Julie Duffy's Blog, page 5
May 8, 2025
Day 9 | The Coward’s Test by Sasha Brown
I’ve been thinking a lot about cowardice. Write a story where your protagonist is a coward: their mettle is tested, and they fail. Whether this works out well or poorly for them is up to you; whether they’re sympathetic or not is likewise your choice.
Sasha BrownSasha Brown is a Stoker-nominated writer and gardener whose surreal stories have been called “Creative! But in a bad way.” He’s in lit mags like X-R-A-Y and Split Lip, and in genre pubs like Bourbon Penn and Weird Horror. He’s on bsky at sashabrown, and online at sashabrownwriter.com.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Remember: I don’t recommend posting your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
Day 8 – Check-in with Julie
Did I write my story today? watch and find out!
In today’s video:
You know what’s really weird about writing often (and a lot)? Let me tell you…
Want to learn how to write Flash Fiction that really flashes?Preview the first three lessons of the StoryADay Flash Fiction Workshop for free now
May 7, 2025
Day 8 | Fold in Subtle Vulnerability by Lani Diane Rich
Vulnerability is a powerful port of connection between people, and it’s how your reader connects to a character. Show a character’s vulnerability, but express it only in hints, never stating it directly. Lay down vulnerability markers with what your character refuses to talk about.
Lani Diane RichLani Diane Rich is a story expert and NYT bestselling author with twelve novels published by the Big 5. She leads the Year of Writing Magically, a transformational year-long writing program that guides writers from inspiration to completion in a supportive, community-driven space. The Drafting module—running from June 21 to September 6, 2025—is a 12-week immersion designed to help writers build momentum, get words on the page, and bring their stories to life with accountability and joy.
Remember: I don’t recommend posting your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
Day 7 – Check-in with Julie
Did I write my story today? watch and find out!
In today’s video:
Finding Inspiration on Difficult Writing Days
I wasn’t feeling great, on Day 7 of the StoryADay Challenge, so here’s what I dd to get my inspriation back….[watch the video]
Want to learn how to write Flash Fiction that really flashes?Preview the first three lessons of the StoryADay Flash Fiction Workshop for free now
May 6, 2025
Day 7 | Expansion & Contraction by Peyton Ellas
Write a 50 word story. Expand it to a 500 word story. Now revise that story to a 50 word story and make it as different from the first 50 word story as you can.
Peyton EllasPeyton Ellas lives in rural California. When not writing, they are farming, running a micro farm animal sanctuary and creating native plant gardens as a landscape contractor. They are the author of Gardening with California Native Plants: Inland, Foothill and Central Valley Gardens. Their work has appeared or will appear in Milk House, Pilgrimage Press, streetcake magazine, Copperfield Review Quarterly and elsewhere. They write the (not) obsolete newsletter on substack and can be reached at peytonellas.com.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Remember: I don’t recommend posting your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
May 5, 2025
Day 6 | Entering a photograph by Jennifer Hudak
If your character follows the stream between the mountains to its source, what will they find?
Jennifer HudakJennifer Hudak is a Nebula-nominated speculative fiction writer whose work can be found in venues such as The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and The Sunday Morning Transport. She is a 2018 graduate of the Viable Paradise workshop and a member of the Codex Writers’ Group. Originally from Boston, she now lives with her family in Upstate New York where she teaches yoga, knits pocket-sized animals, and misses the ocean.
Find out more about her at JenniferHudakWrites.com
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
Day 5 – Check-in with Julie
Did I write my story today? watch and find out!
In today’s video:
00:15 Taking a Break: The Importance of Rest
01:07 Dealing with Prompts: Inspiration and Flexibility
02:14 Community Insights: Diverse Perspectives on Prompts
05:10 Personal Reflections: Knitting and Writing
06:57 The Value of Persistence and Experimentation
08:02 dig deep into the ideas that come from the writing prompts
10:07 Encouragement and Community Engagement
Want to learn how to write Flash Fiction that really flashes?Preview the first three lessons of the StoryADay Flash Fiction Workshop for free now
May 4, 2025
Day 5 | Hibiscus Day by R. S. A. Garcia
“Hibiscus Day” In many cultures, including my own West Indian society, the hibiscus is an auspicious flower.
Linked to everything from the cycle of life, renewal, transformation, the feminine divine, the spiritual plane and even fame and luck, the hibiscus is a temporary beauty. It flowers for only one day, with hybrids that last perhaps three days at most.
Think about the meaning and symbolism of the flower. Its gorgeous, easily bruised petals. Its a brief existence. Or think of the rotting flowers at the base of this hardy bush. The wait to see them bloom once again.
Whatever you do, let your feelings lead you rather than your head, as much as you can. Be as weird and outside the box as you wish. Let your imagination breathe. Have fun with it.
Good luck!
R. S. A. GarciaR.S.A. is a Nebula and Sturgeon Award winning writer of speculative fiction. She is also the winner of the Machine Intelligence Foundation for Rights and Ethics’ 2023 Media Award, and a Locus, Ignyte and Eugie Foster Award finalist.
Her Amazon Bestselling science fiction mystery, Lex Talionis, received a starred review from Publishers Weekly and the Silver Medal for Best Scifi/Fantasy/Horror Ebook from the Independent Publishers Awards (2015).
She has published short fiction in venues such as Clarkesworld Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Escape Pod, Strange Horizons, The Sunday Morning Transport, and Internazionale Magazine.
Her stories have been long-listed for the British Science Fiction Awards, translated into several languages, and included in a number of anthologies, including the critically acclaimed The Best of World SF, The Best Science Fiction of the Year, The Year’s Best Fantasy, and The Apex Book of World SF.
Her sci-fantasy duology, beginning with The Nightward, is out now from Harper Voyager US. https://www.amazon.com/Nightward-Book...
She lives in Trinidad and Tobago with an extended family and too many cats.
R.S.A. was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2021. She is currently in treatment and doing well. If you’d like to help, please donate to her GoFundMe organised by her friends.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Remember: I don’t recommend posting your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
May 3, 2025
Day 4 | It should be so simple… by Mary Robinette Kowal
Two characters. One location. There’s one problem and they can’t agree on how to solve it.
Mary Robinette KowalMary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers, The Glamourist Histories series, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov’s. Mary Robinette, a professional puppeteer, lives in Denver. Visit at maryrobinettekowal.com.
Join the discussion: what will you do with today’s prompt OR how did it go? Need support? Post here!
Remember: I don’t recommend posting your story in the comments here (and I talk more about why not, here). Best practice: Leave us a comment about how it went, or share your favorite line from your story.
Here’s your next Game Piece. save the image and share on social media with #storyaday
Prefer paper crafts? Here’s the cut & paste version
Day 3 – Check-in with Julie
Did I write my story today? watch and find out!
Want to learn how to write Flash Fiction that really flashes?Preview the first three lessons of the StoryADay Flash Fiction Workshop for free now
