The Five Prompts

For each day of the year, there are five prompts, connected with that date of the year. Saints' days, festivals, observances, historic or fictional events, quotations from people who were born or died on that day, archaic symbols or angels attached to a degree of the zodiac.

You could pick one prompt for each day and work through them all in five years. If you're up for an extra challenge, pick two or more, or even try to incorporate all five into a piece of writing.

Character Names

After the five prompts you will find a list of possible character names. These have been selected from the name days for that date. In some cultures, particularly Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Greece, a person's name day is as important, if not more important, than their birthday. While many of the names are completely unfamiliar to the English speaking world, others are almost universal. I chose the more familiar ones. Even so, they may not be names you'd have considered using for a character. They are, of course, merely suggestions if you happen to be stuck for a character name on a particular day.

Using them religiously is an option open to you, as well. You might like to choose a name you're not especially familiar with and may not have considered, and think about what someone with that name may be like. How old are they? What might be their cultural background? What kind of personality is suggested by the name?

Character Traits

The list of character traits is taken from traits and influences associated with the 360 degrees of the Zodiac. You don't have to believe in astrology to make use of them. It was merely a tool I used to come up with traits which could be associated with a date, which would be when the sun is in that degree. If there is a particular superstition associated with people born on a certain day, eg that they are psychic, then this is included as well.

Again you can use them, or not, as you like. You can just use one trait to base your character on, or challenge yourself to come up with a character who epitomises the entire list. And anything in between, of course.

Possible Themes

The zodiac degrees and also days of the year have had themes assigned to them. I've listed some which could possibly be used as themes for a story. Again, you can use them, or not, as you see fit.

Objects

Each degree of the zodiac has a symbol. Several sets of symbols have been compiled by different people over the years. The suggested objects are selected from the various systems of symbols. Again you can pick as many as you want to include in a story, including challenging yourself to use all of them.

Pictures

Perhaps, like me, you have fond memories of creative writing lessons in school where you'd be shown a picture and asked to write a story about it. I have selected a few pictures from my own collection - they were all drawn or taken by me, or my husband, or form part of an inherited family collection. One picture per day, relevant to the date/time of year where possible, is included in the post. Again you can use them, or not.

Good luck, and most of all, have fun!

Lucky Sixpence

Christmas. I was dreading it this time last year.

For the past couple of years, I'd spent the big day with my boyfriend Andrew in the little bedsit we shared. It was the ideal excuse not to spend the day with my family. Andrew and I made our own Christmas traditions – decorating our tree on December 1, for example, setting aside the evening to do it.

This year, at Halloween, he'd sat me down and said, 'I'm so sorry, love, but I've met someone else. I never meant it to happen. I fought against it, but this thing was bigger than both of us. She's the one I want to be with. I'll move out at the weekend.'

I'd truly believed Andrew and I would be together forever, so I was devastated. After he left, apart from going to work, I cocooned myself in the flat, wrapped in a duvet, comfort eating and watching trashy TV. I was just coming out of the worst of the post-relationship depression when Christmas began rearing its ugly head.

I turned down any party invitations, partly because I didn't feel like all that enforced jollity, but also in case Andrew was there with his new woman. The party season passed me by. I didn't bother putting a tree up on December 1, and the cards lay unopened on the table by the front door. I fully intended to hibernate until January 2^nd.

Then my mother called. 'Now Andrew's out of the picture, I expect you'll be coming to us for Christmas dinner.' I could tell by her tone of voice it wasn't a suggestion. It was an order. The sub-text was, 'he took you away from us for two Christmases, but this year, we're getting you back.'

I wished I hadn't told her about the break-up, now. At the time, I'd wanted to pour my heart out to someone. I ruled out both my best friends – one was pregnant and the other had always disliked Andrew and would only say, 'I told you so.' My sister was married with a couple of kids and never had time for a chat. So if I wanted to talk about it, the only option was Mum.

Mum had listened to me sobbing down the phone, but after that had come out with all the usual cliches like, 'you were too good for him' and 'there are plenty more fish in the sea'. I couldn't pretend I was having another cosy Christmas with Andrew to avoid the family madhouse.

Don't get me wrong, I love my family to bits, but all of them together at the same time is something I can only take in small doses. Christmas means spending at least three days with them. I live in the city, they live in the suburbs. I don't have a car, so I'd have to get a train on Christmas Eve, and there'd be no escape until the trains started running again the day after Boxing Day.

'I have to work until six on Christmas Eve,' I said, in a flash of inspiration, 'and the trains after that are a nightmare – you can hardly squeeze on and everyone's drunk.'

'Don't worry about that,' Mum said. 'Dad will drive over and get you. You are coming for Christmas dinner. It's just what you need to help get that bloke out of your system.'

I sighed as I put the phone down. There was no escaping it, then.

To begin with, Christmas dinner went exactly as I'd envisaged. I'd arrived with Dad on Christmas Eve to find Mum in the kitchen mixing up the Christmas pudding. 'Perfect timing,' she said, putting the bowl down and handing me an old sixpence. 'Just in time to do the honours.'

It was a typical example of how she thought I was still four years old. When I was four, I absolutely loved being the one to drop the lucky sixpence into the pudding mix and watch as Mum mixed it in, ready for someone to find on the day. Whoever did, she maintained, was in for a lucky year.

'Seriously?' I said. At nearly thirty, it doesn't matter to me anything like as much. 'Won't one of the nephews want to do it?'

'They're not coming until tomorrow, and that's too late,' she insisted.

'All right,' I said. I dropped the coin into the bowl but instead of watching it vanish into the gooey mix, I turned away to put the kettle on.

I helped with all the preparations – peeling and chopping veg. I didn't mind. There's something therapeutic about chopping and peeling; but once we'd done as much as we could it was time to sit and relax, and for Mum to start grilling me about my life.

'How's Tracey?' she asked as soon as she'd put a glass of sherry in my hand. Tracey being my pregnant friend.

'Fine,' I said.

'Is she still getting morning sickness? Does she know if it's a boy or a girl yet? Is she getting cravings? Is she getting big?'

'I don't know,' I said. I have to confess I hadn't taken much of an interest in Tracey's pregnancy. 'I never see her now she's finished work.'

'She's supposed to be your best friend.'

Truth is, seeing her all loved up was the last thing I'd needed these past few months, but I didn't think Mum would understand. Luckily the conversation was brought to an end by the arrival of Uncle Ed. Who pinched my bottom when I got up to re-fill my glass. Part of me wanted to deck him for his sexist beahviour, but I'd only be told 'It's Christmas, love. Lighten up.'

Nevertheless, I'd rather have him than my sister's husband, who arrived next day with my sister and the kids. My sister air kissed me, about all she could manage with a toddler on her hip. Her husband looked at me, with my glass of wine and said, 'Not sprogged up yet then? Your Andrew needs to get his finger out. Well, not his finger, but you know what I mean.'

'We split up,' I snapped back. 'So shut up.'

He gave me an affronted look.

'That's a pity,' my sister said. 'I liked Andrew.'

My nan came in, greeted everyone, then sat at her usual place at the table and took her teeth out, placing them on her side plate. 'Thank God for that,' she said. 'They're so uncomfortable.'

'Ew!' said my older nephew, summing up what we were all thinking but were too polite to mention.

The dinner was scrumptious, I have to say. It had been three years since I spent Christmas Day with my family and my memory seemed to have filtered out all the good bits. It was nice to be reminded of them. If there's one thing my mum can do really well, it's a roast.

Then it was time for the pudding. Dad brought it in, placed it in the middle of the table, and did the heating whiskey in a spoon thing, so a sheet of flame engulfs it. The older nephew said, 'Wow!'

It smelled so good, fruity and spicy. I helped myself to a dollop of brandy butter and tucked in.

A few mouthfuls in and I found the sixpence. Or it found me. I felt a stab of excruciating pain and two hard objects in my mouth. The sixpence, and the tooth which had broken when I chomped on it.

'Are you all right, darling?' Mum asked as I spat my tooth and the coin into my hand. 'I just broke my tooth on that bloody sixpence!' I raged, holding my jaw. 'It really hurts!'

'Oh dear,' Mum said. 'We'd better find an emergency dentist.'

A trip to the dentist? On Christmas Day? Finding the sixpence is supposed to be lucky. Must be some new meaning of the word 'lucky' I was not previously aware of.

I didn't feel the least bit lucky, sat in the car with Nan's scarf tied around my jaw, driving to the emergency dentist. If I hadn't been in so much pain, I'd have felt a right idiot.

Even through the pain, I was getting pangs of guilt, for calling the dentist out and ruining some family's Christmas, not to mention the dental nurse who would have to turn out, too; and for ruining the day for my nephews, who we'd left in floods of tears because present opening would be delayed until we got back.

The nurse/receptionist, I noticed right away, was wearing a hijab, so I guess it was a normal working day for her. The dentist, however, was a young-ish white guy, who, I could see under his white coat, was wearing a garish Christmas jumper. He was also gorgeous. If I'd known there were dentists who looked like that, I'd go more often.

'The lucky sixpence, eh?' he said with a lopsided grin which made my heart melt. 'Happens a lot. Come through.'

To cut a long story short, he patched me up as best he could and dosed me up on pain killers and antibiotics. 'No more booze for you today, I'm afraid,' he said.

How I wished I'd met him in a bar, or at a party. I'd have chatted him up, for sure. Not here, though. Not now. 'I'll give you a ring later to check you're okay,' he said, 'but if there's any problem at all, call me.'

I was so groggy that when everyone else dozed off in front of the telly, I did, too. I was woken by my phone.

'Hello, it's Tom.'

Tom? I had no idea who that was. I didn't know anyone called Tom. I concluded it must be a wrong number, which was a shame. He sounded nice. 'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I don't know who you are.'

'Forgotten me already?' he said. I could hear a smile in his voice. 'You only saw me a couple of hours ago. Is everything all right with your mouth?'

Of course – the dentist. He had said he'd ring to check on me. 'Oh, sorry,' I said. 'I'm still not thinking straight, but apart from that...' I probed the gap with my tongue. It would take some getting used to, but I wasn't in any pain. '...it's fine. I'm fine; but I'll have to look into getting an implant in the new year.'

'Does that mean I'll be seeing you again?' he asked.

'I'm afraid not – I was only here visiting my family for Christmas. I actually live in town, so I'll be seeing a dentist there.'

'Oh, good,' he said. I wasn't sure whether to be insulted that he thought not seeing me again was a good thing. Before I could come to a conclusion, he continued. 'Because, if you were my patient, I couldn't ask you out to dinner.'

'Did you say what I thought you just said, or am I still under the influence of all those drugs?'

'The drugs should have worn off by now, so yes, you heard me right. I'm asking you out. How about I come up to town in the new year and meet you? You can recommend some good places to eat.'

'Um, okay,' I said.

That was last year. I'm going back to Mum's this Christmas, but this year, I won't be alone. Tom will be with me, and we'll be celebrating the anniversary of the day we first met as well as Christmas. As if that's not enough, we'll be using the occasion to tell my family that Tom and I are getting engaged. That sixpence proved much luckier than I could ever have imagined.

If you liked this story, check out my other stories and books:

More details about my books. Follow this link if you like Superheroes, Psychics and/or quirky short stories. 

I've listed the themes each novel touches on here for easy reference.

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Why not read my books?

There's a new marketing trend in town. Lists of reasons why people shouldn't read certain books. They include the kind of things critical reviewers might pick up on as negatives if they simply don't like that sort of thing. 

So here it is - the list of reasons to avoid each of my books. 

I'm hoping, naturally, some people will see the reasons as positives - signs they'd enjoy the books, while people who'd hate them will be put off before they can buy one, decide they don't like it and take their frustrated expectations out on me!

If you do read one of these books and are pleasantly surprised, please leave some nice comments on Amazon or Goodreads. Otherwise, why not give it to the local charity shop where it can help a good cause and find someone who will enjoy it?

Potential spoilers. (You have been warned).

Death and Faxes

• Psychics? Talking to dead people? Helping the police solve crimes? Do me a favour.
• The main psychic isn't even a circus act or a gypsy. She's a normal woman living in 21st century London, with a normal office job who happens to have this weird talent.
• Not to mention her oh so normal family who don't understand who or what she is.
• She's psychic. Surely this means she knows everything and always does the right thing, but she doesn't!
• She doesn't even make the right decisions about her love life!
• People die in it. There are horrible murders.
• The protagonist has decided she doesn't want to have children.

Want to read it anyway? Available from CreateSpace  Amazon  Amazon Kindle 

Glastonbury Swan

• A big chunk of it is set in Glastonbury - a wacky place to say the least.
  

  
• It brings in a lot of wacky stuff about Glastonbury's mysterious, rich-in-legend landscape.
• People die in this one too. More horrible murders, made to look like accidents.
• The dead people sometimes talk to the living people.
• Psychics again. If anything, even more of them.
• And they STILL don't know everything and make the right decision every time.
• It even mentions astrology, Tarot cards and non-establishment spiritual beliefs.
• A lot of the characters aren't normal mainstream people (although they are perfectly normal for Glastonbury).
• The protagonist has not changed her mind about not wanting to have children.

Like the sound of it in spite of it all? Available from CreateSpace or Amazon  Amazon Kindle

From a Jack to a King

• It's got superheroes in it.
  

  
• It also has a king and a queen and princesses in it, so is it a comic book story or a fairy tale?
• It's got an imaginary country in it. Therefore it can't be historically accurate.
• The superheroes aren't from Krypton. They're from England, France, the US and this imaginary place.
• Superheroes living in normal houses and apartments and not a secret base underground? Really?
• There's as much romance and character development as there is war.
• There's a suggestion criminals could actually change and become better people.

Not bad - just different? Available from: Createspace, Amazon, Amazon Kindle

Running in the Family

• Even more blooming superheroes. At least one of them looks weird.
  

  
• Apart from one alien, they're all British, so how can you tell who the bad guy is?
• The man with a British accent living in an old Gothic mansion by himself is not the bad guy.
• The plot spans about three decades. It's almost a saga!
• One important piece of the story is only revealed towards the end.
• A superhero dies.
• There's a character who believes in reincarnation.
• A character is accused of using drugs to enhance her athletic performance.

Actually like this kind of stuff? Available from: Createspace;  Amazon Paperback;  Amazon Kindle

Eternal Flame

• Yet more superheroes, and they're all new ones, not the ones we know from Marvel
  

  

  and DC.
• Too many people with red hair.
• Most of them are British (or Irish).
• Again they don't live in a secret base on a space station - they are students living in halls of residence or lecturers living in suburban houses. In Birmingham, for crying out loud!
• It's got time travel in it.
• It's got the Olympic Games in it, and they're not happening this year, so hardly topical.
• People go gallivanting off into space, not only to save dying worlds, but sometimes just for fun.

Doesn't seem so bad? Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

Very Variant Xmas

• It's a bit short. You could probably read it in one sitting.
• Most of the action takes place at a Christmas party. In a palace.
• It's all about Christmas but there doesn't seem to be a schmaltzy moral message.
• There are a couple of babies and some small children in it - and one nearly gets eaten.
• Santa appears in it, but he isn't really Santa.
• Superheroes. Again.
• Not to mention a whole bunch of super-villains. Again all new ones and not the ones we know from Marvel or DC.

Not put off? Available from Createspace, Amazon and Amazon Kindle

Secrets and Skies

• Yet another new superhero, not anyone we know from Marvel or DC or even Julie
  

  

  Howlin's previous novels.
• He's not perfect, either. He's a bit of a ladies' man.
• Doesn't even take place in a world we know, but in an alternative dimension.
• Which has too many similarities to our own, or how our own could be in the future.
• It's got a nuclear bomb in it.
• There are a couple of characters having an illicit affair.
• There's an attempted rape.
• It's the first of a trilogy. So we don't find out the superhero's identity. You don't find out if you guessed right.
• It ends on a cliff-hanger, leaving everyone up in the air, literally. 

Still interested? Get it now from Amazon or Amazon Kindle

Over the Rainbow (Coming soon)

• People from vastly different cultures have to co-operate and learn to live and work
  

  

  together.
• People from different cultures even start relationships with one another.
• People are gaining superpowers all over the place.
• It's got telepathic wolves in it, a telepathic falcon and a whole bunch of telepathic purple animals from another dimension.
• Even the bad guys have backstories.
• People go travelling from one dimension to another to find people they love.
• It's got parallel dimensions, wormholes and mentions quantum physics.
• It ends on another cliff-hanger and the bad guy isn't in jail yet.

Have unusual tastes and actually liked the prequel? Check social media for further announcements: 

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JulieSHowlinauthor
Twitter: @JulieHowlin

Jigsaw

• They're short stories.
  

  
• Some have superheroes in, but they are new ones which aren't in Marvel or DC. Though some are in Julie Howlin's novels.
• Some stories have ghosts in.
• Some stories take place in other worlds.
• It has a story about Dungeons and Dragons.
• The Easter Egg story and garden gnome story might give you nightmares.

Actually like short stories? Available from CreateSpace or Amazon   Amazon Kindle

Sweet Karma

• They're short stories.
• Some have superheroes in, but they are new ones which aren't in Marvel or DC. Though some are in Julie Howlin's novels.
• It has a story about an obsessive hobby.
• Someone in one of the stories comes to a sticky end.
• There are two stories about the second world war.
• One story is set on a space station.

Always do what people advise you not to do? Available from Createspace or Amazon

 Amazon Kindle