Created and hosted by the Ninja himself, Alex J. Cavanaugh, the Insecure Writers Support Group posts the 1st Wednesday of every month. Click the image to learn more or sign up.
Optional Monthly Question: Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?
The WEP-IWSG challenge held every other month offers some pretty good theme, word, and image prompts for short stories, but in terms of pictures and longer works, I don’t think I’ve had that experience.
I recently participated in a short story anthology where we all wrote a story based on the same picture and it turned out really good. You can download the free PDF by checking my side panel or visiting my Toi’s Shorts page. Again, a single image has yet to inspire me to write anything more significant than a short story, but you never know.
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I hope for my next IWSG post to be a bit more involved, but this is all I got for now.
Click here to read or watch my January book reviews. Below is my January Wrap-up and Good reads update.
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Has a picture ever inspired your writing?
Read any good books in January?
It may take some time, but I promise, I will stop by your blog.
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After hanging out with Alex, be sure to stop by and visit this month’s co-hosts:
Lee Lowery,
Ronel Janse van Vuuren,
Jennifer Hawes,
Cathrina Constantine, and
Tyrean Martinson!
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Click here to visit other IWSG blogs and sites to receive and share more inspiration and support. (This month, I’m #41).
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords
30 replies on “#IWSG February 2020: Is there a story in the picture?”
Aww…thanks so much for the Murder at Marina shout-out!
Sure thing. I really enjoyed it.
Who knows – an image could inspire a longer piece in the future.
I hope so. I like the idea of being inspired by something I’ve seen.
You wrote one short story – more will follow, I’m sure.
I think I’m going to make a point to keep my eyes open to the possiblity.
Reading an anthology inspired by one image would be neat. That’s something the IWSG should try for an anthology some time.
Oh, yes. That would be so cool.
Hi,
At least you were inspired and even wrote a short story. Congrats.
Wishing you all the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Thank you. It’s one thing to be inspired with a good idea, but I’m hoping to be inspired to really create something special.
I think pictures are just one of many ways we can be inspired to write. You’ve obviously got sources of inspiration. 🙂
I agree. Inspiration is all around us.
We all get our inspiration from different sources. Pictures, news, music, personal events dreams, other stories. Whatever works.
It’s true. Many of my ideas have come from dreams and movies.
I love reading stories by different authors from a single prompt. It is simply amazing how many original ideas writers come up with from the same image or or sentence.
I know. It’s so fascinating and complex. I’m really glad I participated.
It’s amazing where an image can take us. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I know. The more I think about it, I feel I need to challege myself with this kind of prompt.
Just have to hit on the right one to spark and you will do it again. Happy IWSG!
I hope so.
Hey Toi, looking forward to seeing you at WEP soon. Got a cup of coffee ready?
Thanks, Denise. Hope I can pull something together in time.
I love Pinterest for images, but I seem to work backwards. As I write the story, I look for images. I’ve never had an image spark a story, though. Have a great month.
I think I do that too. I use images to help develop my ideas.
I agree with Chrys. That would be an excellent IWSG anthology idea. Great post. Happy IWSG!
Yes, I think it would be fun for submitters and readers.
That sounds very intriguing. To have everyone write a story by studying the same picture. Because people see things in different ways. I like that!
Yes. It’s amazing how many very different stories can come from the same picture.
I’m always inspired by picture prompts. They really get my creative juices flowing.
It’s amazing how many different stories are generated from a single image. I love those kinds of anthologies. I also love your reading plans for each month. Impressive!