Flavor of the Month
First, write down 12 flavors you can think of (ice cream or candy flavors, savory flavors, etc.). Next, use all 12 flavors to write a story or scene (in 500 words or fewer) beginning with the following: The sparkling water was…
This week, I'm relinquishing my all-powerful dominion over writing prompt creation because I recently acquired the revised and expanded edition of The Write-Brain Workbook. I initially shrugged it off as an overstatement, but here I am distracted from work by the darn thing, so I thought I'd share some of the fun.
Below you'll find one of the 400 exercises and prompts that appear in it.
Writing prompt:
First, write down 12 flavors you can think of (ice cream or candy flavors, savory flavors, etc.).
Next, use all 12 flavors to write a story or scene (in 500 words or fewer) beginning with the following:
The sparkling water was…
Optional follow-up to try on your own:
Sending marshmallow-fudge-swirl-double cone prose to an editor whose preference is a small dish of lime sorbet poetry usually results in a rejection. List publications and authors with whom your writing "flavors" and portions are compatible. Send your writing to at least one of them.

Jess Zafarris is the Executive Director of Marketing & Communications for Gotham Ghostwriters and the former Digital Content Director for Writer’s Digest. Her eight years of experience in digital and print content direction include such roles as editor-in-chief of HOW Design magazine and online content director of HOW and PRINT magazine, as well as writing for the Denver Business Journal, ABC News, and the Memphis Commercial Appeal. She spends much of her spare time researching curious word histories and writing about them at UselessEtymology.com. Follow her at @jesszafarris or @uselessety on Twitter.