Me: Alright, time to get some good revising in!

*Opens manuscript draft*

My brain: What are marshmallows made from?

It's a good time to be a 1990s horror fan -- Anaconda, I Know What You Did Last Summer, The Faculty, and Final Destination are all getting reboots & remakes.

But when will the cowards in Hollywood bring back CUBE?

Unexpected #writing prompt 10: A terminally online hate-farmer becomes the victim of a smear campaign, only to realize the best way to save their personal brand is to jump on the bandwagon and tear apart their own reputation.

185 queries.

7 years.

4 books.

1 offer of representation.

#amquerying authors: keep going.

It's interesting that the best writing ideas tend to come during active, but relaxed activities -- a long run, a dog walk, a low-key play session with the kiddo. I wonder why that is? Perhaps there's something about the mixture of endorphins and cognitive freedom that stimulates ideas?

Unexpected #writing prompt #9: After taking a wrong turn during a trail race, a high school cross country runner stumbles upon a dead body, setting off a homicide investigation that will test the idyllic solidarity of his small-town community.

Yay, #science!
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Unexpected #writing prompt #7: After losing a bet, a dietician makes an online video spoofing popular supplement influencers, only to gain a following for their video about eating 'all natural' feces to lose weight. Now, they must decide -- profit or integrity?

Unexpected #writing prompt #6: A person born within an informercial is sucked into the real world and must learn why everyone is so coordinated and able to accomplish simple tasks.

(Haha, I might actually give this one a go as a short story).

Unexpected #writing prompt #5: An extra on a horror movie set accidentally pisses off the film's star actor, leading to a real-life game of cat-and-mouse.

Received a 297-day manuscript rejection the other day (only 60 days off my personal record!), and it made me think, "Wow, how simple the world must have felt 297 days ago." Time dilates while your query idles in inboxes, but it never stops. #amquerying

Unexpected #writing prompt #4: An elderly man who simply wants to water his plants battles with a territorial red wing blackbird for control of his backyard, leading him down an obsessive road of avian retribution.

Nothing takes the mind off -5°F wind chills and an even more depressing news cycle like cozying up with my work-in-progress sci-fi novel. My protagonist just reached his mech-piloting academy and I'm channeling all my societal angst into him.

#WIP #amwriting

Unexpected #writing prompt #3: An argument over whether to buy smooth or crunchy peanut butter devolves into a feud that destroys two roommates' lives.

Unexpected #writing prompt #2: A rivalry between two washing machine jingle composers boils over into an outright feud.

Unexpected #writing prompt #1:
Describe the childhood trauma that would lead someone to select comic sans as the default font in their professional email.
#amwriting

Why is it that the best scenes are always thought up while walking the dog? Something about the regular cadence of movement, but without the intensity of cardio?

Regardless, the NaNoWriMo grind continues. #WIP #writing

Well, I suppose a silver lining of the last week is the flood of dystopian SF writing ideas, some of which I can even build into my WIP.
#writingtherapy #amwriting